The first time I came across Croatia was during the World Cup France ’98. I was amazed by their performance, the slightest thought of they would finished in third place wasn’t in my mind before the game began. Sadly, my knowledge about Croatia ended with football as well. *Yeah… Yeah… I know my knowledge is limited…* little did I know then, I would be in Croatia one day, in such a beautiful country. I was going to spend the weekend by the west coast of Istrian Peninsula, in Instri County.
Friday afternoon, we set off on a road trip and we would travel south from Graz, through Slovenia to Croatia. On the way, although I had tried to get some sleep as result of the Jazz night out few hours ago, I failed. Probably, it was a good thing… to certain extend. At least, I got to hear Laura complaining, “I want to be with the noisy people…” *I was just wondering then, couldn’t you just enjoy a moment of silence* Philip joked around Fish n Chips and Vinegar *what so funny about that, I didn’t know, but it was hilarious the way how he put it…* the Europeans surprised that Malaysian are not allowed to travel in Israel *While… Malaysia is an Islamic Country…* and again the Europeans, being envious that I got a custom stamp when crossing the borders *Shit! It is only 10 months and I am left with less than half of my passport pages for the coming 4 years and two months… Need to pay for a new passport soon…* and and again… It was entertaining in short. Sooner and later, we arrived at Croatia
Philip the bull
Just passed the Croatian border, something caught my eye, the signboards and advertisements of casino, resort, beaches and restaurants. As we drove, more casinos, casino, casino, resort, casino, restaurant, casino, casino, casino, casino and casino… Woo… Something new, winery… Winery, casino, casino, casino, casino…Finally, we passed the signboards, droved along the densely wooded mountain to the village. I was amazed by the whole stretch of restaurant beside the road and also amused by it as well. There would always be a whole pig being roasted *sometime half…* in front of the restaurant and a waiter wearing an apron, opening his hand broadly, with a menu held in one of his hand, with a big smile *Those smile that you could see their big white teeth*, hinting, “Welcome and we are the best!”, jut like the never ending advertisement boards. Having said that, the smell from the roasted pork was great.
After six-hour driving, we arrived at the Valkaneka Camping site. We got our camping ticket, passed on the passports, pitched our tent, put on our swimming suits and headed to the beach. To my surprise, I found no sand! Everywhere I looked was plainly rocks and stones. It was literally a stony beach. Beaches do not go only with stones… A beach without sands was a shock to me. Nevertheless, I quickly adapted to the idea. It was fantastic to swim by the rocky coastlines facing the Adriatic Sea and having to sip some sea water accidentally. *Freaking salty and it tasted sux…* It brought back many childhood memories. When I was young, before I turned ten, I lived in an east coast town of Malaysia peninsula, Kuantan. From where I stayed to the beach, it was only five minutes drive. Often, my parents would bring us to the beach to watch the run rise, to swim by beach, to fly a kite or simply a late evening walk by the coastline on the South China Sea. Floating on the sea, facing the darkened and gloomy sky, looking into the bright stars… for a moment, I felt time had rolled back quietly, back to a time when I could only see my mum from her hips. It had been a while since the last beach trip, I was so enjoying it… By the time, I realised my stomach was groaning badly, it was already late in the evening and hardly any of us noticed the time.
Under the recommendation of our German neighbours, we went to a nearby restaurant. I was very craving for seafood. The last time I had seafood was few months ago. Moreover, the seafood in Austria is very expensive. Laura, Philip and I promptly decided to share a fish platter. Sadly, the food was only so so with my food critique hat on, with some uncleaned sand in the mussel, one of the grilled fish tasted slightly bitter, the other two fishes a little marshy *Not so fresh… Shaking my head as I ate…* over grilled squids, it was something that could be or must be missed. While off my hat, it was great. Especially with the hospitality, warmth and welcome services, and unlimited flow of shots for free, it was awesome! This Krsko Vac stuff, yellow jelly-smell-like liquor was the killer. With the waitress flattered me, “I will drink this for you because you are cute!” *Alright… I know someone will start to give me the I-wanna-puke kind of face, at least someone appreciate it~~* I drank few more shots. Somehow, that jogged my memory. I remembered kissing a Swedish girl on her lips yesterday. With her giving this please- kiss-me look and walking swiftly toward me, I had no choice. That was a weird experience. I had to swing with both my hands later to reject her for further. *Alright… Once again, the I-wanna-puke kind of face… Yeah Yeah… I got it…* Everyone was so into the mood of vacation and when we left, we were either drunk or tipsy, Byarne was starting to speak more than usual and taking photos almost every second, Laura did a monkey dance with her hands up in the air, giving all sorts of funny faces, Philips with a sometime-stoned-sometime-funny face, Joy puked by the mini van… Ewwww… Never mind, it was a good night out!
The next day, I was already awaked by 7:00am, partly Laura and Joy’s fault for being SO LOUD *… part of the hang over routine… and Laura got punished later. Kekekeke…* it was also partly because I couldn’t sleep. The camping ground was so hard and my back was hurting the whole night. Also, I had a weird sleeping position where me head was at a lower position. However, I soon found D best place to sleep, the driver seat. Yap, D driver seat! Trust me. It was the best sleeping spot you could find. There, I took a small nap and I would sleep later tonight. We spent the whole afternoon swimming by the coast, to the nearby island and sun bathing. *Alright and now I will want to wallop those that said Asians need only low SPF sunscreen or none. Backside! I got sun burnt badly at the back and it is still hurting now! * Then, we visited a nearby town, Rovinj.
When I could see Rovinj from far, I understood instantly why Rovinj is said to be the gem of the Istrian coast. The old town and the Church of St Euphemia densely packed on a narrow peninsula was a sight to be remembered for life. Walking through the old town, strolled on the winding stone streets, passed the crumbling buildings, each corners and turns was a photo opportunity. Sitting by the quayside, had some ice cream, enjoyed the harbour view was very relaxing and I could feel the tiredness from work slowly faded away. However it was kind of disappointing to found the town over touristy, a lot of Austrian, German and Italian tourists. *While we were contributing to it… what a dilemma…* Postcards, handcrafts, paintings, imitate goods, accessories, souvenirs were everywhere. At least the see shells were local… Nonetheless, the idea of 5 minutes walk to the pebbly beaches, put on sunscreen on the way and jump into the sea is fantastic! I wanna stay here!!!!! Soon, with the sun setting slowly and disappeared from the horizon, we left the town for dinner that turned out to be what-a-bad experience, blah!
Rovinj
Imitade goods aimed at tourists
Sea eagles on chimneys
Town area of Rovinj
Group photo by the quay
Cycling in the streets of Rovinj
Sunbathing by the rocky coast
Swimming by the Andriatic Sea
Lavender pouch against the crumbling wall
Postcards + souvenirs + sea shells...
Church of St Euphemia
Sunset by the coastline of Rovinj
The last day by the stony beach was mainly the same stuff. Only two differences, I finally decided to jog *my thigh is still hurting…* and found a place to dive. Awesome!!! Although the depth was roughly 1.8m, I dived four times. While the others decided to go else where to sun bath. Having my back burnt badly, I covered my back with a towel, sat on a nice spot and chatted with Philip. Then when it was time to go, we cleaned up the camping site, packed our stuff, checked out, got our passports and left to Poreč.
In many ways, Poreč was very similar to Rovinj, but the prior has more historical value. The city has existed since prehistoric times and parts of its preliminary form were still maintained. Materials and traces of the past were still visible, in the narrows streets with paving stones and stores of the old town. In 1997, the best preserved monuments of early Byzantine art in Poreč, the 1600-year-old Basilica of St Euphrasiusis was titled a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Unfortunately, I only knew it after I left and wasn’t too sure I had seen it.. What a pity. Wondering around the old town, tourists were many as usual. Some were busy taking photos, some were putting on sunscreen and lying lazily under the strong sun for a nap, some sat on the rampart with a novel in hand… As usual, we stopped by an ice cream parlor to have some drinks that overpriced. Ironically, Philip who constantly commenting on how he dislike touristy and how touristy Poreč and Rovinj were, was sitting right here, drinking an overpriced-super-fattening ice cream, just like any other tourists. De!!!
We didn’t stay for long, stopping at Poreč for less than 4 hours, we went off to somewhere-that-I do-not-know, again, yes more sunbathing and swimming by the coast. When everyone was satisfied and finally realised the time was getting late, we depart to Trieste, Italy for pizza. Although it was quite a popular local pizzeria, *said Eva…* in my opinion, the pizza was only average, my taste bud wasn’t satisfied. However, it was good to be here, the sunset scene worth the efforts. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. While we were crossing the bridge, the sun slowly set down to the west and colors changed as it went, yellow, orange, red, pinkish purple, light blue… the image reflected on the river that ran through the city, between the yacht and sailboat anchored by the side of the quay, was picturesque, calm and gentle. I was somehow upset that we didn’t stop at that instance *don’t think we could stop then though…* and my digi cam was in my luggage at the back…
Travelling with these guys was fun and the trip was full of laughter. However, something did also get to my nerves. Frequently, everyone would just keep walking and walking and walking and walking regardless… Not to say it was a bad thing, but couldn’t we just wait for someone who stopped for some reasons. Nope… people just keep walking and walking and walking and walking and walking till finally, “Opss! We lost someone…” and everyone started to guess where the person would be. Travelling in a group isn’t only the company, but also looking after each other in a quiet fashion and extending help when necessary. Probably, the lost one felt alright, I don’t know and maybe I overreacted… Sitting in the car and reflecting on what had happened for the past few days, it had been a wonderful trip and tomorrow… back to work…
Friday afternoon, we set off on a road trip and we would travel south from Graz, through Slovenia to Croatia. On the way, although I had tried to get some sleep as result of the Jazz night out few hours ago, I failed. Probably, it was a good thing… to certain extend. At least, I got to hear Laura complaining, “I want to be with the noisy people…” *I was just wondering then, couldn’t you just enjoy a moment of silence* Philip joked around Fish n Chips and Vinegar *what so funny about that, I didn’t know, but it was hilarious the way how he put it…* the Europeans surprised that Malaysian are not allowed to travel in Israel *While… Malaysia is an Islamic Country…* and again the Europeans, being envious that I got a custom stamp when crossing the borders *Shit! It is only 10 months and I am left with less than half of my passport pages for the coming 4 years and two months… Need to pay for a new passport soon…* and and again… It was entertaining in short. Sooner and later, we arrived at Croatia
Philip the bullJust passed the Croatian border, something caught my eye, the signboards and advertisements of casino, resort, beaches and restaurants. As we drove, more casinos, casino, casino, resort, casino, restaurant, casino, casino, casino, casino and casino… Woo… Something new, winery… Winery, casino, casino, casino, casino…Finally, we passed the signboards, droved along the densely wooded mountain to the village. I was amazed by the whole stretch of restaurant beside the road and also amused by it as well. There would always be a whole pig being roasted *sometime half…* in front of the restaurant and a waiter wearing an apron, opening his hand broadly, with a menu held in one of his hand, with a big smile *Those smile that you could see their big white teeth*, hinting, “Welcome and we are the best!”, jut like the never ending advertisement boards. Having said that, the smell from the roasted pork was great.
After six-hour driving, we arrived at the Valkaneka Camping site. We got our camping ticket, passed on the passports, pitched our tent, put on our swimming suits and headed to the beach. To my surprise, I found no sand! Everywhere I looked was plainly rocks and stones. It was literally a stony beach. Beaches do not go only with stones… A beach without sands was a shock to me. Nevertheless, I quickly adapted to the idea. It was fantastic to swim by the rocky coastlines facing the Adriatic Sea and having to sip some sea water accidentally. *Freaking salty and it tasted sux…* It brought back many childhood memories. When I was young, before I turned ten, I lived in an east coast town of Malaysia peninsula, Kuantan. From where I stayed to the beach, it was only five minutes drive. Often, my parents would bring us to the beach to watch the run rise, to swim by beach, to fly a kite or simply a late evening walk by the coastline on the South China Sea. Floating on the sea, facing the darkened and gloomy sky, looking into the bright stars… for a moment, I felt time had rolled back quietly, back to a time when I could only see my mum from her hips. It had been a while since the last beach trip, I was so enjoying it… By the time, I realised my stomach was groaning badly, it was already late in the evening and hardly any of us noticed the time.
Under the recommendation of our German neighbours, we went to a nearby restaurant. I was very craving for seafood. The last time I had seafood was few months ago. Moreover, the seafood in Austria is very expensive. Laura, Philip and I promptly decided to share a fish platter. Sadly, the food was only so so with my food critique hat on, with some uncleaned sand in the mussel, one of the grilled fish tasted slightly bitter, the other two fishes a little marshy *Not so fresh… Shaking my head as I ate…* over grilled squids, it was something that could be or must be missed. While off my hat, it was great. Especially with the hospitality, warmth and welcome services, and unlimited flow of shots for free, it was awesome! This Krsko Vac stuff, yellow jelly-smell-like liquor was the killer. With the waitress flattered me, “I will drink this for you because you are cute!” *Alright… I know someone will start to give me the I-wanna-puke kind of face, at least someone appreciate it~~* I drank few more shots. Somehow, that jogged my memory. I remembered kissing a Swedish girl on her lips yesterday. With her giving this please- kiss-me look and walking swiftly toward me, I had no choice. That was a weird experience. I had to swing with both my hands later to reject her for further. *Alright… Once again, the I-wanna-puke kind of face… Yeah Yeah… I got it…* Everyone was so into the mood of vacation and when we left, we were either drunk or tipsy, Byarne was starting to speak more than usual and taking photos almost every second, Laura did a monkey dance with her hands up in the air, giving all sorts of funny faces, Philips with a sometime-stoned-sometime-funny face, Joy puked by the mini van… Ewwww… Never mind, it was a good night out!
The next day, I was already awaked by 7:00am, partly Laura and Joy’s fault for being SO LOUD *… part of the hang over routine… and Laura got punished later. Kekekeke…* it was also partly because I couldn’t sleep. The camping ground was so hard and my back was hurting the whole night. Also, I had a weird sleeping position where me head was at a lower position. However, I soon found D best place to sleep, the driver seat. Yap, D driver seat! Trust me. It was the best sleeping spot you could find. There, I took a small nap and I would sleep later tonight. We spent the whole afternoon swimming by the coast, to the nearby island and sun bathing. *Alright and now I will want to wallop those that said Asians need only low SPF sunscreen or none. Backside! I got sun burnt badly at the back and it is still hurting now! * Then, we visited a nearby town, Rovinj.
When I could see Rovinj from far, I understood instantly why Rovinj is said to be the gem of the Istrian coast. The old town and the Church of St Euphemia densely packed on a narrow peninsula was a sight to be remembered for life. Walking through the old town, strolled on the winding stone streets, passed the crumbling buildings, each corners and turns was a photo opportunity. Sitting by the quayside, had some ice cream, enjoyed the harbour view was very relaxing and I could feel the tiredness from work slowly faded away. However it was kind of disappointing to found the town over touristy, a lot of Austrian, German and Italian tourists. *While we were contributing to it… what a dilemma…* Postcards, handcrafts, paintings, imitate goods, accessories, souvenirs were everywhere. At least the see shells were local… Nonetheless, the idea of 5 minutes walk to the pebbly beaches, put on sunscreen on the way and jump into the sea is fantastic! I wanna stay here!!!!! Soon, with the sun setting slowly and disappeared from the horizon, we left the town for dinner that turned out to be what-a-bad experience, blah!
Rovinj
Imitade goods aimed at tourists
Sea eagles on chimneys
Town area of Rovinj
Group photo by the quay
Cycling in the streets of Rovinj
Sunbathing by the rocky coast
Swimming by the Andriatic Sea
Lavender pouch against the crumbling wall
Postcards + souvenirs + sea shells...
Church of St Euphemia
Sunset by the coastline of RovinjThe last day by the stony beach was mainly the same stuff. Only two differences, I finally decided to jog *my thigh is still hurting…* and found a place to dive. Awesome!!! Although the depth was roughly 1.8m, I dived four times. While the others decided to go else where to sun bath. Having my back burnt badly, I covered my back with a towel, sat on a nice spot and chatted with Philip. Then when it was time to go, we cleaned up the camping site, packed our stuff, checked out, got our passports and left to Poreč.
In many ways, Poreč was very similar to Rovinj, but the prior has more historical value. The city has existed since prehistoric times and parts of its preliminary form were still maintained. Materials and traces of the past were still visible, in the narrows streets with paving stones and stores of the old town. In 1997, the best preserved monuments of early Byzantine art in Poreč, the 1600-year-old Basilica of St Euphrasiusis was titled a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Unfortunately, I only knew it after I left and wasn’t too sure I had seen it.. What a pity. Wondering around the old town, tourists were many as usual. Some were busy taking photos, some were putting on sunscreen and lying lazily under the strong sun for a nap, some sat on the rampart with a novel in hand… As usual, we stopped by an ice cream parlor to have some drinks that overpriced. Ironically, Philip who constantly commenting on how he dislike touristy and how touristy Poreč and Rovinj were, was sitting right here, drinking an overpriced-super-fattening ice cream, just like any other tourists. De!!!
We didn’t stay for long, stopping at Poreč for less than 4 hours, we went off to somewhere-that-I do-not-know, again, yes more sunbathing and swimming by the coast. When everyone was satisfied and finally realised the time was getting late, we depart to Trieste, Italy for pizza. Although it was quite a popular local pizzeria, *said Eva…* in my opinion, the pizza was only average, my taste bud wasn’t satisfied. However, it was good to be here, the sunset scene worth the efforts. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. While we were crossing the bridge, the sun slowly set down to the west and colors changed as it went, yellow, orange, red, pinkish purple, light blue… the image reflected on the river that ran through the city, between the yacht and sailboat anchored by the side of the quay, was picturesque, calm and gentle. I was somehow upset that we didn’t stop at that instance *don’t think we could stop then though…* and my digi cam was in my luggage at the back…
Travelling with these guys was fun and the trip was full of laughter. However, something did also get to my nerves. Frequently, everyone would just keep walking and walking and walking and walking regardless… Not to say it was a bad thing, but couldn’t we just wait for someone who stopped for some reasons. Nope… people just keep walking and walking and walking and walking and walking till finally, “Opss! We lost someone…” and everyone started to guess where the person would be. Travelling in a group isn’t only the company, but also looking after each other in a quiet fashion and extending help when necessary. Probably, the lost one felt alright, I don’t know and maybe I overreacted… Sitting in the car and reflecting on what had happened for the past few days, it had been a wonderful trip and tomorrow… back to work…
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