9/4/07 - 11/4/07 : Krakow, Poland
The land of experiences. Mostly bad, unfortunately. As mentioned earlier, I was detained at Brussels because of my too new passport, we were also stuck at the Polish customs when we arrived. I don't know which Singaporean will wanna "jump the plane" in Poland, but the Polish immigration officers seem to think so as they questioned us for a long time, demanding proof of stay and that we will leave Poland in a definite time.
After which, we took a taxi to Zodiakus Hostel and left soon after in search of a nice restaurant for lunch. We found a cheap one nearby and I ordered Duck Fusili as Krakow is supposed to be famous for their duck dishes.
Having filled our stomachs, we then proceeded to walk to the market place with the help of a map. Looking foreign and young, we then became the unfortunate target of teenage mischief. As we were walking along a residential street, two punks sneaked up behind us and splashed a pail of water at us and there was another two laughing away just across the street. Not wanting to create trouble, we merely walked away without retaliating in any way.
Soon, we arrived safely at the market place. A lively and vibrant place.
The Church.
We went up the bell tower.
Had some snacks at an aesthetically pleasing MacDonald's.
Outside the cathedral.
People selling their artworks. A common sight in Poland, although not all of them are selling paintings. Handicraft like wood carvings, toys or women's accessories are common too.
Home cooked Polish cuisine at the hostel. Thanks to P, TY and L for walking all the way to the supermarket and making nice, cheap dinner for us.
The journey continues as we roamed the streets of Krakow the next day. As usual, we got into our try to be funny mood. R especially.
Performance by Red Indians. P says that they are a common sight in Sweden and so she was able to recognise their music even before seeing them. They aren't common in Gothenburg though.
Yup, now to the final bad experience. Kinda reluctant to blog about this as it would ruin my happy little travel blog. But I guess a bad experience is more memorable than a good one so I should give it some credit (or discredit) here. In the photo below, you see 2 of the 3 kanasai "tram conductors". Recognise and remember their faces even if you are never gonna visit Krakow in your life. Just in case they might be able to cheat enough tourist dollars to make a trip to Singapore, you can help me to throw them into the Singapore river.
Okay, now for what actually happened. Warning: Use of impolite language. Do not proceed if you have an empathetic heart and a bad temper.
"On the last day of their stay in Krakow, the 6 Singaporean students checked out of their hostel and made their way to the Central Station to catch the train to Warsaw. Their kind host at the hostel brought them all the way to the tram stop and told them where to get the tickets and which tram to take. These happy souls did as they were told and went up the destined tram. On this fateful tram, they met the 3 despicable 'tram conductors' who were dressed in plain clothes.
The tram conductors checked the students' tickets and claimed that they did not pay for their baggages, so they had to be fined S$40 each. WHAT?! How the hell would these innocent children know that they were supposed to pay an extra ticket for their baggage? Furthermore, these tram conductors are not in uniforms, which made them even more suspicious and thus, the 6 refused to pay. The corrupted trio then threatened to call the police which ironically provided a sense of relief for the students. However, the police seemed to take too long to arrive. So, one of the students tried to sneak into the Central Station to hopefully find one that may help them get out of this difficult situation.
He was unfortunately caught by one of the idiots, but the police eventually arrived. These two "smart and efficient" policemen cannot speak English but demanded the students' documents of identification anyway. They refused initially and one of the idiots screamed at one of the students who was steady and kept his cool. The students eventually passed the police their student cards. The policemen copied the students' names and date of birth from the cards and went back to their van across the street. They then came back soon after to get the identification of the 3 hypocrites. As soon as that was done, they said "Bye!" to the students and left them there to fend for themselves.
WHAT?! First, they were held by 3 suspicious men and then they were pang-seh-ed by the police. BEST. So what else can the students do when they can't even rely on the police? Give money loh. The best thing was, the "fine" imposed was obviously merely kopi-lui.
As the students insisted that they have no money, the 3 corrupts eventually gave in and told the students that they can just pay the fine for 3 instead of 6. Fine loh, pay lah. What to do, police also heck care already. The moment the money reached the hands of the greedy hypocrites, the students were sent off by a very friendly "Have a nice day!". And these hypocrites disappeared as quickly as they arrived."
There is actually one keh-leh-fare in the picture but I've decided that he is not worth any news value. When I think back about the issue, I wonder if I could pay them to land a slap on their faces. They would probably agree, I feel. Considering the kind of hypocrites they are, with absolutely no sense of humiliation or shame. What a pity.
The land of experiences. Mostly bad, unfortunately. As mentioned earlier, I was detained at Brussels because of my too new passport, we were also stuck at the Polish customs when we arrived. I don't know which Singaporean will wanna "jump the plane" in Poland, but the Polish immigration officers seem to think so as they questioned us for a long time, demanding proof of stay and that we will leave Poland in a definite time.
After which, we took a taxi to Zodiakus Hostel and left soon after in search of a nice restaurant for lunch. We found a cheap one nearby and I ordered Duck Fusili as Krakow is supposed to be famous for their duck dishes.
Having filled our stomachs, we then proceeded to walk to the market place with the help of a map. Looking foreign and young, we then became the unfortunate target of teenage mischief. As we were walking along a residential street, two punks sneaked up behind us and splashed a pail of water at us and there was another two laughing away just across the street. Not wanting to create trouble, we merely walked away without retaliating in any way.
Soon, we arrived safely at the market place. A lively and vibrant place.
The Church.
We went up the bell tower.
Had some snacks at an aesthetically pleasing MacDonald's.
Outside the cathedral.
People selling their artworks. A common sight in Poland, although not all of them are selling paintings. Handicraft like wood carvings, toys or women's accessories are common too.
Home cooked Polish cuisine at the hostel. Thanks to P, TY and L for walking all the way to the supermarket and making nice, cheap dinner for us.
The journey continues as we roamed the streets of Krakow the next day. As usual, we got into our try to be funny mood. R especially.
Performance by Red Indians. P says that they are a common sight in Sweden and so she was able to recognise their music even before seeing them. They aren't common in Gothenburg though.
Yup, now to the final bad experience. Kinda reluctant to blog about this as it would ruin my happy little travel blog. But I guess a bad experience is more memorable than a good one so I should give it some credit (or discredit) here. In the photo below, you see 2 of the 3 kanasai "tram conductors". Recognise and remember their faces even if you are never gonna visit Krakow in your life. Just in case they might be able to cheat enough tourist dollars to make a trip to Singapore, you can help me to throw them into the Singapore river.
Okay, now for what actually happened. Warning: Use of impolite language. Do not proceed if you have an empathetic heart and a bad temper.
"On the last day of their stay in Krakow, the 6 Singaporean students checked out of their hostel and made their way to the Central Station to catch the train to Warsaw. Their kind host at the hostel brought them all the way to the tram stop and told them where to get the tickets and which tram to take. These happy souls did as they were told and went up the destined tram. On this fateful tram, they met the 3 despicable 'tram conductors' who were dressed in plain clothes.
The tram conductors checked the students' tickets and claimed that they did not pay for their baggages, so they had to be fined S$40 each. WHAT?! How the hell would these innocent children know that they were supposed to pay an extra ticket for their baggage? Furthermore, these tram conductors are not in uniforms, which made them even more suspicious and thus, the 6 refused to pay. The corrupted trio then threatened to call the police which ironically provided a sense of relief for the students. However, the police seemed to take too long to arrive. So, one of the students tried to sneak into the Central Station to hopefully find one that may help them get out of this difficult situation.
He was unfortunately caught by one of the idiots, but the police eventually arrived. These two "smart and efficient" policemen cannot speak English but demanded the students' documents of identification anyway. They refused initially and one of the idiots screamed at one of the students who was steady and kept his cool. The students eventually passed the police their student cards. The policemen copied the students' names and date of birth from the cards and went back to their van across the street. They then came back soon after to get the identification of the 3 hypocrites. As soon as that was done, they said "Bye!" to the students and left them there to fend for themselves.
WHAT?! First, they were held by 3 suspicious men and then they were pang-seh-ed by the police. BEST. So what else can the students do when they can't even rely on the police? Give money loh. The best thing was, the "fine" imposed was obviously merely kopi-lui.
As the students insisted that they have no money, the 3 corrupts eventually gave in and told the students that they can just pay the fine for 3 instead of 6. Fine loh, pay lah. What to do, police also heck care already. The moment the money reached the hands of the greedy hypocrites, the students were sent off by a very friendly "Have a nice day!". And these hypocrites disappeared as quickly as they arrived."
There is actually one keh-leh-fare in the picture but I've decided that he is not worth any news value. When I think back about the issue, I wonder if I could pay them to land a slap on their faces. They would probably agree, I feel. Considering the kind of hypocrites they are, with absolutely no sense of humiliation or shame. What a pity.
posted by cance | 2:50 AM
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