Mykonos, Greece

greece- return of the heliophobe. part 3: mykonos.

mykonos was by far my favourite greek destination. an island whose beauty rivals that of santorini, where cruise-dwellers and tourists ran amok, shopping till their hearts content and savouring the best of what a greek island has to offer.

unlike santorini whose sights lay all over the island, the must-see-must-experience of mykonos lay along her coastlines. thus it was impractical to hang on to my brolley as it kept getting blown away, twisting my arm in akward clumsy proportions.. i feigned defeat and bought a wide-brim straw hat. say hello to my new best friend! haha





weaving my way in and out of mykonos's slim entwining alleys was a confounding experience. i had pretty much abused my digital camera by over-taking the most trivial of scenes.. but when in mykonos, almost everything seemed picture-worthy. it was like, "hey indolent cat sleeping on freshly painted stairway.. CUTE STUFF *snap snap*"

needless to say, i was blown away by the island's architecture and design, the colours were so striking i felt like i was in a nippon paint catalogue. haha..







my feelings of greece are somewhat mixed. while athens left me reeling in slight disappointment, the islands were another story all together. at least now i can say I MADE IT TO GREECE!

Santorini, Greece

greece- return of the heliophobe. part 2: santorini.

we escaped the polluted scene of santorini with a trip to not a very nearby island called santorini. kiku and i almost didn't make it for the seven-thirty ferry as we had taken it for granted that the port would have been easy to detect. but alas, the entire port pireaus was as big as a couple of football size fields, poorly marked and lacking in any instructions or directions.

it was sheer luck that we made to on the ferry at seven thirty on the dot by half-sprinting half-struggling with our baggage towards the ferry. (amazing race anyone?) by the time we got to our seats, we were panting so badly.. the passenger beside us must have wondered why they allowed racing grey hounds to board the ferry.



it was a four and a half hour boat trip to the picturesque island of santorini. upon arrival, towering cliffs greet your humble presence and as soon as you arrive at the town centre, the characteristic santorini architecture of white walls and blue tile roofs provoked an instant reaction of whipping out your camera to immortalize the panoramic view that lay before you.



a good way to get around the hilly sloped would be to rent a scooter which kiku and i ALMOST DID until we realised she left her driving license back in copenhagen.. but it would have been such a thrill to explore the island on wheels!





the sunset at oia was a sought-after event. i found that perculiar since sunsets, unlike a hailey's comet or solar eclipse, was an everyday occurence. it was silent-laughter funny to see so many tourists crowding around the slopes and steps, just waiting and waiting for the sun to disappear behind the horizon. the town awashed with the sun's warm rays was a beautiful experience but i could not help but think of the herd mentality we had- since we were told to watch the sunset at oia, many did it and so we are doing it.

don't get me wrong- i would not give up the experience for anything and in fact, it was the first sunset i have ever witnessed.



all in all, santorini is a must-visit. walking around the island makes you feel like you are travelling in a postcard and the overall vibes you got from the locals felt alot less threatening than those you received from athens.

Athens, Greece

greece- return of the heliophobe. part 1: athens.

i haven't exactly recovered from greek exhaustion.. still reeling from the combined effects of lack of sleep on the night ferry, an-immediate-back-to-work five hour schedule and disturbing racket caused by drunk folks at the residence last night.

but updates must be done as promised.. heh heh.. we arrived at athens in the afternoon (after a two hour flight delay- thanks to sterling) to glaring sunshine, blistering heat and a temperature that was double that of copenhagen. oh yea, there really isn't a need for a second reminder that summer has arrived. we hopped right into a taxi, checked into our hotel, dumped our bags and visited the monastiraki flea market.

the monastiraki flea market is a haven for bargain hunters. dozens and dozens of shops lined the cramp alleys and with less than credible navigation skills, we often found ourselves walking through the same alleys.. most of the shop proprietors consider it their utmost duty to throw and hawk their merchandise at you and you really should sharpen your haggling skills before visiting monastiraki.



of course we visited the acropolis. the acropolis to athens is like great wall to beijing and sistine chapel to vatican city. unfortuantely, there was some sort of restoration going on so most of the park had unphotogenic metal stands and cranes. despite so, the acropolis was pretty darn amazing.. well we are talking about remains of millenium-old civilation!

however 'remains' is perhaps the most apt and concise way of describing the acropolis. most of the architecture bore signs of intense weathering and i would not be surprised if a fair bit of significant statues found final resting grounds in the basements of musuems worlwide.



of course we found time for candid shots! and this is my 'honey, i knocked over a pillar' shot..



though i am a big city girl, athens proved to be a little too industralised for my liking. oh did i mention how rabied the men can get? i think the term 'getting hit on' is an understatement since we had marriage proposals thrown our way.. urgh. they are totally unbashed, utterly forward and resistably shameless.. haha..

despite so, i am still glad i made it to athens!