Good evening from Iceland! This is a
milestone because this is the first country I've ever been to (USA,
New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, UK) that was never part of
the mighty British Empire. It's 11:30 p.m. and it is still daylight
outside. It's tripping me out because I thought it was a lot earlier
than it was. I'm curious to see what time it actually gets dark
here. I am writing from my tiny hotel room in Reykjavik. I take
back everything bad I had said about my London hotel room because
this room is not what you'd expect at this kind of price. I'm
staying at this hotel for the next 10 days, but starting on the 5th
night I'm in an upgraded room for the rest of my time here. That was
unintentional; I originally thought I would stay in Reykjavik for a
few days only and then stay in other parts of the country, but
literally every other place was booked so I had to adjust my trip to
stay only in Reykjavik. So hence the 2 different hotel rooms in the
same hotel. I'm glad I have a better room later on though because I
think I will be depressed staying in this specific room my whole time
here. Oh the things I will do for a free breakfast buffet. Oh and
the bathroom smells like sulfur (like rotten eggs). Why, you ask?
Because the hot water actually comes from geothermal power plants,
which makes it good for bathing but not drinking. Otherwise though
the water is exceptionally pure, I had a cup of Icelandic water on
the airplane and a glass of tap water at dinner, and they were the
most refreshing drinks I've had in years.
I set out really early this morning to
take the Picadilly Line in London to Heathrow Airport. Way too early
because the subway heading that direction wasn't crowded at all, but
I was paranoid. At least I got a full breakfast at the airport. It
was a pretty smooth flight. My checked luggage and my carry-on were
both over the limit, but just by a bit so the airline guy let it go.
Yay. The plane was pretty full but not overbooked and I managed to
fall in and out of sleep during the 3-hour flight. The flight
attendants said everything in Icelandic and then in English, which
was a relief. All Icelanders seem to be bilingual, and
unsurprisingly everyone starts speaking in English to me right before
I even say anything. I guess there must be something about me says
I'm not an Icelander. =)
The customs line at Keflavik Airport
was like a dream-come true. Remember back in the good old days (from
what I've seen on tv shows and movies) when all you had to do when
you entered a foreign country was to show your passport, get it
stamped, and then mosey on through? That's all I had to do here. No
customs form to fill out, just show the guy my passport, answer 2
questions, get my passport stamped, and just walk all the way through
customs. It was so nice. Then after I picked up my luggage I went
to book a Flybus ticket to get dropped off at my hotel. The worker
seemed amused when I bought my ticket; I think all the foreigners had
asked the same stupid question of which bus we were supposed to get
on and he had to keep pointing at the first bus in line parked 15
feet away.
It was a peaceful ride into Reykjavik.
The ride lasted about 45 minutes and whether people were just taking
in the scenery or were tired from the flight, hardly anyone said
anything on the bus. I could have ridden on that bus for 3 more
hours. I love these types of buses. They're the semi-luxury liners
with reclining seats and luggage holders – my bread and butter when
I traveled around New Zealand – and it just felt so comfortable and
familiar. Then I got dropped off at my hotel here and walked into my
room and after seeing it, locked my stuff quickly in my room safe and
got out of there as fast as I could to explore the city.
Reykjavik central is definitely a lot
different than I expected it to be. I walked along one of the bigger
streets into town but the place felt very quiet – but not in a good
way. It felt very dead. It could just have been the time of day too
– 5 p.m. On a Saturday probably doesn't get very crowded here.
Once I hit the heart of the city and actually saw more people I felt
better. There's this metal sculpture of a Viking ship right on the
edge of the water, and all the other tourists seemed to flock there
like it was some religious idol. We all just sort of stood or sat
there for a few minutes holding our cameras. It was cloudy when I
arrived but by then the sun was out and the weather felt great so I
think everyone was just enjoying the sun. As I'm writing in my hotel
room I have the radiator off and the window open. The weather is
probably nicer now than it was in London when I left, where it was
pouring rain.
I had dinner at this sort of
hole-in-the-wall Thai place called Krau Thai. It was located in some
far-off corner but it was recommended in my Bradt travel guide and it
was actually a decent-sized meal. Then I got lost walking around the
city center while making mental notes about where to eat the rest of
my time here. There are a lot of small cafes and bars and I think
the nightlife is known for being really good here. That being said,
I need to start booking all my day trips because if all I had to do
here was check out the bars and restaurants I would get bored very
quickly. London was a more suitable place for that. Now it's time
to get away from the city.
I haven't booked anything for tomorrow
yet. Possible options include the Blue Lagoon, whitewater rafting,
snorkeling – basically anything that can be done in half a day
since I'll need to book it in the morning and won't have time for the
huge day trips until Monday at least.
