Sept 1, Hungry in Hungary

tired is the word to describe how i feel now. pretty much out the entire day. Started the day off with crawling through the labyrinths of Pal-volgyi cave. Almost didnt go there cos me and toad were kind of lazy to travel there. It required a 2 bus transit to get there. But when i got there, i didnt regret anything. The guide was fluent in english (although it was quite fast at times) and fun! It was caving on a different level man, we had to squeeze through tiny holes which even I had problems crawling through, nothing which i've experience on other caving trips. I'll recommend you to do this if you want a break from walking through towns and ancient cities. You can check out their website here. You can drop them a email for their caving timings and reservations.

Ended about 1 plus. There was a free communist walk that runs only on mon, wed, fri and sat and we kinda rushed to meet it, but did not regret much. The guides lived through those hard times and it was a real insight to how Budapest was during the communist and post communist period. I honestly did not know how a young democratic state it was. However, i think because of the sudden transition from a communism to a democratic system, the country faces alot of hardship and corruption due to the lack of good governance. They were ruled with an iron fist during the initial communist period and relaxed during the years of 'happy communism' and transited into a democracy in 89, but i still think they're ruled by a dictatorship with political parties opposing each other on surface but are allies behind. But optimism hangs in the air, the people are looking forward to better days ahead, trying to dislodge from the past which i think is the key to change. So i finally realized why stuff are so cheap here. Their cost of living is actually v low with an average income of 600 euros/mth (specialist only earn 800 euros wts). Inflation was 40% after communism ended. Taxes are high and i fong get it that although there is a public healthcare system, you need to bribe the doctors to get proper attention in the hospital or you'll get neglected or given less care or like what the guide said, normal human service. I think this actually tells alot about how much the country has to progress. But it definitely has it challenges of being a post communist democracy overnight with the lift of the iron curtain. Kinda no time to write much on this but if you're interested on my experience on the tour can just facebook me. The guide was great and very knowledgable on the topic. You can get more information on their free tours here.

so gotta run! gotta pack and head out for my last day in budapest. hope the 11 hrs overnight train to krakow has wifi. 

This is an interesting documentary about the hungarian revolution during the communist times.

justing getting stuck in the cave

hall 2!

with our guide

bullet holes in the buildings

bridge symbolizing the transition between communism and democracy

communist ID

hungry shuk

31 Aug: That laksa...

It started as a wet and rainy day in Vienna but we chased the train to the city of Budapest. Close to a 3 hour journey, it was a rather comfortable journey on RaiJet 49. The only shitty part was that the free wifi onboard was only wifi connectivity but no INTERNET. tsk. but at least during that period, i came up with an brilliant excel sheet that will make accounting much easier and less tedious. Upon arrival in Keleti station, we tried to draw money but somehow we couldnt draw from the ATMs.

Today, we await the 7th member to commemorate the mid point of our trip, Shuk. Checked into Aboriginal Budapest Apartments. Was pretty much the best place we've stayed so far! Pretty good deal from Agoda, paying bout like 20 SGD/night. Its a huge apartment with our own bed rooms, a big toilet and a kitchen and finally another fridge! We were split into 2 apartments and the one I had on the 6th floor had a pretty cool balcony overlooking the inner court of the building. Headed to change some money at a recommended money changer (just pop by wombats, they'll know the places) and got some lunch! I think Budapest is relatively cheap compared to Vienna and Italy. 420 Forints (abt 1.50 Euro) for a 0.5l of Hungarian Beer! wow! and it tastes good too! Try it, Dreher beer. Here we had a main course and beer for like abt 8 euros only. so so so much cheapperrr.

Kinda concussed the moment we got back. i didnt even wake up to fetch shuk from the metro stop and i didnt even know the rest went. Kinda feeling guilty now. Didnt do much at night though except try to book our train tickets to Krakow Glowny on the 2nd Sept night. For those planning to do the same route, you can try their local train website here. 

But the highlight of the night was.. wait for it.... LAKSA PARTY! haha thanks to yy, he brought the prima taste instant laksas from singapore. Finally some taste of home. miss it soooo baddlyyyyyyyyy. Skype with Poh E was freaking retarded. but Poh E we got some LAKSA and CHIEEEKEN thats why we were living on the streets. 

Note: 

Public transport in Budapest is based on a single ticket system. 1 Ticket is only valid for 1 ride on a single means of transport, ie 1 bus ride = 1 ticket and transfering to the metro, you need another ticket. These tickets can be bought at the control station or at tobacco shops for 320 forint. Remember to validate before boarding. They seem quite strict here.

Money changers offer extremely horrible rates at train stations and airports. Drawing from the ATM to get you through at the start will be even better till you find a recommended money changer. 

Keleti pu Train Station

Living room of my apartment

funny quote at the bar

 preparing the soup 

laksaaaaa! om nom nom!