Unable to get to the Samaria Gorge, I consoled myself with a bus ride to Lakki, a mountain village in the middle of the road from Hania to the Samaria Gorge, which the guidebook said was a spectacular route on Crete.
It was an enjoyable little excursion. I started out to take the bus very early in the morning. First getting there, I had a coffee (accompanied with a glass of tap water) at the modest village coffee house. It's interesting to see them make the simple coffee with traditional bronze-colored wares. The village was pretty quiet and I seemed to be the only tourist to visit there that morning. The few village women came across me on the road greeted me kalimera (good morning). I was overjoyed, 'cos so far in my trip it was the first time I was greeted kalimera by Greeks or Cretans outside guesthouses.
On village roads villagers were rare but sheep galore. As I walked on, I inadvertently frightened flocks after flocks of sheep. They just suddenly all stop chewing grass and gazed at a monster intently, as if in a freeze-frame. As I mostly counted sheep and rarely saw sheep, I was curious and enjoyed watching them close to me.
Most of the time I was alone on the village roads. Actually, as I went on with my journey, I often found myself alone on the road, with no one else in sight for quite some time. It could be pretty scary if I had thought too much. But then, I believed superstitiously that gods were everywhere to protect the curious (and lovely) travellers in Greece, and I would be safe, or at least be saved, at the end of the day.
I am always curious about countryside villages and love to walk into them and explore a little, if only there were no hypersensitive dogs, which lack the faculty to differentiate the good from the bad. Yes, I hate dogs…most of the time. They were often in my way and hence my enemies, not to mention their bad shitting habits, or their human counterparts.
I vaguely remember I just stayed there for an hour or so, for I had to catch the very infrequent bus back to Hania. At the bus stop a few old men were sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee or a glass of seemingly alcoholic drink. They told me it would take quite a few hours before the bus would come. It worried me that the bus waiting game of Cape Sounion would repeat. Fortunately, the bus did stop by at a reasonable time. Even better, it was amazing, as I was the only passenger on the bus throughout the bus trip back to Hania, which made me feel like a sudden VIP, and the extremely cheap fare for the private bus simply thrilled me with hardly-guilty pleasure.
Back to the guesthouse, it was still before checkout time. It was Sunday; while the others were still sleeping, I had already been there enjoying a morning excursion and back from it. I was blessed with two Sundays in one day.
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Sunday 25 November 2007
Sunday 18 November 2007
Trip to Greece video - Hania, Crete
After the capital Iraklio, I got to Hania, Crete's second city and former capital, in my 2003 journey to Greece.
With great expectation of a charming Venetian town, when first entering the town, the usual nondescript concrete houses at the outer part of towns seemed disappointing. It's not until I got to the Venetian old town that it proved the guidebook right. It's a joy to wander in the labyrinth of alleys and cobblestoned streets. There were plenty of colourful old houses, charming small hotels and restaurants, delightful shops selling interesting gifts, as well as the usual boring tourist souvenirs.
But like any other labyrinths, as soon as I had conquered it, the second time when I went there and walked about, the enchantment already vanished.
With great expectation of a charming Venetian town, when first entering the town, the usual nondescript concrete houses at the outer part of towns seemed disappointing. It's not until I got to the Venetian old town that it proved the guidebook right. It's a joy to wander in the labyrinth of alleys and cobblestoned streets. There were plenty of colourful old houses, charming small hotels and restaurants, delightful shops selling interesting gifts, as well as the usual boring tourist souvenirs.
But like any other labyrinths, as soon as I had conquered it, the second time when I went there and walked about, the enchantment already vanished.
My pleasure was somewhat spoilt by the endless honeymoon couples. Single travellers were few, and how could I alone fight against the tides of package-toured honeymooners? So far in my trip Greece had been a great place for honeymooners, and it was most obviously so at Hania. At times It made me wonder if I had chosen the wrong destination for my trip.
A bizarre bread incident happened to me, the parochial fool. Reading it in my good old travelogue always made me laugh:
午餐時把吃剩的魚打包起來，這種粗劣的魚宜用來做三文治。到三文治店買芝士三文治，店員似乎覺得我的簡單要求太古怪。等了幾分鐘，奇怪為什麼要弄那麼久，怕麵包給烤燶了。待店員把"三文治"遞給我時，驚覺豐盈的一個好好麵包被烤成纖巧型多士，像餅乾多些，我的香魚芝士三文治晚餐夢幻滅了，而且承惠1.4€； 希臘人(或是克特島人)又一次示範他們的不可理喻、出人意表。回旅館去，邊拿着塊異形"三文治"邊喃喃地駡 — 明明說要三文治，怎麼變了超級多士﹖想像力太豐富，但想像力卻不飽肚。To make a sandwich with the leftover fish of my lunch, I asked for a cheese sandwich at a sandwich shop. Watching the shop assistant nonchalantly toasting the bread for a few minutes, I was worried that it would be badly burnt. I was horrified when finally I was handed the finished product of the "sandwich". The lovely fatty bread had been turned into an unhealthily slim and dry biscuit. Imagine the difference between a handsome living being and a mummy. Immediately my sweet dream of a tasty dinner with fish and cheese sandwich was brutally broken.
Later I found in the guidebook that it was the local specialty food of the Everbest brand. Back home when I talked with friends about my trip, one mentioned a few things of her own Greece trip and this was one of the few she could easily remembered, and she called it interesting.
Watch my video:
Sunday 11 November 2007
Trip to Greece video - Knossos, Crete
Trip to Greece - Knossos
My 2003 trip to Greece continued with a visit to the ruins of Knossos, the capital of Minoan Crete.
Without much descriptions of the ruins at the site, I could hardly comprehend much looking around. I was only sure that I enjoyed a great deal looking at a myriad of beautiful trees, as well as the free show of the imperial peacocks struting around.
Before I went there, I vaguely imagined with joy that I would see beautiful frescoes on some ancient walls, like those enigmatic images I'd seen in a certain film (of Pasolini or Fellini?). But it turned out to be slightly disappointing, the reconstructions gave an artificial air to the site, as in many historical sites in other parts of the world. It felt somewhat like going to a theme park. There were not as many frescoes available to see as I wished. Beautiful as they were, some had to be neatly cased behind glass frames, and thereby vanished the ancient aura.
Watch my video:
Trip to Greece extra - The Loneliness of the Restaurant Waiter
While saving the video clips to files and listening to Maria Callas, I found that her music could elegantly bring out a tragic-comic sadness in the slowed reality of the originally kinda harmlessly funny clips I made of a restaurant waiter who relentlessly tried to persuade in vain the passing tourists to eat in his restaurant.
Every time I watched it I laughed so violently that my mum was horrified by my insanity. It was made tragic by the music and so it was ten times more comical then it was in reality.
I was a bit doubtful whether I should put it on YouTube (where most of my neighbouring videos embarrassed me) though. It made me wonder if I was not doing the same thing as that notorious Bus Uxxxx video - infringing others' privacy, and it felt like betrayal because I took advantages of others for my own selfish purpose. Yet, highly amateurish I might be, the image quality of my video was much better than that of the cheapie peeping Bus Uxxxx video, which showed an unattractive stupid guy ranting without shame. It's not new, for such weirdos are not uncommon in HK, especially when those emotionally unstable freaks stationed at offices are counted. Oh no! I shouldn't mention that Bus Uxxxx, 'cos I am elegant and I don't want to have anything to do with it.
But I liked my video so much, partly because it made me enjoy and admire the singing of Callas like never before. I consoled myself that, after all, I had already exposed a great deal of strangers' images in my other videos before. And since my victim didn't stop me nor stare at me when I filmed him then, I brashly took it as a non-disaproval from him (though he might not be aware of the serious consequence it would entail at that time).
The commentator: Well, few people would watch your videos, so why bother, you fool?
Watch my video:
My 2003 trip to Greece continued with a visit to the ruins of Knossos, the capital of Minoan Crete.
Without much descriptions of the ruins at the site, I could hardly comprehend much looking around. I was only sure that I enjoyed a great deal looking at a myriad of beautiful trees, as well as the free show of the imperial peacocks struting around.
Before I went there, I vaguely imagined with joy that I would see beautiful frescoes on some ancient walls, like those enigmatic images I'd seen in a certain film (of Pasolini or Fellini?). But it turned out to be slightly disappointing, the reconstructions gave an artificial air to the site, as in many historical sites in other parts of the world. It felt somewhat like going to a theme park. There were not as many frescoes available to see as I wished. Beautiful as they were, some had to be neatly cased behind glass frames, and thereby vanished the ancient aura.
Watch my video:
Trip to Greece extra - The Loneliness of the Restaurant Waiter
While saving the video clips to files and listening to Maria Callas, I found that her music could elegantly bring out a tragic-comic sadness in the slowed reality of the originally kinda harmlessly funny clips I made of a restaurant waiter who relentlessly tried to persuade in vain the passing tourists to eat in his restaurant.
Every time I watched it I laughed so violently that my mum was horrified by my insanity. It was made tragic by the music and so it was ten times more comical then it was in reality.
I was a bit doubtful whether I should put it on YouTube (where most of my neighbouring videos embarrassed me) though. It made me wonder if I was not doing the same thing as that notorious Bus Uxxxx video - infringing others' privacy, and it felt like betrayal because I took advantages of others for my own selfish purpose. Yet, highly amateurish I might be, the image quality of my video was much better than that of the cheapie peeping Bus Uxxxx video, which showed an unattractive stupid guy ranting without shame. It's not new, for such weirdos are not uncommon in HK, especially when those emotionally unstable freaks stationed at offices are counted. Oh no! I shouldn't mention that Bus Uxxxx, 'cos I am elegant and I don't want to have anything to do with it.
But I liked my video so much, partly because it made me enjoy and admire the singing of Callas like never before. I consoled myself that, after all, I had already exposed a great deal of strangers' images in my other videos before. And since my victim didn't stop me nor stare at me when I filmed him then, I brashly took it as a non-disaproval from him (though he might not be aware of the serious consequence it would entail at that time).
The commentator: Well, few people would watch your videos, so why bother, you fool?
Watch my video:
Sunday 4 November 2007
Trip to Greece video - Iraklio, Crete
Continuing my old and old trip to Greece in 2003, here I got to Crete's capital Iraklio. I'm afraid the video is a bit too long. I thought it would be 6:59 but it ended up 7:00! Just because of the extra 1 second, I feared that the audience, if there's any at all, would be turned away from it, just like that the smart housewives would only care to buy something with a price that ends with 99 cents.
The old harbour area was dramatically windy. At times I could hardly stand still and hence there are the super-shaky scenes with unbearable noises.
My favourite bits: the open-air string quartet concert at the atmospheric site nearby Kazantzaki's tomb; the opening of a small supermarket where anyone could get into and had a good deal of free munchies. I was glad to sample local confectionery without having to count my notes carefully. What an accidental blessing for a poor and hungry ghost like me, just when I was wondering what snacks to buy for the bus trip to Hania the next day! Finally I could love Iraklio!
Do I talk too much? Yes, but if everyone can talk too much nonsense in good conscience, so can I.
Nikos Kazantzakis: "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free."
Watch my video:
The old harbour area was dramatically windy. At times I could hardly stand still and hence there are the super-shaky scenes with unbearable noises.
My favourite bits: the open-air string quartet concert at the atmospheric site nearby Kazantzaki's tomb; the opening of a small supermarket where anyone could get into and had a good deal of free munchies. I was glad to sample local confectionery without having to count my notes carefully. What an accidental blessing for a poor and hungry ghost like me, just when I was wondering what snacks to buy for the bus trip to Hania the next day! Finally I could love Iraklio!
Do I talk too much? Yes, but if everyone can talk too much nonsense in good conscience, so can I.
Nikos Kazantzakis: "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free."
Watch my video:
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