Travel Diary, continued: LUCERNE, Feb 8, 2010

I just left Lucerne – currently on the train going to my next stop : Lausanne.

I spent a day and a half in that city. As if left the central train station, I felt a bit disappointed. The only reason why I made this part of my itinerary was because it was highly recommended by the staff from the Swiss embassy, so I thought it was going to be gorgeous.

The city itself had average attractiveness. The buildings were the usual old architecture that one would see in most parts of Europe, at least those that I’ve been to. The lake was fairly pretty, but not as breath-taking as the one I saw in Salzburg, Austria.

I was about resigned to just catch up on much needed rest in Lucerne when I saw the city brochure with their recommended activities. Most of those recommendations involved going up the mountains. They had 3 major mountain attractions – Mount Rigi, Mount Titlis and Mount Pilatus. I decided to explore one of them and settled for Mount Pilatus, mainly because it was easy to understand the directions going there.

The Swiss transport system, by the way, is soooo complicated! The European Railway system is hard enough to follow by a non-EU traveler like me. The Swiss transport system, which is comprised mostly by buses, is horrendous! To make matters worse, their ticket machines are not user-friendly. I actually got caught by a bus “conductor” holding the wrong ticket and was given a fine of CHF 8.

Anyway, as I had arrived in Lucerne at around 3:00 pm already, I decided to just go up Mount Pilatus the next day. I bought the round-trip ticket for 36 euro and left the city at around 9:00 am. I arrived in Kriens, where the cable car station was located, about 30 mins after and immediately climbed inside the nearest cable car.

As the cable car went higher and higher, I began to see the breath-taking views I expected of Lucerne. And it really was breath-taking. The panoramic view of the Alps was worth all those euros they charge for it. The staff said it would be even better during summer, when the mountains are in full bloom. But hey, to me, it was gorgeous even in winter.

Upon reaching the top, I went to the highest peak and there were mountain ranges everywhere! It was awesome!

After taking my fill of the view, I climbed back on the cable car to start my descent. Halfway down the mountain was another station called Frakmuntegg where you were supposed to change cable cars.

Aside from that, however, the station also offered snow sleds which you can use to go down to the cable car station near the foot of the mountain. I had an hour to spare so I thought – why not?

I did give it a try and it was a thrilling, hilarious, and body-bruising experience! Never having done it before in my life, I had no idea how to control the sled, so I kept getting thrown off the sled every time I went through a sharp curve. A couple of times, I was thrown face first into a deep bed of snow, and when I tried to stand up, I found myself knee-deep in soft snow.

I was scared witless every time I saw a steep slope coming up, especially when my sled was going too fast and I had no idea how to stop it or at least slow it down. Good thing most of the other tourists who also used the sled had already passed me by and nobody saw me flying through the air and landing in a snow-bed every so often.

But I wouldn't have missed this experience for anything! Even though my entire body hurts and I was wet through my 4 layers of clothing, it was definitely, definitely worth it.

I finally reached the cable car station, tired, bruised, wet, and freezing cold, about 30 minutes later. I was about to go up the slope and into the office building to return my sled when I slipped and fell flat on my butt. I didn't notice that I had stepped on black ice. And as I fell, I even heard my teeth snap together. My neck actually snapped back a bit, so I still consider myself lucky for not having broken it. It was probably also a good thing that I have a big butt – it probably cushioned my fall. Haha.

Anyway, it was a great time spent in Lucerne. Maybe someday, I would get to go back during the summer and see if it would be better than what I’ve seen so far. I wonder what the rest of Switzerland has in store for me…

Look beyond the smiles and laughter

I read somewhere that sometimes the happiest people you meet are the saddest people you will ever know.

I have found that to be true.

You look at someone and you think, 'he's so happy,' but there's so much behind his little smile that you will never know.

People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be. But sometimes, some things are too dark to simply "get over" from that the only thing left to do is cope in the best way you know how - cover it up with a smile and a laugh.

Sometimes we get so caught up in wearing masks that we forget which one really belongs to us. We try to look happy so that people will think we are, and that will make us think we are. But when we're alone and we look in the mirror, the saddest, loneliest face stares right back.

It pains me to see someone be as sad as this. But I can't do anything about it since he refuses to ask for or accept help.

I can only hope and pray that he will find his happiness, enlightenment, and contentment someday.

This is for you, my friend...

THE LONELIEST PERSON I KNOW by Splender

You wanna feel you're never walking
You see your feet from off the ground
And when you leave there's no one talking
You slowly breathe and look around

I know you're the loneliest person I know
Just a flag in the wind that won't blow
Just a tear rolling down the window

You cut your lip and now you're freaking
Another friend becomes a foe
You try to leave but they offer candy
Another time you won't say no

Well, I know you're the loneliest person I know
Just a flag in the wind that won't blow
Just a tear rolling down the window

You see that I know you're the loneliest person I know
Just a blade in the grass that won't grow
Just a hand holding on to let go

Time is a train...
Time is a train...
Leading you nowhere...
Leading you nowhere

Time is a train
I feel the same
Leading you nowhere
Leading you nowhere yeah

A second page you reach a chapter
You're on the phone but no one's there
Another thing you can't keep after
Another time you're left alone

I know you're the loneliest person I know
Just a flag in the wind that won't blow
Just a tear rolling down the window

You see that I know you're the loneliest person I know
Just a blade in the grass that won't grow
Just a hand holding on to let go

You see that I know you're the loneliest person I know
Just a fly living in the back row
Just a slap in the face that won't show yeah

And I can do nothing about it
And I can do nothing about it

Serendipity

According to Wikipedia, Serendipity is a "propensity for making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated."

And that's exactly what happened to me in HongKong. I was looking for an escape from my world - and I discovered new things about myself. And I found a kindred spirit.

It's funny how things work out the way they do. I mean, of all places to be in, we happened to be in HongKong at the same time, stayed at the same hostel, and woke up at the same time that day, when everybody was still supposed to be asleep.

We met on the way to the bathroom at 5:00 in the morning. I got up early so I could take my time in the shower, thinking that others are still sleeping (I was using a shared bathroom, it was a budget hostel for backpackers). When I got out, he was there in his sleeping attire, waiting to take a pee.

Who could have predicted that? Certainly not me. It's like the universe conspired to get us to meet for reasons I have not yet realized as of now.

It was a sweet and memorable encounter, short-lived though it was. Too short.

At one point, I told him that what gets to me the most when I travel is when I see couples traveling together, doing the things they love together. It makes me want to find what they have. And in the brief time we had together in HongKong, that's what he gave me - the feeling of being totally in sync with another person.

And the best part was - he gave me respect. This may make me sound like a racist, but I didn't expect that from someone of his culture and background. From all the stories I hear, guys of his background don't operate like that. Which made him all the more endearing.

We spent 2 days together, just being carefree and enjoying each other's company. He was a party person, I was not. But for some reason, he wanted to do my thing. Disneyland, the nature walks, the sunrise at the harbour. It wasn't him, but he actually enjoyed it. I guess I helped him discover new things about himself as well.

Then it was suddenly over. It was time to go.

It was a bittersweet separation, made all the more difficult by the knowledge that we didnt know if and when we'd meet again. We were going on different directions in our lives, we just happened to meet on a crossroad.

He was on a journey - of the world and of himself. He told me his story and I understood how he became a loose ship, and why he needed to find himself again.

I was on my own path of self-discovery since my break-up last year, but I was still anchored to home.

All the time, we knew our encounter was fleeting. We could feel the hours slip away and we held on as long as we could. Until it was time to go.

His flight was earlier than mine. Just before he left, he hugged me tight and I felt the regret washing over me. Regret that we couldn't have met at a better time in our lives. Regret that our worlds were so different that they couldn't merge. Regret that he couldn't be the one.

But I'd never regret having known him. He would always be a part of my life now, a happy memory I'd keep going back to in my old age...

Ships that pass you in the night can change your life

I was in Hongkong last week - this was a trip that I had saved up for as a treat to myself, an escape from all the stress from my real world

On my second day there, I met a very interesting person. He was very bubbly, had a huge smile, and an easygoing personality. I was at the lobby of the hostel we happened to be both staying in and he just went up to me and started talking. I was a little wary at first because it was Hongkong, he was a white guy I didnt know, and I was travelling alone.

After a few preliminary chitchats, he told me his story - he had uprooted himself from Canada and was on a mission to explore the world. He started the plan about 8 months ago and started saving his money. When he had enough, he quit his job, rented out his apartment, lent his pets to friends, and left. From Hongkong, he was going to Bangkok, then to Fiji, then to New Zealand, then finally to Australia where he plans to work for 8 months.

There was no job waiting for him there - all he had was the working visa. But he was just so confident that he could do it that I couldnt help but believe it, too. I guess that's the power of self confidence.

We got to talk again later that day and I told him I envied him so much for his guts. I cant see myself doing that - taking such a big leap without no safety nets. I said I wanted to be like him when I grew up

I had told him earlier I wanted to try bungee jumping, but I couldnt convince myslef to do it yet - I dont even ride the ferris wheel

He told me the trick was to not think about it coz your mind will just stop you. You just have to go and do it. I said it goes against my training as a marketing person that I can't do anything unplanned. He said there will come a time when it will just hit me and I would be compelled to do it.

The next day, I went to Ocean Park alone. As I was standing by this crazy ride called the turbo drop, his words came to mind. And I thought, why not just do it? I was there anyway. And if I were to go bungee jumping, I had to test myself first, right? And I had to start sometime, somewhere - why not right now?

And before the doubts could creep in, I went in line for the ride. It was a pretty long wait, and there were several times wehn I had wanted to back out. But I didnt want to pass all those people waiting behind me with their knowing looks. So I guess it was also partly my pride that made me do it.

It was an unforgettable ride. I had my eyes tightly shut 50% of the time, but the adrenalin rush was sooo strong. I felt a bit shaky as I got off, but I was so proud of myself afterwards!

I told him later about the experience and about how he managed to convince me to try it when he wasnt even there

It was a brief encounter, but I will never forget how this happy person had made such an impact on me in the short time I've known him. I wish I could be more like him. And he says I could. I just have to learn how to let myself go.

I have the potential to do great things. I just have to believe in myself, believe that I could do it.