Having totally unrelated people coming into one's life is one of the most interesting things when one travels. It's happened in many of my trips all through the years. But the recent trip to Slovenia and Croatia has left me some extraordinary memories.
First encounter is with Marinella. She is in the travel industry and I met her on the flight from Zurich to Ljubljana. Being half Italian and half Slovenia, she did offer me some tips about Ljubljana. She was so nice as to proposing a ride for me out of the airport. But the hotel she was heading was a bit far from mine. So we just said goodbye at the airport.
On the second day in Bled, I met Kim in the breakfast room. Seeing that her kids have grown up in Seattle, she traveled alone to Slovenia and Croatia. Her visit in Slovenia was even a home-coming trip although she was born in the US. It was fun chatting with her in that early morning hour.
Leaving Kim, I went for hiking. On my way I met Marie who had the same idea as I did. She was originally from Taiwan and so was particularly glad that I could speak with her in Mandarin. After graduating and being married to her husband, she stayed in the US. They came to Bled because her husband had an academic conference there. We finished the hiking trail in about 3 hours' time. She even invited me to have lunch with her and her husband at the expense of the conference organizer! I naturally declined because even the spouses of the participants were charged for the meals.
On the ferry from Rijeka to Split, I finally met my roommate when the ship was about to leave the port. In fact, I met Tatja's parents as well. They were a pair of caring folks because Tatja was leaving home for a 4-month work-study on the island of Hrav, an hour away from Split by ferry. Tatja had one more year left before finishing her degree in hospitality. Learning Italian, German and English, she is well prepared for her future career! I managed to learn a little Croatian from her. It always leaves me with some good feelings after talking to a young heart.
Seeing the first light in Split and bidding farewell to Tatja, I ran into Josip. Or I should say it the other way round because he was the one who went jogging that morning. I was a bit lost finding my hotel. So he lent a helping hand. The hotel turned out to be quite a mystery because almost nobody had heard about it. Thanks to Josip's persistence and local tongue, we finally got it.
I was missing my wonderful time in Slovenia and Croatia as I was wandering outside the largest cathedral in Zagreb. There was just about 2 hours before I left for the airport when Philip approached me. He was being friendly and courteous right from the start. Trying to have a longer conversation, he invited me for coffee in a nearby cafe. He was obviously a bit disappointed to know that I was leaving soon. Even if that had been my first day in Croatia, I don't think he would have his wish fulfilled. But I did enjoy his company and the coffee in those 30 minutes.
About Me
- 熊羚 Valeria
- Valeria Teo is a writer, a travel planner and an owner of private accommodation. Her passion for travel has taken her to nearly 30 countries since 1992. The trip to Croatia in 2007 has brought her a husband and her first Chinese novel. Valeria has published two Chinese novel sets in Croatia and a collection of Chinese essays. Besides being a regular blogger for the Hong Kong travel site UTravel and GOtrip, she writes for various organizations and online publications, in both English and Chinese. Having appeared in two Hong Kong on-line radio travel programmes featuring Croatia, Valeria was also consulted by one Taiwanese and one Hong Kong TV station for shooting travel programmes in and around Croatia. Her particular connection with Croatia has led her to create Croatia Independent Travellers (www.croatia.com.hk) with two partners. The on-line platform specializes in travel planning and custom-made tours for those who want to create unforgettable travel experiences of their own. In the summer of 2014, Valeria realized her long-term dream of running her own private accommodation in Split.
Born in Hong Kong, Valeria now resides in Split, Croatia.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Greek Way
I learnt about the Greek way in England when my friend's husband had to renew his passport.
Applicants must go to the Greek Embassy in London, early in the morning, to hand in the applications in person. The embassy just entertains 50 applications per day for there's just one person handling all matters related to Greek passports. The Greek Government has some very specific and strict requirements regarding passport photo. Applicants are very likely to waste a trip to the embassy if they do not get the photo right. There's no automatic photo-taking machine in the embassy.
Even if the applicants pass the first scan of the photos at the embassy, it does not guarantee that they'll definitely get the new passports. When the applicants are notified of a date for returning to the embassy in London, there are two possibilities. The best outcome is that they get their new passports. The second possibility is that they are informed, right on the spot, that there's something wrong with the applications and they have to do it all over again. The whole process between application submission and notification or passport collection takes at least 6-8 weeks because everything is done by mail. (I didn't ask if there was express service.)
Those who are likely to raise as many questions as I did may just satisfy themselves with a simple answer: that's the Greek way (or the Greek Government way as my friend, a Greek himself, is also driven crazy by these procedures).
Applicants must go to the Greek Embassy in London, early in the morning, to hand in the applications in person. The embassy just entertains 50 applications per day for there's just one person handling all matters related to Greek passports. The Greek Government has some very specific and strict requirements regarding passport photo. Applicants are very likely to waste a trip to the embassy if they do not get the photo right. There's no automatic photo-taking machine in the embassy.
Even if the applicants pass the first scan of the photos at the embassy, it does not guarantee that they'll definitely get the new passports. When the applicants are notified of a date for returning to the embassy in London, there are two possibilities. The best outcome is that they get their new passports. The second possibility is that they are informed, right on the spot, that there's something wrong with the applications and they have to do it all over again. The whole process between application submission and notification or passport collection takes at least 6-8 weeks because everything is done by mail. (I didn't ask if there was express service.)
Those who are likely to raise as many questions as I did may just satisfy themselves with a simple answer: that's the Greek way (or the Greek Government way as my friend, a Greek himself, is also driven crazy by these procedures).
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