[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 27 December 2014]

 

4 February 2014, Tuesday

It was time to say goodbye to Edinburgh as we checked out of our hostel early and lugged our luggage to Edinburgh Waverley train station for the 8:30am East Coast train to London. It was a 4 hr 21 min ride, and we admired the beautiful Scottish scenery for one last time through the train windows.

After arriving at King’s Cross station close to 1pm, we bought ourselves some kebab for lunch before heading back to the YHA London Oxford Street hostel, the same one we stayed at when we first arrived, 17 days ago. Hard to believe, but we have been travelling for more than two weeks now.

Coming back to London was like a homecoming – familiar and welcome at the same time. As it was our last night here, we spent the day doing last-minute shopping and catching up on what we had missed. It wasn’t long before it was time to pack our bags for the final time and to get ready for our departure tomorrow. IJ and I were catching different flights and I would be leaving first.

 

5 February 2014, Wednesday

As luck would have it, the workers for the Tube decided to have a strike on my departure day. It was planned in advance but I didn’t know about it. However, my mum had read the newspaper and she sent me an article from Singapore’s The Straits Times, informing me about the strike. When I checked out of the hostel, I asked the staff if it was true and she said yes. She also advised me to take the Heathrow Express train to the airport instead, since the strike only involved workers for the Tube.

As such, I had to walk to a bus stop and catch a bus to London Paddington station, where I would then board the Heathrow Express. The downside is that a ticket on the Heathrow Express costs much more (GBP21.00) than the ordinary Tube ticket (GBP4.70), but the upside is that it is much faster – 15 minutes compared to one hour.

After the chaos and inconvenience of getting to the airport, I was happy to finally board the plane home. As my Delta flight had a 6 hr 50 min transit at Amsterdam, I had a little bonus because I was able to step out of the airport for a few hours and have a look at Amsterdam. I didn’t expect to be able to do this, so I was pleasantly surprised at my good fortune.

I bought a 4 Euro train ticket to the city centre and explored around the city. The first thing I noticed about Amsterdam was that there were many bicycles and there were dedicated cycling lanes on the roads. Everyone seemed to be cycling around. With that kind of cool weather and low humidity, it was perfect for cycling.

The second thing I noticed as I stepped out of the Amsterdam Centraal train station were the trams. I love cities with trams and I think trams are a great mode of public transport, as they run on electricity and do not pollute the air with the exhaust fumes. They also pack as many people as buses and there is less chance of accidents happening because they run fixed routes. I think Singapore should definitely bring back trams in the CBD and Orchard Road.

As I safely only had about 3 hours to explore Amsterdam, I didn’t venture too far. I did visit the red light district for a look but as it was still daytime, things weren’t too exciting yet. Photo taking is strictly not allowed, so I have no photos to show for. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to the airport for the flight home. Truth be told, I was anxious to return home after being away for so long, and missing Chinese New Year in the process. By the time I touched down in Singapore, it was already 4:20pm on 6 February 2014, Thursday.

It had been a truly awesome trip, with lots of great memories and experiences, and I thank my travel buddies, YS, SY and IJ for their great companionship. It had been a blast, and we should do it again in future! I absolutely loved Iceland and I WILL definitely return, maybe in the summer to see a different side of Iceland, with more greenery and sunshine. But winter in Iceland had been marvellous as well, with snow and of course, the aurora borealis. It was a dream come true to see it with my own eyes, even though it was not as strong a display as I had imagined. But it was one item off the bucket list, and I am very content.