And when I was about to leave, it was drizzling and miserably cold too.
Well, at least the weather was pretty good to me the day before so that I could managed to cover several notable attractions and popular landmarks around Krakow before leaving.
I left the hostel right after had the free breakfast provided and walked to the bus station which not far away - less than 10 minutes walk perhaps. This time around, I carried additional thing with me which is the newly bought luggage bag from the shopping mall nearby. In case you're wondering, I actually travel without any baggage throughout my solo trip around Europe for almost three weeks cause the luggage I packed before the trip went missing somewhere in Dubai - not sure whether it's Malaysia Airlines or Emirates's fault (will blog more about this incident in upcoming post) but then always think of a bright side, it's not bad to travel light somehow.
#1: One World Hostel of Krakow is smack right in between the main market/square and railway/bus station.
From the second largest city of Poland, I moved on to the capital and largest city of Poland which is Warsaw. There are three options to get to Warsaw from Krakow; by plane, train and bus. While doing my research for this trip, I was using this website GoEuro to search for any mode of transportation to travel from one point to another point. It's funny the result only came out two options; either by plane or bus but no result for train and of course I chosen the latter cause it's more cheaper than the first one. But now while writing this post, I found there are trains travelling from Krakow to Warsaw - you can search for more details in The Man in Seat 61 for more info. Now you understand why it takes me so long to update my blog because not just about writing and posting photos here, I also doing my research at the same time.
#2: GoEuro where you can search mode of transportation to travel from one point to another
#3: Travel with PolskiBus from Krakow to Warsaw for the cost of PLN17 (approx. to RM21). It's dirt cheap for 5 hours bus journey.
Bus of course is cheaper but in terms of comfort, I will say train would be the ideal option to travel with. By the time I arrived Warsaw, I encountered several obstacles (not again!). First of all, I have no idea where exactly was the bus terminate at. What I know is there is a metro station nearby and from there, I keep wondering how to get to my hostel. Secondly, cause I was fully rely on Internet on how to navigate around, out of sudden my Google map stop working. Damn! After loitering aimlessly around the metro station, slowly I figured it out and boarded the train to Centrum Metro Station. Finally I reach there, so what's next? I couldn't find the bus stop which I need to board on the public bus heading to my hostel. To calm down my frustration, I decided to have a rest in the cafe before continue to look for the correct bus stop. Initally I found the bus stop but then after waited for more than an hour, I asked for help from the local. She told me I was waiting at the right bus stop but wondering why it never arrived as the timetable. Her suggestion is to look for another bus stop instead. Not again! Can I cry now?
#4: Take a rest in the cafe to calm down my frustration
#5: The bus stop which I waited for more than an hour but no sign of any bus coming
#5: The bus stop which I waited for more than an hour but no sign of any bus coming
At the end I have no choice but to take her advise. I walked further down and kept looking for the correct one. Yes, after all the search of up and down which took more than three hours, finally I spotted the correct one. But then my story doesn't stop here. I don't know who should I blame now - whether myself or the guy who right in front of me while waiting to purchase the ticket from the kiosk, I was penalised by the ticket controller. Great! My first day in Warsaw is absolutely a hell day for me.
The guy right in front me (I guess he's foreigner, not local) was too slow when buying the ticket and I saw the bus I was searching for eventually arrived. I don't want to waste my time to wait for another bus so at the end, I hopped into the bus hoping to buy the ticket from the kiosk inside the bus. I was wrong. Little did I know, the kiosk doesn't accept any bank notes or even coins apparently but only credit/debit card is acceptable. I was too lazy to take out my card while standing in the moving bus, I told myself, just a short ride anyway and therefore don't even bother to buy the ticket. What I didn't expect is out of sudden, the ticket controller appeared and requested for my ticket. I passed the exact change for him but he refused to accept it. Immediately he asked for my passport and my bank card. At the end, I was penalised for PLN164. Guess how much in Ringgit Malaysia when I check my bank statement? The fine/penalty cost me almost RM200 for a single ride ticket which cost PLN3.40 (approx. to RM4).
Well, I have to admit it's my careless too. I should paid and bought the ticket directly from the bus driver since I have the exact change with me. Once again, I told myself that not every journey or path is always smooth-sailing. Somehow in between, there would be some bumpy road you need to face or even challenging journey you may experience it. As one of the famous quotes, "Travelling - It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."
The guy right in front me (I guess he's foreigner, not local) was too slow when buying the ticket and I saw the bus I was searching for eventually arrived. I don't want to waste my time to wait for another bus so at the end, I hopped into the bus hoping to buy the ticket from the kiosk inside the bus. I was wrong. Little did I know, the kiosk doesn't accept any bank notes or even coins apparently but only credit/debit card is acceptable. I was too lazy to take out my card while standing in the moving bus, I told myself, just a short ride anyway and therefore don't even bother to buy the ticket. What I didn't expect is out of sudden, the ticket controller appeared and requested for my ticket. I passed the exact change for him but he refused to accept it. Immediately he asked for my passport and my bank card. At the end, I was penalised for PLN164. Guess how much in Ringgit Malaysia when I check my bank statement? The fine/penalty cost me almost RM200 for a single ride ticket which cost PLN3.40 (approx. to RM4).
Well, I have to admit it's my careless too. I should paid and bought the ticket directly from the bus driver since I have the exact change with me. Once again, I told myself that not every journey or path is always smooth-sailing. Somehow in between, there would be some bumpy road you need to face or even challenging journey you may experience it. As one of the famous quotes, "Travelling - It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."
At the end of the day, I finally made it to my hostel in Warsaw - Dream Hostel [My full post on this hostel here] Despite all obstacles I encountered, at least I was rewarded with the best hostel I ever stayed throughout my Europe trip.
#6: Dream Hostel of Warsaw - the best hostel I ever stayed in Europe (will do separate post for this)
Again, another day wasted just like day.
And another of my hard-earned money just gone in the blink of eye.
Not sure which is more worst scenario.
And you know what? On the following day, hopped on another bus and found out the kiosk inside accept notes and coins. Looks like it's meant to be unlucky day for me.
#7: Meet my little red riding
Previous Posts on my 2017 Solo Trip to Europe
- Solo Trip to Europe (Sneak Peek)
- 3D2N in Budapest, Hungary
- Great Market Hall of Budapest, Hungary
- Vienna. Austria Travelogue
- Salzburg, Austria Travelogue
- The Magical Town of Hallstatt, Austria
- Brief Stop in Cesky Krumlov
- Hello Prague Again
- Overnight Train from Prague to Krakow
- 3D2N in Krakow, Poland
You are sure 1 cool cucumber. If me, i would panic like crazy. Looks like Murphy law that day. anything that can go wrong, did went wrong. But thankfully you arrived hostel safely and it was comfy one
ReplyDeleteOMG!! You suffered so much la. Next time look for 7 types of flowers and mandi bunga.
ReplyDeleteThis post has made me wonder about lost baggage and how they could track its owner if he is always moving from place to place?
I have only experienced lost baggage twice which happened on one trip by CX from KL to Fukuoka with transit in HKG for both ways. I blamed the HKG airport and CX the lost baggage twice as their transit time was less than 30 minutes to catch connecting flight back to KL. So I got my baggage the next day in KL.
The earlier flight to Fukuoka was a mess as that year, HKG had the first hailstorm when plenty of ice dropped from the skies and damaged buildings and cars. The airport was closed for many hours and all flights disrupted which delayed my flight by 4 hours from KL. When I arrived HKG, my connecting flight to Fukuoka was long gone. They put us up at Marriot Hotel without food vouchers! Just sharing my story.