Iceland - a peculiar travel destination

Traveling in Iceland is quite unique.

Firstly, weather in this country is ridiculously super minded. Check the forecast and u can see all kinds of description. In my short stay here I've encountered so many different type of weather conditions.

Fog

Snowstorm

Rainstorm

Bright sun

Gentle snow

Sand storm

Prolonged rain

Strong winds

Because of this unique weather behavior, gave rise to this interesting quotation on many souvenirs here. 

"If you don't like the weather here, just wait 5mins"

The ficklemindedness of the weather also means that any trip here should be planned with more spare days to cater for sub-optimal weather conditions. Especially if your itinerary includes northern light hunting or ice caving. These are 2 activities that require a specific SET of weather conditions to carry out. 

Secondly is the Icelandic currency, kronas. Iceland is a place where you can survive without a single cent. 

We spend almost 2 weeks here and have not a single cent of local currency. Everything can be paid for using the credit card. 

From paying for hotels, tours, car rentals to small purchases like a coke or a snickers bar, credit card is excepted. For certain unique items like taking the bus or paying for petrol, you can buy and top up a stored value card with credit card. Voila!! No cash required at all!!!

Downside of using the card for everything is that u really need to make a mental note of your expenditure. Otherwise, you can easily go broke. By the time u get the monthly bill, it's too late.

Third, food in Iceland is simple. Fish n lamb are the main staple. White fish like cod, halibut are common. Exotic choices like whale (minke), fermented shark, dried haddock are also available. But it seems these exotic choices are now more for tourists than locals.

Local lobsters are actually langoustines which are pretty much larger prawns with lobster-like shells. Quite tasty of done well. Lobster soup is also popular. I've had several versions of this dish. All yummy!!

Lamb had always been my personal favourite. Aside for the usual grilled option, locals also like to use it in soup, commonly just called meat soup. Typical meat soup is like an oily version of minestrone without tomatoes and with chunks of lamb. It's really good for the subzero temperatures.

Water, locals will tell you that Iceland water comes from the glaciers and is the cleanest tap water u can find in the world. For the cold tap water, yes it is. But watch out for the hot water from the taps, it has a strong sulphur taste and smell as it was heated by geothermal steam. For the uninitiated, it's going to be like rotten eggs. Effervescent vitamin C tabs or tea bags would be useful to cover the taste.

Finally, driving in Iceland is a breeze. Traffic is typically light. Considering its enormous land area and ridiculously small population, I've hardly seen a traffic jam, even though most adults here have a car or jeep. Motorcycles are few and far between.

There's only 1 major road that connects the entire country, highway 1. Even though it's a highway and majority of its speed limit is 90km/h, much of it outside the capital is only 2-lane, 2-way. In Singapore these roads will be considered  local accesses. It's not easy to get lost, given the lack of official roads, but if you ever go onto the dirt tracks, memorise your way back.

You will not see much traffic along highway 1, but don't be deceived by the route. The weather poses a huge threat. I had drove in thick fog where I could not see anything more than 20m away. Heavy snow and rain. Strong winds cause the biggest worry. There are occasions where I had to steer with a 5-10degree offset just to keep the car straight.

It is also very important to note that the direction which u stop the car becomes important under strong wind conditions. I almost had my car door ripped off by the wind had we not hold on to the door handle. Recommendation is to stop the car facing the wind. It's better to have a tougher time opening the door than to drive without a door. 

You have been warned!!

The sparse population also mean that petrol stations do not come as frequently as in Singapore. You have to plan your journey with a petrol station or 2 in mind. I faced the situation where the kiosk just did not work at one station and I had to backtrack to another kiosk to get petrol. I was running on reserves on that journey. Lucky I didn't need a tow in the end.

Paying for petrol is also peculiar. In the daytime it's usually fine if the station is manned. Just go to the counter and pay as per normal with your credit card. 

Difficulty comes when at night or at stations which are self-service, of which many are. A pin is required with your credit card. Iceland cards have a 4-digit pin. Singapore cards typically have 5 or 6digit pins. My experience with 2 brands are as follows.

Shell, self service kiosk only allowed me to key in 4 digits of pin. I tried first 4 digits of my UOB card and it was rejected. I tried the same with my Standard Chartered card and it worked.

N1, the biggest network of stations in Iceland. It accepted my UOB card with 6 digit pin and also my Standard Chartered card with a 5 digit pin. There's also the avenue to buy a prepaid card at manned stations for use at N1 self service stations. 

I would recommend N1 from my own experience.

There are only 2 types of fuel at most stations, 95 or diesel. Some have biodiesel. So no headaches for choice.

Iceland Day 8, Monday, March 17

Today we are leaving Skalafell, it's our last chance for ice caving. Our host at the guest house, Thorstein, arranged for us to meet the ice cave guide, Oskar directly at the glacier lagoon, which was near the cave.

It was great for Thorstein to do what he did. Oskar was actually fully booked, but he did Thorstein a favour and squeezed a slot in for us. 

Apparently the weather this morning gives us a good chance of visiting the cave. Finally!! 

The drive to the cave was quite an adventure itself. The jeep had to go over some unearthly terrain to reach the cave. See this video i took of the off road journey. http://youtu.be/CbbzbNLNsC4

The cave is really spectacular. It's like a cave carved out of blue crystal. The walls of the cave are very smooth and clear. The place is huge! Oskar told us that this was one of the largest cave he had found in recent years. It's relatively less cold in the caves as wind did not penetrate much. It was really comfortable in there.

Pictures just don't do justice to this place. This short video may do slightly better. http://youtu.be/mmROeL2Fns8

After the cave was to be a grueling 5hr drive back to Reykjavik. Driving in Iceland is nice. Traffic is light. I'll talk more about driving in another post.

We were actually rushing back to Reykjavik to catch a northern lights tour. This is the one purpose of our trip here to Iceland. It is also the main reason why we had to extend our stay here.

Today's weather gives us a slight chance of seeing the lights finally. We've been studying the weather patterns, cloud, moon, solar activity, etc. tonight shall be the night.

Before that we had to stop somewhere for dinner. Lobsters at Stokkseyri, supposedly the best in Iceland. We had to try it. It was a little detour we had to make but it was worth it!

These langoustines are so tender and juicy. We finished almost a kilogram worth of it.

Dessert was really interesting as well, meringue with snickers. 

It felt like a light dessert but I'm sure that's part of the deceiving nature of this sinful item. Yummy!!

When we finally reached Reykjavik, we were joined with 4 others to go on this northern light hunt. We were fortunate to have them with us. They were very chatty and we benefitted with the wealth of information they shared all the way. 

Well, the important question is probably, did we see the lights. I'm glad to say that was an astounding YES! The lights came on for us twice in the freezing cold.

To get a good spot, we drove up into the hills and the temperature was -11C. We could only last a few minutes outside the jeep. 

This was the first wave. Quite faint to the naked eye. Need the help of camera manipulation to make the green glows clearer. This first was lasted only lest than 10mins and it went all dark. 

We though that was it. As the solar activity was dying down. The suddenly there was a spike in the activity and the glows came on all around us.

It was clear even to the naked eye. It was awesome. This time it lasted slightly longer. It was amazing seeing the dance of the aurora live. It was freezing cold, but the adrenaline was pumping. 

By the time the lights faded off theoon has rise. Into mid sky and lit up the place. Clouds are also covering overhead. It was the last show on the night.

This is the best day of our entire trip. This day made the entire trip worth it!!

Iceland Day 7, Sunday, March 16

It's a lazy Sunday. 

We were supposed to ice caving at noon. Apparently aside from having heavy rain, which will flood the caves, warm sunshine is not recommended as well.

The warm sun will melt the glacier excessively and will also flood the caves. Ice caving, like watching the northern lights, requires very particular weather conditions. And today was not that weather.

The weather was generally fine for outdoors. The sun was nice and bright, a great relief from the chilling winds. We decided to chill instead. Have been doing quite a bit of driving the past days. 

So it's time to just enjoy the cabin.

Iceland Day 6, Saturday, March 15

Woke up really early after an early night. We woke up to a pleasant view. It was snowing. It was gentle, romantic snow and not the rough howling snow storm we had earlier in the week. 

It was really pretty. I think yanli was so excited as it was her first time seeing falling snow. She wanted to build her own snow man. And there it was.

Not bad for a first attempt. 

We had managed to book a glacier walk for the day. We were kindda afraid that the snow would cause it to be cancelled. Fortunately, we could still go ahead as there's no strong winds in the mountains.

Walking on the glacier required crampons . It's our first time using them. Putting them on is not difficult, but gloves and thick clothing really tend to get in the way. 

Walking on the glacier was quite nerve wreaking for me. Probably, too much disaster movies make me cranky. I always feared that the ice would suddenly give way and we'll start falling into the crevasses. I think our guide, Dana, was great. Looking out for us all the time and I felt safe with her. 

I couldn't say the same for this bunch of youngsters from China, behaving like spoilt brats, especially when they can't really understand English and the guides' instructions. They were way more nerve wreaking than the glacier itself! 

The tour was a good experience for first timers like us. We hope that this would be useful for our ice caving tomorrow. If it happens that is. It's just so unpredictable in this season.

Iceland Day 5 - Friday, March 14

What was supposed to be our last day in Iceland, became a day of eureka. 

After weather washing out all our nights and possibility of seeing the northern lights, we were about to leave here with an unfulfilled dream. A wave of madness rushed into us and we had an eureka moment.

We will extend our stay in Iceland. We have travelled so far. We will only be doing ourselves a huge disservice I we allowed ourselves to leave. Hence, we plucked up out courage and made the calls.

We will be staying until Thursday, 19 March. If we are that unlucky to not see it  even till then. It's fated. But at least we have now given ourselves a fighting chance. 

Almost the entire day was spent making arrangements and cancelling arrangements. I'm sure our bill for this trip is going to sky rocket. But once again, it's a holiday budget, not a budget holiday. We went for it!!

Iceland Day 4 - Thursday, March 13

We are waiting for our guide for ice caving to contact us but he seems quite slow in responding to emails. Torsteinn, the owner of our guesthouse shared that the caves are likely to be flooded due to the rain the day before. Afternoon may be possible. 

So while waiting for news, we decided to have a short road trip first. But before that we had to have some fun with Hackla, the resident sheep dog. All the sheep are indoors, so she's free to play around with us.

We are driving to the east towards Hofn, a fishing town. It's somewhat a capital for the area. Hope to find some activities there. 

On the way there, we made a detour and drove towards a glacier, Fláajökull. Our first photo with a glacier.

Hofn, was a nice place. We could see a few glaciers across the lagoon from the port area. 

But it seems that most of the places of interest here are catered for the summer crowd. We kindda came here for lobsters cos it's in abundance here. It took a while for us to find one that's open  in this season. 

It's not cheap, in fact, it's really expensive. We are on a holiday budget, not budget holiday. So yeah..

After lunch was a long drive to the west. We received no news for ice caving and so it's off to another sight here in Iceland. Jökulsárlón, is a huge glacier lagoon.

It's a good place to see the icebergs, which broke off from the glacier, Breiõamerkurjöll.

We tried to look out for the lights again but the sky just didn't look optimistic.

Iceland Day 3

Weather for northern lights were once again poor. Temperatures were freezing again. 

That's it for Reykjavik, it's now time to head on to Skalafell to experience the glaciers. 

We had planned to set off earlier today, but we could only start our journey at about noon. Not a good idea when you have to cover 500++km. 

Well, we had to make the most out of our journey here, so we plan for a few stops to look at some sights too.

First stop, Seljalandfoss, a nice waterfall where we could walk behind it. It's was a fantastic idea and very cool to see it from a different perspective, but it's super cold!

Next was another waterfall, Skogarfoss, this is a pretty one which you can really get up close. It's was just too cold and we just looked at it from afar. The splattering water from the falls makes it even colder! 

This makes almost a third of the journey and it was already getting late. But we had one more stop to make, Vik, to get more warm accessories. :)

This brand is quite affordable. 

As we continued our drive to Skalafell, the sky got dark and fog set in. It was not an easy drive for newbies to the country like us. Furthermore highway 1 here, is really nothing more than a 10m wide Tarmac for both directions, most of it at least. 

There are also many small bridges to cross which are only single laned, so u will have to give way if there's another vehicle approaching in the opposite direction. 

There are few street lamps here. Those only exists where there are towns or cluster of houses, majority of the road is just lined with reflectors. 

Large container trucks are quite common, but every time I had to pass one, it's unnerving. They bring along huge turbulence. Our car is 4WD, and quite sturdy, but still felt the jerks when they pass. This is our ride.

By the time we reached our accommodation, it's already late at night. 

Iceland Day 2

Start to day 2 was considerably better. We were able to embark on our golden circle tour. 

The golden circle tour is a basic 3 point tours that covers a few of the popular points of interests, gulfoss, geysir & thingvellir.

Gulfoss, also known and golden falls of fall of gold is one of the prettiest waterfall in Iceland. It's a 2 step waterfall cutting through the valley. I don't remember the name of the valley nor the source of the water. Haha!!

Geysir is supposedly the birthplace of the word itself. The roots of the naming of all geysers in the world. "Gey" refers to the term "gush". According to the guide, Icelanders were never very creative or romantic in their naming conventions. Thus this phenomenon which has water/steam gushing out, they named it geysir or in plain English terms, gusher!!

Thingvellir is a national park. What's peculiar is this is where the Eurasian tectonic plate meets the Atlantic plate. The 2 plates here are divergent therefore technically the place is going to get bigger and bigger. You actually dive down  into to the submerged rifts and touch both plates. But that's not for me. 

We are glad to be able to complete this day tour as it soon began to rain again. Once again the possibility of seeing the aurora washed out.

Iceland Day 1

Not the ideal day for sight seeing.

Snowing and heavy winds almost the entire day. Both day and night tours are cancelled due to weather. Good thing we get to join the next day for free. Fingers and toes all crossed, hoping for fine weather.

With our tours cancelled, we were able to sleep in till almost noon. Despite the weather, we decided to brave it and explore the area. It turned out to be a rather outrageous idea. Cos almost no one was walking ard but us. 

The winds were very strong, certain points we had to lean forward abt 45degrees to be able to walk ahead. Our first stop was a place which sells lobster soup. The perfect dish for the cold weather. Also on the menu was minke whale. We had a portion of that too. Whale tastes like lean beef!! Who would have guessed?

We were alrdy quite full but since our next stop was the best hotdog in town. We had to try one no matter what. Eating a hotdog in the swirling snow and howling wind is quite a mean feat. I have to say the hotdog looked simple but it was very good.

We took another perilous walk to the concert hall which was built out into the water. Wind were super strong. We are just glad to rush into the building for refuge. The building was really quite cool from the inside. 

Long stairs surround the sides and the ceilings are filled with mirrors at different angles. 

Our next leg was the craziest one. Considering the cold and the wind, we decided to walk along the coast to a monument to snap some photos. 

It's just a Viking-like vessel. It's freezing!!

I hope the weather on Tuesday would clear up.

Chelsea vs Tottenham

Watching the English Premier League live is such an awesome experience.

The scale of it feels pretty much like our national celebration. But this occurs almost every other week. Attendance yesterday was close to 50,000 at Stamford Bridge. The entire place and the roads are filled with fans in blue. There were a few thousand away fans, even though were a minority, their voices were never drown out.

Cheers, jeers were plenty. From the first minute to the last second, the chanting never ends. The taunting kept coming fast and furious. Even the young kids are involved in a supposedly adult kind of language and actions. Not very advisable, but such is the football culture. 

The excitement is heartstopping. Every time the ball approaches the goal on either end, we all rise in unison to make sure we do not miss the moment of scoring. Many times we end up with the 'awww's rather that the 'yeah's. You simply cannot keep still during the game. You'll stand and sit repeatedly for hundreds of times. It's actually a workout.

This match offered view a good return for the viewers. I don't support any particular team. I watch for the excitement and adrenaline of the action. There were 4 goals in this match. Unfortunately they all happened on the far end of my seat. My seats were actually quite great, close to the pitch.

Watching the game at home has the added advantage of a commentator. At the stadium you are your own commentator and you draw your own conclusions of every incident. That's a huge fun in itself. 

Stamford Bridge seems to be a rather small stadium. It feels very different when viewed on TV. The pitch seems much smaller in life. But the players look gigantic. It seems TV dramatises the view and the experience. But watching it live is just so much better. Totally felt like you are part of the action.

The only down side is the price. Tickets cost at least £50, which is pretty much the cost of a concert ticket in Singapore. I seriously wonder how they can afford watching it week in week out. 

It's a wonderful experience. Football fans out there, this is a must try. 

Exciting Times

Tonight marks the beginning of 

a few weeks which are going to be really exciting for me. In many ways, every one of these weeks could be potentially game changing for me.

I'm now on the way to Dubai. It's just for transit but this flight has been pretty cool so far. Emirates Airbus A380 is really spacious even for our economy seats. There's wifi onboard as well, not free though.

It's our first time going to London. Although it's just going to be a short stopover, it's going to be quite eventful. Going to meet up with my cousin, some friends. We are also going to catch Chelsea vs Tottenham at Stamford Bridge as well! First time watching a premier league match live.

Next will be about a week in Iceland hunting for the fabled northern lights or the aurora borealis. Would be nice if the weather holds out and the sun also does its part to pump up the light display! Also hope my humble Canon G15 is able to capture the sights in its beauty. 

This is really a much needed break. Especially for my dear wife. She has been working really hard recently as she's heavily involved in a major event in May. She is stressed with her work, but I know she's good at what she does. I hope she'll be able to enjoy herself these few days, relax and recharge.

Returning to Singapore after this trip should be interesting for me as well. We are awaiting the news for changes in our department. There could be good news and perhaps better news. Either way, it should help me make my short term future clearer and allow me to chart my path further down the road. Hopefully things would be good and great.

Shortly after returning home, I'll be serving the nation again. I've been called up once again to serve in my sky blue uniform. However this time it seems that I'll have a job scope for me. Perhaps this time round I would be able to contribute more meaningfully to operations. Hopefully this would kick start my purpose as an NSmen. 

Just as I thought my eventful ride would end there, last week I got the news that I would be able to join a Singapore delegation to Tokyo for an event. That is really an exciting chance for me to expose myself to transportation in Japan. First time trip to Tokyo as well. 

Woohoo!!!