First few days...
2:44 AM
I wouldn't be lying if I did not wish to go home within the first few hours that I was in Budapest. To start off, I met my buddy Hilda at the airport and the first mistake was when I did not change any Hungarian currency (florints) as she told me that we could do it later and she would pay for me first. The reception was not at all like that in NZ where a bunch of people picked the intern up at the airport, drove them to their apartment and brought them around the city. I got none of that at all. Just my buddy, who thankfully was there and me. I had already warned her that I was dreadfully overweight the night before, but it looked like it was just me and her lugging 50kgs of luggage over to the bus. It wasn't just a simple bus ride... it was a bus ride, then a train ride (a very painful one, because I had to carry my heavy suitcase up a flight of stairs), and then a tram ride to my new apartment. LIKE PHEW!!!
Luckily, Phil and Ryan came to meet me so Phil helped carry my suitcase up the flight of stairs to the apartment (Yeah, most buildings in Budapest have yet to get lift upgrading like the flats in Singapore). I guess living in first world countries like america, new zealand, where basic amenities like heating, microwave ovens sort of upped my expectations a little when coming here. My room in the apartment, while big, is really sparsely furnished and heating is almost non-existent. Apparently, we discovered that the landlords like to use styrofoam as a substitute for real insulation wiring... imagine that. I got a bed (thank goodness the previous tenant left her beddings behind, so I didn't have to run out and get stuff on my first day), but there was no desk except for this glass coffee table... So now it is my makeshift desk while I couch on my bed everyday with my laptop... till I find a cheap desk that is...
So you can imagine, there were all these hidden expenses that I did expect, but having to deal with that on the first day was quite overwhelming. One thing I realised was that having a buddy to rely on kinda made me too reliant on her, and so when she left me that day and I woke up the next morning, I was like crap, I am somewhere in the city and I have no fucking idea where I am and how to go anywhere. This was a sunday, so I was looking for a church with an English mass to go to as well. So haha... my little adventure... I kept bugging Tess, my roommate like 4/5 times on directions on how to get to the tourist office, which I managed to get from google. I had a list of churches on English masses from the American Embassy website, so I had them down in my notebook. So... I made my way from my apartment to the city centre. I admit I was scared stiff. I had no idea of the language, no florints in my wallet and no hungarian mobile no and obviously, my asian colouring made me stand out like a sore thumb and the ideal person to rob/rape/pickpocket. But somehow, after a few wrong turns, I actually made it. haha. So I got my maps, found a money changer and had burger king for lunch. YAY!!!!! Surprisingly, the city was quiet for a Sunday. But it was also still winter and the sky was still overcast... hardly any sunshine penetrated the clouds all day long... so maybe that's why... But I had my camera with me, and I did remember to take a few photos:
There are actually heaps of moneychangers around... which was funny because on my first day here, I walked for like half an hour with my hungarian buddy and she couldn't find me a money changer... and yet here on my little adventure they were like all over the place
There are actually heaps of moneychangers around... which was funny because on my first day here, I walked for like half an hour with my hungarian buddy and she couldn't find me a money changer... and yet here on my little adventure they were like all over the place
Macdonalds! There are HEAPS around the city. On the metro map, it actually tells you where the macdonalds are located... but for an foreign person, this place is like a lifesaver... finally, we're eating something we know!!!
Check out the winter fashion... and I thought these were only in movies:
Wine shops:
View of parliament house:
