How I fell in love with P…

As I was saying earlier…

I fell in love with Poland.

Baffled? I shall explain.

So yeah. I feel in love with Poland. Love at the first sight I’d say. ‘It wasn’t plan’ as how the movies love to put it. And as cliché as it may sound, it wasn’t Poland, it was me. Ahaks… *cheeky smile*.

Thinking of the worst for whatever reason beyond my own understanding, I was still in doubt upon arriving in Krakow (a #UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978), Poland. Was this a good idea? What if it’s dangerous here? Scam? 1001 things played in my head, I even toyed with the idea of cutting short this country (from 4 days to 2 days, so yah… it was that bad). Arriving at our Air BNB changes everything (for Anna, I bet Chico changes everything). Let’s save the Air BNB apartment to later, an entry on traveltips shall we.

So we gather our courage (ni drama jer lebih) and head to town a short while after resting and sorting out. 3 stops away and 15mins later (plus waiting for tram time), we arrived at the station; below the mall, connected to the airport train (perfect right). Torn with shopping in mall or going to the Old Town we decided to O-som to decide, leaving it the fate, to god almighty (korang percaya ke my crap nih?!?)… Seriously! We concluded that we shall go to the Old Town to get my HRC shirt and shop at the mall on our way back. Get the most important thing out of the way (HRC short that is. Priority check!). Off we walk to the Old Town, probably a 10 mins or less walk with a few stop looking at bakeries, eyes lingering at souvenir shops, danced at the sound busker playing their hip-and-happening local song (waima I tak tau sepatah haram pun, tapi takpe, blend it with locals… so they say kan).

Maintaining my focus and setting my objective straight, I saw the sign saying HRC Krakow “this way”, ‘AHA! Turn right’ harmoniously we shrieked. We walked (practically skipped and hopped excitedly), entering the cobbled street enveloped by a fortress wall with watch tower and all, Renaissance style rows of shops checkered on the outer ring; circling the Old Town Square. Not wanting to take any chances of getting lost which is highly unlikely (drama itu penting dalam setiap plot) we asked around while checking-out the souvenir shops. Clear direction was given, walk towards the St. Mary's Basilica of which Anna translate as ‘that pointy thing’, HRC is located just next to it. We reach there within few mins, how irony I thought to myself, a Hard Rock Café right next to a basilica. Hemmmm…. And its right in front of a square where the smell of eateries captivate your nostril and the sound of music emblazoning the blue hour sky, not to mention people lepaking and enjoying the autumn breeze and beautiful sunset.

I settled my HRC within a few mins and we agreed to split and meet right in front of the basilica, and this is when I fell in love. Suspense dak?

I entered the most recognizable and notable building there, the Cloth Hall; where the textile trade used to take place. Now, this Renaissance style building is the most popular place for souvenir shopping and I, Lily Riani got so confuse of what to buy, for whom, how many and etc.

#TravelTips 1 : The exchange rate during my trip was 1:1, making maths failer like moi feels like a pro (seringgit duit kita, seZloty duit diarang. Sonang).

# TravelTips 2 : Even with 1:1 exchange rate, some of the stuff it is still cheaper than Malaysia and better too (dah lah murah, kualiti bagus, exchange rate best pulak tuh).

I got myself a few souvenirs for family and friends and decided to check-out the surrounding and snap some pictures. This is when I saw a few lovely, dainty, sweet looking souvenirs that I felt like buying. The. Whole. Shop.

#TravelTips 3 : You know how Amsterdam is face for the white lace and blue embroidery, so is Poland, except that the embroidery is bright and colourful.

#TravelTips 4 : So  this bright and colourful embroidery souvenirs are reasonably priced. Memang rasa nak borong. Sumpah.

Just outside at the Main Square, you’ll see buskers singing, dancers performing and guess what, I was lucky to witness a couple of stranger get together impromptu-ly and perform a rendition. How cool was that. Lalalalalaaa…. I can’t resist but to capture it on video. And to add the icing on the cake – is the horse carriage that will take you around the Old Town with a nominal fee. Of which I didn’t take lah (tetiba kedekut).

#TravelTips 5 : If you are worried on halal food, fret not as you’ll kebab, and kebab, and plenty kebab stall everywhere. Well, almost everywhere lah. Janji tak mati kebuluran lah.

#TravelTips 6 : And the people are awesome, very friendly. Or at least I was lucky as I met only nice people during this trip. Keh keh keh….

#TravelTips 7 : English is spoken widely in Poland especially by the younger generation.

I have to warn you though, the dessert here is yummilicious. A must try. Even if you can’t sample them all, do take pictures as it look so beautiful and nice to look at (tetiba terliuq).

After all this bragging, how could I not fall in love right? (ni belum cerita tempat-tempat yang I dah pergi and tempat-tempat yang I nyesal giler tak pergi lagi).