Right afte the Congress, it was a total whole new journey. I have never been out of country alone - except for my trip to Japan last year.
Thanks to Airbnb my journey was bareable. Frankly, I didnt spend much on accomodation. Since I was travelling solo, none of my stay were in hotels. Well, except for the one in Paris because there was a huha about the requirements to have an invite, documentations etc which was made last year. You may check full entry on this blog. I had to go through similar process 10 years ago when I went to visit my family in Japan, so it was totally no fuss for me back in the days when visa is required to enter Japan. Anyway, just to clarify, you are obligated to fulfil the requirements only if your first entry to Europe is through France. Meaning, if you are entering Europe Via Spain for example, you do not need to have these documents. But of course, it is a standard requirement whenever you visit any country, you need to show all the details pertaining your stay, nature of visit and bla bla bla. It is basic common sense. So anyway, during the first week in Barcelona was all about work. We stayed in a comfy apartment just a walking distance to the metro which costed only around 6K for a total of 8 days. It was a 3 bedroom apartment that fits 6 of us. That was a real bargain, cos one of our client had to stay in a hotel, an hour away from the city and costed him almost 5K only for 4 nights!
It has always been my dream to visit Andalusia and relive the history. I made my way down south, where my solo journey began. There was 'Rob me' written all over my face, i guess. I got pick pocketted on my first day. At that moment, I had to decided whether i should go back home or continue my journey. I mean, it was pretty scary and held me back a little which I almost gave up, but I didnt. It was a once in a life time opportunity which I had to grab - so I just went ahead. It was a massive 3 days experience but I wouldn't mind going through it again.
Long story short - I got pick pocketted, lost 200 euros. Went into the wrong deck in the train. Had to move to another deck. Stayed in a sleeping coach with grannies and a nice lady. Reached Granada in Andalusia (everyone told me it wasnt going to be cold as i was travelling south, got there and it was snowing). Bought a wrong bus ticket from Granada to Cordoba. Ended up in the bus station for 12 hours. Missed Cordoba and went straight to Seville. Had to drag my huge luggage bag for almost 2km. Didnt bathe for 3 days but I smelled good. Wasted almost 500RM on that trip alone but it was awesome.
