irritable and lethargic..and some observations in spain

irritable and lethargic..

im feeling so warm, sticky and uncomfortable. its a feeling that i felt too often since i got back. is it the warm weather here or it is simply coz it’s a far cry from what i felt in spain?

im so easily irritated. maybe it the weather, or maybe.. im sufering from jet lag. spent the whole day sleeping away today and woke only to have dinner with wei. what a nice change of lifestyle.

many have been asking abt my trip. and wanting to see photos.. but i really have NO idea what to do with all the photos i have. prob take weeks to sort them all out. i guess.. i have to show them by the day on my blog.. slowly..

anyway, here are some of the observations that i made in spain. purely my own point of views based from my experience there..

1. there are a lot more beggers around and u’ll be surprised that they’ll really walk up to you (much like the aggressive tissues sellers we have here, but they have nothing to exchange in return for your money)

2. beware of the kids and teenagers. they may look cute and innocent, but a lot of them are pickpockets. actually, the elderly too. u really cant tell the good apart from the bad

3. no one washes their cars there.. everyone of them is so darn dusty. the only few clean ones belongs to the super rich people who have chauffeurs to drive them around.

4. they practice “siesta” in spain n portugal. they stop working for lunch and goes home to take a nap before heading back to work in the evenings.. hence, almost all the shops are closed during 1pm – 6pm. irritating isnt it?

5. it hard to find public toilets to use. places like fast food chains lock their toilets and are reserved for their patrons only.

6. all the fast food chains (Mac, BK n KFC etc) have guards in their premises. i heard they chase u out if u are hanging around not eating or when u are done with eating.

7. there are graffiti art all over the place! on the floors, walls of buildings, sidewalks, virtually everywhere! and i must admit, some of them are really fantastic!

8. the zara & mango stores here are huge. esp zara. they can have huges stores area x 4 levels high.. not to mention that i noticed that there are always 2 zara a couple of shops apart. not sure why, but some of the merchandise are different in both of the shops.

9. Spaniards eat this thing called paella – a saffron-flavored Spanish dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken, and seafood.. it’s like a mushy lot with everything mixed together.. and i havent eaten one that i think its palatable.

10. people there has no sense of urgency. they’ll make u wait for everything.. everything is just so slow moving. for eg., u ask for a new piece of merchandise and they’ll take a LONG LONG time to bring u one..

anyway, on the overall.. i didnt have a good impression of spain. quite a bit of bad experiences. i was nearly pickpocketed at Park Guell (a park built by Gaudi) on the 2nd or 3rd day. the tennager girl is already holding my wallet ready to run when my uncle caught her red handed. i was also put on a wild goose chase at the madrid and france airport to get back my tax refund. imagine the frenzy i was when i was asked to “pin-pong” between the amex counter and the taxation office several times while my plane is due to depart in 25 mins?

i am indeed glad to be back here, with the exception of the hot weather. i guess.. u’ll never get the best of both world. heh. 😉