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It is now 3.30 a.m. I vowed to myself 3 hours previously that I will read about peripheral vascular disease. This is the punishment for sleeping the whole day today. And thus far I’ve only covered 2 pages. 10 more to go. I give up.

Let me reminisce about happier times. A time when books and exams are distant memories. My Eurotrip!! Yeah I (and my friend) did it on our own 4 feet! Within the span of 19 days, I’ve set my foot on 9 different countries all over Europe: Budapest, Hungary-Bratislava, Slovakia-Vienna, Austria-Krakow, Poland-Pague, Czech republic-Munich&Fussen, Germany-Lucern, Interlaken, Laussane&Geneva, Switzerland-Paris, France-Brussels, Belgium.

We brave sleepless bumpy nights on the train, confusing maps and road signs, annoying beggars, unrelenting fatigue, rice-less and meat-less days and open shower. And in doing so we met some very lovely people, sample interesting cuisine, witness breath-taking views of natural beauty and man-made architecture and generally had so much fun. Oh yeah, I learnt a lot too. Seriously I did. Here’s some (+advices too)..

1. Don’t trust the exchange rate quoted in the guide book. We get less for our british pound wherever we go.

2. If u can’t find your hostel, go into another hostel/hotel and ask. Chances are, the receptionist speak English.

3. If people stare at you, they are either: 1. Never seen someone as pretty before. 2. Never seen someone as exotic before 2. Had a bilateral squint-so they are actually looking at something else. The main point is, don’t take it to heart.

4. If you book a couchette on an overnight train, don’t expect to be able to sit at all. Lie on your tummy, sides or back to get comfortable. Just don’t sit up, not unless you want a head concussion.

5. Taking a wudhu’ (ablution before prayer) on a moving train can be tricky. having a good vestibular function helps.

6. Dont pass bowel motion in the toilet of a non-moving train. Chances are, people at the platform can see your stools once the train get moving (not that they can tell it’s your n’way). Passing water is less of an offense but is still frown upon.

7. Expect to just go to museums and lazing in starbucks / mccafe on sundays. All teh shops are close. Every single one. I guess people in Europe don’t have any emergency on Sundays. They don’t run out of baby napkins/milk, women’s tampon or paracetamol on Sundays.

8. Mc Cafe is even greater than starbucks. Do try.

9. If you are offered a cigarrete by a drunk man carrying a radio (blasting German rock song at full volume) do decline it politely, regardless of how tempting it is. I girl accepted, and the man ended up sleeping on her lap- and she ended up having vascular insufficiency/nerve compression of the lower limb after some time (or more famously known as ant-ant in malay)

10. Don’t offer Germans, Swiss or French people the shower before you. Chances are, they are going to strip right in front of you. Also keep your gaze low the whole time you are in the shower. Also expect no curtain or door to go with your shower cubicle.

11. Dont bother going to Lido or whatever in Paris-unless you have loads to spend. Various performances can be seen in the metro stations, in the train itself, or in the streets. From classic Chinese songs to puppet shows. It’s even free!-if you pretend you dont understand them when they come for money.

12. Learn to drink coffee in bowl, using spoon in Paris.

13. There are so many elderly people working for a living. They stand from morning to night trying to make a sale. And as it near 10 p.m, one old man looked dejectedly at the dying flowers by his feet. It touches the heart. This is not supposed to happen.

14. Let yourself be 7 again in Disneyland Paris. Scream in excitement when you catch side of Minnie. Wave and jump like crazy at the processions. Run up the stairs of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, imagining you are Beauty. Believe in true love, for one day. Ha.

15. Be prepared to be spellbound by the beauty of switzerland. Blue skies, Green Mountains, with splashes of whites from the distant Jungfrau and greenish blue lakes. You have to see it to be spellbounded.

16. King Ludwig WAS crazy. Certified by Dr B, my previous PBL tutor whose great3x grandfather was the psychiatrist treating the king. He was found dead alongside with the king-who drowned in a lake, but who was known to be a good swimmer. After all, genius borders insanity. There’s a thin line between them. It takes a genius and a madman to envision and build a magnificent castle with the backdrop of mountains, waterfalls, lakes and valleys.

17. There is never a shortage of sadist psychopaths who take pleasure in killing and torturing fellow humans. Austwich-Birkeneau concentration camp is a testament to this. Sadly, there is no ‘Austwich-Birkeneau’ in Sebrenica Bosnia, Darfur Sudan, or Shabra and Shatilla in Palestine. We must take heed of all these, because “if one does not understand history, one is bound to live through it again”. “Unlimited, however, are the moral and physical powers that man has within him” to face the oppressors.

18. If you think you have been to the biggest, greatest museum on science and technology, you have seen nothing yet till you’ve been to Deutsche museum in Munich. Proper hydration and lots of sugar-based food is advised. Be selective. Just visit displays that interest you. After you have decided, half the list. Even then, you will still feel like vomiting after 5-6 hours. For the brave hearted, you can push to 7 hours maximum. Once you experience the following symptoms, I advise you to get the hell out of there; dizziness, unsteadiness, leg cramps, blurry vision and difficulty differentiating a ship from an aeroplane. And i do mean get out quick. The same advise is applicable when visiting the Louvre in Paris as well.

19. Go to Brussels just for the waffle and the chocolate. Unless a monument of a-3 year old growth hormone deficient boy doing what a boy does (peeing in public) is your cup of tea.

That’s it. I cant think of anything no more. 19 lessons for 19 days. I think that is enough. There’s a lot more lessons that is too complicated and intricate that requires more than one lousy paragraph. It need a proper face-to-face story-telling with lots of high-pitched squels and hands flying in the air. Enough said.

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