I woke up around 10:30 right in time to have the last few leftovers of the free breakfast. Everyone was in the lounge already. I was so woozy coz I hardly slept. My thoughts were all over the place when I went to bed. I don’t think that the booze was of much help to me, for it just magnified my subconscious feelings.
They were all in the lounge and I felt antisocial. I quietly collected my laundry and prepared packing up again. I had to plan the next destination which was Vienna, and as always, packing up and planning always stressed me to bits. I think Mel and Will noticed I wasn’t in the mood at all. So they just let me to my space.
Although it was still raining outside, I decided to go out around 3:30 pm. With all of the instructions from Mr.G’s email, I decided to gear up for the rain and shoot off. The people were still in the lounge, watching the movie “Into the wild”.
Instead of catching the shuttle, I chose to do the 45-minute walk to town. My trousers were still a little bit damp from the rain and my shoes were still wet, but I didn’t mind. Woozy with lack of sleep, I still liked the idea that I was going to explore the town by myself. Sometimes I find myself a little bit confusing. When I’m by myself, I seem to look for company. But when I’m with company, I still like to have moments by myself.
I took my time walking from the hostel. I looked at the designs of the houses along the way and took some photos. After a few blocks, an old gentleman stared at me then suddenly stopped me with his question of “Thailand? Malaysian? Korean”. I told him where I was from and he said “Ahh, Asia? Eh speak Polish?” I answered, “Only English”. He nodded his head and said goodbye.
It wasn’t the first time that I got stared at. In one of the shops in town, a girl also asked me and explained to me that my face was unique which is why people stared at me. I did tell Greg after my visit to Poland, that I’ve been getting stares from the locals, most especially in Zakopane. He did explain to me that my features would have looked exotic. I’ve never been used to being stared at but I knew there’s were all out of curiosity as compared to the stares of men in Morocco (or those I got in Vienna).
After munching on a few Oscypki and passing by the post office, I quickly looked for the shuttle station in
town and told them that I had to get off at the Sanktuario. The driver dropped me off and I quickly found Siuchaisko. That was one of the options Greg listed up for me, so I could experience local cuisine. I went inside and found the place really cozy and the interior was traditionally decorated.
I ordered myself an Okocim (Jasne Pelne) for my booze and for the main course, I opted for their special meal Karczma Siuchajsko, which was roasted sheep. The guy also offered me to add in their salad, which I noticed, almost everyone in the resto ordered. While waiting for my order, I observed the families who arrived. I smiled at the kid who approached my table and gave me a curious look. Maybe even he thought I looked exotic. The lady across my table smiled, I felt a little bit at home although I was the only one eating dinner by myself.
By the time my meal arrived, my gurgling tummy was right on to it. I had to stop myself from scoffing the food too quick. The meat was juicy and the salad that came along with it made it more delicious. I wasn’t really sure what kind of veggies those were though. The walk and evening’s local experience definitely helped my mood. By the time I was done with dinner, I was happy chappy.
Around 5:50 pm, the group of musicians arrived in the traditional Polska attire. There were 3 guys who played the fiddle and a guy who played the cello. He was the only one who had a black inner lining to his top, while the rest of the band wore all white. All of them wore trousers with black lining and one of them had a black hat. By 6 pm, they started playing the traditional Polish music. It was really fun listening and watching them. I took some photos and a quick video as a remembrance. The lady across smiled again at me, of course, with my different look, I was definitely a tourist in the area.
By 7 pm, I paid the bill and decided to call it a night, feeling dizzy after the 1 pint of beer and lack of sleep. I always find hating myself after a night of drinking.. telling myself I won’t ever do that again. I decided to stop by the Sanctuario and visit the church. As I got in, I was surprised to see the church filled up with locals, all kneeling. I found myself cringing in the corner, teary-eyed. I found it touching that there were a lot of believers, coz for the past weeks, I found it ironic that there were so many massive cathedrals I’ve visited, just to find there were more tourists visiting than people who were observing. This was something I had to ask Mr.G about, and I did get a bit of background and explanation to the background of the culture. Again, I’d rather not discuss religion.
I stopped by a mini grocery and bought Mel the noodles I promised her. By 8 pm, I was walking up the small hill back to the hostel. On the way, I bumped into Mel and Will who were walking along with the new bunch of people who arrived that day. They were going out to have a dinner at a nearby restaurant. Will was munching what was left of the stickos from the hostel. They invited me to join but I opted to stay behind.
I got back to the hostel to find the 2 Dutch girls, then Tilly, Ally, Shelly, Amanda and Stan. Shelly (the guy from England), was really sweet to ask me if I was okay. I said I was, though I was wondering why he asked. He said he just he should. I think he saw me in a bad mood when I left the hostel.
We finished the night by having Stan choose a movie. He chose 180degrees, a documentary movie about an American guy who tried to work his way up one of the peaks in Patagonia, Chile. The girls found it a little bit boring and Shelly on the other hand was falling into deep sleep, struggling to keep his eyes open whilst yawning continuously.
Around 12 pm, we found ourselves disappointed with the conclusion of the movie, but still laughing about it. The group arrived from dinner and I said goodbye and goodnight to Mel and Will, explaining I was catching the 7:15 am bus back to Krakow the following morning, so couldn’t stay up late. Amanda asked for my details and asked me to meet up her friend Luki in Vienna. I hugged her goodnight and promised that I’d keep in touch.
I said goodnight to Shelly, who was the next bed to mine, and also said Thank you for asking if I was okay. I warned him about my alarm, knowing I’d most probably wake him up the following morning. He said it was okay coz he had to wake up early too…first day at work. Before sleeping, I hugged Mel goodbye.
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