came back on friday afternoon, after 2 weeks in europe. too many memories to put into words at this point, though i doubt that i will be able to recall all of them after i enter ns. 

first time i stayed in hostels, and i must say that it wasnt that bad an experience after all. sure, some strangers are sleeping in the same room as you, and that u tend to feel paranoid about your belongings, but other than that one gets to meet people from other cultures, plus lodging is far cheaper than a hotel.

as for not going on a tour, it allowed me to catch a glimpse into the daily lives of the people living and working in those cities. taking public transport, in the form of trams and trains was rather disturbing, though enriching. an example would be the london underground, where there are so many train lines that one can easily get lost in the system. the criss-cross of lines, plus the fact that one platform can service more than one destination, the trains tend to stop frequently between stations, the lights tend to flicker onboard some of the trains, and at times train lines or stations fail to function, and one gets chaos.