Subway Champion

I find there is something rather self-gratifying about successfully navigating myself on the subway in an unfamiliar (and foreign) city.

Even though most underground networks have apps to plan routes and English announcements at each station, I can't help but gain a sense of achievement when I arrive somewhere I want to be. I feel like a pioneer, exploring unchartered territory on a newfangled method of transport.

Not only do you have to figure out which direction on the correct line, you also have to manoeuvre through the crazed crowds akin to a wildebeest stampede while maintaining your balance when the carriages move (getting a seat is the epitome of happiness).

Don't get me wrong, I have traversed the underground in places such as London, Barcelona and Beijing, yet each time I visit a new place, I feel like I almost deserve some kind of certificate for using the metro system.

For that reason, I have proudly kept the subway cards as souvenirs of my trip.

I conquered the Seoul and Shanghai Underground! Woo!

Perhaps it's just the countryside Welsh boy feeling like an accomplished adult in the city. But I often get lost when left to my own devices and usually depend on the charity of friends to find the way. So this trip has so far been nothing short of a triumph. Am I the only person that feels like a champion if I make it to a destination via the tube?

Today will involve a train journey, two flights and a fair amount of waiting around. But it's worth it. 再见中国, 你好越南！ I am excited to go back to Hanoi again!

Hôm nay sẽ là một ngày dài. Không sao đầu! No Star Where! Bây giờ tôi bắt đầu một cuộc hành trình dài về Hà Nội. Tôi đã đi Hà Nội 4 lần rồi. Tôi rất háo hức vì chuyến đi này (∩_∩)