This took place a few weeks ago, but I couldn't find the time to write until now.
2025 is a milestone year for me because I turned 50 in June.
I didn't want just my birthday month to be special, but to celebrate the entire year as a whole.
The first 5 months were already amazing, with events like La La Land In Concert, Adam Kay's This Is Going To Hurt, and my favourite musical of all time, The Phantom Of The Opera, not to mention meet and greets with Justin Hurwitz, Kay and Ben Forster.
Iceland had been on my bucket list for quite a while, but I was always hesitant to go because of concerns about the weather and physical activity level.
The option to do an easy tour was available, but I felt that it would dilute the experience.
So in mid-2024, I took the plunge, booked an intense 7-day itinerary, and prepped by building up my stamina with various exercise routines.
The result: an epic, unforgettable week in the most gorgeous country I've ever seen, and the perfect setting for an important time of my life.
The trip had a rocky start.
On the morning of day 1, I followed the tour company's instruction to be at the pick-up location "by XX time", but the mini-bus didn't arrive until 45 minutes later.
And thanks to a strange policy about tour vehicles not being allowed to pick passengers up directly from hotels, I had to walk 10 minutes to an unsheltered bus-stop with my large suitcase and 2 bags.
This wouldn't have been problematic, except that morning, there was a hurricane-like wind whipping through Reykjavik at 45-50km/hr; and since I weigh less than 50kg, it almost blew me off my feet multiple times.
The 5 degrees Celsius temperature and wind chill factor added to the misery. Despite wearing appropriate attire, my teeth started to chatter and I seriously questioned my life choices haha.
Fortunately, an Indian man was at the same bus-stop waiting for another tour, so we struck up a conversation and kept each other company, even laughing at the absurdity of our situation.
Once that was over, the rest of the tour proceeded smoothly.
We had a full capacity of 18 travellers with an international mix ( USA, Australia, etc. ) mostly middle-aged to elderly, and a few going solo like me, including an American lady in her 70s.
It turned out to be a great group - friendly and caring, experienced and considerate.
Everyone kept to the tight time schedule and nobody made a fuss about anything.
Best of all, I clicked with a Malaysian-Chinese lady from Sydney - now we're friends on Facebook. :)
As for Iceland itself, words alone don't do it justice, but if you follow my social media accounts, you would've seen the spectacular photos and videos I posted.
I've travelled extensively for the past 25 years, including to countries with jaw-dropping scenery like New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway.
NZ was at the top of this list for 22 years before it was finally dethroned by Iceland.
Although it was technically the start of the summer season, daily temperatures remained at an average of 0-5 degrees Celsius.
I've never been a fan of cold weather so the first couple of days were a bit rough, but I soon acclimatized and that's when I really started to enjoy the tour.
The best way to describe Iceland is "NZ on steroids" haha.
The places I mentioned above share some similarities in terms of scenery ( majestic mountains and glaciers, gorgeous coasts, beautiful lakes ), but Icelandic nature is truly next level with an otherworldly quality.
The itinerary was also thoughtfully curated, with a distinct theme each day.
One focused on waterfalls, one had glaciers and the nearby glacier lagoon, another took us to volcanic craters, lava fields and geothermal parks.
I did a whale watching cruise and saw a whale surface just a few metres from our boat; I completed an epic 4-hour glacier hike ( so glad I trained hard for this! ); I saw wild puffins in their natural cliffside habitat ( bonus stop not on the itinerary! ); I hiked to the top of a dormant volcano, and got up close to adorable Icelandic horses at a farm.
I also enjoyed the 24-hour bright skies ( no sunset while I was there ) and wide variety of weather - aside from day 1's crazy winds, there was transient hale, snow and rain.
When we passed through the northern region, we were surrounded by endless vistas of snow.
It was magical. :)
The Icelandic people were also very welcoming, and the food was consistently above average to excellent, though pricey.
Best of all, tourist numbers are still much smaller compared to other nations.
The southern part had the most people, while other regions were pretty much deserted.
Coming from noisy and overcrowded Singapore, that was like heaven to me.
It didn't hit me at the time, but on hindsight, I would say that Iceland is now #1 on the list of places I've been to so far ( #2 Paris, #3 New York City ).
Will I go back one day? Very likely, and only during summer.
I won't survive anything below zero degrees for sure.
Conclusion:
Go to Iceland at least once in your life.
If you're fit enough, do all the physically demanding stuff which will greatly enrich the experience.
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The second leg of the trip was spent in Paris, with 2 days in Normandy.
I first visited France in 2010 - did a panoramic tour and completely fell in love with it.
I returned to Paris in 2017, and it is still my favourite city ( from a tourist's perspective of course ).
Paris was an absolute must for me for this milestone birthday, and suffice to say, my week spent there was marvelous.
Much has changed since 2017 - I noticed a lot more security and barricades at major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur and Saint Chapelle.
Many places were also under construction - e.g. the Notre-Dame cathedral, where only the front facade was unobstructed.
This caused me great sadness because I remember back in 2010, I was able to take a leisurely 360-degree stroll around it to admire its incredible architecture.
But what struck me most were the horrendous crowds everywhere.
Compared to 8 years ago, the number of tourists has skyrocketed, though still tolerable compared to cities like Tokyo and Bangkok. ( Bangkok gave me nausea and headache. )
I'm glad that at least those in Paris have remained civil - no pushing / cutting queues / rudeness, even from the notorious PRCs.
The worst of it occurred at the Louvre, specifically in the room with the Mona Lisa.
I describe it as "controlled chaos" - I slowly oozed my way to the front, snapped a few quick photos then spent the rest of my time at other exhibits.
Overtourism has taken its toll on the Parisians, as evidenced by a strike by the Louvre's exhausted staff 2 days after my visit, and another by taxi drivers the day after my arrival.
( I feel immensely lucky to have escaped both. )
The government / authorities obviously aren't doing enough - no doubt because they're reaping billions from the influx - but it isn't just affecting the Parisians, but fellow tourists like me too.
One of the things I love most about travelling is interacting with the locals and soaking in their culture.
This is impossible when foreigners outnumber residents and entire cities become overcommercialized.
Normandy was similar, with small towns swarming with tour groups, and nothing but shops and restaurants in every direction.
I ended up shopping only at a bakery at Saint-Malo which sold unusual biscuits. Most of the other stores had almost identical souvenirs.
The 2-day tour had only 20 travellers, but everyone was very pleasant, and I especially enjoyed our overnight stay which included a group dinner.
I sat with a married couple from Brazil and a young ex-Marine from the U.S who was solo like me.
The former work at a company that manages Brazil's most popular YouTube pop culture channel, while the latter shared fascinating insights about how the U.S. military functions and its close relationship with Trump and the GOP.
Although the American didn't say outright that he's a Republican, based on his remarks, it was clear that he voted for Trump; and to his credit, he was very amused by our questions and comments about POTUS and his minions, giving us patient and diplomatic answers.
He was quite good-looking too, but sadly, we only spoke that one time and didn't exchange contact information. :)
Multiple friends have complained to me about their bad encounters in France.
While such incidents have been reported by many tourists, I personally have never had this problem.
In fact, the numerous wonderful and memorable interactions my mum and I had with the locals during our first trip in 2010 ( we went to lots of places outside Paris, including Nice, Provence, Avignon and Lyon ) were what made us love the French so much.
I remember an elderly Frenchman at a street market in Lyon who spoke minimal English and communicated with us through gestures.
He asked where we're from - when I said Singapore, he used his hands to draw the 3 towers of Marina Bay Sands hotel.
Upon recognizing the shape, I smiled and replied, "Casino!"
"Oui oui! Casino!" And the 3 of us laughed heartily.
Ahhh, j'aime la france! :)
Last but not least, I still find the French the most gorgeous people I've seen so far - another reason I keep going back haha.
But it isn't just good looks - they also possess what I call an old-world charm, especially in terms of manners.
As a solo traveller who took many long walks around Paris, I directly interacted with its residents on a regular basis ( these exclude shops, restaurants and hotels ).
At the Cimetière de Passy, I asked a handsome young Frenchman if he knew where Claude Debussy's grave is.
He didn't, but was delightfully apologetic about it, and wished me "good luck!" before we parted ways.
On another day, I spent time at the Seine, watching boats pass as I strolled along the bank.
Some of them had French schoolchildren on board, who waved and shouted "Bonjour!", and I gamely waved back.
At one of the public restrooms, I met a group of French schoolgirls ( aged around 9-10 ). I wasn't sure if they were queueing for the cubicles but they didn't understand English when I spoke to them. In the end, they giggled and politely moved to the side for me.
Why can't kids in Singapore be like this??
Alas, it will be another 7-8 years before I return... sigh!
That's it for this entry.
Thanks for reading. :)
