Nepal

Heidiland

When one travels to her/his favourite country many times, one will never go bored and will always look forward to something new to do or places to visit. In my last trip to Switzerland, I wanted to go to Engelberg, just to relax and spend some time alone with Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi’s biography. A fellow colleague wanted to do the same except that she didn’t include being alone as part of the plan. Since I didn’t mind having a like-minded individual as company, we decided to go to Engelberg together. Well, that was the original plan until the hotel concierge persuaded us to join the tour to Heidiland instead. Trusting the recommendation of a local, we opted for Heidiland.

Our journey started with a brief city tour of Zurich which I think it’s more for the first-timers. Nonetheless, there’s always some little new facts to learn. In this case, it was the oldest vegetarian restaurant known in the Western world. Then we made our journey to Rappersville via a scenic drive along Lake Zurich and climbing a hill-side road where we could savour a nice view of the city. When we reached Rappersville, we walked around a little and ended up having a nice meal in a local restaurant there. I had a glass of rosé and I feel just fine despite the rather rainy weather outside.

The highlight of the whole tour was witnessing the changing landscapes of greenery. As it was raining, we could not see the white mountains clearly. Then we arrived at Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, one of the smallest countries in the world. The economy is mainly survived by tourism, banking, small businesses and postal (stamps). In Vaduz, with the castle where Prince Hans-Adam II resides above us, we just took a walk and bought ourselves an ice-cream cone each at a café opened by Filipinos.

Then we departed for Heidiland.

Still in the midst of water pouring outside our coach, we felt like the whole trip was made for older folks who just want to see places in the comfort of sitting down. We arrived at Heidi’s Village. Honestly, I have a hard time remembering anything about Heidi as I could not recall any stories about this village farm girl. It supposed to be a famous children bedtime story but for me, I never knew anything other than Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. In Heidi’s Village, we were told that Heidi’s house is at the top of the hill which probably need an hour to hike. We didn’t go, as there was a replica at the foot of the hill. Anyway, time didn’t permit us either.

We rested at the mini farm of Heidi’s replica home. We were befriended by the farm animals consisting of roosters, hen and goats. Before long, we left Heidiland and headed for Zurich. We concluded the tour without any wow experience or encounter, perhaps due to our moody selves and the rainy weather at that time of the year.

Perhaps, I should have made a trip to Nyon to see Swiss Aunt instead of just speaking to her on the phone.

Malicious

Growing up, everyone has their own social faux pas. Some people have more social gatherings than others and they must have more chances in making their social blunders and learn from them earlier than others. Some with less sociable lives may find themselves learning about those unwritten, brutal social rules and rites much later. After all, we all grow up in very different circumstances and environment.

Along the way, valuable lessons were learnt, adding towards social maturity and awareness to oneself. What is more important is in the process, you know who your friends truly are. And you can always rule out those who make eye-contact or whisper unpleasantries to their fellow compatriots as the ones with an ugly intent. Such ungraceful act can only be compared to those who laugh when a person falls. Is it due to their own short-comings or they are just plain malicious?

It makes a cruel world out there when there are people like this. On the brighter side, it also makes you treasure who your true buddies are and your loved ones who will love you no matter what.