After weeks of proscrasinating – not really, I have to justify our perpetual absence; we were indeed overwhelmed with Psyche preps and all, not including our half-hearted attempts trying not to flunk our CAs in between rehearsals/performances and after, and the mountainload of lapreports and projects….
Okayyy. I’m wayyyyy too off-topic.
So, we decided that we’ve got to meet and really, really talk about our actual plans though we see each other on a near daily basis, it gets pretty hard to iron out details without getting distracted online and getting sidetracked. SOON.
This afternoon, in the 2 hours break between Pharmacotherapy tutorial and Biotech lecture, Jingwen and Grace went to the STA Travel branch at NUS Co-op to check out what they have there, and Jingwen came back armed with a STA Euro Travel guide? and some pamphlets regarding travel insurance, the STA Student Card etc.
And I was just sitting at my lil’ corner of the LT(24), munching on my apple/Spin’s breakfast roll, effectively minding my own business when I was ambushed! by Jwen and hence began our travel planning – PROPER!!! =)
In short, short summary, we’ve decided on:
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the countries that we’ll be visiting besides Holland, namely: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, and perhaps Luxemborg!
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THE checklist: i.e. stuffies that we’ve gotta do, and do FAST
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and the start of our travel expense calculations =(
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THE Checklist
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1. Air Tickets
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STA: availability, pricing and airline of air tickets
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Difference in expenditure should we decide to return to Sg from another country (not Holland, cos’ it’s a tad silly ro travel all the wayyyy back to Holland from whichever country on the last stop of our itinery to catch a flight)
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And which country would it be cheapest to fly back from!
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2. SEP related matters
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Transport to work: cycle? walk? public transport?
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Accommodation: token sum needed or no?
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Possibility of language barrier/ problems during our preceptorship?
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How do we get from the airport to Mrs. Tijoe’s place?
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Will we have the same working days, and on which 3 days of the week? (It’s purportedly a 3 days workweek for us)
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3. Getting around in Holland
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From city to city - car rental? train?
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Note to self: gotta settle on a travel itinerary for Holland so we can fix a date to meet up with Joris!
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Emergency contact numbers, contact numbers in general
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4. Eurail Pass Purchase
- Eurail Select Pass Youth:
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15 days within 2 months for 5 countries will cost 463 Euros! (horrors!)
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10 days within 2 months, 5 countries: 363 Euros
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10 days within 2 months, 4 countries: 339 Euros
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NOTE: deciding if we’ll need the Eurail Pass to get around Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
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5. Itinerary for Countries!
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Countries we intend to pop by: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France and perhaps Luxemborg
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NOTE: deciding if we’ll need the Eurail Pass to get around Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg
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Our attachment starts on 30th June (Monday) proper, and should we get our tickets, we’ll arrive on the 27th (Thurs) so we’ll have 2-3 days to explore our city, Uretcht!
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Another weekend or 2 to explore the rest of Holland (kinda short, but we’re trying to make the best out of our miniscule Europe trip!)
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Trips to Belgium and Luxemborg will most likely take place during the 4 non-working days
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Travelling to Germany (perhaps we can drop by and visit Xinyi) -> Switzerland -> France -> Holland? (pending)
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Read up on places worth exploring in all the above mentioned countries!!!
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6. Other Travel Related Matters
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Visa applications! (Applicable to all the countries we are planning to visit?)
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STA Student Card application
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Travel Insurance
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Submit Bank Acct form to NUS PharmDept =)
. . .
(awaiting pictures)
. . .
Estimated Travel Expenses per girlfriend (to date)
1. Air Tickets: $1500 ++
2. ISIC (STA student card): $15
3. Visa: (est) $100
4. Eurail Pass (5 countries, 15 days): $1000
4. Travel Insurance: $200
Total: $2815 -> HORRORS!!!
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xoxo,
Xue Fen! =)
Kudos to the other girlfriend for setting up this blog, and decorating it and stuff. Im blessed to have her as my fellow traveller!
