I WENT TO ICELAND!

Hi everyone! If you read my previous posts, I mentioned about exciting things happening in July. Well, it's finally July & I'm excited to share that I went to Iceland for 12 nights with my partner in crime, Syahirah! We've been planning (terribly) for months now and I can't believe up till now that we pulled it all through! So there you have it, my 'big secret unveiling'. 

Day 0  | 6th - 7th July
Changi Airport

Of course first up, to the airport. This was actually my very first time taking a flight and sort of travelling alone. So yes, it was definitely nerve wrecking to not have anyone by my side and a very very long flight at that. Though, I was lucky enough to have met a local mother and her daughter travelling via the same route as me. With that I was partly relieved, in case I got lost in transit.

After a gruelling 11 hour flight + 2 hour transit in Helsinki + another 3 hour flight, I made it to Reykjavik, Iceland! By then I kinda lost my 'local' family, so I was on my own. I gathered up some nerve, got my money changed and bought some tickets to the BSI Terminal.

I bought tickets through Flybus/Reykjavik Excursions which is a very reliable Airport shuttle to get from the Keflavik Airport to the Reykjavik area which cost me 1950 Icelandic Kronas = SGD 19.83 or I simply just divide the Kronas by a 100 to get the SGD conversion immediately.

We booked an apartment through Airbnb and got a pretty nice deal for 12 nights with each of us having to only pay SGD498 for accommodation.  However, as our location was a little far off from town and it is afterall someone's home and not a guesthouse/hotel they Flybus couldn't send us there. So naturally, we had to stop at BSI Terminal which is where tour buses drop off and pick up passengers. Now from the BSI, I could either take the public buses called, Stræto or the the cab. A Stræto bus trip would cost 400 Kr (regardless of where you go). I however opted for the cab as I didn't want to trouble myself with all my luggage. The cab fare was about 2200 Kr which is pretty expensive for a 10-15 min ride.

& I finally got to the doorstep of my new home for 2 weeks. Not gonna lie, I felt pretty darn proud of myself for even making it there quite smoothly I would say.

So this was my home:

From the entrance way

The kitchen

On the back where there's a painting, that's where our room is. We have a giant wooden sliding door to close for privacy.

I would say the house owner, Embla, she's a very creative person. Her home is her creativity. 

Our little room and the bed up the ladder. Very simple room.

 And since I had almost 12 hours to spare before my companion arrives, I took the liberty to explore around the area. Our area is located in the industry/factory area, so there really is nothing much there. Though I took a walk at the park nearby where a lot of people take their dogs out.

If it's your first time using Airbnb you can click here for a $34 SGD for your first trip!

You can also view my Profile for more information regarding my Airbnb home for this trip.

Day 1 | 8th July

Syahirah arrived the home at midnight. We did some planning and got to sleep for a little while. We then took our first Stræto ride to town.

Inside the bus. You know how Icelandic words are so hard to pronounce. I feel like in the English language perspective, the Icelandic language are made up of impossible alphabets that are put side by side and sounds entirely different from how it looks like. The little reader on the bus, tells you which stop you are on, so that made travelling a lot easier.

Of course our first stop would be food! With no food buys, we had nothing and were starving so we ate at this Mediterranean shop I believe is called Mandi. 

I got a chicken mix set for 1450 Kr. The price was not too bad for how filling it is. & I really like it!

Next up, we went to a really nice cafe (our favourite) near the Old Harbor.

Got us some Hot Mocha

Me attempting to do the Dreachong walk & pose and failing....

i mean...close enough right...no?

Hallgrímskirkja Church

As we were walking around town, we found a very well-known landmark in Reykjavik which is the church. You could go up and have a pretty nice view of the town but with a small price. Of course, us being us, we didn't go up partly cause we were on a tight budget and maybe we were really lazy to do so.

Pardon the black dots on the following pictures. Those were from my brother which I presume is sand from somewhere tskkk

Selfie of us with the church!

Then of course we had to visit the grocery store to stock up on our empty food supply. We mostly bought dry food like bread, granola bars, spreads, banana..etc. I guess thats no wonder why I lost a little weight from the trip lol.

Day 2 | 9th July
Blue Lagoon

Finally a day we got around to doing something touristy! We went to the famous Blue Lagoon. It is a geothermal pool which basically means it is heated. After my long flight, this was a really nice treat. We initially got lost cause we pinned at the wrong Blue Lagoon. It is not in Reykjavik! It is in Keflavik! We ended up at a hair salon place called Blue Lagoon Spa but we then soon found our way 2 hours later lol.

Info regarding the prices will be listed down below.

No makeup/shower ootd specials. haaa 

We made ittt!

I've read reviews on tripadvisor saying about how it's not hot and not worth it. In my honest opinion, granted it is extremely overpriced for a geothermal pool, I would say it is a must go place in Iceland no matter what. Regarding the hotness, it is warm on average but if you sit around the areas where there are some major steam going on, there will be reallyyy hot. & really nice!

The really hot area I mentioned about. I like to shower hot, so I would say my 'hot' threshold is pretty up there. So when I say it is hot, it is pretty darn hot!

Best part is that you get to apply free Silica Mud Masks. We definitely abused it. But then again, technically if you think about it, for the price of the admission and bus, you kinda paid for it in a way.

Don't mind if I continue laying in here.

Yes, I am back in Singapore and I refuse to believe that I have to be a responsible adult again. For now I've been rehydrating myself with water and moisturiser. And using my time on yoga and being lazy at home. 

I do not wish to go back to work or to anything. *shreds responsibilities in the paper machine*

bye.

Blue Lagoon

http://www.bluelagoon.com/

What we got: 

Standard: €45 Adult (Save waiting time by booking online)

Flybus to Blue Lagoon from BSI: 3600 Kr

To save about $2 SGD, book your admission and transportation together on the site.