OK.....This part of the trip really puzzled me. I can't really recall much, even with the pictures. This was because, I was unable to get connected to the Wifi.
Yes, there was Wifi available for us to use. Two units of moving hotspot for the whole convoy, but each unit only able to connect to 8 mobile phones at a time. So we have to take turns to be able to use it. But I was busy looking outside the camper van's window that I totally forgot to check my location. But we were heading towards Schwyz, which is not far from Lucerne.
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| From one town to another..to get to our destination |
We were 'ohhhh..ahhhhh'ing at the sight we see outside the van. It was beautiful. The weather was pleasant, the sun was out from hiding among the clouds and maybe....maybe nothing can go wrong today.
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| Lake Lucerne |
Using the state road(?) (2b, according to Google Map), we passed small towns. Lake Lucerne was on our right and on our left stood the Mount Rigi dominating the landscape in this region.
Lake Lucerne? Mount Rigi?...How did I managed to trace our location? All because of this one particular camper van...'Temerloh'
As usual, a request from 'Temerloh's' co-pilot to stop to take some pictures. Syibli whom was driving at the front of the group made a stop.
It was breath taking....(atleast to me)
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| Almost all of the team were over that side..under the trees. You can clearly make out Syibli (in stripes), Januar (in denim shirt), Rose (in red..of course), Hafiz.. Coke, Pah and Sab (left most) and Abang Rashid (sleeveless sweater) |
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| Boat traversing the lake |
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| Our home away from home |
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| Tasha and Rose |
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| Abang Rashid and Kak Mona Jet setting around the world, my camper van partner (during the day). After the trip will be heading for Prague... |
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| I remembered a scene in "You've Got Mail" movie, when Meg Ryan told Tom Hanks "Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?" |
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| Pine cones |
The lake was huge. It was picturesque..bla bla bla..what else? We took pictures to our hearts content. Nice landscape and so Syibli gave us some pointers on how you could take nice pictures. Most of the things you've probably read about, but this time you see how it's done.
Anyway, how did I managed to trace our route was because of this simple sign...
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| Reinsert (says the sign)...found the place in Google Map |
We continued our journey along the lake and stopped at a bus parking area to have lunch while the smaller A1 do some recce of the campsite which we were going to spend the night.
Bad news! News from the recce team said the campsite at the town of Vitznau is closed during autumn season. Oh no! There were more campsites ahead of us but none were open too! This is just from bad to worse. But hey!...we're travelling on camper van. What we need was a parking spot and we sleep for the night! Easy!
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| The house at bottom right must have the nicest view of the lake |
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| A perfect place to spend the night. |
So we continued our journey until we arrived at Brunnen, a hamlet in the town of Ingenbohl. We stopped because there's a field of long grass there which we find quite fascinating. Another photo opportunity for all of us. We went separated ways. Some went to the lake, some took photos among the shoulder height grass.
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| (l-r) Hafiz, Dinie, Harun, Tasha and Muhammad |
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| Panoramic view of the area |
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| Lake Lucerne in the distance |
This was also the place where Saiful Nang took my picture which I use as my Fb cover photo. It was late in the evening, where the light was low but the result of the picture taken by him was awesome! (to me).... He showed me the setting of the camera, none out of the ordinary actually. But the composition (I actually cropped the picture to fit into the Fb cover) was nice! And yes...it was my batch's 20th anniversary polo shirt.
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| Picture of me with camera and GoPro Taken by Saiful Nang himself |
By now, we all know the drill. Stop for about 15-30 minutes before we continue our journey. But the unthinkable happened. This was the worst by far. Dinie who was driving 'Ganu' camper van lost his keys!
It was already dark when he realised the keys were missing. We used the LED of the smartphone to look for the keys among the tall grass. We searched high and low for it, but came back empty handed.
A decision was made that night, we parked there for the night. We had a quick dinner which consist of instant noodles and after that converted the van into sleeping mode. That night we spend time talking because SN and Syibli came over to our camper van (the SNAP crew sleeps in A1). We talked over cup of Milo and coffee while Syibli prepared his special fried potato with paprika. It was a hit in cold weather! The only thing the crew reminded us was to conserve water. That done, lights off and sleep.
Next morning, I heard Dinie shouted that he had found the keys. Alhamdulillah (all praises and thanks be to Allah). The other option is for the 'Ganu' team divided among the other camper vans, while Dinie travels to DRM's branch in Switzerland to get the replacement keys. He then have to catch up with the rest of the team in Lake Como, Italy.
So we spent the morning taking pictures with Syibli. He taught us how to use the filter and the setting of the camera. We compared pictures and Syibli gave comments and suggestions to improve our technique. Especially on the 'art of seeing'
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| (l-r) Radzi, Che Mun, Syibli (partially hidden), Harun (the farthest), Muhammad, Hafiz and Zach |
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| we were taking pictures when two guests came unannounced... |
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| A dandelion with a bug |
We left the area right after breakfast and head towards Lake Como in Italy. But there's a long way infront of us. To avoid boredom, we soak in the sceneries, snap some pictures or even catch some sleep. But I know the occupants of 'Temerloh' camper van will be busy eating. There will be breakfast, elevenses, brunch and I suspect a 'pre-lunch' if there's such thing.
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| The structure above is not roof of a tunnel, but barrier against heavy snowfall in winter |
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| Entering the canton of Uri |
The driver has been driving for hours and the rest need to stop at a proper Rest and Refuel area and use the WC. What a relief!
It was quite a big pump/petrol station . There's a cafe, a slot machine area and the WC is underground. You have to pay 1euro (or was it 1Swiss Fr) to enter (the WC) but with the WC receipt, you would get a 1Swiss Fr rebate when you purchased at the station's convenient store. It was filled with many things. From those...ahem...'magazines' of carnal desires to remote controlled toys for children. Chocolates and candies? A lot of it!
Bought some chocolate (honest..only chocolate) and I was back on board of the camper van. Without much ado, we continued journey south..towards the Swiss-Italian border and towards Lake Como......aheh!
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