I think it's no longer a secret for my friends (and some acquaintances) that I am a huge fan of the famous TV series "Game of Thrones". Since I was introduced to this series in 2014, I started to follow it religiously and I am beyond excited to watch the eighth season in April 2019 (but it's sad tho, it's the last season)!!

Apparently, living in Spain to study also gives me another advantage in traveling, especially if it's related to Game of Thrones; I am able to visit some of its filming locations! Spain is one of the countries that becomes the locations of those magnificent scenes. For example, the exotic Water Gardens of House Dorne, the majestic Dragonstone Castle of House Targaryen, and the beautiful Highgarden Castle of House Tyrell.

Thankfully I had the chance to visit those places this year, and it was one of the best moments I've had during my stay in Spain. I will describe more of my experience visiting those spots, but in this post I'd like to tell you the story of going to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, where the Dragonstone Castle took place.


San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (in Euskera; to spell: Gaztelugache) is located in the autonomous community of Spain called Basque Country (País Vasco). To be exact, it's located in small city called Bermeo in Biscay Province. It's also quite close to Bilbao, the capital city.

I'd say that it's so easy to access this site from Bilbao, since the public transportation system to visit each villages there (or in Spanish it's called pueblo) is already well-managed. From Bilbao, you have two options to visit San Juan de Gaztelugatxe by public transportation: Bilbao to Bakio (another pueblo near Bermeo) and Bilbao to Bermeo. I'll explain each of them since I used both routes; I went from Bilbao to Bakio first, then when I went back to Bilbao, I went from Bermeo.

Bilbao to Bakio
From Bilbao, the only bus stop to go to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is at Moyua Plaza (Barclays Bank). But remember, during winter and summer period, they have different schedule. I went there on Thursday 20th September, which was still included in the summer period. Take bus number:

A3517 (Saturday & Sunday)

A3518 (Monday-Saturday)
Summer period: 07.15 to 21.45 every 30 minutes
Winter period: 06.30 a 21.30 every hour; festival day: 08:00 a 22:00 every two hours
Price: €2,55/trip

*) Note:
Pre-summer: from Easter to 30th June, summer period is basically July & August
Post-summer: September & October, winter period is basically October to April

It took about 45 minutes to 1 hour to go to Bakio. By taking bus A3518 during the weekdays, I left the bus at the last bus stop "San Pelaio". From this place, I had to option to reach San Juan de Gaztelugatxe: hiking or taking 8-seats taxi (number A3524).

Hiking
I never expected that I'd go walking to that place! Actually it was out of my first plan, because I was going to take the 8 seats taxi. Since I had to wait longer for that (it operates every two hours), so I decided to walk to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.


I did a few mistakes that day. Since I know the northern Spain is colder than the southern, I was assuming that the temperature would have been lower and the wind would have been stronger (since it's on the coastline). I brought my only leather jacket for my trip in Bilbao and San Sebastián, also 2 big bottles of water and lunch (which were extremely important) in a tote bag. So basically I brought 1 small sling bag, 1 tote bag, and a jacket. Apparently my prediction was totally wrong; the wind wasn't that strong and it was a very sunny day. I was overwhelmed by my own stuffs during the hike. So folks, next time you want to go hiking, please just bring necessary things *cried while heavily sweating*.

The route was pretty challenging for me, looking at the stuffs I carried. Even when I almost arrived at the parking lot of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (yes, just the parking lot), a woman whom I encountered at the first point of hiking (she was jogging), she already went back! She nicely cheered me up by saying, "Ánimo!" and I only could reply, "Muchas gracias!" while sweating like crazy. I had to walk uphill and downhill... It was pretty rough.

Then I arrived near the hill, BUT, there're other options to go to the foot of the hill: the short route or the long route. The short route is only 1,5 km (around 15-20 minutes by walking) but it was extremely steep; I took this route and I really needed to step carefully. Even the other visitors had to walk slowly, since the route is also quite narrow.



What happened after passing the 1,5 km route? I hadn't reached the chapel yet! I had to walk a bit until I found the very first staircase to the San Juan de Gaztelugatxe hill. I decided to rest a little bit first in order to prepare my body (also my breath) because there were 241 staircases to reach the top. Yep, the famous staircases that you might have seen it in several photos, or when you see when Danaerys went to the Dragonstone Castle for the first time.


When I finally reached the top of the hill and see the chapel...

It. was. amazing!





The view, it was so captivating. I could see the curvy staircases to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe from above, and I was able to see other hills near the ocean. The blue color of the sea... I really love it!

Unfortunately, the chapel wasn't opened for public that day, but visitors were able to ring the bell outside for three times, after that they could make a wish —as the legend said—. I wasn't doing it, but I thought it was enough just to see other people did that. Up there, I ate my lunch then simply enjoyed everything I saw and I felt; the wind, the view, the bell ringing, and the ocean wave...

When I wanted to leave the chapel area, of course it was so much easier to go downstairs, but to go back to the main road, I had to walk uphill again. This time, I chose the long route instead, which took around 1 hour for me to pass the 2,4 km route—yeah, I walked so slow. During my return to the main road, I could see the chapel from another point of view.



8-Seats Taxi (A3524, Bakio-Gaztelugatxe-Bermeo)
To go back to Bilbao, it's basically almost the same with the route I took when I went to Bakio. This time, I didn't need to go back to Bakio, because as I mentioned before, there's a 8-seats taxi that was operated from Bermeo to Bakio and vice versa. I waited the taxi at the bus stop "Gaztelu Begi"; it's right in front of the other parking lot of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and an information booth there, so it's very noticeable with a bus sign and you won't get lost when you search for it.

Getting a seat in the taxi was quite challenging, because it was a medium car and I had to "fight" with other 5 people to get the seats, since there're already 4 other passengers inside. Thankfully I was alone, when I thought there's no seat left, the front seat was available for one more person (see, the perks of traveling solo!). It only cost me €1,55 for that trip.

Ah, I almost forget, the taxi I took was going to Bermeo. During the trip to Bermeo, I talked to an old lady next to me. We spoke in Spanish, but she taught me a little bit Euskera. It was so interesting because Spanish (or here as Castellano) and Euskera are so different! By the way, this taxi is only available during weekdays, so on the weekend you should take the bus A3517 since it will directly pass the road close to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.

At first the old lady asked me to go with her by train, but if I went by train, I had to change train at one spot and it would be not very effective for me. So from Bermeo, I waited for the bus number A3527 (Bilbao-Mungia-Bermeo) here to go back to Bilbao. The last stop in Bilbao was exactly the same when I took the bus A3518, which was located at Moyua Plaza (Barclays Bank).

Bilbao to Bermeo
It's basically almost the same with the route Bilbao-Bakio, but obviously you have to take another bus, which is the bus A3527 to Bermeo. From the exact same spot (last bus stop), you can take the 8-seats taxi A3524 to go to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, then you can leave at the bus stop "Gaztelu Begi". From Bilbao, the schedule during winter period is from 07.00 to 22.00 every hour and festival day from 09.00 to 21.00 every 2 hours. Meanwhile from Bermeo, the schedule for winter period is Monday-Saturday from 06.50 to 20.50 every hour and during festival day is at 08.05 to 20.05 every 2 hours.

To get more information about the bus schedule, hiking route, or any alternative route to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, please visit these websites:
Bizkaia Bus
Bilbao Tourism official website
Bermeo tourism website
Bakio tourism website

Overall, my trip to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe was beyond amusing! It might have been rough at the beginning, started from the falsely predicting the weather, unplanned hiking, until reaching the top of the hill, but they were such eye opening moments.

Not only that, I was finally able to enjoy the northern Spain, since it has significant differences with the southern Spain, especially in the terms of weather and ambiance. In the north, I mostly saw green landscapes and it has colder temperature, meanwhile around Jaén and Andalucía in general are olive trees and brown landscapes, also has warmer temperature (should I mention how crazy the temperature in Andalucía is during summer? But seriously, Andalucía has a very special spot in my heart).

Honestly I am not a big fan of hiking, but this once-in-a-lifetime experience had taught me so much new things; be prepared for anything that might surprise you during the trip, but remember, the memorable journey awaits you.

If you are fan of Game of Thrones (or not, it's okay!), you definitely can't miss this beautiful site. A little tip for you: please wear anything comfortable from head to toe, since you're gonna walk uphill and downhill A LOT to reach this place; there's no other way.

So, start planning, prepare yourself, and enjoy your trip!

On this day, I went to the famous market in Bangkok that was only available on the weekend. I am sure if you have gone to Bangkok, there's no way you don't know this market hahaha. Yep, it was Chatuchak Market!



The famous Chatuchak Weekend Market was quite crowded that day. Finally, I understand why so many people come to this market. The prices are ridiculously cheap, there are lots of good stuff from clothes, accessories, shawl, souvenirs, to household goods. I even couldn't hold myself to see a lot of cute pants and clothes! Hahaha

But my main purpose was to find pants from Bangkok (which has the specific pattern: elephant, or any ornament that shows the authenticity of Thailand's culture), a tote bag, and bracelets! I found some and they were great. One thing that was obligatory for me to try: THAI TEA!!!




Two bracelets in the middle that I got from Chatucak. Love them! (Note: the right one is already gone... *brb crying*)

Anyway, after strolling around Chatuchak Market and getting all stuffs that I wanted, I went to my next destination: Bangkok Art and Culture Center. It's very close to MBK Center, Siam Discovery, and BTS Station so it's easy to reach.







This place is huge; they have 9 floors, and the main exhibitions were held on 5th until 9th floor. I saw a lot of art installments that day, including paintings and photographs of the late Thailand King, Bhumibol Adulyadej or King Rama IX. When I was in Bangkok, it was still in the mourning period, and I found many memorials of him everywhere.

After exploring Chatuchak Weekend Market and Bangkok Art and Culture Center, I went to the MBK Center to find some souvenirs for my family and boss. It's quite easy to find them, and I also got great deals! I am still amazed by how cheap it is in Bangkok to buy foods/souvenirs/clothes compared to my own city.

To end the day, I went again to SoulBar; drinking beers while enjoying the musics played by the DJ. Like I said before, the DJ played 70s and 80s disco funk songs, so it felt like he played my playlists, hahaha. I found out a song, "Midas Touch" by Midnight Star here; this was one of songs that I re-played over and over during 2017.


Time to go home!

Well, it sucks when you gotta end your vacation and go back to your daily routine (if I don't work, from where I suppose to save money to travel in another time??! LOL), but overall I felt more energized and more relaxed! I was so happy to visit Bangkok and I got a lot of new experiences from there.

My flight to Jakarta was on the different airport. On the beginning, I arrived at Don Mueang Airport. For my return, I went from Suvarnabhumi Airport; which is much bigger than Don Mueang. I spent almost 45 minutes only to walk from the security check to the departure gate! Gosh, it was so far. It reminded me about the Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, which has 26 departure gate but they are so freaking far.


As usual, I chose the cheapest flight that had connecting flight; Bangkok-Singapore-Jakarta. This one was actually on purpose because I still had some Dollar Singapore and I wanted to spend them while I was there, hahaha. As you know, Changi Airport is one of the best airports in the world; the facilities are amazing.
 

I also didn't forget to buy my favorite popcorn from Garrett; butter-flavored!!


If I have another chance to go to Bangkok, I would definitely go! It was one of amazing cities that I ever visited.

Thank you for reading my blogpost, and I am going to write more stories about my trip soon! Adiós!

Here we go, day 2 in Bangkok! I was so excited because I had the entire day to explore places in Bangkok as much as I could. To get better experience, I always choose to use local transportation; this time I wanted to take bus to go to the city center.


When I was on my way to the city center, the bus passed the Chinatown. It had a vibrant vibe, looking at those signs and crowds. The traffic that day was quite heavy, so I gotta be patient until I arrived to my destination.

Anyway, It's kinda cloudy that day, even it was 1 pm when I arrived. I didn't expect it would be wet around Wat Pho and Grand Palace since in Chinatown wasn't raining at all.


So I got into Wat Pho. It was... pretty crowded. No wonder it's huddled because it was Saturday and obviously many tourists visited Wat Pho that day. To enter Wat Pho, I had to pay entrance fee for 100 Baht. Then I strolled around the area until I found the main temple. Another perspective of the reclining Buddha. The length itself is 46 meters. On this spot many tourists tried to take pictures of themselves with the statue as background, or, like what I did, captured the Buddha only.


What I really like from this place is, each temples has amazing details! Everything looks majestic and beautiful. Each gates also has vibrant color and beautiful details.

After strolling around Wat Pho, I went to the next place: Wat Arun. It's pretty close from where I was, but I should across the river first by taking public boat! It's cheap because it only costs you 4 Baht per person. Since it's not really far, I only spent like 5 minutes to reach the other side of Chao Praya River.



The famous hanging small bells at Wat Arun!Visitors can buy the tiny bell for 20 Baht, there's no attendant around so you only need to put the money into a box. After that you can write your name on it using provided marker pens. Finish with that, you can hang your bell on the 'bell tree'. I forget which one to do first, you pray or wish then hang the bell, or do the otherwise.


A lot of bells and hopes are hanging here. Mine is also there, the silver bell! My name is on the other side so you might don't see that 😁



Finally, Wat Arun! As you can see, this temple is currently under renovation, possibly it's repainting job but thankfully visitor are still able to enter Wat Arun area. If you want to visit Wat Arun, don't forget to buy entrance ticket for 50 Baht right in front of the gate.





Wat Arun is one of my favorite places in Bangkok. I did enjoy my visit here since I could relax more and get to see some fascinating temples. This site was not really crowded compared to Wat Pho. I also could understand why this temple has title "Temple of the Dawn".

I saw few people around Wat Arun that time. Some were taking photos, sitting on the stairs, or chatting with their friends. I also noticed some students wearing their graduation robes had some fun by having group photos.

Then I sat on one of the stairs and looked around. The wind blew so soft but it's still able to strike the bells around the temples. The bells gently rang, creating serene sound. While everybody started to leave the temple, I stayed and had my private moment to relax and contemplate.

In my opinion, the perfect time to visit Wat Arun is from noon till dawn. This place is a perfect spot to watch sunset. You can sit or chill outside the temple area and Chao Praya River will be on your side while enjoying the sunset.




So after I wandered around Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and Grand Palace, I wanted to go to Khaosan Road. The problem was, I couldn't find the right shuttle bus around Wat Pho. I didn't realize that day was the coronation day at Grand Palace so there was temporary traffic change and I definitely couldn't take any bus from there.

I walked and walked until I said, "Okay enough, I should take tuk-tuk." I was totally lost! Then I saw a tuk-tuk driver and started to bargain the price. At first I was hesitant to take tuk-tuk since I heard so many rumor about the expensive price. First he offered me 100 Baht (what?!) then I asked for 60 Baht (I really just wanted to sit and go to Khaosan Road a.s.a.p).


My impression about tuk-tuk? Damn it was so faaast! I sat alone on the passenger seat and the driver drove it in high speed. I even couldn't stay still during the ride OMG! 😂

When I arrived at Khaosan Road, it wasn't too crowded. Perhaps it's still early since I got there at 7 pm. And yeah, it's a very touristic street. I could see lots of thing at Khaosan Road: from clothing shops, food and beverage stalls, massage booths, bars, until ID sellers (I can't understand this one haha).



I didn't spend much time here but I got the chance to try pad thai. It cost me 80 Baht (quite expensive compared to the others because I just realized there's cheaper stall after I finished) but it had huge portion.

Still curious about food, I found a blood cockles seller that was near to River City Bangkok and my hostel. It was quite cheap! If I am not mistaken, it was 100 Baht per portion. The green sauce was amazing, by the way!


The night was long! After I took a rest a bit, I continued to go to a bar that was extremely close to my hostel; less than 2 minutes by walking! I found out this bar when I checked Google Maps about which bar or café was recommended to visit. SoulBar is known for the great ambiance and music; I am a huge fan of 70s and 80s funk/disco/jazz/soul musics, so I was interested to come.


Since I came on Saturday night, it's full of people, plus there's live music so I didn't get a seat. I stood up, asking the bartender for the menu. I gotta say it has unique theme! Every drinks are named based on song titles. So I ordered "Heard It Through the Grapevine" (vodka, grapefruit juice, lime, brown sugar), drank it while enjoying the live music.



Overall, second day in Bangkok was extremely amazing!