Back in the Day – My First Ever Trip! (what I’ve learnt and how it felt)

Do you remember your first ever backpacking trip? I do.

Believe it or not, it happened only in 2005, in the day of the rubber bands – Nike’s StandUp SpeakUp and Livestrong’s iconic yellow bands anyone? I’ve lived in the UK twice and had been to Singapore on a day trip countless times. But Venice was my first overseas trip involving at least a night stay.

I was studying architecture in my first year at Oxford Brookes University and had saved some money to go on a 4 day trip with 3 of my best mates – Fakhrul, Shaliza and Chuck. Back then, money was very tight. The exchange rate was £1=RM7 (Malaysian Ringgit) and it was pretty high for an international student whose parents had to pay for everything. So this trip was a big event for us and we did our best to minimize the cost. In a nutshell, it was my first experience of backpacking – travelling on the cheap.

one of the many reasons was to capture Venice’s unique landscape

Anyway, I don’t exactly remember why we chose Venice, but I gather one of the many reasons was to capture Venice’s unique landscape and the cheap fares we were obtaining from Ryanair. As you would expect from a first trip together, we were very excited. I’ve known these guys for ages. Fakhrul and his brother Chuck had brought a Nikon D70 and a Minox Mini (a detective camera as proclaim by Fakhrul) just for this occasion. Shaliza meanwhile had been an owner of a Canon DSLR for a while. Nevertheless we were excited to see with our own eyes the beautiful city we often heard many times before.

As we were travelling with Ryanair on a late evening flight, we had decided to stay for a night at the neighbouring Treviso. The night was spent figuring out how to take photos using the new cameras.

It was the first time I’ve heard of a shared bathroom

For the remaining nights, we hired a 4 bed dorm with shared bathrooms. The hostel was situated very near to one of the many canals and was brand new, so everything was perfect. It was the first time I’ve heard of a shared bathroom facility and excitedly it WAS my first hostel experience!

Hostels are not bad at all..really

I never knew how well maintained hostels were. Heck, I’ve never heard of it prior to Venice. The room had character, a full timber flooring and a view I would never have expected. The bathrooms were spotless. All in all it was a grand introduction of hostelling for me!

I’ve packed too much stuff

I remembered bringing a large bag for this short city trip. Everything was extra – t-shirts, jeans, boxers, socks, toiletries, you name it. I would bring half the stuff today for a short trip like that.

I’ve even packed some food and snacks just in case if I don’t find anything. Seriously? in Venice? Nevertheless bringing a good chocolate bar or two wouldn’t really hurt you on a budget trip. A bottle of mineral water is also very important to bring just in case  it is too expensive or the shops are closed when you get there.

I still do this till today.

How Useful Lonely Planet Guide Books are

For the first time, I’ve come across the very useful Lonely Planet guides. For somebody who doesn’t read books, it was the first time I acknowledge the useful aspect of a guide book. There was so many information that helped our visit to the city.

Just if you wondering, Lonely Planet is NOT sponsoring this post.

I’ve picked up a word or two in Italian

Going to Venice was a first to me in many aspect. I’ve learnt a different culture, tantalising food, a very laid back environment and magnificently beautiful architecture. I’ve also picked up a word or two in Italian. For someone who only speaks Malay and English in his entire life, saying ‘Ciao’ and ‘Grazie’ was a step forward.

Yes, I was far behind in languages!

It was very different to the place I was growing up. Heck, it was different to anywhere else I’ve been so far.

Venice was a foreign environment..unique to the extent of being out-of-place

As the first foreign holiday destination I’ve undertaken, Venice really exceeded my expectations. It was a foreign environment, superbly touristy, romantic and unique to the extent of being out-of-place.

Everything about it seems surreal.

Eating Pizza is a cheap way of filling up

Having a measly budget of just over £150 for the whole itinerary, Pizza was the main staple throughout the trip. For 1 Euro, it was cheap, quick and to be honest quite tasty. Though one or two Italian fare for dinner doesn’t really hurt.

Photography and me is like 2 foreign subjects

Photography and me is like 2 foreign subjects that never ever meshed previously. I was bad at it. For a photography paper submission in school, I cheated by using my friend’s unwanted prints for submission. Having done that, a C- doesn’t seem to be that bad. Back then, I’ve never truly understood why people like taking photos.

It was hard to appreciate.

For the first time I learned to photograph a subject through different angles…even laying flat-out on the floor

It was in Venice though that for the first time, I was learning how to take photographs from my 3 great friends. All 3 have been taking photos for a while. I’ve learnt about photographing subjects, the technical aspects such as light and aperture etc. For the first time I learned to photograph a subject through different angles. Zoom in, out and even laying flat-out on the floor.

It was a slow learning curve but a fun one. My favourite was utilising the ‘Bokeh effect’!

I’ve even learned how to be ‘the’ subject

Never before have I expected to learn being the ‘subject’. For Shaliza and Fakhrul, who captured hundreds of beautiful portraits before, they really know how to take good portraits. Being natural in the environment is the key. To act naturally and pretend the camera is not there. Photographing moments is a skill. To be in that ‘moment’ is another thing.

I still struggle to be a ‘subject’ till today.

I’ve explored taking photos of architecture and learn the one-third rule

I’m an architect by profession. Going to Venice really opens up my architectural mind. The beauty is overwhelming. Capturing it is another. I’ve utilised my basic knowledge of the one-third rule for photographing a subject, something I’ve learned from my dad. Unlike in Malaysia, daylight in Europe is amazing. Perfect to take great photos.

and of course the iconic Gondolas

What is Venice without the Gondolas? As enchanting as it is to see the gondoliers singing to the tune of classical songs, experiencing the gondola was an expensive affair for us at that time. Capturing it is still good enough for me.

I cherish the long-lasting friendship it creates..

I am still good friends with Shaliza, Fakhrul and Chuck. I’m very happy to see Shaliza and Fakhrul now married with a daughter, living in Malaysia. Chuck meanwhile has been a housemate of mine in London for the past 2 years. We still see each other whenever I go back. It was a great trip in the end.

Do you remember your first trip?