You'll Want To Fly To Iceland Immediately After Watching This Malaysian's Stunning Video
Well, that's one more item logged into our travel bucket list.
By Samantha Khor — 18 Mar 2016, 06:56 PM
"Go on an epic journey in a far away land" - that's one of many items most of us probably have on our bucket lists. For Syazreen Ghazali, that's one item checked off his bucket list.
Syazreen, who quit his job as an engineer to travel, made an atypical decision to spend five weeks in Iceland to take in the country's tranquil natural environment and relaxed culture.
He had previously travelled across Europe and South East Asia, staying a mere few days in each city.
"I've travelled extensively in Europe for a few months and South East Asia, but I only spent 3 to 4 days in each city so I didn't experience much of each country I've visited.
So I decided to try something new where I would try and stay longer in a country to expose myself more to the country's culture as well as to get to know the country better," he said in an exclusive interview with SAYS.
Travelling solo between October and November last year, Syazreen spent most of his time in two villages - Seyðisfjörður and Hvammstangi - both of which only have a population of 500 to 700 people
"While living in these two beautiful villages, I engaged the local villagers, whom I've noticed are pretty relaxed. The people in the village are really friendly.
Sometimes, there will be a small concert or gathering at a restaurant where people spent their evening having a chat over some drinks with their mates. That's the only place that people can gather anyway, as there are only one or two restaurants in each village. They also enjoy having small gatherings at their houses where they'll invite friends for dinner.
Some of those whom I've stayed with really enjoyed giving me weird foods like fermented shark or whale. Of course, I tried it and honestly, it doesn't taste good," Syazreen recalled.
In contrast to its frosty name, the stunning and lush natural environment never ceased to fascinate Syazreen, especially when he is on the road driving to another city
"It doesn't matter where you are, everywhere looks really beautiful. Even if you're on the road driving to another city, you feel like stopping every minute to take pictures," he said.
According to Syazreen, there is only one road that circles around Iceland. That made it easier for him to hitchhike, as there is a lack of public transportation to travel around during the winter.
"I travelled in Iceland during the winter season, so there is a problem with public transportation between cities, especially from a small village. Sometimes, there's only one bus operating in the day. If the weather is bad, there will be no bus at all!
As I didn't really plan my journey, I had some trouble leaving the village, as the buses do not operated during the weekends as well. So I decided to hitchhike instead." he said.
Seeing the aurora borealis with his very own eyes proved to be a joyous experience for Syazreen, although he thinks that it does not appear to be as vibrant as it does on film
"The first time I saw it I was really happy. You could see it flowing and dancing in the sky," he recalled.
"However, seeing it with our own eyes is not as clear as in the camera, but still you could see the green bits in the sky.
The locals also told me that if it's really cold, you could experience all 7 colours of the aurora. As I stayed in Iceland quite a while, in November I managed to see the aurora every 2 to 3 days."
Iceland can be an expensive country, Syazreen said, but it is totally worth it to experience the country's beauty and must-visit for Malaysians who love nature. After all, there are ways to reduce your expenditure:
"There's plenty of ways to reduce the cost of expenditure in Iceland, like cooking yourself, camping (but don't do it in winter), hitchhiking and more," said Syazreen, who spent about RM8,000 - inclusive of flight tickets, transportation, accomodation, and food - for the entire duration of his trip.
Aside from Iceland, Syazreen also travelled to Nepal, England, France, Turkey, and South Korea. He plans to venture to Africa or South America for his next big trip.