TRANSIT DI RIGA MENUJU GLASGOW

10.6.07, Sambung balik kisah kembara Eropah.... selepas tidur semalaman dalam kapal Tallink maka lebih kurang jam 9.00 pagi kapal berlabuh di pelabuhan Riga, Latvia. Saya pun bertemu semula dengan Riga selepas lebih urang dua minggu ditinggalkan. Tapi kedatangan kali ini tak lama, untuk transit satu malam je sebelum kembara diteruskan lagi. Lepas juga rindu pada Riga yang menjadi base utama untuk tempat transit di benua Eropah Timur ni. Saya pun terus menuju ke Hostel Doma iaitu hostel yang sama saya tinggal semasa mula-mula datang ke sini tempohari. Saya dah rasa sangat selesa dengan pemilik hostel ni yang kian mesra dan tidak terlalu beRkira. Tapi bila sampai tak boleh check-in lagi sebab ada lagi penghuni yang belum check-out. So, saya kena tunggu sampai lebih kurang jam 4.00 pm baru boleh check-in. Tapi tak pe, pemilik tu simpankan bag saya dalam bilik simpanan sementara menunggu untuk check-in dan saya boleh gunakan internet, tengok tv dan buat kopi sendiri sementara tunggu sampai jam 4.00pm. Inilah keistimewaan pemilik hostel ni yang saya kata tak berkira tu. Sebab kebanyakkan hostel di negara-negara yang saya dah pergi sepanjang kembara ni tak semesra ini. So, saya turun jalan-jalan lagi di Old Town Riga sambil cara makan untuk lunch. Kebetulan bila masuk Mc Donald terjumpa dengan Christian yang naik kapal Tallink sama-sama itu hari. Dia pun baru je lepas makan dan kami pun sembang-sembang lagi. Lepas habis saya lunch, kami jalan-jalan sekitar bandar Riga sambil berbual-bual dan penat berjalan kami singgah kat cafe untuk minum kopi dan sambung perbualan mengenai pelbagai perkara. Lepas minum kopi kami berpisah dan berharap dapat berjumpa lagi di lain masa, mungkin di Asia Tenggara sekiranya dia melawat ke sini ataupun di Jerman sekiranya saya besekempatan melawat ke blok Eropah Barat plak di lain masa Insyaallah.

11.6.07,flight saya bertolak jam 10.40 pm so lepas berkemas pagi tu saya breakfast makanan kegemaran saya di Riga ni iaitu 'apple pancake' kat cafe di sebelah hostel saya menginap ni je. Lepas breakfast masih ada masa lagi so, saya pergi survey dulu bas nak pergi ke airport sebab dah tau dah nak naik bas, tak payah naik teksi lagi. Pemilik hostel kata boleh naik bas no. 22 untuk pergi ke airport, so kena check dulu sebab nanti bila dah bawa beg besar-besar tak la gelabah sangat nak cari bus stop. Bila dah pasti bus stopnya saya jalan-jalan town dulu dan ambik lunch kat cafe yang jual 'mushroom soup' sebelum patah balik ke hostel dan ambil barang dan terus check-out jam 1.00 pm. Masih awal lagi, saya berinternet la kejap sementara menunggu petang sebab flight bertolak malam nanti. Pas lebih kruang jam 5.00 pm saya pun cadang nak gerak dah, terus salam-salam dengan pemilik hotel dan beberapa penghuni yang masih tinggal di situ sejak dari mula saya sampai hinggalah ke hari itu terutamanya seorang lelaki Korea yang mengaku dirinya paderi protestan.

Sebelum sampai ke bus stop saya singgah kat Mc Donald untuk beli 'fish and chip' untuk dinner. Sebab sampai kat Glasgow nanti tengah malam, cukup la untuk dinner sekali. Lagipun stock chocklat masih ada laig dalam bag. Saya naik bas no. 22 lebih kurang 30 minit sampai ke airport Riga. Jam dah menunjukkan 6.00pm dan sementara menunggu untuk check-in rasa lapar la plak perut, buka 'fish and chip' dan makan la dulu kat airport tu. Lepas check-in tunggu kejap pas tu boleh boarding dah dan tepat jam 10.40 pm flight Ryanair pun berangkat menuju ke Glasgow. Selamat tinggal Latvia....Selamat tinggal Eropah Timur..... semoga bertemu lagi.....
Jam 12.00 malam lebih kurang maka sampailah di Prestwick Airport, Glasgow. Selamat bertemu kembali Glasgow. Transport nak ke city centre dah tak ada sebab waktu operasi sampai jam 12.00 am je. So, saya pun terpaksa lah tidur di airport tu, tetapi ramai sangat orang yang tunggu kat situ maka tempat duduk semua dah di 'book' dan mereka baring atas bangku. Saya dapat duduk tapi tak boleh baring sebab dah penuh. So, tidur tak puas la kat situ dan pening-pening lalat la plak nak menunggu sampai besok pagi.

RIGA OPERA FESTIVAL 2007

The Riga Opera Festival 2007 was held on June 6 - 17 and marks the 10th anniversary of it highly successful, internationally acclaimed summer festival. Once again, it offered an exciting program of opera and concert at the closing of the Latvian National Opera's sesson. The festival was founded in June 1998 to showcase the new productions of the season together with favourite productions of previous sesson in a festive, exceptional atmosphere.
During the past ten years, the Riga Opera Festivals has established itseld as an outstanding celebration of cultural life in Latvia and abroad. While in the first year the festival attracted mostly a Latvian audience, this operatic event soon caught the attention of opera lovers from all over the world and quickly developed into a truly international festival.
The Riga Opera Festival 2007 is the first one ever to open with a world premiere: 'Joseph is a Fruitful Bough' by Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds is based on the Biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. The festival also featured two performances of Richard Wagner's "Die Walkure" and other performaces:

JOSEPH IS A FRUITFUL BOUGH by Eriks Esenvalds
Directed by Gatis Smits
It is an opera in 2 acts performed by the soloists of the Latvian National Opera, State Chorus Latvia, and the chamber music ensembles Altera Veritas and Shady Brass Q. "The tale of Joseph and his kin comes from a distant, ancient darkness. But it is not the light of a candle which makes the tale accessible to us. These are the pages of the bible - black letters on white paper. This tale is full of aspiration and fear. This is a tale about predestination, jealousy, love, endurance, forgiveness. We can not turn back time. We can not talk to Joseph about him and his life. But when we regard his tale, we realize that its emotional conflicts are everlasting. The same things that Joseph experienced we experience over and over again today."

LA TRAVIATA By Giuseppe Verdi
Directed by Andrejs Zagars
"Our Traviata takes place in Paris after the 2nd World War. This is the time when people tried to forget the death, blood and losses, to heal the recent wounds and to enjoy life with a great ardor once again."



THE QUEEN OF SPADES BY Piotr Tchaikovsky
Directed by Andrejs Zagars
Zagars' Queen of Spades is superb in its own right. The updating to today's St. Petersburg, with its milieu of neuveau riche, drug dealers, business sharks, secret agents, social climbers and impoverished masses, is meticulously constructed and absolutely consistent. There's even room for the Countess, an aging aristocrat reclaiming her ravaged palace after a lifetime of exile. The cockiness, instability, and heady superficiality of this tenuous society make the perfect setting for Tchaikovsky's drama of obsession and passion.


LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK by Dmitry Shostakovich
Directed by Andrejs Zagars
The same as for Shostakovich, for me Katerina is no Lady Macbeth - a cold-blooded murderess who arranges her life across the corpeses of her fellow human beings. She is a victim - another one of those countless lives broken by absurdity of this existence in Mtensk. I see her as the embodiment of a fragile feminity, ground down by a rough, callous "men's" world. This does not however exonerate Katerina - she is a tragic figure, mudering others she essentially murders herself. As the director's said, "Because this women is psychologcally so close and understandable for us, I wanted to bring her even closer, for example, story-wise. That why we transported the action today." Actually this is a well trodden path. In the last 15 years when greater part of the former Soviet Union returns to the capitalism path and private business, trade. banking, mortgages, shares, flower, theatres rediscover with great satisfaction the plays of Ostrocsky and Saltikhov-Schedrin, which mirror the development of capitalism in the second half of the 19th century.

LA VOIX HUMAINE by Francis Poulenc
Directed by Laurent Pelly
Poulenc's tour de force monologue, 'La Voix Humaine' presents an emotional portrait of a women devastated by the end of an affair. By turns vulnerable, self-possessed, and distraught, the heroine holds the stage alone in a work with as much emotional power as a full-scale opera.



DIE WALKURE by Richard Wagner
Directed by Viesturs Kairiss
Love, the exential power of passion, arresting in its beauty, fatal in its hopelessness, is the leading motive of the ontologically romantic spirit of the production, as is the idea of the world as a place of a metaphysical battle. This battle is fought on a football field, an all-embracing, universal ground of pasion where the sacred meets the profane and the modern meets the archaic. The settings range from intimate, private spaces to an arena that auggests Romeo's Coliseum as much as a sports stadium - a tragedy, or possibly even the Celtic game of brain-ball which was played with the enemies' severed heads.

Legend of Riga

Once upon a time, long ago, before the city of Riga was founded, a tall strong man named Lielais Kristaps (Big Christopher) carried people across the river Daugava. Kristaps live in a cabin on right of the river. While sleeping one night, Kristaps heard a small child crying on the other side of the river. He immediately rose to fetch the child, and began to carry it across the river. Half way across, the child became so heavy that Kristaps barely managed to get to the other bank. Exhausted, he laid the child down to sleep in his shack, and fell asleep himself. The following morning Kristaps awoke to find a large chest of gold coins where the child had been. Upon his death, the money was used to found the city of Riga, the first building was built on the spot where Kristaps cabin had once stood. Gints Upitis in 1997 made a copy of the original wooden sculpture built by Michael Brinkman in 1683. The original statute is located in Museum of History of Riga and Navigation. The photo shown on the right side, is the miniature of the statute of Kristaps in a glass cabin situated at the bank of river Daugava for tourism purposes.

DI MANA MALAYSIA DI MATA LATVIA?

2.7.07, hari ni cadang nak masuk Muzium Perang atau 'War Museum' (Kara Muzejs) untuk melihat-lihat sejarah perang di Latvia ni. Lagi pun tiada bayaran masuk dikenakan sebab muzium ni percuma. Cuma yang saya nak ceritakan di sini ialah mengenai sebuah peta yang dipamerkan dalam muzium seperti dalam gambar tu. Cuba tengok betul-betul pada peta semenanjung Malaysia dan Sabah serta Sarawak tu (sila 'double click' pada gambar untuk lebih fokus). Apa yang tertulis kat situ? "Singapura" ('Britu' dalam bahasa Latvia) kan? Tidak tertulis pun nama negara "Malaysia" kat situ. Tapi Pulau Singapura tak tecatat pun dalam peta tu! sebab kecik sangat kot...!!! Hal ini mengingatkan saya pada pemuda Ukraine yang tinggal sebilik dengan saya kat Riga ni sewaktu pertemuan pertama saya dengan beliau. Bila saya kata dari 'Malaysia' terus dia sebut 'Singapura'. Sekarang dah tau lah saya jawapannya kenapa.....Maknanya Malaysia tidak wujud la bagi masyarakat Latvia. So, siapa yang sewajarnya membetulkan fakta ni?.....Tahun melawat Malaysia 2007 dah berlangsung lebih daripada setengah tahun ni. Sempat lagi ke agaknya nak betulkan fakta ni?!!! Nampaknuya tak dapatlah kita terima pelancung dari Latvia tahun ni yeee....!!!!.... cepat! cepat! cepat! siapa dulu dia dapat!!!

HELLO, MR. PRESIDENT!

1.7.07, Kebetulan masa jalan-jalan kat sekitar Old Town Riga tu, saya nampak ada sekumpulan orang sedang berteriak dan bertempik sambil bertepuk tangan. Kemudian terdapat juga sepanduk, gelungan bunga yang besar serta patung 'orang-orang' yang dijulang oleh sebilangan orang dalam kumpulan yang bersorak tersebut. Saya tidak melepaskan peluang untuk menyaksikan dan terlibat sama dalam 'performance' apakah yang sedang berlangsung tersebut.......











Dalam kehairanan itu saya bertanya kepada salah seorang daripada kumpulan sorakan tersebut mengenai situasi yang sedang berlaku. Pemuda tersebut memberitahu bahawa saya sedang berada di hadapan bangunan parlimen dan acara yang sedang berlangsung itu ialah upacara pemilihan presiden Latvia yang baru, oooo kaedahnya!. Menurut pemuda itu lagi, presiden sebelum ni ialah perempuan dah tamat jawatannya. Sekarang digantikan pula dengan calon baru iaitu seorang lelaki yang juga merupakan seorang doktor pakar bedah. Patut la.... saya pun tidak melepaskan peluang untuk turut terlibat sama dalam 'performance' tu... lihatlah gambar-gambar ni....meriah gakkk...

HELLO! OLD TOWN RIGA

31 June 2007, I woke up in the morning, having light breakfast and then started to discover the old town of Riga. The oldest part of Riga (or Old Riga) is the historical and geographical centre of Riga Situated on the right hand side of the river Daugava. It embraces a relatively small territory inside the 13th-18th century fortification walls. Although in the course of years the old town has gone through a number of transformations, yet, as I take this walk, I still be able to see and feel the Riga of the past centuries in the old fragments of the fortification wall, the ancient warehouse buildings, the cathedrals and churches, the narrow streets of old Riga which have retained their Medieval look.


I started walking from 'Ratslaukums' or the City Council Square and admire the splendid gothic 'House of Blackheads. Since the 15th century it was used by the Blackheads' Society, whose patron was St. Mauritius. The name "Blackheads' House" was introduced as late as in 1687, while only in 1713 the Blackheads themselves won full ownership of the building. Only trademan who were not married could enter the fraternity. The building was completely destroy during World War Two in 1941 but it was rebuilt again or 'reincarnated' from the ashes in 1999.


I walked around it and bumped into the St. Peter's Church, one of the most dominant landmarks of Riga. This is the biggest church in Latvia and has been first mentioned in historical documents in 1209. Since then, it has gone through a number of renovations and reconstructions; it was destroyed during World War Two. The church was renovated between 1967 and 1977, when it was turned into an exhibition hall and tourist attraction offering the possibility to see a panoramic view of Riga from its high steeple. Since 1991 church service has been renewed.


From St. Peter's church i took Skarnu (Butcher's) street, its historical and architectural diversity is quite interesting. The building of whitewashed bricks is the oldest stone building in Riga. It is the former St. George's Church and built around 1207 as the castle of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and partly destroyed by the people of Riga in 1297 fighting against the Order. During reformation it was turned into a warehouse. As a warehouse building it exited until the 20th century, when it bacame the Museum of Applied Arts. The visitors of the museum may also see fragments of the old building.


A few buildings further up the street is the St. John's Lutheran Church. I really admire the baroque-style altar, stained glass windows and statutes of John the Baptist and Salome in the altar niches. The church started as a Dominican cloister and church, established in 1234 and named after John the Baptist. On the other side of the Skarnu street, high up in the church wall there is a profile of a Dominican monk's face cut in limestone, testifying to the origin of the church as part of the ancient Dominican cloister.


I waked through the small door and enter the small maze of the 'Convent's Courtyard' which is now a hotel complex. This is actually the location of the first residence of Bishop Albert, the founder of Riga. A fragment of the Riga fortification wall shows how the medieval fortification may have looked. From the side of Kaleju Street over entrance, there is the old emblem of Riga.


On the Kaleju Street is the Courtyard of the Holy Ghost. Initially this was the location of a castele of Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The Castle was destroyed in 1298. A new castle was built on the banks of the river Daugava in the place where the Holy Ghost Hospital had once been located. The latter was then transferred to the location of the remnants of the former castle. The Convent was founded in 1297 to support the disabled. I walked through to Kaleju (Black smith's) street, turned right, walked up the small Gleznotaju (painters) street and turned left to Vagnera street, named after Richard Wagner, the famous German composer, who worked in Riga for two years. On the right side is where the Wagner Concert Hall situated.


Then I reached the Liv Square (Livu laukums) from where I can see the merchants' Guilds or The great Guild, founded by the Riga tradesmen in 1354. Its patron saint is St. Mary. The building houses the oldest meeting hall in Riga dating back to the 14th century. Today the building is the home of the Latvian Philharmonic Orchestra. Just opposite, is the Small Guild where the craftsmen of Riga, as elswhere in Europe, formed corporations to protect their interests. In the middle of the 14th century these corporations founded the Small Guild (also called the St. John's Guild. The present building was built between 1864 and 1866 in the British Neo-Gothic style. The beautiful interiors were restored in 2000.
Across from Livu Iaukums, I saw a building with two towers on which two cats are perched. This is the Cat's House and the building was constructed in 1909. The name 'Cats' House' derives from the wrought iron figures of cats on the towers of the building. By putting up these figures, the owner of the house who had been admitted to the Tradesmen's (Great) Guild tried to show his superiority to the guildsmen.


From Amatu street I turned left onto Skunu street to go to the Doma Iaukums (Doma Square), the heart of the Old Town and where the hostel that I was staying is located. I went to the middle of the square and observed the beautiful Riga Dome Cathedral that has been built in the place of an ancient Liiv settlement, which was situated there more than 800 years ago. The Dome Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in the Baltic States. The corner stone of the Dome Cathedral was laid down in 1211. The church has been reconstructed a number of times and reveals traces of all historical styles. The Gothic Cross Gallery is an outstanding sample of Baltic medieval architecture. The Doma organ with more than 6700 pipes and 124 registers (1883 - 1884) was once the biggest organ in the world. Today the Riga Dome is home to a Lutheran parish, the Riga History and Shipping Museum and functions as a concert hall.


After having visited the Dome square I took Smilsu (Sand) street and walked up to the Pulvera (Gunpowder) Tower. The only tower of the old fortification system that is still standing, initially called the Sand Tower dating back to 1330. The tower has undergone a number of reconstructions. Its name goes back to the 17th century when it was used for storing gunpowder. Now it houses the Museum of War since 1919.
I turned to the left to Torna (Tower) Street and arrive at the Jacob's Barracks (Jekaba Kazarmas) stretch along the right side. The barracks are the longest building in Riga and where recently restored to their original glory. The building is unique since it is one of the latest 16th - 19th century depots around Old Riga. Reconstruction took place in 1997. The building now houses shops, offices and cafes.
Then I walked through the Swedish Gate (Zviedru Varti), which were 'carved through' an already existing dwelling house in 1698. This is the only gate remaining of the Riga City Wall. In 1698 a passage through a dwelling house was made to connect the structures adjacent to the City Wall to the inner city. Since the 20-ies of the 20th century this building is home of the Architects' Association.
I walk down Aldaru (Brewer's) Street and turned right into Troksnu (Noise) street, occupied mainly by dwelling houses and warehouses of the 16th and 17th century. After I've crossed Jekaba street, on my right is the Saeima Knights' House (the Parliament of Latvia, constructed in in eclectic Renaissance style. The building was built between 1863 and 1867 in the style of Florentine renaissance as the Knights' House of the German landlords. Its authors were Janis Fridrihs Baumanis (1834-1901) who was the first Latvian professional architect and Roberts Pflugs. From the time when Latvia regained its independence, it has been the home of the Saeima (the Parliament).


Just opposite the the Parliament building is the only Riga church with a 'balcony bell' in the cupola - St. Jacob's Church. The church was first mentioned in 1225 as a building outside the Riga City Wall. it was the first church to preach reformation and the first Lutheran services for the Latvian congregation took place here. Today St. Jacob's Church is the cathedral of the Arch-Bishop of the Latvian Catholic Church.



Then I walked further past the entrance until I arrived at Maza Pils (Small Castle)street just opposite to one of the Riga symbols, the three medieval dwelling houses christened 'Three Brothers'. This is the oldest brick dwelling house in Riga. Its distinctive chimney has been preserved. The interior yard of the structure contains the oldest known city emblem of Riga along with some ancient stone portals. The oldest building of the 'Three Brethren' houses the Museum of Architecture.
Well... actually there are a lot more historical sites could be discovered in Riga but I end my discovery until here....

LATVIA! HERE I COME...

Alhamdulillah.....akhirnya penerbangan selamat mendarat di airport Riga, Latvia pada pukul 10.00 malam waktu Latvia, 30 Mei 2007. Waktu di sini awal 2 jam berbanding waktu UK. Walaupun dah jam 10.00 pm tetapi suasana masih cerah lagi sebab malamnya lambat gelap. Bila tayar kapal terbang mencecah landasan dengan 'smooth'nya maka semua penumpang yang ada dalam kapal terbang tu pun bertepuk tangan. Teruja juga saya sekejap sebab sebelum ni selalu gak naik kapal terbang tapi tak pernah la pulak mengalami situasi macam ni, semua penumpang bertepuk tangan kegembiraan manakala pengumuman pendaratan pun diumumkan oleh ketua cabin crew dengan megahnya. Kemudian terfikir jugak dalam hati, "mungkin ini cara mereka mengekspresikan rasa syukur setelah penerbangan selamat mendarat agaknya". Saya pun teringin jugak nak ikut tepuk tangan tapi tak jadi. Cukuplah dengan ucapan 'Syukur Alhamdulillah' dalam hati. Sebabnya, hati masih risau lagi ni macamana agaknya bila sampai kat imigresen nanti. Tak tau lagi samada boleh lepas atau tidak tanpa visa ni. Perasaan ragu-ragu tetap ada walaupun bukti bertulis dari Wisma putra tu ada bersama. Walau macamana pun saya tetap 'cool' je sebab dari sisi lain, intuisi saya merasakan bahawa saya boleh lepas masuk. Saya pun turun keluar dari perut flight sambil bergerak menuju ke kaunter imigresen mengikuti barisan penumpang yang lain yang majoritinya rakyat Latvia. Masih tetap 'cool' sehinggalah tiba giliran untuk diperiksa passport. Sampai je kat kaunter imigresen tu, pegawai tu tak banyak tanya pun. Cuma dia meniliti passport saya tu dengan cermat dan buka 'page by page' sambil tengok muka saya. Gerun jugak rasanya.... maklumlah ditenung oleh muka pegawai yang ala-ala komunis la gitu. Kemudian tanpa banyak soal terus je pegawai tu chop passport saya dan sudahhh.... macam tu jee.... Alhamdulillah.....satu nikmat kelegaan yang tak terhingga yang pernah saya alami.... Nampaknya nak masuk Latvia lebih mudah daripada memasuki London, kaedahnya. Rasa berbunga juga di hati bila dapat menghirup udara di negara bekas komunis di benua Eropah ni. Sambil tu bertanya dalam hati, "Agaknya aku orang Malaysia yang ke berapa ye, menjejakkan kaki di bumi Latvia ni?" Sebelum keluar dari terminal tu kena la tukar duit Euro kepada Lats dulu dan kebetulan ada la 'kiosk' money changer kat dalam terminal tu. Saya pun tukar la 50.00 Euro dulu. Pertukaran matawang ialah 1 Euro=0.70 Lats lebih kurang la, jadi saya dapatlah kurang lebih 35.00 Lats. Nanti kalau tak cukup boleh tukar lagi, mungkin dapat tukaran yang lebih bagus. Lepas tu terus beredar dan bila dah berada di luar terminal maka kenalah cari hostel yang dah di tempah tu. Tapi hostel tu bukan kat airport ni, kena ambik kenderaan untuk pergi yang letaknya di pusat bandar Riga iaitu Ibu negeri Latvia. Tapi nak naik apa ye? Sekarang dah jam 10.00 malam lebih kurang, memang la cerah lagi tapi macam waktu senja di Malaysia la dan tak lama lagi gelap la tu. Ada juga ternampak orang berjalan menuju bus stop yang terletak bersebelahan dengan bangunan terminal. tapi tak confident sangat nak ikut sebab tak tau nanti nak tuju ke mana. Sebab 'direction' yang tertulis dalam salinan tiket tempahan hostel tu pun masih agak mengelirukan lagi. Nak tak nak, kena la ambil teksi. Lebih selamat dan menjimatkan masa walaupun tambangnya memang la jauh lebih mahal berbanding menaiki bas. Biasalah tuuu.... kat mana-mana pun sama!

Kebetulan pulak teksi memang banyak menunggu so,saya pun ambik la satu teksi yang pemandunya ialah perempuan yang mukanya macam komunis gak. Ada ciri-ciri la yang membezakan wajah mereka dengan wajah Eropah barat. Kemudian mereka ni susah nak senyum dan cakap sepatah-sepatah je. Mungkin jugak masalah bahasa... tapi tak pe lah. Pemandu ni memang tak banyak cakap, so, bila dah masuk tu saya tunjukkan je alamt 'Doma Hostel' melalui salinan tempahan yang di 'print out' dari emel. Pandai-pandai la dia baca dan saya cuma sebutkan Doma Hostel je. Dia pun angguk dan terus bergerak. Memang tiada perbualan sepanjang perjalanan tu. Saya pun mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menikmati sepenuhnya pemandangan yang dilihat di kiri-kanan jalan. Cantik juga negara ni tapi agak flat sikit. Memang muka bumi negara ni flat dan tidak berbukit-bukau dan itulah keistimewaan dan kelebihannya. Lebih kurang 20 minit perjalanan dari airport saya pun sampai kat Doma Hostel yang terletak betul-betul di pusat bandar berhampiran 'Doma Square'. Pemandu teksi tu plak berhenti betul-betul kat depan pintu hostel yang kat gambar atas tu ha. Ehhh mudahnya....Kemudian saya pun bayar tambang teksi berharga 4.98 Lat sama dengan, lebih kurang Rm 33.36 atau 7.1 Euro. Mahal gak la tu....dah tu saya pun angkut beg dan terus 'check-in' hostel kat tingkat satu. Kena naik tangga la plak. "Macam sunyi je hostel ni....." kata hati saya berbisik. Sampai kat kaunter tu jumpa nenek tua yang wajahnya agak mengerunkan jugak. Ha, sekali lagi saya teringat pada filem-filem Inggeris yang ada kisah mengenai pemilik hostel atau motel di suatu pekan kecil yang agak sunyi dan pemiliknya ialah seorang perempuan tua yang mengerunkan dan sangat tegas. Sekarang perasaan itulah yang saya alami dan dengan nenek hostel ni lah saya 'deal' mengenai penginapan kat Doma hostel tu. Nenek ni pun susah nak senyum, mulanya agak gerun gak ditambah lagi dengan bahasa Inggerisnya yang agak berterabur tapi saya cuba juga untuk memahaminya. Walau bagaimanapun saya tetap berfikiran positif. Jadi bila dah agak lama tu, saya makin membiasakan diri dengan cara nenek tu, kesian gak tengok dia. Walaupun jarang senyum tapi nenek ni nampak ikhlas dan bersungguh-sungguh untuk membantu. So, saya pun mula ber'empathy' dengan sikap orang di sini. Memanglah mereka jarang senyum dan nampak tegas tetapi mereka ikhlas dan baik hati. itu lah apa yang saya rasai....Kemudian nenek tu pun bawa saya ke bilik dan dia tolong pasangkan cadar dan sarung bantal dan kasi tuala satu serta kunci bilik. Dah siap kemaskan katil, pas tu nenek tu pun beredar selapas saya ucapkan terima kasih. Dalam bilik tu dah ada beberapa orang lagi penyewa yang dah check-in lebih awal. Samalah juga wajah tipikal mereka macam ala-ala komunis gak la. Mula-mula tu agak gerun gak sebab mamat tu semua memang tak senyum langsung tapi tiba-tiba seorang mamat tu menyapa, "Where are you from?" saya jawab la 'Malaysia'. Tak semena-mena seorang kawan dia pulak menyampuk "oooo...Singapore!". Eh! Eh! Tersentak jugak saya kejap sebab dia sebut Singapura pulak sedangkan saya cakap tadi Malaysia. Dalam hati tu terdetik gak, "aku tersilp sebut ke? tapi rasanya tidak. Tapi apasal dia sebut singapura pulak?" Pas tu saya cakap kat diaorang tu singapura ialah jiran Malaysia dan dulu memang pernah jadi sebahagian dari Malaysia pun. Kemudian saya tanya mamat yang sebut Singapura tu tadi macamana dia tahu pasal Singapura. Dia kata pernah kerja kat Singapura dulu. Ooooo kisahnya...! Walau macamana pun saya masih confuse lagi pasal mamat yang sebut singapura tu tadi. tapi saya malas nak fikir dah. Tak pe lah....lain kali la fikir pulak. And then, saya pun nak beramah-tamah la jugak sambil tanya diaorang asal dari mana? Diaorang cakap dari Ukraine. Oooooo.... patut la wajahnya tipikal je...Lepas tu perbualan habis kat situ je dan bila dah dapat masuk bilik tu rasa lega laa... letak barang dan rasa lapar la plak. Maklumlah dah jam sebelas malam dah. Kali terakhir makan ialah masa makan makanan yang dibekalkan oleh Iqra' tengahari tadi. Lepas tu tak jamah apa-apa dah. Sebab tu lapar gileerrrr.....


Saya pun turun ke bawah untuk cari mana-mana restoran yang ada jual makanan hallal. Jangan kata makanan hallal, restoran makanan yang tak hallal pun dah tutup dah. Ada la beberapa pub dan kelab malam yang masih buka lagi, tapi bukan restoran makanan la. Oleh sebab dah lapar sangat, saya pun 'gamble' je la masuk ke sebuah pub yang terletak berhadapan dengan hostel tu yang masih lagi buka. Yang lain kebanyakannya dah tutup dan hari pun dah gelap dah. Saya tak tau jalan ni, kalau pergi jauh-jauh takut sesat la pulak nanti. Nak tak nak, try je la tanya kat pub tu yang namanya 'Stella Pub". Rupa-rupanya pub ni macam restoran juga ada jual makanan untuk breakfast, lunch dan dinner. Tapi saya ni dah kira 'supper' la ni. So, saya tengok menunya dan ada la pulak hidangan kentang campur ikan tuna dan salad. Saya pun order je la hidangan tu. Sekali hidangan tu sampai.... makkk ai... banyak nye.... boleh habis ke ni, dah tengah malam ni. Lagi pun saya ni jarang makan waktu malam... ni pun sebab lapar je la dan nak dapatkan tenaga balik. Tapi tak la banyak sampai macam ni! Ha, tengok la kat gambar atas tu ha... itulah makanannya....dan seperti sudah dijangka jawapannya, memang la tak boleh habissss.....Sayang gak kat makanan tu, tapi nak buat macamana... dah tak boleh masuk dah.....ye la badan letih dan menantuk.... tak boleh nak makan habis bebb... Hidangan tu berharga 3.95 Lats lebih kurang harga dalam Euro 5.64 manakala dalam ringgit lebih kurang RM 26.47. Mahal tu, boleh buat 4 atau 5 kali makan kat Malaysia tu... tapi nak buat macamana, itu je pilihan yang ada. Dah selesai makan saya panggil pelayan ambil resit, dia pun datang dan bila dia pulangkan baki duit pada saya, sempat la pulak dia tanya, "Is there any problem with the food sir?", lancar je soalan tu keluar dari mulut pelayan tu sebab dia tengok makanan saya tak habis. Risau gak dia takut tak sedap makanannya. Actually makanannya ok, cuma saya yang tak boleh nak habiskan lagi dah. Kenyang sangat, begitulah lebih kurang saya jawab. Nampak lega sikit wajah pelayan tu. saya pun balik bilik dan tidur bagi mendapatkan tenaga untuk esok plak. Excited sangat nih, nak ronda-ronda bandar Riga esok ni.....Letak je kepala atas bantal terus zzzzzzzzzz.......Jumpa lagi esokkk....ZZZZZZZ......