Recently I've travelled to Scandinavian
cities, namely; Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo & Copenhagen.Prior to the travel do find that there are limited information available online from South East Asian point of view to this part of the world. So I thought it would good to share some of the experiences
Scandinavian countries are belongs to +2GMT
time zone with Finland being the only country that used Euro as currency
whereas the other has their own currencies;
Denmark –
Danish Krone
Norway –
Norwegian NOK
Sweden –
Swedish Krone
Scandinavian countries are easily
accessible via planes, cruise/ferry and land (trains or car). Just for info
that Denmark, Norway & Sweden is link with each other via network of road
& rails. Whereas for Finland one may have to travel via plane or cruise/ferry
from other countries except Russia which is accessible via road/rails.
My visit was at the end of Spring with
expectation the weather being warmer with sunshine but it turns out to be the
mixture of all as in Sun, Rain(most of the time), Snow & Chilly Winds. The
weather was rather unpredictable and it would be handy to have weatherproof
(rain & wind) winter clothing on hand especially for those who is not used to
cold weather. Foldable Umbrellas would be extremely handy in the case where
long lived showers pour through whole day!
My trip was a DIY trip where all the
bookings were done individually except air ticket. Information of hotels,
restaurants and places of interest are easily available on the internet and
with the current abundant of apps available for smartphones/tablet it certainly
shift the reliant on traditional methods such as words of mouth, books,
magazine and brochure. I must highlight the following apps which have been very
handy & vital for period of the trip;
1.
TripAdvisor – City Guide
2.
Google Map
3.
Individual Airport App – Vantaa, Arlanda,
Gardemoen & Kastrup
4.
Resrobot – Stockholm Only.
5.
City Map To Go – Paid Version
However having mentioned the shift from the
traditional methods to the world of Apps/Internet, there is a down fall whereby
Internet Connection(Data) is required to use the apps except TripAdvisor,
Google Map & City Map To Go which could be pre cache prior travelling. As
alternative, fret not where one could explore the following option to cure data
hunger;
1.
Buy local sim card with data
plan – Noticed that there isn’t any phone provider that has Traveller Sim in
those countries which is a bit let down.
2.
If one is a subscriber of
Maxis(Malaysia), just connect to the preferred mobile network provider as
listed for a RM38/day unlimited data roaming services. I must warn thou, the
high speed data is extremely limited which is merely suitable for map checking,
emails & messaging only.
3.
Free Wifi is the sign most traveler
are on the look when choosing a café to unwind and most of the cafes and hotels
are equipped with free Wifi.
Moving around was easy with the
availability of metros, trams and busses. Alternative one may consider cycling
with Copenhagen to me being very bicycle friendly city or otherwise on bus no.
11 (walking). With majority of the main attractions, restaurants and hotels are
well within walking distant in the city of Helsinki, Stockholm(Gamla Stan), Oslo
& Copenhagen. Myself being from a city that practically doesn’t have the
luxury to enjoy the great public transportation except bus (still stManuck in
traffic jam), I’m truly impressed with the impressive public transportation
system available with some being so on time!
Keenest in attracting tourist is very visible
whereby most of the public setup are bi lingual complimenting the great effort
is the tourist pass such as Helsinki Pass, Stockholm Card, Oslo Pass and
Copenhagen Card. These passes/card is a one stop solution for tourists by
providing UNLIMITED use of public transport, free admission to selected tourist
attractions, discounts to selected restaurants and packed with great tourist
information.
Shoppers be alert, major brands are
available at the four(4) cities mentioned with brands such as Hermes, Luis
Vutton, Chanel, Gucci and of course Hard Rock. Plenty of souvenirs shops are
available at major tourist attraction with most being able to offer Tax Refund
over certain amount in a specific shop with the amount eligble for tax refund
differs from each countries and only applicable for Non EU Residence/PR. For
Tax Refund, most shops/companies are subscribe to Global Blue Tax Refund
service abd the Global Blue Card would be handy as all your personal particular
is stored (minus the hassle in filling up each tax refund form especially for
heavy shoppers).
Food wise, variety type of cuisine is
available ranging from local traditional, Italian, French, Chinese, Indian,
Arab and other Asian (Vietnam & Thailand). Travel companions in this trip
has gained weights ranging from 1kg to 2.5kg with the availability of great
food to be feast upon at each different location. I will be highlighting some
of the great food/restaurant in the respective city post which is worthy for a
mentioned, Live to Eat! However
coming from Asian family some food may not to be the liking to some taste bud
but I enjoyed every meal of it including the great hospitality (service).
There is plenty of lodging selection at
each location ranging from the budget till the most expensive listed on
TripAdvisor with review for consideration. My personal take on accommodation guide
would be;
a.
Book as early as possible for
the best rate or take a gamble by booking during promotion.
b.
Look for hotel/hostel/motel
which is near to public transportation for travel convenient. May consider
using Google Map for help.
c.
Check out the review on
TripAdvisor.
d.
Room specification to your
liking.
e.
Happy Booking!
Attraction wise, there is always too much
too many to choose from at each location. Select those that highly interest you
or your group if you are there for limited days just like me. Thou there are
many more that I would like to visit but too bad, limited time! To help in
selecting the right attraction, you may rely on TripAdvisor City Guide or
GOOGLE for the respective city tourism website which is very informative.
Well that’s all for the summary and more to
come for the respective city write up soon!
