I'd rather walk

This weekend, Socs and I plan to visit the city of Paphos on the western side of Cyprus. Oh, did I mention that I am in Cyprus? Well, there you go....

Given that it is around 150kms away from Nicosia where we are located, we decided to rent a car. After a few days of research and comparing prices, I was able to get us a Renault Clio. We initially wanted a Smart car to stick to the European motif, but alas it was not available (maybe next week though hehehe).

An online reservation, a few emails, and a phone call later the car was delivered to us in the hotel. Unfortunately, I forgot nearly all of my documents on hand at the office... particularly my driver's license. I had to go back, get the stuff and signed for the keys to the car.

Take note that we are in Europe (Cyprus is part of the EU), and that people here drive on the wrong side of the road... I mean the left side, hehehe. I initially didn't want to take it out of it's parking space, but it was just by the roadside and I wanted it parked in the hotel basement. So I got in, geared myself up and joined the traffic. I managed to piss someone off right at that moment. Damn! And considering that it was a narrow side street! I just didn't see him.

It feels weird driving on the right side of the car, then trying to keep on the left side of the road! I had to consciously tell myself to LOOK RIGHT and STAY ON THE LEFT! It was nerve wracking, I circled the block to get a feel of it first before going to the basement parking.

But it was blocked by a visitor, so I went on for a little road trip just to get a feel for how driving Euro style is. The damn streets were friggin' narrow! And a whole lot of them where one-way streets. I got lost at some point, tried looking for a city map in the compartment and found none. I had a decent idea of my bearing so I stuck with my instincts and found a familiar road.

It took me around 30 mins of wandering around before I got back to the hotel and found my sacred parking slot. It's gonna be exciting tomorrow when I try to leave the city, get into the highway and get around in an unfamiliar city.... then come back. Jeez....