Ring Road, Iceland
Iceland is one amazing place.
It is absolutely hands down my best birthday trip yet.
On the third day onwards in Iceland(starting on my birthday), we stayed in a campervan all over South Iceland. We did the Ring Road!
It is absolutely hands down my best birthday trip yet.
On the third day onwards in Iceland(starting on my birthday), we stayed in a campervan all over South Iceland. We did the Ring Road!
Rented our campervan from GoCampers.
Had no problems with them, highly recommended.
Glad to be driving a 4x4 in snow storms.
The ring-road in Iceland is basically a road ending and starting at the same point, aka a ring. Road number 1 is the ring-road travelling around the whole of Iceland with small roads branching out to different places/cities. It's pretty easy to drive around it. Also, the sights are to die for.
Camera overload - Used my SLR, action cam and phones for pictures during my trip.
If only my polaroid came with me, I would have reached the 1000 picture mark. Already have about 800 photos for a single trip.
You can basically stop by along the Ring Road and get some shots.
There are allocated curbs that you can stop at so you don't cause a traffic accident.
All of the pictures (except my night shots which they are digitally brightened) are not enhanced. Some carry a blue-r hue due to the tinted window of the car, as they were taken inside.
So could you believe how beautiful my drive was during the entire trip.
Skaftafell National Park
They have 2 trails for hiking, easy and hard, both taking around 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.
Ok. This is filtered thanks to iPhone's Chrome settings.
At Vik's black sand beach.
Another one of the small towns I stopped at during my Ring Road drive to catch a break from driving.
Brought home a ziplock bag of Iceland's black sand to be-friend my Australia's Manly beach sand & Dubai's desert sand.
Took so many pictures on my drive around Iceland.
Only drove around South Iceland because that was what I could fit in my week there. I was told that you could finish driving the ring-road in 2 full days, but you would not be able to enjoy it. 7 days to drive and pitt-stop all over, but 10 days to properly enjoy Iceland.
In my opinion, 2 weeks is best. I mean, do you really want to just grab a picture, walk around and leave?
Don't you want to just sit and enjoy the magnificent, awe-inspiring view?
If you do, 2 weeks.
In my opinion, 2 weeks is best. I mean, do you really want to just grab a picture, walk around and leave?
Don't you want to just sit and enjoy the magnificent, awe-inspiring view?
If you do, 2 weeks.
Petrol in Iceland was ISK209-ISK212 (est £1) per liter. Spent about £150 for my petrol around south (approx 900km).
As I was staying in a campervan with no toilet facilities, I relied heavily on petrol stations, restaurants and heated public baths.
I basically park the campervan next to a place I know they have a toilet every night.
The next morning, I use their toilet facilities to clean up and also grab my morning coffee.
Most coffee at petrol stations are refillable, so me and bran usually sit about quite some time thinking what we're going to do that day.
If you want a bath, I definitely suggest those heated public baths. They are everywhere in Iceland.
I bought a map that tells me where all the public baths were, so it was easy to know where I would be taking my next shower.
The map I have is the Ferdakort Iceland 1:500 000 touring map (pictured below)
Icelandic hot dogs, a popular meal for ring-road travelers.
They included fried onions in their dogs and use 'Icelandic mayo'.
As a Ring Road traveller, this should be your meal at least once. It's like a right of passage.
Pardon the mess.
I really could not be bothered to tidy up, even for a photo.
How else was it supposed to look like? The display shelf?
As you can see, we have curtains all around (plus tinted windows). Also, the lack of humans contributed to our privacy. I had yet to experience someone snooping around, because people just tend to mind their own business.
On the right, you can see the cooler (running on car's external battery when the car is not running), sink (with external water supply), and a folded table.
The table was a tad bit small even for 2, but Iceland was cold enough that tight & cosy sounded fantastic.
Originally, I rented an ordinary campervan, which was a Kangoo Renault. I thought it was small and sufficient. I had sleeping bags ready and they provided me with some cooking utensils. So I thought I was good to go.
I really could not be bothered to tidy up, even for a photo.
How else was it supposed to look like? The display shelf?
As you can see, we have curtains all around (plus tinted windows). Also, the lack of humans contributed to our privacy. I had yet to experience someone snooping around, because people just tend to mind their own business.
On the right, you can see the cooler (running on car's external battery when the car is not running), sink (with external water supply), and a folded table.
The table was a tad bit small even for 2, but Iceland was cold enough that tight & cosy sounded fantastic.
Originally, I rented an ordinary campervan, which was a Kangoo Renault. I thought it was small and sufficient. I had sleeping bags ready and they provided me with some cooking utensils. So I thought I was good to go.
Then the snow storms hit.
I got a little nervous about the stability of our campervan. I was told that stories of toppled vans are not unheard of. So I forked out £200 to upgrade our car to a 4x4 Mitsubishi Pajero campervan.
I got a little nervous about the stability of our campervan. I was told that stories of toppled vans are not unheard of. So I forked out £200 to upgrade our car to a 4x4 Mitsubishi Pajero campervan.
Reasons to upgrade:
1. More room
2. Better stability
3. 4x4 traction better on frozen roads
4. Has a sunroof (Perfect for northern light hunting)
4. Has a sunroof (Perfect for northern light hunting)
5. Has external heater (!!)
Had I been stubborn to stay with my Renault, I would have frozen to death during the nights as I would be sleeping in -4 Celsius temperatures without a heater. I would also have to curl up because the car's length isn't long enough. AND I would have to cook my meals in the middle of the blizzard.
On my trip, I also witnessed a Singaporean man's car falling over the edge of the road & got trapped in the snow. Had bran stop to help the poor man. The snow was knee deep! I have even have this on video because the action cam was on when it happened.
A little further, another car skid and got trapped in snow.
On my trip, I also witnessed a Singaporean man's car falling over the edge of the road & got trapped in the snow. Had bran stop to help the poor man. The snow was knee deep! I have even have this on video because the action cam was on when it happened.
A little further, another car skid and got trapped in snow.
I am trying to rationalize spending that £200 for safety reasons. But it still hurts.
In the mornings, we usually wake up to a pile of snow on the car.
So every morning, bran does his morning stretch while reaching to scrap off snow from the car.
It was pretty straight forward driving around Iceland. A Malaysian driving licence is good enough, despite the cheap lamination of the old version. Thankfully, me and bran were pretty confident with our driving so we had no problems driving in zero visibility and frozen conditions.
Afterall, if i die sub-zero, my body won't rot and even in death, I will be preserved in my youth. Right??
Afterall, if i die sub-zero, my body won't rot and even in death, I will be preserved in my youth. Right??
Didn't use a GPS. Instead, I relied on a good old-fashion paper road map (the same Ferdakort touring map above). Within a few days, that poor thing was overused.
Stout was definitely strong at 11% alcohol content. I'm not a fan of stout.
The ale was good. It's more like fruity beer.
Also, don't bother putting your beer in the cooler. We all know it's much colder outside than in the cooler.
Just bury your beer in snow while you cook your meal and take it out again when your meal is done.
If there is a term for the perfect temperature of beer, that would be it.
We had most of our meals in the car too. Pasta was a saviour, as usual.
There was nothing fancy during our time on the road.
We did try traditional Icelandic dishes in Reykjavik like shark meat, whale steak or puffin.
Let me tell you this; If you ever wonder what shark meat tastes like, try eating hair dye. It smells so strong of hair dye that whatever you could taste, it'll taste like hair dye.
There were couple other dishes in Iceland that are quite unique to the country. They are all definitely worth trying, although a group meal is best recommended to prevent food wastage in case you don't like anything. Icelandic food can be quite an acquired taste.
I personally quite enjoy their fish selections there; as fresh as it can be.
We also tried their local hard liquor at the airport: Brennivin.
It was supposed to be the accompaniment of shark meat but we didn't have it together.
It just tastes like cardboard-Vodka.
I have a theory about why Brennivin is coupled with shark meat.
They both taste bad (or at least unusual).
Put two bads together, one is bound to be better than the other.
Since they're both Icelandic, at least one gets the praise, while the other gets the blame.
Can't blame them for not trying.
There was nothing fancy during our time on the road.
We did try traditional Icelandic dishes in Reykjavik like shark meat, whale steak or puffin.
Let me tell you this; If you ever wonder what shark meat tastes like, try eating hair dye. It smells so strong of hair dye that whatever you could taste, it'll taste like hair dye.
There were couple other dishes in Iceland that are quite unique to the country. They are all definitely worth trying, although a group meal is best recommended to prevent food wastage in case you don't like anything. Icelandic food can be quite an acquired taste.
I personally quite enjoy their fish selections there; as fresh as it can be.
We also tried their local hard liquor at the airport: Brennivin.
It was supposed to be the accompaniment of shark meat but we didn't have it together.
It just tastes like cardboard-Vodka.
I have a theory about why Brennivin is coupled with shark meat.
They both taste bad (or at least unusual).
Put two bads together, one is bound to be better than the other.
Since they're both Icelandic, at least one gets the praise, while the other gets the blame.
Can't blame them for not trying.
I just wish I jump better.
I look like a turtle attempting a high-five, mid-air.
Good luck pronouncing for English natives/speakers.
People say the ring road is meant to be driven with random pit-stops along the way.
That's exactly what I did.
Most of the time, you'll stumble across beautiful places.
It's quite far away from the Ring Road and half way through you'll wonder if you're lost.
But keep on driving and the coast will reward you.
Apparently very Game of Thrones.
Oh, certain scenes in GoT were shot in Iceland.
If you Google, you can find tours crafted for GoT fans.
As a LOTR and HP fan, I can only imagine my uncontained excitement had I read GoT pre-Iceland. I would have spent every dime and penny for those tours.
Thankfully for my pocket, I'm holding off reading GoT until I have time to binge read the entire series.
I think these huts were on some private property.
But what the heck, a couple pictures won't hurt.
All in all, Iceland was amazing.
There are very few places left on Earth with such untouched, naked nature.
The trip was made surreal by the experience I encountered during my Ring Road travel.
Anyone heading to Iceland?
The Ring Road will be your best bet in experiencing this wonderful island.
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