ronnie-world-travel-blog

[ronnie-world-travel-blog]

Day 1

Before going to Iceland Reykjavik there are some research had been done, when I was looking for the weather in those 5 days of the trip, on the AccuWeather (2018) was show that in this 5 days trip, it will be snowing and raining all day, which mean that there is not any sunny day and waterproof clothing and shoes need to be wear all day. However, when we are land on the Reykjavik international airport, it was a sunny day with a conformable weather, so my first impress of Reykjavik is that it is a beautiful country with unpolluted remarkably clear of air and water.

  After a long flight (around 3 hours flight) the first place that we are going is Blue Lagoon. Where blue lagoon is the famous attraction in Reykjavik. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa in Iceland, the water is rich in minerals like silica and sulfur, as a result, the water in this geothermal spa can cure the skin disease. The staff that working in the blue lagoon are very nice and friendly to us, even there is a long queue in front of the front desk, the staff are still patient with introducing the facilities and giving a warm instruction on using the blue lagoon, they are helpful and respect to the tourist visitor, for example a staff, named Paul, help us taking photos, no matter how long is the queue, he still helping us to take a great and beautiful tourist photos when we are enjoying the geothermal power.

 After finished a bath in the Blue Lagoon, we drove back to back to the hotel. Around 4 o’clock we arrive to the Brim Hotel. Although the hotel is small but the facilities in the hotel are great, bread and tea and snack are supply all the time, there is also a small kitchen for people to cook, ideally, it is necessary for us, because the food in Iceland to quite expensive compared to the United Kingdom, for example, a bottle of coke can cost around £6 to £7 and a chocolate snack bar can cost to £2 to £3, which only cost 60p is the United Kingdom, hence the kitchen have becom one of the famous place within our student group.

 When we have put down our baggage, we went out to find the bank to get some Icelandic krona. I found that the Iceland people are very welcome to the tourist, does not mean that when we asking question the nice and polite to reply us, in fact even we are just taking a tourist photos, a man suddenly come forward to us and start talking with us, telling the history of the Man Einar Benediktsson, the food that we must try, the good local restaurant, and even consider we are student and introducing the local restaurant will a low price and delicious food to us. Therefore, I think the local community in Iceland are very welcome the tourist come to their country, as they even take action to do this warm welcome to us on the first day.

Day 2

on day 2 we started our journey to the golden circle. The golden circle is located in the southwest part of Iceland, the itinerary of this day is going to the Pingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area and finally the Gullfoss waterfall. The Pingvellir National park is the UNESCO world heritage site, so this park is the main attraction in this golden circle. The Pingvellir National park is located in two continental plate, the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, and the road is slip, uneven and oblique, and so the government have build up a pedestrian footway for people to walk on it rather than walking on a wet and slip floor, moreover, nearly in every attraction site there is a café shop and rest room for the tourist to have a rest, because of the fact that in Iceland there has no railways and so going to most of the attraction are by car or coach, particularly in the interior only four wheel four vehicles can access to there. Hence, I think this accessibility have affect the tourist flow, as because of this reason may stop the tourist, for example the elderly can afford a long way of sitting in the coach to some of the attraction due to transport network only the car drive.

Day 3

Another 10 hours of travel attraction site, on day 3 we are going to the South Iceland. The most beautiful natural attraction in Iceland, the south Iceland is famous for the skogafoss waterfall, seljalandsfoss waterfall and the black sand beach. The Skogafoss waterfall is huge near 60-metre-high of the waterfall, as a result, we saw many rainbows on that date. On the right-hand side of the waterfall, there is stair for people to walk up to the head of waterfall, the stair is so long and tall with descend angle, so it take me a long time to walk up to the top. Seljalandsfoss waterfall one of the famous waterfall in Iceland. Because of the formation of the waterfall, there is a walking pathway for people to walk behind the curtain of water, however, on that day because Iceland is in a winter, the walking pathway is covered by the ice and snow, so we can not access to the behind of the waterfall. Black sand beach of Iceland is well-known in the world, this beach is on the list of top ten of the most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world. The sand in this beach is different from the beach sand that we usually see, this is because of the formation of this beach is different to the normal beach, the sand at this beach being black is because they are forming from the volcanic rocks and lava which is turn into black colour after cooling down, therefore the black sand beach have become one of the remarkable attraction in Iceland, as it is different to find another black beach in the world.

 There are some restaurant on the other side of the black sand beach, besides restaurant, there is a big supermarket in there, the tour guide said that this supermarket not only provide for the tourist visitor but also for the local resident, although there are only less 200 family less in there and most of them are the elderly, according to my observation. I think this may because of the accessibility of transportation in there, it is not convenient for the office worker to travel between the home to office, so they may only stay at there during the weekend, therefore, the age proportion in this area is most of them are elderly.

At night, we went for the northern light hunting. The weather is not too good to see the northern light, it is quite different to see the northern light with eye because the cloud is too thick, so we can only see a little bit of the northern light. However, no matter what, watching northern light is a bucket list of my life, it is worth to see the northern light no matter how cold is the outside weather.

Day 4

Visiting cruise ship on this day. This cruise ship was operated by the Cruise & Maritime, this company has won a lot of travel industry awards, such as 2016,2017 Best Mainstream Cruise Company Globe Travel Awards, 2015,2016,2017 Best Value For Money Cruise Line Cruise International Magazine Awards and 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 Favorite Ocean Cruise Company (Worldwide Winter Cruises 2018/19, 2018).

The first impression of the cruise ship is that the security are so strict before we get on the cruise ship, the security staff have mark down the information on our passport, although it is strict on the security, but it make everyone feel safe to travel with the cruise ship. After that, the tour guide introduced the company to us, for example, the feature of other cruise ship, travelling plan that the company have been done before, then the tour guide take us to walk around the cruise ship, introducing the facilities, the room and room price is different according to the facilities and the options with balcony. After finished the cruise ship visiting, the following free time for us to explore Reykjavik.

During the last free time in Iceland, we decided to explore the Reykjavik main visitor street, the Laugavegur Street. We ate lunch in this Icelandic street food restaurant, the price of food in the restaurant is relevant lower than other restaurant in that street, their soup, the roasted leg of lamb soup and the shellfish soup is famous because is cheap and delicious, which only cost 1,990 Icelandic Krona. There is a strange rule in this restaurant, the boss of that restaurant said that soup can be refilled until we are full and satisfy, while no extra fee being charged. We were surprised when we heard that, and we think we are misunderstanding of what he said, however, when we ask it again, the boss said this is the traditional rule of their restaurant, he also said that his grandma does not allow their customer leaving their restaurant with hunger, and so beside the soup, there are some chocolate brownie and cakes and chocolate are free for customer to get eat. When we are leaving the restaurant, all of us are captured by this restaurant, not only because of the delicious food but also the rule and hospitable service of this restaurant. This restaurant made my trip much more rememberable because I can feel their warm welcoming and the original intention of doing a restaurant, a deep intention from the heart, an intention that every restaurant owner should have it.

Day 5

We are leaving from the early morning, outside was snowing, finally, in the last day of the trip. Thanks god for giving us a good weather to explore the beauty of Reykjavik, thanks god for me to meet those welcoming and friendly people, and thanks UCLan for holding this incredible journey for student to broaden the horizon.

Things that I have found in this journey about Iceland:

The customer service and the warm welcome from the local resident in Reykjavik is really inspire me on things that we should do in this industry. It makes me feel that the importance of communication between people are more important than money, honourable moral is not depending on money, but it is start from the heart.

 The key strategy for developing Reykjavik is holding the ecotourism in this country. The unspoiled natural scenery and special natural feature is the chance on doing the tourism development. According to the world travel and tourism council (2017), the contribution on travel and tourism in Iceland had raise the GDP by 8% in 2017, and they have estimated from the 2017 to 2027 the GDP can rise to USD 2.2bn, therefore this has show that the travel a tourism is an important economic activity in Iceland.

 This important economic activity in Iceland have the direct and indirect contribution to the tourism industry. The direct contribution is reflected on the tourist infrastructure in Iceland, for example the accommodation services, food and beverage service, transportation and retail trade (Wttc.org, 2018). While the indirect contribution if reflected on the travel and tourism investment spending, for example the investment activity and construction of new hotels, the government collective spending, for instance the tourism marketing promation and hotel sanitation, and the domestic purchases of goods and services by the tourism sectors, such as fuel and catering services of the airline and the security and cleaning service of the hotels (Wttc.org, 2018).

The impact of overtourism to the environment

Although Iceland having fantastic international reputation on the beautiful natural. However, the location of Iceland is the most dangerous place in the world, as the more than 200 volcanoes surround by Iceland, the major volcano eruption and earthquake happen every five years. Moreover, Iceland is located close to Arctic Ocean, which mean than Iceland is more vulnerable to climate change than other country. However, the tourism industry effects the rate of environmental recovery, for example the tourist leave their footprint embedded into the moss, which this kind of damage can affect the rate of repair itself. Additionally, there are more than 30% of Iceland energy comes from petroleum and fossil fuels. The rapid economy development leading more shipping lanes have opened within Icelandic coastal area, the oil spill problem are now currently occur in the Icelandic coastal area  (Guide to Iceland, 2018).

References List

AccuWeather. (2018). Reykjavik Weather - AccuWeather Forecast for Greater Reykjavik Iceland. [online] Available at: https://www.accuweather.com/en/is/reykjavik/190390/weather-forecast/190390 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2018].

Guide to Iceland. (2018). Iceland's Troubled Environment | Guide to Iceland. [online] Available at: https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/a-darker-shade-of-green-icelands-troubled-environment#Modern [Accessed 12 Apr. 2018].

Guide to Iceland. (2018). The Ultimate Guide to the Blue Lagoon | Guide to Iceland. [online] Available at: https://guidetoiceland.is/best-of-iceland/blue-lagoon-the-ultimate-guide [Accessed 6 Apr. 2018].

The CMV experience. (2018). Worldwide Winter Cruises, p.6.

Wttc.org. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2017/iceland2017.pdf [Accessed 13 Apr. 2018].

[ronnie-world-travel-blog]

The motivation travel to Iceland

Kim (2008) has said that the reason why people like to travel to other countries is that people want to fulfil their travel satisfaction, or a travel plan that make by travel agent was attract them and the pictures or the history of the destination can also attract the traveller travel to there. But the things to determine the travel decision making of people travelling to other place is that the push and pull factors. The push factor can be intangible things to people, for examples people want to get rid of their job and take and break to have a relax, or escape from war or stress, and also explore the world and experience other experience that cannot be taken in their own region. For the pull factor can be the tangible things to people, such as the tourist attraction and the local food of the destination, the special activities that can only be found and experienced in that destination, or the advertisement of the destination facilities, all of these things are used to enough people to travel to there (Kim, 2008).

 Hence, the push and pull factors for me to travel to Iceland, Reykjavik, is that I want to experience more different culture in my life, broaden my horizon and experience different things that cannot be experienced in Hong Kong to have a meaningful life, for examples doing the glacier walking, see the Aurora, have a look of the volcano cave and eating ice-cream under 0 degree Celsius.

My expectation of the Iceland trip

Blue lagoon

Having a good and relaxing spa in the blue lagoon is the top list of my travel list this time. As blue lagoon is the most famous geothermal spa in Iceland because a geothermal spa is definitely cannot be found in Hong Kong! The water in blue lagoon is full of the mineral salts, silica, sulphur and blue-green algae, with these substances and the 39 degree Celsius of water can help us to relax the body, especially the silica and sulphur is good for our skill which can treat the skin ailment (Guide to Iceland, 2018). It is good to have it on the first day after the flight trip while it only takes a 15-minute drive to the blue lagoon from the Reykjavík Airport. Also, from the guide to Iceland (2018) know that the blue lagoon had been listed as one of the top 25 wonders of the world national geographic, and it is the top 10 spas in the world, so having fun in blue lagoon is the top list of this trip!

South Shore

After having a fantastic geothermal spa in the blue lagoon, we are going to the South Shore on the next day. Walking along the South Shore of Iceland it takes 10 hours for this activity, seeing the magical creativity of nature in Iceland, this trip is famous for a serval place: the gorgeous Seljalandsfoss, the Skógafoss waterfalls, the Sólheimajökull, and finally the Reynisfjara black sand beach. The Seljalandsfoss waterfall is one of the special waterfalls in Iceland, it is because of the formation of this waterfall we can walk behind the waterfall and see the water falling from the top, so we better to bring the waterproof coat and shoes or raincoat on the second day, if not we will totally get wet after walking behind the waterfall. The Skogafoss waterfall we can go up to the top of the waterfall to see the spectacular views of the surrounding.

Reynisfjara black sand beach

 Then we are going to the Reynisfjara black sand beach. The Reynisfjara black sand beach is famous for the insane basalt columns, towering cliffs, caves and the black sand. The main reason for Reynisfjara black sand beach outstanding than other beach is because the sand of this beach is not in white colour, as it shows on its name black sand beach, the sand of this beach is come from the ashes after volcanic eruption (Adventurous Miriam, 2018), and therefore this has make it become a special tourist attraction in Iceland. A volcanic beach is not easy to find in another place on the earth, in 1991, Reynisfjara black sand beach has been listed on the top 10 non-tropical beaches to visit on the earth by the National Geographic (Guide to Iceland, 2018).

Golden Circle trip

The Thingvellir National Park

The Geysir Geothermal Area

The Gullfoss Waterfall

On the third day, we are going to the Golden Circle trip, it is another 10 hours on that day. There are three tourist sites to visit: the Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area and the Gullfoss Waterfall. The Thingvellir National Park is famous for its location, as it is located between two tectonic plates, the North American plate and the Eurasian tectonic plate, these two tectonic plates is moving apart 2cm per year, and so this makes the Thingvellir National Park become the special place to see the edges of these two continents in the world (Guide to Iceland, 2018). The Geysir Geothermal Area, this area is surrounded by many hot springs dotted. One of the most famous geysers is the Strokkur, it erupts every 6 to 10 minutes, usually, it can erupt up to 15 to 20 meters high, but sometimes the blasting water can up to 40 meters (Guide to Iceland, 2018). The Gullfoss Waterfall, it is also known as “the Golden Waterfall”, with the massive flowing water and the special formation of this waterfall, which make it look like a staircase, and so it becomes one of the famous tourist attraction in Iceland.

Food that I should try in Iceland

Harðfiskur

Because Iceland is surrounded by the sea, so the fish and seafood are one of their main food resources. Stockfish (Harðfiskur) is one of the fish dish, people eating the stockfish with bread and better. The stockfish is dry under the cold air condition for about 4 to 6 weeks so this can keep it as “freash”. Although I may not like to eat, I think I should try a little bit as I maybe not have any chance to go to Iceland anymore.

Hotel that we are going to stay

Brim Hotel

Brim Hotel is the hotel that we are going to stay for five days four nights. It is a budget hotel, the cost for four people per night in a family room with shared bathroom is only cost £127 (Booking.com, 2018) compare to another hotel under the same condition, Brim Hotel is cost low price. The clearness of the room and restaurant in Brim Hotel is clean and tidy. Also, there are some shopping mall and restaurant near the hotel, which only take 5 to 10 minutes. Moreover, the hotel is near the tourist attraction, for example, the Hallgrímskirkja Church, so it is convenient to go to everywhere by foot.

Reference list

 3 Day South Coast Northern Lights, Jokulsarlon Ice Cave, Golden Circle & Glacier Hiking (2018). Available at: https://guidetoiceland.is/book-holiday-trips/jokulsarlon-lagoon-and-ice-caving-three-day-tour . Accessed: 22 February 2018.

Adventurous Miriam (2018). Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach.

Blue Lagoon | Guide to Iceland (2018). Available at: https://guidetoiceland.is/travel-iceland/drive/blue-lagoon . Accessed: 22 February 2018.

References

Booking.com. (2018). Brim Hotel, Reykjavík, Iceland. [online] Available at: https://www.booking.com/hotel/is/reykjavik-hostel-center.en-gb.html?aid=356983;label=gog235jc-hotel-XX-is-reykjavikNhostelNcenter-unspec-gb-com-L%3Axt-O%3AwindowsS10-B%3Achrome-N%3Ayes-S%3Abo-U%3Asalo-H%3As;sid=6355b0dd0d7b22097bb78f4e164b3901;all_sr_blocks=128973805_89111281_0_2_0;checkin=2018-03-06;checkout=2018-03-07;dest_id=-2651804;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=4;group_children=0;hapos=1;highlighted_blocks=128973805_89111281_0_2_0;hpos=1;lang=en-gb;no_rooms=1;req_adults=4;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA%2CA%2CA;sb_price_type=total;soz=1;srepoch=1519895990;srfid=8f093143554342155f29a23996d0345747922b2aX1;srpvid=36a0419a2f28003b;type=total;ucfs=1&  Accessed: 22 Feb. 2018.

Chris Eccles (2010). Harðfiskur.

CNN travel (2018). 36 photos of beautiful places in Iceland.

Gray line (2018). Blue Lagoon.

Gray Line (2018). Golden Circle trip.

Guide to Iceland (2018). Geysir Hot Spring.

Gunnarsdóttir, N. (2018). 'The Ultimate Guide to the Blue Lagoon | Guide to Iceland'. Available at: https://guidetoiceland.is/best-of-iceland/blue-lagoon-the-ultimate-guide . Accessed: 23 February 2018.

Kim, K. (2008). 'Analysis of Structural Equation Model for the Student Pleasure Travel Market: Motivation, Involvement, Satisfaction, and Destination Loyalty', Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 24(4), pp. 297-313.

Love Shack (2018). Gullfoss Waterfall.

Paul Reiffer (2016). Aurora.

Radisson Blu (2018). Thingvellir National Park.

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach | Guide to Iceland (2018). Available at: https://guidetoiceland.is/travel-iceland/drive/reynisfjara . Accessed: 24 February 2018.

Shutterstock (2017). South Shore.

[ronnie-world-travel-blog]

An introduction to Ronnie

I am a second-year student at the University of Central Lancashire studying the international hospitality management, I also studied A-level in Wales for two years. I love going out and get some sunshine and experience different cultures very much, when there is free time or holiday I will go to hiking or swimming, like doing The Duke of Edinburgh and The Hong Kong 2400 meters cross-harbor race. Therefore, I cannot wait to go to Iceland Reykjavik! I cannot wait to see the magical creativity of nature, the clear and white glacier, the beautiful and magnificent aurora, and the active and eruption of geyser! These are the nature that cannot be seen in Hong Kong, China and Asia, which is a totally different experience that I have ever had, so I sure this trip will be a great turning point in my travel history.