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| The Caucasus - My Journal |
Life in the Deep South
5th July - Budapest -> Kecskemet
 Today I decided to escape the city for the first time on my trip. As I'd already reconn'ed the route to the bus station, it was a smooth journey out of Budapest, even with the crazily early start (6:30am). The journey to Kecskemet, a small but picturesque town in Southern Hungary only took a couple of hours and while exploring this place, I began to feel like I was really travelling.
While wandering towards the centre of town from the bus station, I suddenly noticed a deafening sound - it was that of half a dozen varieties of birds! The sound of traffic, so overwhelming in every major city, had faded away to a mere occasional whooshing in the background as the infrequent cars passed.
One thing happened to me on the way into town that never happens in big cities...a local smiled and welcomed me to the town as he walked past. No hidden agenda, not desire to make me buy something, just pure friendliness!
My bed for the night was in an old college dorm, empty because of the summer. The place was slightly eerie, due to the wide corridors and the overhanging silence. The room itself was basic and a bit decrepit, but clean and bearable. For £4 you can't really complain!
 I spent most of the day wandering around town and chilling in one of the big squares. Kecskemet is a very picturesque and easy to walk around. It has a strange mix of architecture from the Art Nouveau Ornamental Palace and Town Hall, to the Baroque Great Church to the Neobaroque Theatre. It's seems a little eclectic but it fits together surprisingly well and makes the compact town very interesting to walk around. The main part of town is made of a number of park like squares which overlap to make a pedestriaised centre.
 There were enough sights to keep me busy for most of the afternoon, and for the rest of the time i just did what the locals doing...chilled on a park bench, watched the world go by and read my book.
Up to now, I hadn't really felt like I was travelling or backpacking. I'm not sure why this was exactly, maybe because he had all followed on so soon from finishing university, or maybe because of the nature of a European city. Hanging out in little Kecskemet made me feel a bit more like I was again a backpacker.
You see, although the main European cities all have their defining characteristics, they also have a lot in common. If you visit lots of these places they can all feel fairly similar, especially if you only pass a few days there. Cities are very dense and it can be difficult to "penetrate" their hard facades and really get to see what life is like for people living their. Unless you have months, or even years, to spend there and speak the language at least semi-fluently, you'll never really see through the surface that most tourists experience as they cruise on through. Cities also tend to be very tourist-friendly and the facilities are provided to allow the visitors to skate by, on the surface of the city, and never delve below the water line.
Smaller towns on the other hand tend to be less foreboding. It can be easier to, at least partially, see what life is like there. Tourists are fewer in number and so there is less infrastructure to allow an easy, shallow visit of the city. You need to work a little harder to get around, to find what you want and to experience the place, however, your reward for this effort is a deeper and more realistic view into the life of the people.
Note that I'm not making any bold claims about really and truly experiencing life as a native (regardless of the size of the town, that would still require months and the opportunity to get out of the hostels and into someone's home) it's just that with a small town you can get closer to the experience. I'm only spending a day or two in the smaller towns, but it does allow a much greater insight into life around the country than only visiting the capital city.
Also, the sheer size of cities can be overwhelming and make it difficult to get to know the place or to pick restaurants and places to sleep. A small town is much more accessible and less intimidating with only a handful of eateries and sleeperies and after walking around for a few hours you can get to know the local area and feel comfortable there. I certainly felt a lot more at ease wandering around the handful of streets here than the dense maze in Budapest.
Anyhoo...my time in Kecskemet passed quietly and by next morning, when I arose early to get a bus to my next destination, I felt refreshed and revived.
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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