Introduction

I would like to share my experience and my journey to Como, Italy. This is my first ever-international trip and I went there alone. No one to pick me up there (Como) and none of my friends or colleagues went with me. I went solo. Thank God for His protection and guidance that I am able to find my way there and come back safely.

Whenever, the country Italy was mentioned, places like Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan or Pisa will come to mind. However, I did not go to these cities, instead I traveled to the north of Italy towards the Switzerland border to a small lake town called, Como.

Italy is also famous for its lakes. There are four lakes, which people from all around the world would drop by during mid-spring till summer to enjoy the nice view and air. Lake Como is one of the four lakes. I have this opportunity to visit Como, as part of my university official trip to present a paper in the conference held there.

Getting There

Apparently, there is no airport in Como. Therefore, to get to Como from Asia, I had to travel via Milan, which was through the Milan Malpensa Airport. Those who travel from Europe will go through Milan Linate Airport. There is no direct flight to Milan Malpensa from Malaysia, so I had to transit via Amsterdam. The 12 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam was still bearable as I flew at midnight and I slept most of the journey. From Amsterdam, I then took the local flight to Milan Malpensa. From Milan Malpensa Airport, I, then had to take the Malpensa Express Train (something like our KLIA Express) to a interchange call Saronno (something like our KL Sentral). Finally, from Saronno, I took the local train (something like KTM) to Como. So, altogether I took 16 hours from Kuala Lumpur all the way to Como (excluding waiting time).