Patras

You may wonder what's Patras, and I can understand that. Before I went there, I've never heard of it as well. It's just a city in the western part of Greece which is the gateway to Greece for the ferries coming from Italy. That's all about Patras, nothing touristy.

Why did I eneded up there? Well, I was there to perform my official duty. That's how I acquired the sponsored air tickets and a few nights stay in Patras and Athens. Apart from the Rion-Antirion cable-ctayed bridge, I can't think of anything else, except the excursions to Delphi and Olympia which I did not go because of the conference.

Although I did not do much of sight-seeing in Patras, I enjoyed the time in the conference discussing on the area of my research interest. The most memorable thing has got to be bumping into my Sifu from the National University of Singapore while I was pursuing my Ph.D. some more than 10 years ago. Besides the discussions on serious topics, we had a great time during the conference dinners. One of the dinners was held at a restaurant on top a a hill overlooking the sea where we had our food while watching the sunset.

It was quite a memorable stay in Patras because I bumped into many Korean and Japanese professors whom I met in conferences elsewhere. I had many great chats too with some Taiwanese engineers who work with the transportation department.

If you would like to read more of my travelogues on Greece, here are the links:-

1. Athens – The Homeland of the Gods

• Acropolis
• Ancient Agora
• National Archaeological Museum
• Exposé at the Parliament Building
• Neoclassical Trilogy
• The Walking Tour
• The Graffiti
• The Central Market
• Panoramic View

2. The White Dream in Mykonos

• Whitewashed Cube Houses
• Stairways to Heaven
• Barricades in Paradise
• Sea Breeze
• Wind Riders
• With a Little Bit of Red
• Roaming the Streets
• The Holy Ground
• When the Sun is Going Down
• I've Been to Paradise

3. Santorini – Almost Heaven

• Roaming Around the Streets of Fira
• Gazing at the Sea in Fira
• The Southern Crosses in Fira
• The Golden Hour at Fira
• Fira Sunset and After Dark
• Strolling the Streets in Oia
• The Cliffs and the Sea in Oia
• The Domes and the Bells in Oia
• The Barriers in Oia
• The Sunset at Oia
• The Volcano at Nea Kameni
• The Black-sand Beach of Kamari
• Ancient Thira

4. Miscellaneous

• Piraeus – Tinos – Mykonos
• Delos – The Open Air Museum on an Island
• From Mykonos to Thira
• Nuts about Kebab
• Patras