Going Broke in Iceland

Iceland is cheap to get to and expensive to stay. It seems to be the place to go these days, the main reason being that any trip on the cheap and cheerful airline Icelandair includes a stopover for as long as you like. Iceland as a result has built an infrastructure catering to this, designed so that you can do everything you want to during that stopover, at a cost. 

Iceland in an Expensive Nutshell

It's a country full of weather. Summer is cool and heavy with clouds, and almost 24 hours of daylight. An island of just over 300,000 residents which hosts over 700,000 tourists a year, it operates for these tourists and there is very little competition in most things, making the prices extremely high. The only thing that is really cheap is hot water, heating and electricity, due to the widespread availability of geothermal power and the utilization of many rivers and waterfalls for hydroelectricity. It is also a lonely place to travel alone. Usually, I can get lost in a crowd or sit in a restaurant unnoticed when travelling. But pretty much every restaurant in the capital city of Reykjavik was stocked full of tourists and I stuck out big time. So this was a real denouement to my crazy busy and eventful trip. 

When I was first looking at hotels last minute for Iceland, the prices were so high that I decided to grab the first guesthouse with rooms available and reasonable prices. It was in Hafnarfjordur, a suburb of the capital city Reykjavik (where everyone else seems to stay). But the owner assured me that its seaside location was beautiful and that it was a quick drive (I was sure he'd said walk) to the main city. It ended up being a good 20-minute bus ride and walking was not really possible (especially with my healing knee). So when I wanted to go into town I took the bus and on the way home I would show the bus driver a map and point, because despite how hard I tried, I could not get the name of my town right. The bus driver would say something that sounded like a sneeze and I would hopefully shake my head and then hop on the bus, fingers crossed.

Lush Green and Milky Blue Waters

On the first day, I took a tour that covered all of the highlights around Reykjavik that everyone sees, the Gullfoss waterfall, the Geyser (the oldest documented erupting hot spring), and many of the beautiful mountains and lakes. The grass is Ireland-green, the water clear, crystal blue and the skies moody and breathtaking.  Everything was clean, spacious, beautiful and full of friendly people eager to do whatever they could to make your day. That night I did some shopping in Reykjavik and ate at one of their famous noodle shops. 

The next day I headed to the Blue Lagoon. I originally thought it was a hot spring, but it's actually a man-made lagoon fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant. I had been looking forward to this for years. It’s hard to get the image of the milky blue waters out of your mind once Iceland is mentioned, and I am obsessed with hot springs (based on my year soaking in Japanese onsens or hot springs and sentos or public baths). 

It did not disappoint.  The water is exactly as pictured housed in a massive complex where you can smother your face with free mud masks, float through varied temperature water, and enjoy a glass of bubbly or beer. I decided to try an extra treatment of an in-water massage. I’ve always said that if I won the lottery one of the first things I would do would be to hire a live-in masseuse.  I could handle a good couple of hours of massages a day, but I really could have done without the in-water massage. It was very akward. First of all, it’s in this cordoned-off area where other people can see you, so when you take your bathing suit top down (under a wet towel of course) you are sort of on display for the world to see. You also can’t get a very deep massage as you are lying on a floating mat and are constantly being adjusted to maintain balance. Any hint at a deep tissue massage would plunge you into the water. 

Hot Dogs and Cool Bands

For the last night, I decided to try the famed Icelandic hot dogs at a stand that has been visited by stars and dignitaries (think Charlie Sheen and Bill Clinton) and pretty much everyone that visits Reykjavik. Complete with ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remoulade (a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish).  I then caught a local Icelandic band at a pub busting at the seams without a tourist in sight. They definitely do music really well. And also beer…must be all that spring water.

I used the rest of the three days to sleep in (no worries about losing daylight) and to enjoy late mornings sipping lattes in the light drizzle and cozying up in cafes writing in my journal, and doing a little last-minute shopping (which in Iceland requires that you take out a line of credit). 

If I’d had more time I would have definitely rented a car and traversed the country, going to more of the remote northern towns. I love that there are no McDonalds or Starbucks (a real statement considering even some small islands in Thailand have Starbucks), but then again their famous fast foods are “American” burger joints and said hot dog above.

On the flight home, I was feeling quite nostalgic and not at all ready to jump back into work the next morning. I knew it would be quite disorienting. I watched the Secret Life of Walter Mitty on the plane, which is partly set in the remote areas of Iceland, and I loved this quote which really speaks to what I feel the purpose of life is (and what’s a trip without deep thoughts and contemplation):

Now I’m back, and it will be a while before I can take another big trip. I feel most alive travelling when I’m out on my own doing everything that I feel resonates with my true spirit. Unchained from a life that I don’t always feel fits or that doesn’t quite look like what I want it to.

Another quote that really resonated with me on this trip was from the book A tale for the time being: Have you ever tried to bully a wave? As you can imagine there’s no point. I need to stop trying to make my life fit this image of what I think it should be, and work towards something that feels right. And above all try to enjoy being in the moment. All easier said than done but worth the effort. 

It’s such fun to look back and document these trips and postpone returning to everyday life…but alas, here we go!