Travelogue 2: Roma, Italia~ (9th April 2014)

Rome is beautiful. I watched the view of the city streets and I can never felt happier seeing the sun because Manchester was all gloomy and depressing. Seeing the sun reminded me of Malaysia. I miss,you heat! I am beginning to appreciate you even more. I finally get to put on my shades which was berabuk in my closet.
We arrived at Rome Fiumicino (Terminal 2) via easyJet. Because we fly from Prague, (Czech Republic) so it is within Schengen Area, like traveling domestically between Euro countries, we didn't have to go through passport checks, we went straight to baggage claim area.


Roma Pass
We bought the Tourist pass at the Tourist Center inside the airport itself, near the baggage claim area (depends where you landed, supposedly all airports have Tourist Center. The tourist pass which is the Roma Pass is a 3 day travel pass worth €36 that can be used for all metro trains and access  to selected main attractions in Rome. We used this pass to enter Colosseum, Villa Borghese and Roman Forum. To me, I think it's worth it where you don't have to go through the long queue (approximately 2 hours) at the Colosseum entrance, but you can always check other's opinion on Tripadvisor to check whether it's worth it or not.
Again, I think it's worth it considering that you will use that pass for traveling around Rome without thinking of buying separate tickets for the transportation and for the entrance of the tourist spots.
I actually saw these passes were sold for €28 when we were at Termini Station. So I think it is based on your luck whether you can get it cheaper or not. BUT be careful when they're selling it cheap because they might be fake ones.

Airport Transfers
As for the airport transfers to the town, we took Schiaffini for €6 single trip or €8 return. I don't want to recommend this because the frequency of the bus is once every hour! Bloody late! Take Terra Vision instead. You can get the tickets at the airport, there were rows of booths selling airport transfers just like we used to had at the LCCT. Oh! Did I not tell you the locals are manipulative if not liars? The guy at the Tourist Center claimed that we could get to pay only €4 with the Roma Pass. That didn't happened.

Accommodation

Checking in at hostel Evergreen, I'd say the hostel is okay. I wasn't expecting anything fancy for a budget stay. Again, we bought this via booking.com. Recommended for backpackers, not suitable if you bring fussy makcik/pakcik, datin/dato, unless they're the adventurous type. One thing we believe a plus point for this apartment is its location. It is close like 5-10 minutes walk from Termini station.

Okay, if you are first time backpacker in UK & Europe, kindly note that some apartments that open for short rents like is not really an established premise like YHA Hostels. Most probably you will check in at a different premise (as per stated in the booking receipt) but stayed at a different hostel. Like Evergreen here, we have to check in somewhere else which is just a couple of blocks from were we stayed. Same thing in London. So always check the reviews first before confirming your booking.

Transportation

The transportation systems are pretty simple. Check the helpful links below for the Metro service. The Metro doesn't go straight to the airport, mind you. Only within city centers. You can find buses that go to the main attractions everywhere. I will tell you how to go to where at Travelogue 2: Roma, Italia~ Places of Visit (9th April 2014) If you use the Roma Pass, you use the card to tap your ticket on the pad at the gate of the metro station (like the pad where you tap your Touch & Go).

Notes:

Again, I need to stress out to be aware of pick pockets when you are in Rome, please! Especially in crowded areas like the Metro Stations and tourists-dense areas. These people are professionals. They look just like normal people, in fact good looking and dressed like a VIP. These people work in groups consist of various walks of life just to deceive us to make them look like harmless normal citizen. I am not kidding. We encountered, preggers, school kids, men in suits. Even my friends say they were mobbed by men dress as police officers! Even the senior citizens old enough to call nenek, jalan berketar2 also could be a part of the bandit. So, stay vigilant at all times. Because Rome is crowded, so it is easy for them to do this. I had to resolve into hiding my purse under my shirt and slip in big notes in my bra. So you can tell from the photo below I actually stuff everything under my clothes.

Other helpful links:
Rome Metro Trains