Hello from London – a recount of the first months of my new home

Between ramping up in my new role at work and scrambling to get my life together, a sense of serenity finally dawned on me. This is the 9th month of uprooting my (mine and that of 2 marmalade cats) entire life to realise my teenage dream of living in Europe. See, that word has always meant more than a continent to me, as if it had cast a spell on me 10 years ago in a little town called Antibes in Cote d’Azur. Europe had me mesmerised till this day.

Since graduation I’ve always found excuses to be here once or twice a year. Be it visiting friends, travelling solo, attending courses or business trips, but my travel lust was simply insatiable. That’s when I knew to truly cure my wanderlust, I need to truly live here for a substantial period of time. Fast forward to last November, I finally did it despite all the bumps along the way. The only thing that was beyond even my wildest dream, was that I get to do it with the loves of my life ❤ Primo & Luka.

For the first few weeks, my only goal was to find a place we can call home despite the deranged rental market in London. Our first residence is a Georgian block conversion in a great neighbourhood, with high ceilings adorned with huge sash windows overlooking greenery (Primo’s favourite spot to watch his friends (horses) march by) and a 1.2m fireplace that unfortunately turned Luka into a black peaty cat the first month.

Of course, I am only able to afford it because it has old plumbing, weak water pressure, poor insulation and a trippy fuse box…which is in essence, what living here is all about! If I enter a modern condo with my eyes closed, I could be in absolutely any city in the world; but to open my eyes to ceiling coving and cornice, squeaky herringbone flooring, I knew I am somewhere in Europe. Every average house I pass by on my way to work seems to be over a century old, yet they still looked as if they were in their prime years.

November is hardly a good month to see London for the first time because she is moody and cold and gloomy. I struggle to get up in the morning most days because the sun never seems to rise entirely… as if it was forced and does so halfheartedly then rushes to get out at sunsets. It was a month filled with work events. My first business trip to Amsterdam, with the Eurostar cancelling on me at the last minute. I’ve come to know it as “your typical day” on this continent.

This is also the month of overachievement for we rented the very first flat we viewed after dozens of calls and viewings. It was not only under budget, but also under 20 minutes commute to work.

December is when London comes alive in all its festivities and bright decorations for the event of the year, Christmas! Having spent the past few years in a city that does NOT celebrate Christmas at all, it is a real treat to finally have a freezing cold Christmas.

To top that off, it snowed twice! Legit snow that piled up here in London, which according to locals, it so rarely happens. My cats saw snow for the first time and were so intrigued that they just stared at the window all puzzled, trying to catch a snowflake. The only month that was actually worth it to endure the cold.

It was also a month of exploring with my brothers who visited halfway across the world from Sydney! We visited Vienna & the magical villages of Cotswold; went to Winter Wonderland, saw Back to the Future the musical and countdown at Primrose Hill. They were also heaven sent IKEA builders for my flat came unfurnished. By January, we were finally able to call this home.

January was when the cold persisted, but without any more of the Christmas garnishes on the streets. Getting up in the morning became easier with simply purchasing a heated blanket. It also draws both my meows to cuddle with me in bed as a side benefit.

We visited Brussels and Bruges then it was time for my brothers to go home. I also get to catch Life of Pi just before it ended and watched the Sleeping Beauty ballet (with a twist). Going to theatre performances that doesn’t break the bank is also a luxury of living in London. Shortly after, it was my turn to be with family for Chinese New Year. Sneaking in a sizzling hot Bangkok trip reminded us of how wonderful life was pre-covid, and now we are finally past it.

*Finally recalling these few months half a year later, I’m astounded by how time flies, then again, happy moments indeed feel so much more fleeting. Not a day goes by where I don’t pinch myself as I am really living the dream now. It feels amazing to have the space and liberty to thrive and learn to take care of myself and the meows one task at a time. The simple pleasure of grocery shopping, completing chores and exploring new areas is abundant and from day 1, London made me felt included. It’s not that Taipei wasn’t just as amazing, but after 6 years it felt too familiar and comfortable. Now that I know myself better which is part of growing up, I knew shaking things up once in awhile is what keeps me spirits up. Stay tuned! To see how I’d feel 6 years from now about London : )

With love,

Rach

The ultimate survival guide to that 5 star hotel room (by yourself)

Warning: Below content contains some high level complaints and explicit images that may offend some narrow-minded people who has a habit of taking things too seriously. Reader discretion is advised; haters gonna hate though so this is just for laughs.

Oh the joy and pain of business trips…it still amazes me when I walk into a hotel room like the above, but no matter how often I travel, I can NEVER sleep well in a hotel bed. Sometimes I get lucky and will be able to fall asleep fast, get through the whole night safe and sound on the third try; other times I would have already checked out! So here I have complied a guide to surviving that luxurious picture perfect hotel room – all by yourself.

1) Make yourself at home. Whether that means making the room messy or setting up routines, find little ways to remind yourself that this is your habitat for the next few days. For instance, I always start by untucking the blanket…who even invented this because it’s so uncomfortable to be trapped like a caterpillar; I mean I’m clearly the butterfly already 😉 Next thing I usually do is open all the curtains; I always sleep on the right side if I can so I’ll also locate the tissue box and move it to the right side of the bed thanks to my allergies. On the messy part: I like to leave my toiletries all over the bathroom and instead of hanging up my clothes, I’d toss them around on purpose so I feel I own the place.

2) DO NOT DISTURB. It’s sometimes hard to communicate with housekeeping that you want to keep those towels, linens and even the soap so first and foremost, it is about being environmentally friendly. But I also like the fact that at least throughout my stay, I am the only human being to occupy the room, I’ll leave whatever hair, scent, dead skin etc. as I please but really, who needs new towels every day? This echos my previous point about keeping my room messy; why do hotels always assume guests like to have their room “tidied up”? Imagine next time the door sign actually says “Please make my room cozy”? I’d happily flip over my do not disturb in that case.

3) Find your happy place in the hotel and the room. Some people go for that breakfast in bed, some gym, I prefer to swim. As for the room, locate your favorite corner, sometimes it’s the balcony, the writing desk, that lounge chair, the nook of the sofa or most of the time, that bed that is way too comfortable and wide that would fit 4 of me. I like to just curl up and listen to peaceful guitar music, read or just reply urgent emails (ok the last part isn’t really “like” but need to).

4) Make a pillow fortress!!!! Because what else would you do with 3 other pillows?! One thing I never complained about are those fine, crispy cold white sheets.

5) Spend some time to dine in, order room service, do your favorite thing, wear that robe, enjoy that bubble bath, boil water (ONLY drink the second boil, no matter how nice the place is, I make sure to pour out the first boil BECAUSE..! mom said so) and make tea… I also enjoy writing letters with hotel papers and envelopes because their writing pads always feel so nice and they make it so easy (sometimes even for free!) to actually mail it. But if you REALLY ran out of things to do (like me), just write about how to survive a nice hotel room!

Let me know what’s your personal tip on this ! 🙂

No, they don’t say gracias here.

I hate Portugal. Both Lisbon and Porto has insufferable slopes to climb, uneven cobble pavements and narrow alleys that just killed my legs, butt and lower back.

However, this actually adds to the magic of the cities because once my muscle pain wears out (soon I hope), what’s left in my memory would be the breathtaking viewpoints from the mountains, the hospitable locals who actually speaks English, the affordable and extremely delicious food with variety, the culture and literature that nurtured the cities (Jose Saramango guys!!) and the charming yet safe neighborhoods.

I had high expectation coming here, and unlike Paris (which was voted most disappointing city), both Lisbon and Porto still managed to exceed my imagination somehow and I didn’t even visit during its best season (summer)! So here I present to you the 8 reasons why I fell in love with the underrated country of Portugal! And no, Christiano Ronaldo, you’re not making the list.

1)Charm: Quick historical fact, it may be obvious that Athens is the oldest capital in Europe, but did you know which city comes second? If you’re following my logic here, you’re right, it’s Lisbon!

The reason why Lisbon is so well maintained throughout the years, is because they sold their tungsten (some metal for making weapons) very smartly during WWI. They declared neutrality and worked with both the Allies and Axis in supplying metals to make weapons. Or rather, they get paid for “not supplying” metals to one side of the war and get money as well for still selling it under the table. Portugal and Switzerland were the only two countries that came out of the war richer than before. Not to mention they got a lot of gold from Brazil back in the colonial days!

Lisbon and Porto held quite different personalities in my opinion though nonetheless equally captivating. Lisbon is more colorful, slightly posh and with shinier tiles; really got this presence of a capital city while still keeping that quaint little Tram 28. Porto on the other hand is more of a rugged and unpolished city with authenticity carved on the stone walls and bricks.

A bit more about my tram28 experience. I was told it gets so crowded and touristy during the day you can never get a seat. Since I was jet lagged anyways, I ventured out at 7am before the sunrise to make sure I get on the empty tram and I succeeded. I held on to my day pass and waited at the first stop bubbling with excitements. When I boarded, there was an old man behind me who’s apparently local as the driver knew him. As we ride up and down the narrow slopes of Lisbon, couples that looked probably as old as the tram came on and off the tram, sharing small chats with one another.

It was a completely different experience than what I’ve expected and even though I am clearly the outsider, the local passengers attempted to include me into their daily routines by nodding and smiling at me. No other gesture or physical movement is as universally kind as a genuine smile. As I stood at the back of the tram watching objects fade out backwards outside the windows, I realized everything I saw was what I have already passed by. The thing about trams is that once started, it can only go forward and such is life as well. Nonetheless, it is always tempting and reassuring to look back once in awhile at that beautiful scenery that you’ve passed by at some point in time. May be it’s a scene so far gone that you can’t be sure if it was real or an illusion anymore, but at the end of the day, does that even matter?

2)The weather: Even though I came in their coldest months, it was still a bearable and even comfortable 5-15 degrees, at least when the wind is not blowing. My friend used to tell me, just follow where grapes flourish, and you’ll get good weather. So no surprise, Portugal made the cut as they’re well known for their Port! Fun fact: The reason why 1)Port is so sweet 2)stronger in alcohol % and 3)different from red wine is that brandy is added to kill the yeasts and stop the leftover sugar from turning into alcohol. Basically putting a halt to the fermentation process, therefore, it is the spirit that spiked up alcohol content, and the leftover sugar gives it that lovely sweetness.

3)The people: I guess it’s not politically correct to stereotype, but I think I can be forgiven for generalizing in the positive direction right? Almost everyone I’ve met here in Portugal are really polite and friendly who love their city and are open to foreigners. I was told that is because they have a history of embracing different religions and people, namely the Moors and the Jews even during the Spanish inquisition. Instead of banishing the jews, they asked them to convert to Catholicism. At least that’s the case until crisis came. That’s why you see Arabian themed rooms in the Bolsa Palace, and also the style to build tiles on houses!

4) Architecture: Need I stay more? Apparently most tiles are traditionally painted blue and white to honor their royal colors (back in the days it wasn’t Red and Green) and they are used everywhere from residential buildings to churches and the vibrant paints just make Portugal that much more special 🙂

So here’s my elevator pitch on Portugal that I’ve practiced with my fluffy friend over breakfast on a warm sunny morning:

Unlike it’s neighboring country that is notorious for theft ahem *Barcelona* ahem, I felt perfectly comfortable roaming the streets at night by myself or venturing out early in the morning just to see the streets at dawn. It is a perfect mesh of old town and urban life. Unlike other ancient cities such as in Central Europe where they have super old metro and escalators, here the airport and public transport are all so modern and well maintained. Points of interests are well within reach, typically 15-30 mins walking distance which makes it the ideal weekend getaway. But let me warn you, Portugal will definitely sneak into a special place in your heart, leaving you wanting for more 🙂

Part 2 is coming soon.

First (already) new country visited in 2018 :P

“Archaeology seeks answers to the fundamental question of existence. Who are we? Where do we come from? Why is the world such as it is?” – Quote from the Finnish National Museum

Part of the unofficial goal of 2018, is to really keep tabs on my travels because in the spirit of my official goal “do my future self a favor”, I’d really hate forgetting these fond memories abroad as time passes. Since getting hooked on traveling to Europe (I blame my academic exchange back in Nice), I have managed to visit new and familiar cities in the old world once a year but never writing any of those journeys down.

But as 2018 guarantees a fresh start (that + a 5 hour flight to Portugal and countless delays), I have found myself plenty of time to write about Helsinki! Or as I used to say “godforsaken Helsinki” because compared to its neighboring countries, Finland doesn’t seem too appealing. The last 2 days however, has completely changed my mind. Despite having spent only limited time in Helsinki, I have already a taste of how authentic, pragmatic and productive the Finnish people are, all incredible virtues that are so underrated in our generation.

Before I go into any details, I would highly suggest that you visit when it is warm because when it is -8 and it snows + you do not have proper shoes (or stellar balancing skills), you’re guaranteed to pok gai (Cantonese slang for falling, but really the imagery is more like slipping and slamming your face right on the ground).

I personally slipped every 10 mins but managed to stay upright at the cost of having muscle pain all the way from my lower back, to my butt, my thighs, my calves AND my feet. The silver lining to this though, is that I was forced to focus on landing my foot on solid grounds, tracing my footsteps intently, preempting any possible mishaps that involve getting my butt wet from falling on the snow.

Because I had to pay full attention to my walking, consciously and cautiously alternating my legs, my mind had no choice but to stay focus on the present, so captivated that I had no capacity whatsoever to think about the past or the future… that my friend, is meditation right there. My brain felt so refreshed afterwards; instead of the daunting and never ending worry of tomorrow and reminiscing of the past, I gave it this one basic, kindergarten level task of “not falling”. Instead of the default auto-pilot mode to walk while multitasking, those hours on the icy road was just my footsteps and my shadow. Sorry there were no shadows because there was no sun.

First day in Helsinki was a great day because I happened to land on a day with a strike so no public transport for me and my 20kg luggage+10kg hand carry and backpack! I mean from Madrid/ Copenhagen/ Paris/ to Chicago, I always land into cities right on the day they strike. That didn’t stop me from visiting the contemporary art museum on the only day of the month that it’s free though! Then I also happened to arrive at the national museum after 4pm which is ALSO free 🙂 Second day was great too if not better because all ticketing machines broke down so I had no choice but to take the Suomenlinna ferry for free. It was as if the whole of Helsinki is working together to help me save money to cover for my taxi fare.

First free entertainment is the Kiasma art museum. My favorite installment is the eerie room of the “sick” nature with black water flowing in pipes across the giant piece of…art. It made dragon noises and it was just out of the world cool. I just love how these arts are so eeeeeerie and almost alien like.

Second free entertainment is the national museum, I recognized right away the famous “baby box” that best demonstrate just how practical and logical the Finns are. Back in the days when they had high infant mortality rate, the government thought the best way to fix this is to give pregnant women body check early on. Given how vast the country is and back in the days when most people still lived in the rural areas, it was not an easy task to encourage them to visit the doctors.

So they came up with an incentive program where pregnant women who completed the body check early into their pregnancy will be handed out a “Baby box” with everything your baby need when they’re born. It includes diapers, baby clothes, milk bottles etc. all placed in a sturdy box that can be used as a crib too for the newborn! Not only is the box worth a lot of money, it simple took away the anxiety of being a parent for the first time! Although infant mortality rate is no longer an issue, the Finnish government still kept this tradition as it also brings a sense of belonging to the people. By sharing the color of your baby box, Finnish are able to identify the year they were born in 🙂

This got me thinking, there isn’t actually parenting classes or simulations, so how do you know how to be a parent when this is possibly the biggest responsibility anyone can have: to instill the right values, make early major decisions and provide for another human being YOU bring into earth? Here I’d like to salute to all parents in the world because even if you didn’t do a good job, it is totally understandable 😛 no one should be blamed for not getting things right the first time.

Now back to Finnish culture. According to the museum, the Finnish people believe that there is an elf in every household’s sauna room. They’re supposed to keep your family safe and happy. However, they will only protect you if they are happy so you certainly do not want to piss them off by 1) farting 2) talking too loud or 3) staying too long in the sauna! This reminded of how the Icelandic also believed in trolls that guard the land so Government will ask for permission before building a highway or building. In fact, can anyone tell me what’s the difference between a troll, a gnome and an elf?

The theme of the temporary exhibition is “Finnish treasures” where the museum invite locals to send in items they find to be of personal significance that best represent Finland. To me this was the most touching part because you see real life in the form of someone’s wedding dress, christening robe that were worn by 3 generations and my personal favorite, a tool to pick berries owned by somebody’s grandfather. In a flash I imagined how my life would have been, if I grew up in the suburb of Finland.

My family makes a living by picking berries or tending to ewes. Every weekend, instead of going to the mall or dinning out, we will probably gather around the fireplace enjoying some homemade rye bread. You’re not defined by your college degree or your pay check, but how well you coexist with nature. It is not just a cozy dream because you can still raise a family like that if you so desire. To me, the purpose of traveling is to allow you to see possibilities, to see beyond your daily mundane routines and your own paradigm that there are, in fact, thousands way of living, of motivation and purpose in life that you can opt for.

May be it is the vast white snow or the freezing sea breeze, but I am overwhelmed with gratitude and content. Referring to the Art of Travel just a little, it is absurd to let ourselves be bound to where we so happened to be born and raised. In a world that is so well connected and informed, it is almost a sin to not fully explore what the world has to offer.

Now imagine sitting in an authentic bar with just the quintessential, no fancy redundant decorations like freakish fairies made of iron or nitrogen coming out from teapots or color changing ice; watching modest cars pass by the window while sipping Finnish G&T, listening to heavy metal music blasting in the background, this is Helsinki. I hope that the next time you’re planning a trip to the Nordic capitals to experience nature, artistic and design atmosphere or slippery grounds, do give Helsinki a thought, Finland has much more to offer than Santa Claus 🙂

They also say bo(n)m dia like in Barcelona though :)

Before we dive into the final 4 reasons why Portugal is the absolute best, I’d like to deviate slightly onto a more serious topic that had a massive impact on Lisbon.

There is a church in Lisbon with no roof where you can see right through the sky. It collapsed during one of most fatal earthquake ever recorded in 1755 that ruined 60% of the city. It was Nov 1st, All Saints Day when going to mass was mandatory. In the morning when every good Christian is indoor praying, the strongest earthquake of Europe history, 9 Richter scale (estimated as the system wasn’t in place back then) surprised the region and 50,000 people lost their lives.

Fire burnt for 5 days straight. Most people who survived were the “sinners” who didn’t go to church or happened to be outdoor (i.e. not at church). Since people back then were extremely religious and didn’t have our understandings of science, they must question, why would “God punish the good and spare the guilty”. It did not fit into the whole Noah’s ark bible story so this incident sparked a paradigm shift to logic and reason that perhaps god is not behind everything.

To me though, my takeaway is that if Lisbon can rise from fire and ruins and be great again, we too can certainly overcome any challenges that come in our way. Also, I still believe in the good in religion, whatever form it may be in as long as it gravitates mankind in the kind direction. Now let’s switch gear into the more lighthearted, final 4 reasons of why you should visit Portugal.

5) Literature: Even the national day of Portugal is to commemorate the death of a poet! The influence of literature runs deep in the Portuguese culture. At the very beginning, Latin is the written language and Portugese is merely a spoken dialect on the street until Camões wrote the first book in Portuguese that the people finally has a language that they can identify with!

Speaking of literature, I have grown really fond of the unique Portuguese phrase “saudade”. My local guide translated it as the presence of absence, of emptiness that is created by what is lost. There is also a high level of uncertainty involved, either never reliving the presence of what you long for, or a very slim chance of it happening. Sort of like the emotion that remains after the person or thing is gone. How beautifully melancholic is that? It is the bittersweet flip side of Love, because you can only feel saudade after you had a strong positive feeling towards that place/ person.

6) Food: OMG, from steak or other meat dishes to seafood, from tripe (which meant organs) to desserts, even the restaurants not on trip advisor that I just walked in were divine. My most fluent Portugese phrase is no doubt “pastel de nata”. I mean I have had those in Macau obviously, but here they bake the heart of the custard right between that luscious state of solid and liquid and I lost count of how many I’ve had after my 5th.

Anyways, since I’m not very good at describing food, I’ll just share two interesting stories about the local dish of Tripas and Francesinha. Being Chinese, I have no problem eating intestines or organs and what not (ok definitely not bunnies and dogs) but it is always good to see other cultures making the most out of our food source 🙂 Back in the days when Portugal sent all young men to fight the colonial war in Africa, the army called for all supplies from the village and the Porto people were so generous that they gave everything to the soldiers leaving only the intestines/ organs of the animals they slaughtered. That’s where this dish came from, a stew made of tripes and beans and now they also added ham and sausage as we’re no longer at war 🙂

Francesinha is another typical dish, where the locals would debate where they think has the best one and it is a tradition to eat one before their hometown football game. This is a crazy big portion of meat sandwich layering steak ham and sausage poured all over with a golden sauce that is the secret of every chef. It is slightly spicy and was supposed to induce the ladies to take their coats off back in the days 😉

7)Ridiculously good value of money: I am guilty of this having bought 2 pairs of made in Portugal leather shoes, 2 bags (at least I tried bargaining getting 10% discount at the end!), a scarf and a bracelet (that meant reborn 🙂 good quality stuff all for 160USD! Below is actually the street where I did most of my shopping; it is also the most expensive street on Portugal Monopoly 🙂 Rua Augusta.

Not only is shopping cheap, dining out can be as low as 8 Euros for a full course, transportation day passes are reasonable (6.5 Euros a day for all trams/ elevators, metros and buses!) and there are so much free stuff you can do such as the gorgeous viewpoints, gardens and churches. I would like to highlight churches because I have never seen that much Gold in my life. Even a random small chapel in the city is decorated with GOLD, we’re talking about 5-7 hundred kg of GOLD from Brazil in the major cathedrals. Just think about all the wealth Portugal is sitting on all these time!

8)Safe and friendly neighborhood: somehow several people has commented “Are you sure you’re going to Portugal alone?” as if I should know that it is dangerous to do so. Quite the contrary, it wasn’t exactly like the Nordics, but it definitely felt much safer than Paris/ Rome/ Barcelona etc. you name it. There were occasionally beggars or homeless but that’s pretty much all of Europe, at least they won’t bother you. Of course I did stay alert this time, having learnt my lessons in Barcelona, but in general I felt safe walking by myself even at night. My guess is there weren’t that many tourists here so pickpockets couldn’t make a career here.

Now that’s the end of the list from the bottom of my heart. Or as the Portuguese say “I put my heart next to my mouth” basically expressing all that I loved about Portugal. In case I did a poor job and you still need more reasons to visit… well I hope you’re a Harry Potter fan because 😉 JK Rowling was teaching English in Porto when she wrote the first Harry Potter book! Majestic Cafe is where she wrote most of it. Rumors had it that the bookstore and Sirius Black’s house were all inspired here 🙂

Scattered thought that would suffice as 2018 resolution

Today my freshman brother came home telling me their teacher asked him to write a letter to their future 12th grade self… this suddenly jolted my memory: my wise friend (actually so many of them are so wise indeed!) once told me “to do my future self a favour” when I was making a decision that I’ve now forgotten but must have been significant at the time.

It’s basically a reversed perspective; instead of using the logic of my (too young too simple sometimes naive) present self as the basis of decision making, I think about what my definitely older and hopefully wiser future self would do 5, 10 years down the road.

The way human brains work is that it is always flawed no matter how we meditate or train up; with our upbringing our cultural background and our education etc, we form certain filters that led to biases when we view things which in turn also impact how we make decisions. It always help to view things from multi angles hopefully reducing our blind spots.

Aside from using others as sounding boards, perhaps it would also makes sense to consult the person who knows you best – your future self. And that, is something I’ll try to do in 2018🖖🏻 and here are two perspectives of the world, deep under the ocean and high up in the sky.

other random wise words that suddenly came to my mind:

“Always assume the best intentions of people so you will in turn treat them kindly too and hopefully that gets a positive cycle going because the world has enough negativity going around already”

“no one is responsible for your happiness but yourself”

“worrying doesn’t stop things from happening”

“only do things with upsides to yourself but never at the cost of others”

“what you see reflects what your heart feels”

The Sunny side of Sydney

If you’re thinking in my last post, hmm criminals, prostitutes and sailors are not quite what I had in mind when I think of Sydney, you will love this one. Because Ta-Da, here is the signature Sydney!!

Freaking Harbour Bridge and Opera House, you practically see these twins EVERYWHERE you go! I mean don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful on first glance, and may be also on second glance. I was super excited when I first saw it but it gets boring after a while and Sydney is SO much more than that.

I have had delicious burger, coffee (FLAT WHITE, is what they drink here, a stronger version of latte/ no foam version of Cappuccino) and brunch! (Although I think these same items I had in Melbourne beat that :P) I mean the crispy bacon in the roll will probably get me cancer, but it’s just heavenly delicious so who cares.

I have also been called darling/ dear by strangers more often than the entire 2017 combined. I guess this gives you a rough idea of how great the city is, and how sweet the people are but if that’s not convincing enough, here are my top Sydney spots:

Top of my list is definitely the botanical garden! I know you may think oh that’s so boring, plants are for grannies… Let me tell you, coming from a densely populated urban city (Manila/ Taipei/ Hong Kong) filled with smog, polluted air and noise, I just couldn’t have enough of this open space, the fresh air and abundant privacy you get here!

You have no trouble finding a bench, a patch of lawn or a corner at the beach all to yourself to sit for a few hours. You get to thrive in your own personal bubble without being eavesdropped because you are so removed from the crowd.

Also flowers are just my favorite. They are so rich and saturated in colors of different shapes and forms; when I look at them I could just hear them singing different yet harmonious tunes as they happily receive the warm sunshine, gentle wind and occasional rain that nature so graciously provide.

Then there are the amazing (and free!!) art galleries. I love how they transformed the art museum into lively events that everyone can drop in and enjoy. Every Wednesday night, the NSW art gallery opens until 10 pm with a variety of interesting things to do.The night I went, there was sketching workshop accompanied by a strings quartet! I am so surprised at the number of people who showed up and the quality of the art work they produced. Mine on the other hand was only worthy for the rubbish bin 😛 but I enjoyed being part of this artistic circle and there is a different kind of joy watching others do things they enjoy 🙂 Passion is contagious!

Lastly, I was very lucky to visit the Bondi Beach and walk along the coast when the weather was postcard grade. It was like any other beach except for its wide strip of sand and strong waves! It was until now that I realize water changes color depending on its temper.

You see, as perfectly illustrated above, calm water is dark blue and agitated water is white! Why is that you may ask, well 😉 of course I also know the answer to it after consulting a chemistry expert (I guess he could somehow qualifies as that…) “The way liquid H20 align themselves (oh my god molecules are adorable) allow light to pass through which makes it transparent and therefore it’s blue because that’s the wavelength of light that escapes. On the other hand, angry water (waves) has bubbles into which breaks up the smooth matrix of H20 (aww poor molecules, say bye to your buddy) and thus create an imperfect surface but without any contaminants to absorb the light, it sort of perfectly reflects light in an imperfect way. blah blah blah Ok, well I am totally lost here so if you have a better explanation, do share with me 🙂 Personally I just think water has a bit of temper that’s all, you and I both turn pink or scarlet red depending on how embarrassed or furious we are.

On a more serious note though, water has recently became my favorite in a way that I want to “live” like water. First of all, water doesn’t overreact to external factors or stimulants, yes there are ripples but it just calmly accepts it and return to it’s peaceful, still phase because that’s when it can be “reflective”. If we are always distracted by the day to day mundane chores and noises, we could hardly reflect upon what really matters in life. So I shall end this thought upon the famous Bruce Lee quote “Be like water, my friend.”

Sydney reminded me so much about London, the “rubbish bins”, the Queen statues and the right drivers’ seats. Then Martin Place reminded me of Wall Street New York as the important looking men in suits wave each other off with “flat whites” in their hands pretending they are busy going nowhere. (except the suits weren’t as nicely tailored.)

The weather and the hobos on the other hand reminded me a lot of Market street in San Francisco. But then Sydney has this more relaxed, safe and comfortable vibe that makes it unique. I think it applies to every city you go. You are reminded of other places by the little things here and there, but this mix of familiarity conjures up a completely different feeling that makes this specific place special.

What was extra special is that Australians recently voted Yes because love is Love. Love in itself is extremely hard to come by and to keep, so wherever or whoever we find love with, it is precious and equally worthy. Simple as that. I have realized in my trip to Germany last year that you can fall in love with a person, an idea, or even a city. I hope you have found love somewhere in this isolated and vast world that we live in because love is all you need 🙂

Last random fact about this statue of the Queen: it was moved from Scotland all the way to right in front of the QVB because, who wouldn’t choose Sydney over godforsaken Scotland right?

The Dark Side of Sunny Sydney

G’day mate! I hope you’ve missed me 🙂 It’s been a while since I’ve written about my travels but I have not stopped traveling! I still can’t believe I was able to squeeze in a personal trip right between 3 other business trips but I’ve made it! Dozens of flights and repeated destinations later, I finally visited a new country this year!

Last year I did Germany and UK which were both very nice but it’s nothing compared to this time because I’m stepping foot into a whole new continent too! It’s been a pretty short trip for 2 amazing cities but I think I made a good call to focus on the city and save the outskirt day trips for another time. I got to see everything I wanted to see, and everyone I wanted to meet 🙂

9 hours later, I landed into Sydney with a clear blue sky and big fluffy white clouds. I have probably taken 500 more photos than I need but I simply couldn’t get enough of these gorgeous cities. Yes! It’s just starting to get warm down south and the weather just couldn’t get any lovelier.

Everything seemed pretty central so I ended up walking 30 mins to places without realizing all these short walks add up to 6-8 hours of walking daily. My legs are still sore as I write this but it’s just hard to resist when the sun is being so welcoming and the wind so gentle (the expensive transportation costs is a big push factor too of course).

1788, prisons were starting to get crowded in London so basically this city started off as London’s offshore jail! Even until the early 1800s, 75% of the population are convicts! They also relied on food coming from London every few months so life was very tough. The prisoners who got exiled weren’t even deadly villains, but rather guys who stole horses and girls who shoplifted hair brushes who get sent off all the way to Australia on a 6 months journey by the sea.

Over 1000 convicts would get shipped off at a time but since the businessmen get paid up front, the money always get spent on prostitutes (for themselves of course) instead of basic supplies for the convicts. By the time these ships get to New South Wales, only 10% of the prisoners would still be in heathy conditions. I think my 10 hour flight wasn’t so bad given that 200 years ago people had to travel 6 months with no clean water and food crammed in a ship with half of your buddies dead on the way there.

Lucky for the ones that actually gets here, they can roam around the city freely! Because a) it’s an isolated island so you can’t escape to anywhere b) you either get killed by poisonous snakes, crocodiles, weird beasts, gets drowned or all of the above if you’re unlucky c) everyone’s a criminal so locking everyone up won’t even make a difference anyway. So these convicts were mostly building a life around this hilly area called the Rocks.

Back then the gender ratio between convicts was about 4 guys : 1 girl. I mean heck if I was a Londoner back then single at mid 30s, I’d steal a few breads just to get shipped off here considering how cute the guys are 😉 😉 And just imagine, an entire city run by convicts, with alcohol and rum especially as the unofficial currency. Life must have been pretty fun back then. What’s most interesting of course were the crimes committed on this convict island!

After a few decades, Sydney also became a port where sailors would stop by. If you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean you’ll probably know sailors are good business! You can sell them food, drinks, shelter, clothes and of course, prostitutes! But you know what is most profitable? Don’t tell that I told you this, but stealing is a pretty decent business with no overheads and costs 😉 You can also sell these sailors! What happens is they go to bars and they were told the drinks are free!

Drink as much as you want. The next thing you know, you woke up in a dark room, found yourself chained or shackled on a rocking ship heading to god knows where or enslaved on the ship for eternity! Apparently, the bar owners would just place these drunkards in wheel barrels, roll them downhill and then directly load them onto ships. Oh what a easy and good business sailors were.

As the society developed, banks and courts were also established as part of the system. And when there are banks, there are robberies 😉 On a normal weekday, the bank opened up its vault for the usual check ups and saw a big hole on the wall while 20M AUD (in today’s value) was gone. The police (yes, there were police) snooped around to no avail. It wasn’t until a few years later, when the court sentenced a random William Blackstone to hanging did they get a tip on the case in exchange for lighter punishment. Turns out William and a few friends discovered the direct wall to the bank’s vault and simply dug for 3 Saturdays in a row to break through and got all the money! The police went out and arrested all these people BUT they were unable to convict them because the tip came from Willian who was a criminal. Back then, if you’re a convict, your words do not count in court! So they never recovered the money and these bank robbers just went free as a bird.

Speaking of birds, do you know that it is only in Sydney that you see these silly birds with long beaks (Ibis) roaming around, fighting for food with pigeons and sparrows? Imagine you’re a tiny sparrow from Sydney, sigh, your life is even tougher than if you were living in say Hong Kong. How do you get any food from the bin (British 😉 when your competitors get this unfair advantage of freakish long beaks!

Random thoughts on a 14 hours flight

I have always liked turbulence on planes (writing this on the flight to SF may be jinxing it since the entire plane is shaking even harder now). It’s like you always get it when you fly over Japan. It has just the right dose of danger within comfortable range that in those few seconds, you suddenly realize that your life is only hanging by a thread. There is no guarantee that you’ll live through the next millisecond.

Despite knowing all the statistics about how unlikely the odds are, there is still that tiny sense of uncertainty, a hint of doubt no matter how many times I fly. Just WHAT IF my plane is the one that crashes? (at least I’d have higher chances of surviving since I’m poor I get to “avoid” the most dangerous front rows of the plane) What if this is the plane where co-pilots have high power distance? (No worries, even Korean Air has fixed this for a while now, I took it just 6 months ago) What if this is the unfortunate flight where someone absentmindedly brought along a Samsung Note 7? Or the one where mechanical teams made just a bit too many little mistakes that adds up fatal? If you are reading this now, by all means, I survived J and it wouldn’t even be surprising because you know and expect flights to land safely. Yes, we all take that for granted. A gigantic machine with WINGS that carry hundreds of people, fly over tens of thousands of kilometers over the ocean, the snowy mountains and the continental plates at 40 thousands feet altitude somehow made it to the destination! HELLO? How amazingly wonderful is that? Instead of complaining about the cold bread, the lack of wifi or bad taste in flight entertainment; shall we just be grateful that we reached our destination SAFELY? This not so simple act is almost a miracle in itself! And just because something incredible happens often doesn’t make it any less magical. Don’t wait until your plane flips over and land on the Hudson River to realize that.

So perhaps just this thought of how fragile life is, just how easy we could vanish from this world, makes me treasure every single touch down and appreciates my presence in the world (however light weighted) to a greater extent. As I picture my not so perfectly shaped heart pumping just the right amount of blood that circulates my entire body with every pulse; I feel that much more alive.

Written on the 5^th flight in 2017.

Hola Barcelona Part 2 – Catalonia Culture

Please excuse the title which lacks in creativity but honestly, who wants to spend hours dwelling on the perfect title? Let’s just get rolling 🙂 Barcelona is such a colorful city bursting with beautiful cultures and stories, desperate to be unfolded.

Festival

Let’s begin with my favorite story which is about love 🙂 Instead of Feb 14th, Catalans, like the Chinese, celebrates a different Valentine’s day which is Apr 23rd, St George’s day. A day where men give women roses, pretty standard procedures, and women has to return the men with a book. Yep, not a typo.

Once upon a time, there was a handsome young man on a white horse (duh, his name is George) who rescued a beautiful damsel in distress (argh, woman who always get themselves into trouble) by slaying a dragon on this day. So there you have it, Prince + Princess – Dragon = cliche, but no, the story doesn’t end here. As the dragon’s first drop of blood oozed out and fell to the ground, the vicious droplet transcended into a blood-red rose. George picked it and gave it to the princess and they lived happily ever after. So there we have the rose. But why a book? I don’t really think it make sense but our tour guide said it’s because Shakespeare was born and died on this very same day…erm either way, I’d love to receive a book as present in any day 😉

Religion

Christianity has always been a fundamental part of European cultures . You may notice that ancient Catalan chapels around here look quite different from how you picture a church traditionally. It is much more modest and squared; rather wide than it is tall. This is because 1) they were poorer at that time, and 2) they believed these structures symbolize that God’s power is pressing down from above whilst more modern interpretation is that the taller a church rise and stretch towards the heaven, the closer we are to god. That’s the beauty of religion; everyone can interpret it differently yet getting the same kind console from it nonetheless.

Going along with religion, let’s talk about death. The tower here is where the executioners lived in the old days and there is an interesting tale behind it. They have to live away from communities as his job is highly sensitive. He does his job while covering his face so no one actually knew who the executioner was. The bonus point about this job is: you get to keep the dead body you killed! YAY. Why? Because dead bodies are priceless back in the days. Especially the feet…creepy, but it’s because of a tradition where people keep dead people’s feet next to their door so bad spirits will walk away from their house. Hope that gave you a good visual 😉 Human bones, eyeballs and all sorts of weird parts were made for other useful charms too, well I mean back then it’s not like people can donate and transplant organs yet, so might as well put them into good use I guess?

Rituals

An interesting catalan tradition is the human tower. And it literally means, people stepping on each other’s shoulder to form a tower up to 8 storeys high! How tall is that you may ask, well check out the sculpture below.

This practice is usually done next to the City hall or other government buildings as this signifies that when the working class unite, they can rise up as high as the Government/ upper class. This is serious business as people have died from it. Note that the person at the very top is always a young child, 7-8 years old who will climb through the adults without any safety equipment but a helmet. To me it sort of symbolizes that the kids, our future generation, has the ability to human race’s advancement and evolution. Not through pressurized, elite education system but their immense imagination and hopes that children are naturally gifted. (Yes, my dear twin bros, your sissy have high hopes for you dummies.)

Food

I’m only good at eating, but not describing flavors, so just take a min and imagine the divinely salivating dishes by starring at below photos. Of course, there were much more but I was probably too hungry and forgot to take a photo

One last fun fact to end the post, did you know the Eiffel Tower was meant for Barcelona originally? The Government at that time thought it too ugly and out of place so they told the designer to bring it elsewhere. Well, now Paris has the Eiffel Tower forever 😉 Also goes to show persistent is the right attitude, if Mr. he-who-built-Eiffel-Tower gave up when he was rejected, the world wouldn’t have this iconic landmark today! Note to self: it’s always too early to quit what’s worth doing.

Miss Tofu

My journey in life

Category: Travel