Brazil

Have just finished my two weeks in Brazil!! It has been such a wonderfully fantastic trip, and I recommend everyone to go and experience the samba spirit at some point. When I left Taiwan I remember the faces of some people when I told them I was heading to Brazil, they looked as if I was crazy and heading to war in Afghanistan. Seriously, provide you are diligent and not flashing your wads of $100 notes around it has been such a comfortable and safe country. The happy spirit is everywhere, people burst into songs that binds strangers together on public transports, and if people are in the mood they just grab you and start dancing (it was quite a challenging dancing on the tram descending at 45degrees down the Corcovado Christ Redeemer hill), not to mention the Samba clubs at night at Rio!

Start from the beginning, those who knows my bad luck in travelling wont be disappointed by my way from Taiwan to Iguassu Falls. How naive was I to think that nothing would go wrong with a travelling plan from Taipei-Narita-Portland-Atlanta-Buenos Airies-Iguassu. As I smirked to myself on the plane from Atlanta to BA thinking I am doing extremely well with my transiting, I looked at the little plane icon on the map in horror as we did a sharp right turn and looked as if we were going to land in Santiago, Chile. Yes, the plane surely got diverted due to the volcanic ash and after travelling for 50 hours I was in the wrong bloody country! And to make the matter worse, apparently the pilot signalled to the Chilean govement before the plane landed that the plane was in fact being hijacked, so we landed facing a line of policemen and had to sit in the plane going through an extensive search, in which I had to explain why I have so many passports...So, about 70 hours later and transferring from Santiago to Sao Paulo to Iguassu I arrived at the Iguassu Jungle lodge in Argentina! (something else happened that even though I held the boarding card at Santiago, TAM airline claimed that some brazilian dude was sitting at my seat from Sao Paulo to Iguassu, luckily I screamed and kicked loud enough for them to let me on the last leg! I actually think I was having a nervous breakdown by that point thinking I cannot spend another night adrift...) I was quite lucky that the driver actually worked in Japan for 10 years and spoke Japanese as looking back at the two weeks, it is a bit suicidal to travel south america with no Spanish under my belt. Thank god YM spoke spanish good enough to get us by...phew!!

Iguassu was raining when I arrived, dampening the spirit just that little further. But the sky suddenly cleared as we took a boat ride underneath the waterfall and got drenched. Drenched is probably an understatement as my small camera drowned and refused to work for days. We got a glimpse of the beautiful constant rainbow that just hangs over the waterfall, which added colour to the the freezing and soaking wet adventure even more memorable! We also went to the bird park and saw the cutest puffiest toucan! I wanted to poke it but was afraid its giant beak might bite my finger off.

After Iguassu we went onto Sao Paulo on an overnight bus, which admittedly was quite comfortable compared to the unorganised, subzero temp ones of Uyuni Bolivia. We bought the most expensive blanket at the only opportunist store at the bus station, a whopping 40GBP!! But it served its life very well on our subsquent journeys to the beach as a beach blanket!

Paraty was one of my favourite colonial towns in Brazil. We stayed in a quaint little pousada built by the owners father a bit further away from historic centre. Most of the city centre lodgeings were booked out as we managed to catch one of the annual literacy festivals. On arrival the pousada receptionist sat us down and marked the only traffic light in town which is situated on a straight road between the pousada and historical centre. At first we were wondering why it was so important, but later realised its definitive importance of finding our way home when one has way too many cachcas and capirinhas. We enjoyed the outdoor music and dance everynight as everyone sat outside drinking their hearts out, YM and I both got hit on by guys! haha! And to add to the craziness we decided it was a good idea to slide down this skull breaking waterfall, where I had the option to either break my leg or bruise and scrape my bumb as i slipped and came down with the current at full speed...and the only consolation to make it better is by going to the nearby cachaca brewery to drink more to ease the physical pain.

We went to several beautiful secluded beaches and natural swimming pools. By the time we got to Ilha Grande the weather cleared up and the azure sky showed its face. YM and i decided to begin a trail of 8km to Dois Rios which intially seemed harmless, but later on became my ride of death as we decend the hill with large boulders and the most inadequate and ergonomically incorrect bike (the handle bar was shaped as if it is used for local to carry large fruit baskets upon, and i only had a front break with no backbreaks or lights). Everything was patched up as we came through the forest clearing to be met by the local police, and i nearly hugged him when he said the beach was 3 minutes away! It was a vast span of prestine beachline all to ourselves, and made the journey truly worthwhile.

I nearly drowned at the blue lagoon as stupid me didn´t know how to snorkel properly. I drank lots of pungent seawater which burnt my throat, but at the time we thought it was bacteria infection and decided to remedie the situation by chucking down more alcohol to sterilise the infection. Only about 2 days later when I started coughing violently feeling a flap of skin at the back of my throad did I realise I probably burnt it, and the additional gallons of alcohol probably didn´t really help...After taking a quick hour of samba lesson we head straight to Rio Scenarium and Democratus in the Lapa Samba Clubs district in Rio. Maybe it was the cachca and other concotions but we felt like we were actually dancing the Forro pretty well!! I just loved the happy music and happy spirit in everyone.

The last day was marked by us paragliding over Rio city, landing on one of the prestine beaches of Rio. People take real care of their public beaches, and it really was such a honour to be able to enjoy the smooth white sand and the nearly trashless beach. The proximity for people living in Rio must be a real bliss, able to walk to the beach and up the mountain and to the lake in less than 10 minutes. And the food and drinks had been more than wonderful, all you can eat sushi buffet, all you can eat gaucho grill, freshest fruit juice bars, for once my skin hasn´t gone to pots from all the travelling and actually is looking good with all the fresh vegetable and morango (strawberry) juice I have been intaking.

A note on Brazilian cocktails. The use of measuring shotglass is completely redundant. We watch the bartender constantly poured the cachaca into the cup, and watch it overflowing for the next 5 seconds. A glass of capirinha in Brazil probably contains 3 more units than British cocktails. I attempted to make a list of total alcohol intake, and here it is!
wine: 2 bottles
sake: 1 bottle
capirihina: 28
cachaca: 16
mojito: 4
cuba libre: 2
pina colada: 2
hi fi: 2
beer: 1

Shots
cachaca: 2
taquila: 4
vodka: 6
cachaca 42 (tasted rank and only costed 2R!): 2
dumeq: 4
random stuff which cant recall: +- 20

Tibet

Travelling
-plane from Taiwan to Chengdu delayed for 4 hours resulting to late arrival into hostel. And the next day from Chengdu to Laksa was even better news. The plane engine is malfunctioning. Good job that i made a fuss and was allowed on the earlier flight otherwise would have been stuck in chengdu missing the beginning of the 10 day trip.

-didnt make it to lake namso as the roads were snowed in. Instead stayed with Tibetan family on the side of the road. it was freezing in tibet in march. out with all the heat pads and ski wear...the 6 year old little girl was looking after her baby sister and her little brother. So mature and diligent. I recall when i was 6 i was roaming the streets terrorising other street children...

-Yangpachen is an 'electricity town' built around a thermal power plant between Lhasa and Namtso Lake. Yangpachen borders on a flat area of hot springs covering 16 square kilometers. Yangpachen owns not only common hot springs and fountains, but also various geysers, boiling springs, and hot-water lakes, which is rare in the world. Now it has a thermoelectricity plant, green houses, and hot spring baths.

-trip from shigatse to base camp took 12 hours plus. There is about 90km bumpy road from Tingri to Rongpuk and bus is definitely the inadequate transportation. Did see a star filled sky with no light pollution, even spotted my first shooting star. Unfortunately it was flying across the sky too fast for me to say my wish three times. I hadn´t even have time to think of a wish yet before it dropped under the horizon.

-altitude: thought it´s about acclimatisation, but i am so wrong. Altitude sickness is one of those things that is like hay fever, you either have it or you dont. And sods law states that the fitter you are, the more likely you are to have altitude sickness, which prevents the fit people from going up himalyas at ease and having fun. Poo.

-lovely people during the trip. Roger in love with his shoes who bought 10 pairs of different shoes for the 10 days trip. Another guy who taught in Taiwan for 10 years and filled me in on all the great things to do in Taiwan.

-sundog: ever seen crystalised air particles creating a ring around the sun?? looks pretty amazing!

Food
-sweet yak milk tea. Warms you up in the dry bitter cold. Never have the salty yak milk tea. Taste like feet. Yak noodles is also very tasty. Other than that not much to eat in Tibet. Even the monks eat yak noodles and are not vegetarian, because there are no readily available crops for ingesting.

Arts & Culture
-tankas: love the intricate drawings of tanka either representing a mandala floor plan or of tibetan mythical gods and creatures. Each one must take at least a week to complete if a skilled artisan works on it 24 hours a day.

-praying wheels: lots of golden praying wheels at the peripherals of monastries. After 10 days in tibet my addiction of spinning the wheels has definitely been satisfied.

-people doing serious praying outside the jokhang temple. must remember to always go clockwise through the bakhor pilgrimage walk otherwise will be obstructive to people doing full body prostrations. Other devoted members will carry mobile praying wheels and spin for the entire pigrimage journey. The barkhor market itself is the most active in all tibet, and we bought these "vintage" looking omega clock pendants and other random pieces of jewlery from the market, trying very hard on our bargaining skills in the process.

-Tibetan buddism: 4 major schools of which the Gelug yellow hat is the most prominent with Dalai Lama as its spiritual head. But have also visited Black Kagyu sec Tsurphu monatry. There is also the red hat Nyingma and Sakya which didn´t hear much mentioning during the trip.

-8 auspicious symbols of buddhism:

	Right-coiled White Conch The white conch which coils to the right symbolises the deep, far-reaching and melodious sound of the Dharma teachings, which being appropriate to different natures, predispositions and aspirations of disciples, awakens them from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish their own and others' welfare.
	Precious Umbrella The precious umbrella symbolises the wholesome activity of preserving beings from illness, harmful forces, obstacles and so forth in this life and all kinds of temporary and enduring sufferings of the three lower realms, and the realms of men and gods in future lives. It also represents the enjoyment of a feast of benefit under its cool shade.
	Victory Banner The victory banner symbolises the victory of the activities of one's own and others body, speech and mind over obstacles and negativitities. It also stands for the complete victory of the Buddhist Doctrine over all harmful and pernicious forces.
	Golden Fish The golden fish symbolises the auspiciousness of all living beings in a state of fearlessness, without danger of drowning in the ocean of sufferings, and migrating from place to place freely and spontaneously, just as fish swim freely without fear through water.
	Dharma Wheel The golden wheel symbolises the auspiciousness of the turning of the precious wheel of Buddha's doctrine, both in its teachings and realizations, in all realms and at all times, enabling beings to experience the joy of wholesome deeds and liberation.
	Auspicious Drawing The auspicious drawing symbolises the mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs. Similarly, it represents the union of wisdom and method, the inseparability of emptiness and dependent arising at the time of path, and finally, at the time of enlightenment, the complete union of wisdom and great compassion.
	Lotus Flower The lotus flower symbolises the complete purification of the defilements of the body, speech and mind, and the full blossoming of wholesome deeds in blissful liberation.
	Vase of Treasure The treasure vase symbolises an endless rain of long life, wealth and prosperity and all the benefits of this world and liberation.

Potala palace grand audience halls, the jeweled and Golden burial chortens (stupa Tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala, figures of the Buddha. Made of precious metal.

Drepung monastery is situated at the foothill of a mountain and was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416. It was once home of 10000 monks and Ganden podrang in Drepung is famous it was the government centre during fifth dalai lama and later moved to the famous potala palace during fifth dalai lama. Saw singing labourers compacting the roof in unison. Spent a long while outside on the hill with the prayer flags draped all over the hill as well as colourful writings of omamibabioom (? something like that)

Sera monastery which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa’s disciple Jamchen Choeje. The most attractive is that Monks debiting is held there in the courtyard. Big hype! They clap when they are asking a question and direct it to a person in the audience. If we didnt get that explanation we thought they were just chanting and dancing!

Yamdrotso lake was beautifully turquoise with the locals brining yaks and tibetan hounds out for a photo opportunity. On the return trip the lake was white out by the drastically changing weather. We were so lucky!

Kubum monastery in Gyantse, means 100,000 images in Tibetan, is the town's foremost attraction, The 35m-high chorten (stupa) with its white layers trimmed with decorative stripes and its crown-like golden dome and the magic eye, brings breath of fresh air to the temples we have been seeing

Tashilunpo monastery in Shigatse, one of the the six great Gelukpa institutions and was founded in 1447 by a disciple of Tsongkapa, Genden drup who was first dalai lama. Jamkhang Chenmo, containing the world's largest gilded copper image(26m high) of future god Jampa. This monastery is now the seat of the Panchen Lama (highest ranking lama after Dalai Lama).

India

DAY 01 : DELHI Delhi was a shock to the system. i really did not expect a capital city to be in such a disorganised state. People were sleeping on the island inbetween the highways, rubbish everywhere and poorly developed infrastructure. People are very proud of India being the largest democratic country in the world but at this point I felt if there was a unified voice at least some form of system can be built and sustained as opposed to this total state of hectic chaos. The guide opening asking for tips, and on getting the tip asked for more didn´t really help to the general vibe gained at Delhi.

Visited Qutub Minar ancient site and Humayun´s Tomb - floorplan in which Taj Mahal was based.

Nearly got handed the torch for the commonwealth games. Mascot and paparazzi already taken position to snap the photo to go on morning newspaper. But was stopped by guide as it may potentially be politically sensitive...

DAY 02 : DELHI-JAIPUR Jaipur was a much more pleasant place to be. The guide was much more genuine and less "oily" than the guide we had at Delhi. After a days drive past vibrant trucks, dodgying oncoming traffic of cows and camels we arrived at the Pink City, capital of Rajasthan.

We saw the Hawa Mahal Palace of Winds which has these intricately delicately carved honeycombed windows so ladies can look outside without being seen.

We stayed in a beautiful economic Havelis and lived a night as Indian princesses. Watched an enteraining puppet show at the garden where entertainers set up a stool. Need to master this sleek tipping handshake business.

DAY 03 : JAIPUR Visited Amber Fort. Took the journey via brightly painted elephants. Very beautiful fort of which highlights were the Ganesh Pol or the Ganesh Gate, named after the Hindu god Lor Ganesh who removes all obstacles in life, is the entry into the private palaces of the Maharajas; the four seasons archway; the Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Victory) in the third courtyard glittering with mirrors that are cut to represent floral patterns; the magic flower fresco carved in marble at the base of one of the pillars around the mirror palace which is identified by two hovering butterflies depiction; the flower has seven unique designs of fish tail, a lotus, a hooded cobra, an elephant trunk, a lion’s tail, a cob of corn and a scorpion, each is viewed by a particular way of partial hiding of the panel with hands.

Really nice Thalis for lunch, curry was made with less water content as the region of Rajasthan is near to the dessert. Afternoon visit to the Galta Monkey Temple where monkey roamed around freely. Maybe I should visit the temple of rats one day but Galta Monkey temple seems a lot cuter.

DAY 04 : JAIPUR - AGRA Onward drive to Agra, enroute visit Fatehpur Sikri, one of the finest examples of Mughal architectural splendour at its height. Visit to the site has be to done barefoot, and children roam the place asking you to purchase items in contribution for their school fee.

DAY 05 : AGRA Sunrise visit the famous Taj Mahal built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his queen Mumtaz Mahal, made out of white marble took 22 years to complete (1630-1652 AD). The area again is to be visited barefoot, showing how clean they are maintaining the area. Marble intricate sculptures and murals were amazing.

After breakfast visit Agra fort. Built of red sandstone and overlooking the Taj Mahal. The Fort was built principally as a military establishment by Akbar in 1565 and was partially converted into a palace during Shah Jahan's time where he was taken prisoner by his own son to prevent him building a black Taj Mahal mirroring his love for his queen.

DAY 06 : AGRA- JHANSI - KHAJURAHO Tummy bug!!! After breakfast transfer to Railway station for Jhansi. In super pissed off state as the train was late and tummy was in torment. The train ride was better than expected and on arrival at Jhansi Railway station we then drove to Khajuraho enroute visit Orchha. "Orchha", meaning "Hidden" was the hallmark of Bundela dynasty. The origin of Bundelas in the 11th century is traced to a Rajput prince who offered himself in sacrifice to the mountain goddess Vrindavasini. It is believed the goddess stopped the prince from sacrificing and named him Bundela (meaning, the one who offered blood). Nice architectural building emcompassing muslim and hindu influences seen over the doorway.

DAY 07 : KHAJURAHO - VARANASI A trip to the Eastern Group temples of Khajuraho. The bold artistic statement of erotic sculptures and the splendidly structured monuments are really one of a kind. Our driver met his girlfriend here because she felt really in need of a guy after the site visit (er...too much information maybe...)

DAY 08 : VARANASI – DELHI Morning sunrise boat cruise at the river Ganges to observe the way of life of pilgrims by the Ghats. Very interesting how people are cremating upstream of the river and then people bathing themselves downstream. Varanasi is the capital of Hindu religion, apparently more than 500 festivals take place here a year. So everyday is a festival by the different religious followers. There are people selling brightly coloured flowers before dawn, and the colours as the sun rises is one to be remembered.

Breakfast at the hotel and afternoon transfer to airport to connect flight for Delhi. Powercut in the airport, that was interesting.

New Motto

Before 16, before grandma passed away, I had a very Chinese working mentality: Work hard now; accumulate the necessary experience and cash in order to live life to its full during retirement. The shock of the fragility of life made me think, arriving at an early teen, naïve yet energetic motto: ‘work hard, play harder’. This motto accompanied me through the late teens and early twenties, allowing me to accumulate an exciting portfolio of travelling experiences, party mayhems, and friends to keep for life. Coming to China has been a great shock to the system. The habit, working mentality, culture of people is extremely different. I miss the UK life with all my heart and soul. So it is ‘Back to basics. Live happily ever after'.

Life is one big project. Like a company that has mission, vision and value. If one changes the topline mission to life, then the subsequent action at the strategic and operational level will also require alteration. ‘Work hard, play harder’ is an easy motto to translate to an operational level: you work hard, earn lots of money, and spend it on things that make you happy, and the cycle goes round. ‘Live happily ever after’ is another story altogether. To start, I need to adjust my frame of mind...

Cinammon Kitchen & Anise

The restaurant is situated at Devonshire square, a little atmospheric hideaway near Liverpool street. Increasing I have come across these little coves of quietness providing shelter against the noisey hubbub of the city, they are really gems of calm!

In my mind Indian food, as it is with Chinese food, should be quick and easy and cheap! So Cinnamon Kitchen & Anise challenges the traditional understanding, and I must say premium Indian food rocks - both pretty and tasty, just the way I like it :)

Houses

Very cool houses - but will you live in them?? Not exactly sustainable housing nominees are they?!

Even though Taiwan is technically 1/4 of my nationality, it feels almost completely foreign to be back in this country.

Usually when I come back to visit I lead a sheltered life of being transported around. Now I am having to start from zero and get to learn the roads and how to take public transport. Afterall, one cannot constantly travel around on taxi and private chauffeur service (aka dad).

Taxis. Cultural difference #1. Why is it that EVERY single taxi driver asks you the question: 'do you have a boyfriend?', and if unfortunately you receive a phonecall on the cab they will continue to probe: 'oh so your boyfriend is calling you', followed by: 'is your bf waiting at the destination?'. I understand the culture of making chit chats in Taiwan, but is this the standard question to be expected?

Korea

Seoul
Namsam – seeing 大長今a la teddy bear style in the teddy museum, gazing at the hundreds of love locks on the fences below the tower.

Myeong Dong shopping – Hanskin BB cream and face mask. Actually after walking the entire area I only managed to purchase clothes from one shop. And I thought it is easy to shop in Korea.

Traditional Korean tea and teahouse – Tae’s little guidebook for Korean people took us to 壽山硯房, truly the best Korean tea place experienced. All menus are in Korean which reflected the lack of tourist influence and added to the authenticity of the teahouse. I love the décor; the old-day atmosphere allows one to sample teas in peace and tranquility. The tea house poetically named ‘the moon birds do not always miss the moon’ in Insadong featured little birds living in cages right next to the tables, albeit the selection and taste was less inspiring than壽山硯房.
Me trying五味茶 and Tae梨子茶

Traditional houses – having two people squeezed in to a 3mx2m space is a first. Shun had to jump around killing mosquitoes, and half way through the night I woke with the thought that given we cannot lock our doors ghost can readily come in…scary…but it is an interesting experience to stay in a room made essentially with wooden paper doors.

Best beef sashimi – to be found in restaurant 古宮situated in Insadong.

牌盃 at Gyeongbokgung and Chengdokgung – quite specific to Korean palaces I thought, not usually seen in Chinese architecture. The guidebooks are really very good, detailed and standardized in the same format across all the national palaces. The guides are free throughout South Korea, an excellent stimulus to allow tourist to have a more in-depth understanding of their culture, which brings my thoughts to:

Korean hospitality – swear to god South Korean are the nicest race of people to foreigners. They are always thoughtful, polite but not to an exaggerated extent that makes one feel uncomfortable or sense a slight edge of insincerity. In Gyeong-ju private one day hire, we wanted to add extra sights to our places of visit – most drivers would probably start complaining of extra petrol spenditure or the steer away from original itinerary, but our driver was happy to drive around exploring, asking people for directions, getting slightly off track but determined to take us to the places we wanted to see. He also gave us half of this lunch so we could try more different dishes (not that it is possible to finish what is in front of us anyway). On our way to Busan station, due to the Korean banking system we were not able to withdrawal cash readily and for the first time in my life we ran out of cash in the taxi!! And as we embarrassingly asked whether we could pay him using Japanese yen, he only smiled and accepted the foreign currency gracefully and waved us goodbye.

DMZ – South Korean soldiers are pretty cute! According to Tae they station all the good looking kids there so the tourist can have some eye candy haha. The conflict revolving around the tunnel and looking at the propaganda villages at the north/south border really brought to light the idiocy of North Korean policy. I stamped my passport with the stamps at the Dorasan train station, only to see the person standing at the counter shaking their head. Apparently an American tourist did the same and was later refused entry back into US on the basis that immigration thought he had been to North Korea. Ooops…

W hotel lounge bar – I love W hotel and its interior décor. I love W candles. I love W hotel lounge bar overlooking the Han river. I love the power B-52 shot that is essentially three shots in one. I love my best friend Tae!

Busan
Power suites – on the way to the fish market came across a really nice Korean cloth shop, apparently popular to news readers and celebrities. Tried on a few power suits which looked real good, but was surprised the price tag came in at around 350GBP, enough to buy an Armani! Luckily Shun stopped my impulse buy.

Playing with Shun’s 10mm lense at Busan tower – it is the coolest lense for taking wide angle shots! Feel like a pro haha! It’s great for him given he loves going to towers and taking panoramic view of cities.

Neon lights by the sea – it was really a surreal sight. In Europe I am used to watching the calm sea with an equally calming surrounding. Rarely do I see sky scrapers and flashing rainbow lights right by the sea. It was really nice to be able to just sit by the sea with one of your best friends and chat into the night, jokingly complaining about each other’s company and the lack of potential in one’s life; and asking silly Q&As and realizing he knows me better than I thought.

Best breakfast at Novotel hotel – Japanese sukiyaki, Chinese dumpling, Korean Kimchi, Fresh juices, Continental breakfast, English full breakfast, salad…you name it, they have it!

Gyeongju
Various stone Buddha – Ones with stone on its head, ones with detailed clothing carvings ones carved onto cliff face, ones made of marble and surrounded by disciples.

The moats signifying significant burial ground