Formosa (Taiwan)

In the beggining of this month (June) I went to Formosa (as the Portuguese called Taiwan when they arrived there centuries ago, and still today Taiwan is also known by this name) for a few days, to join my friend-brother Alberto, who was there or work (as I did before in Thailand, Jakarta etc). And once again it was more than worth it. Especially because of our wonderful hosts: Greg and Rex.

Greg is the brother of Reiser, a common Taiwanese friend Alberto and I have in Hong Kong. They were just amazing, taking us everywhere, day and night, and I had heard about the Taiwanese hospitality, and it was not only confirmed, I was even surprised (it was even better than I thought) and it just made me feel like home, people were a little like in Brazil, very nice and smiling all the time. Besides, Taipei reminds me a little of Sao Paulo (it is pretty grey and ugly in a sense) but again like Sao Paulo you go and dig in and find amazing places and people. Another surprise was that the city looks more like Tokyo than like China. I had this impression since I first saw the city, and later they confirmed that they have a lot of Japanese influence (I did not know). So I define Taipei as a mix of Sao Paulo and Tokyo.

We visited the National Palace Museum, which has one of the main collections of Chinese art in the world, it is impressive, and also the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, where it was interesting to find out more on how Taiwan and China were divided during the Chinese revolution (things that we definitely do not learn at school in Latin America, lol). And of course I went to the top of 101, the tallest building on Earth.

Click here to see my Taiwan pictures, and others:
www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets

A few more times in Hong Kong...

I went to Hong Kong 3 times after my long visit there in November. First on my way to Brazil in December, when I met another Brazilian (Andre) and his friend Ben (an American who lived in Brazil before) and even if I was stuck in Hong Kong because I was in a stand-by ticket, it was great to spend time with them, we went out to bars and also went to the 1,000 Bhudas temple in the New Territories.

Then last month (in May), also on my way to the States, I spent a few days in Hong Kong on my way back to Singapore. It was again great to see Maher (a Tunisian/French friend I made on my to the States) and Claude, who was in China for work and came to HK to spend the weekend with me. We went to Lamma island. We had a fantastic time together.

Somehow I always have a great time in Hong Kong and meet a lot of people there. I guess it has an energy that is missing in Singapore.

Click here to check the pictures of Hong Kong and more:

www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets

Big Big World

And some people say I travel a lot...well, maybe it is true, I love travelling. But so far, I have visited "only" 34% of the countries in the world!!!!! There is still so much to see :)

Here are the countries I have visited:

Back in Rhode Island

A few weeks ago I went back to the other side of the world, I attended one of my best friends (Marcus)'s graduation party in Rhode Island. My first part of the trip was in NYC, I spent a few days there, and besides seeing some good friends, I just felt like home again: not only I have been to NYC many times before and it does feel like home naturally but also compared to Asia, it is so much closer to my culture. Instead of seeing signs in Chinese, Malay or Tamil, I was glad to be able to understand all of them in either English or Spanish! I would also understand most of people on the street, as there are some many Latinos in the city, but also many tourists, being most of them French, Italians, Germans or Brazilians! (what a relief…European languages!!!!)

Then Rhode Island with Marcus was just fantastic. I had been there a few times, but I guess this time was the best. First because it was great to see some good friends again, and then I don't know, I guess because it was Marcus' party, it was something special. It was really great to spend days with people who were either close to me already (like Marcus and David) or wonderful people that I ended up knowing a little better this time, like Marc, Claudia and Marcus' mother and sister. Revising my pictures, I realized how lucky I was to be able to share these moments with Marcus and his friends/family, also included all the other times I had been there in Providence with him, it is a unique place, and I could live that a little bit every time. Thanks Marcus!!!! And congratulations again!

The weather was great most of the time, and we did biking, picnic, we went out to clubs and I took advantage to eat all the Western food I could possibly do: Italian, Brazilian, Cuban, Mexican, Greek, even some nice very American burgers in NYC (I'll post later). Spring was just there also, so flowers everywhere, as you can see at the bucolic pictures of Rhode Island that I took:

www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets

Asian Civilisations Museum

I must confess that usually when I visited museums like the Metropolitan or even the Hermitage, they would have a vast collection of Asian arts and I would look at it very briefly just to run later to see the Impressionist paintings.

But today I visited the Asian Civilisations Museum here in Singapore, and I had heard it was good before, but I did not think I would be totally fascinated by it.

It is at the same time sad to think the rich countries get all the art from the other countries (just look at museums in London, Paris or NYC), but at the same time I am glad Singapore could gather such great representations of art from other Asian countries and that I could see them today. It was not enough though, I will have to go back to spend more time there.

Site of the museum: http://www.acm.org.sg/themuseum/galleries.asp
For a great selection of places to stay with discount prices visit Singapore Hotels for more info

It's Alright!...

...even if the world is falling apart!

Funny that when I was traveling by bus in south India I had my iPod (and felt guilty because it was a common bus and people were looking at my iPod as something unaffordable, but could not help listening to some music) and on my shuffling I got Pet Shop Boys' "It's Alright", and it fitted so much the situation. Even if they were so poor and fighting to have something to eat, all that peace in their eyes, no matter how bad the world might be, it's still alright! And it will always be, hopefully. Problems come and go, and it will just be like that forever.



Just look at the first phrases of the lyrics, the problems are still there, just different now! I just hope it's gonna be alright! 'Caus the music plays forever!

Dictation being forced in Afghanistan
Revolution in South Africa taking a stand
People in Eurasia on the brink of oppression
I hope it's going to be alright
I hope the music plays forever

Forests falling at a desperate pace
The earth is dying, and desert taking its place
People under pressure on the brink of starvation

I hope it's gonna be alright
(Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
('Cause it goes on and on and on and on and on)
I hope it's gonna be alright
(On and on and on and on, forever)
And the music plays forever
(Alright Alright)

Generations will come and go (will come and go)
But there's one thing for sure
Music is our life's foundation
And shall succeed all the nations to come

(Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
('Cause it goes on and on and on and on and on)
I hope it's gonna be alright
(On and on and on and on and on)
(On and on and on and on)
And the music plays forever

The year three thousand may still come to pass
But the music shall last
I can hear it on a timeless wavelength
Never dissipating but giving us strength

India

I went to the south of India (Tamil Nadu) for the 1^st of May holiday. Even if it was too short, the experience was intense, as I could have imagined before. I visited Madras (Chennai), Mamallapuram and Pondicherry. Chennai is a megalopolis and very chaotic, and I love it! It is true I had not seen so much poverty before, but neither had I seen so many colors and peace in people’s eyes. Everything is dirty and there are cows walking in the middle of the streets, and people selling everything. The most amazing thing is that people are starving, but it feels safe, they are not trying to steal or deceive you. Maybe I was lucky, but people were only coming to me to talk, they were very curious (even if many had no idea of what Brazil was), and it felt so pure, I don’t know, I was really touched by every single contact with the people I made. Even the children, they want to practice their English and whenever you go, they would shout “Hello, how are you?” and smile.

Pondicherry is an ex colony of the French empire and therefore a lot of French influence, and therefore I guess frequent French visitors, and people would come to talk to me in French (thinking I was French). It was interesting. I met this guy who wanted to practice his French and he took me in his motorbike and was telling me about the town etc. I also had one of the best “coq au vin”’s in my life in a French restaurant for less than US$5.

And Mamallapuram is a “temple city”, where they did these stone carvings during the 6^th-7^th centuries mostly, and they are very impressive.

Some other curious things were to see how they enjoy the beach differently: they usually gather there thousands of people, but they are dressed, and they mostly don’t even go into the water (opposite of Brazil, where everybody is almost naked). Then the food I was afraid before I went, that I’d have problem with it, as everybody warned me before, but actually Singapore has trained me well (I eat Indian food here a lot), and I was already used to most of the food, and it was pretty good, and some of the lunches or dinners I paid less than US$1 for a nice meal with a soft drink included!

India was one of the few countries that I visited, that I cried of emotion: I cried a few times, the first time was when I saw these children dancing to Indian music in the street, and they were so happy and when they saw me they would smile and all say “hi, how are you?” and continue dancing and laughing and showing their abilities. And the middle of street in India includes cows, people selling fruits, flowers etc, dirty everywhere, all under a 40 C weather.

Then taking a bus to go to the south, this boy came to talk to me and told me about his whole life and really he had no interest at all, he was just curious and he was so nice. He was just one of many who did the same, but when he left the bus, he was waiting outside to wave me goodbye, and his eyes transmitted me so much peace, I was crying along the way down to Pondicherry.

And then these “processions” to the temples, with instruments and elephants and monks and people offering fruits and flowers to the gods. And if it was in any other place, they’d maybe be angry I was taking pictures, but there they were just smiling. It made me cry once more.

Maybe I was too emotional, but India did make an impact on me, and I’ll carry it for the rest of my life. I do want to go back and see other parts of the country, it was too short this time.

See my pics at Flickr!!! The cool thing is that now the videos are also included at the Flickr album. I also added recently pics from Phuket, Malacca (Malaysia), Bintan (Indonesia) and Brunei. Just click at the link below:

www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets

Phuket

I spent last weekend in Phuket with my dear friend/brother Alberto. I had already heard the beaches were not that nice there, but well it is true they are not like in Krabi or around Phi Phi (where I had found the beaches just amazing), but they are not bad either. Besides the island (Phuket) is much more fun than I thought, there are many bars and clubs, it is a little like Bali. We also rented a scooter for the days we were there and it was an adventure, I must say. Alberto had forgotten his license, so I had to ride all the time and he thought we were going to die going around those curves of the island and having trucks overpassing in those narrow lanes. I decided to put some videos on YouTube. Take a look at this one I made of a TV show with videos at the hotel, we laughed like crazy.


You can also take a look at all pictures of Phuket, besides I added pictures of other trips I made recently: Malacca in Malaysia, Bintan in Indonesia and the Sultanate of Brunei:

www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets

Sydney

After so long, I'm back. But I haven't had time to update the blog very frequently, so I'll only post in a summarized Spanish after the English post.

I spent 10 amazing days in Sydney with my friend Steven, who was a wonderful host. I also met Joao, the Portuguese from Macau, who was there by coincidence and it was great to go out with him. I also met finally Emerson in person, another Brazilian living in Sydney, who is friend of Daniel. And also Ralph, the Filipino whom I met in HK through Michael was there. And yet by coincidence I met Vinicius and Juliano, that I knew from Sao Paulo! Funny, just realized I was soooo far and yet meeting so many people, hehehe, the world became too small for me. I love Sydney! It was my second time there but this time, I fell in love with the city and their lifestyle.

See the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157604112955966/

Estuve en Sydney por 10 dias y estuvo increible. Estuve con mi amigo Steve que fue un anfitrion de los mejores, y tambien encontre a Joao, mi amigo portugues que vive en Macau (en la foto), y tambien encontre a varios otros amigos que estaban por alla por casualidad. De repente me doy cuenta de como el mundo se volvio pequeno para mi. Sydney esta tan lejos de mi pais, pero igual encontre a un monton de gente. Es la segunda vez que voy a Sydney, pero esta vez me gusto todavia mas, es una ciudad halucinante.

Miren las fotos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157604112955966/

The Flock of Sheep

2 Weeks in Hong Kong

A few weeks ago I went to Hong Hong. I had some friends coming from other places (US, Bangladesh) and then asked my company to work from the office there for 2 weeks. I had been to Hong Kong last January, when I first came to Asia on vacation, it was actually my first place I ever visited in true Asia (well, except Turkey and Middle East)! I had only stayed for a couple of days but the impression I had it was that of a vibrant and crazy city already, where all this modernity we do not even see in the States was astonishing, combined with some little streets with local traditional Chinese markets. But I did not know anybody the fist time. So this time I decided to ask a few friends for contacts before I went, and that’s a wise thing to do! I met so many nice people and had a wonderful time! I’ll post pics of some of these people later and will tell you how I met them. It was one of my trips ever, I definitely intend to go back to Hong Kong many times to see these guys.

Click here to see the pics of my trip to Hong Kong:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157603378794406/

Hace algunas semanas fui a Hong Kong. Algunos amigos venían de otras partes (EEUU, Bangladesh) y entonces pedí a mi jefe que pudiera trabajar desde Hong Kong por 2 semanas. Estuve en HK por primera vez en enero, cuando vine a Asia por primera vez, de hecho fue el primer lugar que pise en Asia de verdad (con excepción de Turquía y Medio Oriente). Me había quedado solamente 2 noches pero la impresión que ya había tenido era de una ciudad vibrante y loca, donde lo mas moderno posible (mas moderno que EEUU o cualquier otro lugar que yo había visto antes) se mezclaba con pequeños callejones de mercado tradicional chino. Pero la diferencia es que la primera vez yo no conocía a nadie, y esta vez antes de ir pedí contactos a amigos que viajan mucho y fue muy buena idea. En final conocí a mucha gente increíble allá y la pase de lo mejor. Voy a postar después fotos con estos amigos que hice allá y que hicieron que fuera una de mis mejores viajes.

Para ver las fotos, hagan click aquí:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157603378794406/

One of the most fascinating (and claustrophobic) experiences in life is walking/crossing some of the streets in Asia. This one in Hong Kong is an example of that, when you see so many people coming your way, you think you’ll be smashed. Somehow everyone finds a way to inter-cross among each other, just like ants.

Pics of my 2 weeks in Hong Kong + one day in Shenzhen (China):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157603378794406/

Una de las experiencias mas fascinantes (y claustrofobicas) en la vida es cruzar una calle en algunos lugares de Asia. Esta calle en Hong Kong es un ejemplo, ves tanta gente viniendo en tu dirección, pensaras que serás aplastado. De alguna manera todos encuentran su camino, como hormigas.

Fotos de mis 2 semanas en Hong Kong + un día en Shenzhen (China):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157603378794406/

When Smiths/Morrissey songs make sense again...

Funny I am having again the time of my life visiting all these places and getting to know so many different cultures, and meeting so many new people from all over the world. I am working now from Hong Kong for 2 weeks and I was coming to work in the morning and looking at these crazy city and I could not believe it I was here again, and also I met so many nice people these days from everywhere (Americans, Chileans, Puerto Ricans, Japanese, Taiwanese, Colombian, Australian, French, Brazilians, Portuguese etc), some of them I think I’ll keep friends for a long time, I have the impression. But still being so far away from my country and my world, and being single again…sometimes I cannot help feeling sad and alone. And that’s when all Smiths/Morrissey songs make sense again. I was listening to this one this morning and it made just so much sense:

"Wide to Receive

Download something Useful, or useless Because I'm lying here Wide to receive Almost anything You'd care to give And I don't Get along with myself And I'm not too keen On anyone else Turn on, plug in Then just walk away Unlock, process And then just go And I've never felt quite so alone As I do right now"

Gracioso que estoy realizando nuevamente mis suenos, conociendo el mundo y conociendo tantas culturas diferentes y encontrando gente de todo el mundo. Estoy trabajando ahora desde Hong Kong por 2 semanas y esta manana venia al trabajo y no podia creer que estaba aquí en esta ciudad loca. También conoci a tanta gente buena estos ultimos diez dias, gente de toda parte (latinos, americanos, orientales, europeos etc) y que algunos tengo la impresión que seran mis amigos por mucho tiempo. Pero aun asi, estando tan lejos de mi familia, amigos y de mi mundo, ademas estando soltero después de tanto tiempo, no puedo evitar de sentirme a veces muy solo y triste. Y entonces muchas de las canciones de Smiths/Morrissey tienen sentido nuevamente. Esta manana escuche esta que me identifique totalmente con el periodo que estoy viviendo.

Penang, the East India Company base

In the beginning of this month, I visited Penang in Malaysia. Penang, originally part of the Malay Sultanate of Kedah, was given to the British East India Company in 1786 by the Sultan of Kedah, in exchange for military protection from Siamese and Burmese armies who were threatening Kedah. Penang was the base for the famous East India Company and was a very prosperous city, it was like Singapore 30 years ago! You can still see a lot of interesting buildings, but they are mostly run down.

Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157603245201340/

Al comienzo del mes, fui a Penang en Malasia. Penang originalmente parte del sultanado malayo de Kedah, fue concedida a la Compañía de las Indias Orientales en 1786 por el sultán Kedah, por intercambio a protección contra los siameses (tailandeses) y los burmeses. Penang fue la base de la famosa Compañía de las Indias Orientales y fue una ciudad muy prospera durante mucho tiempo, era lo que es Singapur hace 30 anos. Todavía se ve edificios imponentes, pero están un poco descuidados.
Fotos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157603245201340/

Deepavali, Festival of Lights

After the Malay New Year we celebrated in Singapore the Indian biggest celebration: Deepavali (it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being).

Después del ano nuevo malayo, fue la vez de celebrar en Singapur el Deepavali, la época del ano mas importante para los hindúes (es celebrado por los hindúes, jains y sikhs como el “festival de las luces”, donde estas representan la victoria del bien sobre el mal, dentro de cada ser humano).

For a great selection of places to stay with discount prices visit Singapore Hotels for more information