Another First. Battle of Kings

This is a coincidental post. Just yesterday, saw a neighbor carrying a huge “rosca de reyes” cake and wondered what it was all about. Seeing this post made me put 2+2 together with the Three Kings celebrations, and there you have it.

Nice piece of history to bite on. Enjoy.

Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge

You can shove the gym memberships and Mediterranean diet aside a bit longer. The parties are not over.

Happy FMNY! (First Monday of the New Year). Oh, let the Kings Battle on!

“OMG. First she couldn’t eat the nachos because they weren’t on her diet, and now she’s broken her tooth on that darn baby in the cake.”(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

Nope, not all about football’s chosen champions out to uphold the reputation of their towns.

I had to grin at Seattle’s coach’s comment after gazing around Dallas Cowboy’s cathedral of sports AT&T stadium.

Said playing there “was like playing in a night club”.

Astute comment: so loud people can’t hold normal conversations, lots of colorful flashing lights, big screens showing games, expensive foods, pretty girls in attention attracting outfits, lots of drinking, some men falling down…

Sounds a lot like Mardi Gras

Starting with Jan. 6th, the battle of King…

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This Sign Made Me Laugh!

Pure comedy.

Piglet in Portugal

We are plagued by wild campers who have no respect for the countryside. This sign near Praia da Amoreira made me laugh, and inspired me to write a poem which is also about crap!

Please Scoop Your Poop

Wild campers, (PLEASE) scoop your poop or dig a hole
we don’t want your faeces on our soles
nor your toilet paper strewn far and wide
PLEASE, I beg, respect our countryside.

Your pitch is priceless but we like to share
just leave no trace of your existence there.
And why take six parking lots when two would do?
Others also want to enjoy the view.

Check out Weekly Signs Meme at signs2.blogspot.com/ and/or why not join me and create your own fun A-Z of Pet Peeves.

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I’ve Been Around the World – Street Art Tour

More vicarious travelling for 2016 – worldwide street art with some female artists featured, which is nice to see in a world usually dominated by males. Enjoy.

Here There Everywhere

Last year I had big plans to finally blog regularly and they fell through as always.  Life as it does got in the way but mainly the second half of 2015 was marred by seasonal depression, visa issues and a real hatred for my new job.

Most of those things have now thankfully resolved thmeselves or are on the way.  I’ve also been taking vitamin D consistently for the past month – only after years of my doctor saying I should because I am deficient.

I am finally feeling myself again, motivated and wanting to share about my goings on in London.  However, I know how easy it is for me to ditch the blog.  A time will come again where my mood will dip and I will retreat from it and I’ve come to terms with that and allowed myself to feel okay if there are long breaks in…

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Walking London: Barbican to Southbank

In spite of my love/hate relationship with the place because of the experiences before my departure, this is, and will always be, my 2nd home. So in continuing with my theme of living vicariously through others’ travels this year, here’s a post about a small section of my 2nd home. Enjoy.

Here There Everywhere

Start: Barbican Tube Station

This past Sunday was the first time in ages where I went on one of my rambling exploring days out.  Yes it’s been winter, and cold and grey but I usually manage to get around during the season.  Not the case this winter where I mostly stayed inside.

It feels good to finally feel the sun on my face and not only get out and about but want to get out and about.  The prospect of using my new lens was also an incentive to  haul my very heavy D-SLR out with me.

With flowers budding all over the place, longer days and even a few days where I wore sunnies (!) none of us can deny that Spring is knocking on the door.  I’m finally getting into using my twitter account more and seeing the point of it all (@wanderlust _wtb) over the past…

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Yangon – A First Glimpse

Since I’ll be living vicariously through the travels of other people for a while, here’s another post reblogged, this time about Myanmar. Enjoy.

A Traveler's Tale

A Yangon sunrise

February 2016:  It was Valentine’s Day when I landed in Yangon.  There were no red roses or heart-shaped balloons to meet me at the terminal but, following instructions from the office, I made a brief queue to obtain my visa-on-arrival (It costs $50 for a 70-day stay), followed a long queue with a large group of tourists trying to clear immigration, claimed my luggage, then I was out into the humid brightness of Myanmar‘s capital.  A smiling taxi driver, who held a white paper with my name on it, helped me load my  bags to the cab, then whisked me through Sunday traffic to my hotel.  After many years of having it in my bucket list, I was finally in Yangon.  Happy hearts’ day to me.

The Yangon International Airport has direct flights to regional cities in Asia – mainly, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh…

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28 mind-blowing facts about Uganda!

I volunteered in Uganda a while ago for 6 weeks. It’s one of my favorite countries, and I’m well overdue for a trip back there. If you’ve never been there before, consider adding it to your travel (and/or bucket) list.

one.african.girl

Evening view of Kampala city (credits: Joel Nsadha Isababi)

Uganda is commonly referred to as the Pearl of Africa which is not far from the truth considering her natural resources combined with a very hospitable population. Here are some crazy facts about her;

1. Caesarian sections were being performed in Uganda way before 1879 when R.W. Felkin observed his first successful operation by indigenous healers in Kahura. (reference: Notes on Labour in Central Africa” published in the Edinburgh Medical Journal, volume 20, April 1884, pages 922-930.)

1. There are about 880 mountain gorrillas in the whole world and half of them are found in Uganda.

1. Ranked as the world’s most entrepreneurial country with a rate of 28.1%. This means that 28.1% of Uganda’s population own or co-own a business that has paid salaries for more than 3 months but less than 42.

1. Lakes and rivers cover 26% of Uganda which is 91,136…

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9 Things Everyone Needs to Appreciate about Mangroves

Re-blogging/Reblogging because I began liking mangroves when I visited Australia in 2009.

A Traveler's Tale

A boy received a camera as a gift from his father on his birthday;
Boy: “Thank you so much, Dad! You know that I want to be a photographer like you but I don’t know if I can be as good in photo composition.”
Dad: “Oh, I’m sure you’ll do well. What sorts of subjects would you be photographing, son?”
Boy: “Nature! I love nature!”
Dad: “In that case, you don’t have to worry. Nature has already prepared the perfect compositions for you. All you need to do is to go out there and capture them with that camera.”

I thought of this story while leisurely inspecting a seaside place one sunny day. Aside from the sparkling seawater, there were some interesting rock formations by the beach and, yes, there was a line of mangrove trees that seemed determined to both fearlessly defy the waves and mischievously keep prospective swimmers…

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Life and Death While Traveling: Are you covered in the case of an emergency abroad?

This post is from a friend of mine. Excellent information about emergencies abroad and travel insurance. Pay attention.

4 Deep Around The World

If you follow the journey of 4 Deep Around the World, you know I’m a huge advocate of international travel. I constantly promote taking advantage of  every opportunity to see the world. World travel is the new “it” thing that’s taking the world by storm. This is evident by a simple peruse of the multitude of travel related Facebook groups and travel deal websites that have developed in recent years.

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Wall Street Journal article: Repatriation blues.

As a repatriate, some of the points in this article hit home, especially since my return was (mostly) involuntary. Take a look at the article below and feel free to comment. Hopefully, other repatriates will comment too.

Repatriation Blues: Expats Struggle With The Dark Side Of Coming Home

http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/04/15/repatriation-blues-expats-struggle-with-the-dark-side-of-coming-home/

Secret Ways to Experience Singapore.

Check out this blog post about Singapore. It makes me want to visit the country even more. Hoping to (finally) get deep in travel to Asia in 2016 and/or 2017.

P.S. United Arab Emirates posts should be up within 1 week. Continue staying tuned.

The Shooting Star

My restless soul has a strange relationship with the little red dot on the world map. In the six years I studied and worked in Singapore, I spent my days planning adventures and craving excitement in the far reaches of Southeast Asia. But when I moved away in 2011, I was filled with nostalgia and a curious desire to rediscover Singapore itself – especially given that it’s just a short hop and an e-visa away from India.

I’ve discovered hidden beaches, password-protected bars, mangroves to kayak through and pristine forests over my last few trips to the country; it’s time to spill the secrets:

Leave your footprints on a hidden beach

You’ve reveled in the underwater world and manmade beaches of Sentosa. Now ditch the crowds to find solitude at Lazarus Island – an undiscovered, undeveloped stretch of coastline where soft white sands are caressed by gentle azure waters. To…

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