Wien and a side of Bratislava

Street near the St. Stephan's Cathedral at Stephansplatz.

Slightly persuaded to visit a German speaking country because of my latest crush on this German and Swiss German speaking guy, I did a layover at the capital of Austria! What love can do to crazy gals like me... But wow Vienna, what an absolutely lovely place rich in its architectural grandiosity! Vienna, also known as the City of Music and the City of Dreams. I love classical music and I loooove to dream. Musical prodigies such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn and the Father of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud all have lived here before! I finally got the chance to touch the cobblestone roads that my idol, Mozart, once stepped on! My dream had come true! Uh,... no pun intended.


Hotel
My sister-in-law's sister decided to join me on this trip. For our four nights stay, I read on tripadvisor about Hotel Pension Continental, a family run B&B which seemed to have decent reviews. I'm so glad that I selected this place because it is truly at a great location that is easily accessible to all the main attractions. It is located on one of the main shopping streets so it's nice and lively! Our flight arrived to Vienna early in the morning so we popped in early for check-in. Because our room wasn't ready until hours later, the older gentleman, who I believe is the owner, offered us a room at an apartment complex that was 50 meters away! We got really lucky because the apartment was spacious and it made us feel immersed into the community living like the locals. The B&B also provides free daily continental breakfast every morning and free wifi. The price was also not too expensive, about a bit north of $100usd per night. (Because our currency exchange rate sux!) I would highly recommend this place to anyone if they decide to visit Vienna! http://www.hotel-continental.at/en/

Day 1

KarntnerStrasse

St. Stephan's Cathedral

We decided to take it easy on the first day. After checking in at our hotel, we had the whole afternoon and evening free. Our hotel was located on Mariahilferstasse, the oldest and longest shopping street in Vienna, so we decided to walk along this street heading toward St. Stephan's Cathedral, where it is considered the inner city center. The walk took only about 20-30mins and along the way we passed by the Museum quarters and then the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper). From the opera house walking along the KarntnerStrasse toward the cathedral flanked plenty more shops and restaurants. It's very lively there, full of people especially groups and loads of tourists! After some souvenir shopping and a nice Austrian meal, we took the U-bahn 3 (U3) metro line from Stephansplatz back to our hotel stop Neubaugasse, which was conveniently 3 stops away!

DAY 2

The second day was a Saturday so I've read that the weekends would be a good time to visit the Nauschmarkt. The Nauschmarkt is like a farmer's market, a flea market, and a gastronomic dining world all in one. You can purchase fruits, vegetables, exotic herbs, cheese, baked goods, meats, seafood, flowers, old clothes, basically lots of variety of things. If you prefer to sit down and eat, there were plenty of restaurants to choose from as well. I really enjoyed exploring and consuming the edibles here. But when we walked toward the flea market area, it was like entering a dumpster. People sold everything and anything, from used electronics, old trinkets, kitchenware to even worn bras! It wasn't the best part of the market but we got a glimpse of the poverty side of the town. After our visit to the Nauschmarkt, we headed back to the Stephansplatz to try the famous Viennese Sacher torte cake at the five star Hotel Sacher located on Philharmonikerstrasse 4. My sister-in-law's sis decided to try one of the special cakes of the day instead. After taking a bite of the two, we both preferred her cake. Doh~! Finally, we finished off the evening with a wonderful classical concert at an old building that Mozart once performed briefly that our hotel kindly arranged for us!

Sacher torte

Small room where Mozart once performed.

DAY 3

Bratislava Castle

On Sundays, most stores in Vienna are closed. Because of that and the fact that I wanted to squeeze a visit to a nearby country, we decided to head to Bratislava, Slovakia on the third day. We took the train from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Hlavna Stanica at Bratislava. The ride took only about 1hr. We purchased the round trip train ticket. It includes all the transportation fares in Bratislava on the same day as well. We thought we would need our passport when we crossed the border, but they never checked but just checked our train tickets. We weren't entirely impressed with Bratislava and am sure it is just a small glimpse of what Slovakia is like. However, Bratislava does have its charm and is a good place for a day getaway. The town is very small and can easily be visited in one day. We should have picked up a map prior to heading there because when we got off the train station, the language barrier seemed to have been more difficult. I asked the lady behind the ticket counter at the station for a map but she seemed quick to bite my head off and just pointed her finger at one direction. We followed her instruction but could not locate any maps anywhere. Serendipitously, a group of Romanian gals walked right by us holding a map and were speaking English! We joined them and headed into the city center.  However, we all got off the wrong bus stop, a stop over. It turned out to be a good mistake because the bus crossed the ufo featured bridge, which is one of the sites to see. When we took the bus back, we were able to also see the Bratislava Castle from afar. 

Around the Main Square

One of the more prominent Slovak archaeological landmarks we wanted to visit was the Devin Castle. Unfortunately, we were there in March when it was not yet opened to the public. So we decided to spend our day around the Old Town Hall, mostly around the Main Square and St. Michael's Gate. I learned that St. Michael's Gate was built in the 1300s. It is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications. And the building between St. Michael's Gate and St. Michael's tower is known as the narrowest house in Europe. It's a 3 story structure just 130cm wide! Another attraction at Bratislava is also the three sculptures scattered around the town: Napolean's Soldier, Paparazzi, and Rubberneck (Cumil). Given we didn't have a map, we decided to challenge ourselves to find those sculptures. Though we found three out of the two, I was glad one of the two was the one I wanted to find the most, Rubberneck (Cumil). Rubberneck (Cumil) is a sculpture of a man sneaking from a manhole. Other things we did at Bratislava were visiting Tesco to buy some Slovakia chips, checking out the Blue Church, and ate Bryndzove halusky, which is a traditional Slovak dish - small dumplings made of potato dough with sheep cheese topped with bacon bits. It was actually quite tasty.

DAY 4

Schonbrunn Palace

We saved the Schonbrunn Palace as our last visit during the morning of our final day. I definitely would recommend people to check out this place and do a tour of the rooms. The complex is so large that you can reach one end from one metro line station to the other end on the next station. Most people would get off the Schonbrunn stop, but we got off the stop after the Schonbrunn station so that we could walk through the park first. Walking through the park first not only was a refreshing start to our morning trip but it also showed us how much land this complex covers. I can only imagine how beautiful this park must be during spring and summer times. How luxurious were the inhabitants that once lived here! At the Schonbrunn Palace, we purchased tickets for the Imperial Tour which allowed us to see 22 rooms for 11.50 Euros, which I thought was perfect. You can opt for the Grand Tour which would be 40 rooms for 14.50 Euros. They have all other sorts of tickets too which you can view on the Schonbrunn website. 

FINALLY, a side note that we discovered during our visit to Vienna. Though I don't suggest doing this because I don't think it's right and honorable. We noticed that NO ONE checks whether you purchased a U-bahn ticket or not! So basically, it's an honorary system. That includes purchasing a U-bahn ticket from the airport to the city center. You can basically take the U-bahn rides for free. 

Southern Spain: Seville, Ronda, Granada

When people ask where they should visit if they have never been to Spain, most people will suggest Barcelona or Madrid. However, as much as I love cities, I also enjoy visiting the smaller cities and have heard southern Spain was just as nice. Besides, I tend to enjoy going to less touristy destinations.

So for me, my first time in Spain was at southern Spain. What do I remember most? Sangria, Vino con Limon, Churros con chocolate, Yema, Flamenco, and the Alhambra!

SEVILLE

The Cathedral and Giralda Towers

Hotels
To get to Seville, my friend and I arrived at the San Pablo Airport (SVQ). We took a 20mins cab ride to our hotel, Barcelo Renacimiento, which is ~30mins walk to the main tourist attraction areas, the Cathedral and Giralda towers on Av. de la Constitucion. You can't miss the hotel because of its circular shape. It was pleasantly nice and modern in the inside. It reminded us of the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. A bus stop 100 meters away from the hotel conveniently took us to the city center (~5mins). NOTE: the cab ride from the airport is a fixed rate. ASK before you get on because our dishonest driver charged us a few euros more! For those who are in a tighter budget, you can bus it to the city center. http://www.seville-airport.com/location.cfm

The second hotel we stayed at after returning from Granada was at the Melia Sevilla. This hotel was walking distance from the Plaza de Espana and even closer to the city center. The hotel was also very modern and comfortable, great for business travelers.
http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Spain/Seville/hotel-barcelo-renacimiento/general-description.aspx
http://www.melia.com/hotels/spain/seville/melia-sevilla/home.htm

The place I can't remember?!

The Metropol Parasol

I heard that the most interesting time to visit Seville would be around their April fiesta. It's when they celebrate all things Andalusian, with bullfighting, flamenco dancing, sherry tasting, etc. But we went in June and felt three days at Seville would suffice.

At Seville, I would recommend touring the vicinity of the Cathedral area and the Plaza de Espana. Though there are other beautiful cathedrals and buildings, those two were the ones I found most delightful. The Gothic styled cathedral is said to be the third largest cathedral in the Christian world. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to visit the inside. We arrived there twice very late in the afternoon, close to the closing time, and for some reason could never find the entrance?! But viewing the structure from the outside was well worth it. We arrived late one of the days because one of the afternoons we had spend too much time snapping pictures of the Plaza de Espana. The Plaza de Espana was built for the Spanish-American exhibition of 1929. Despite that it was built fairly recent, I thought the plaza was a beautiful walk especially with its polychrome ceramic decorations. The bull ring located along Paseo Cristobal Colon is also something to look at if you never saw a bull ring before. And lastly, if you have time and like modern architecture like myself, walk over to the Metropol Parasol, a wooden structure about 450ft long and seven stories high located at La Encarnacion Square. The structure reminds me of a honeycombed waffled potato chip and is pretty cool to walk under!

Dining

In terms of dining, churros is the typical breakfast treat for the Spanish. They typically dip the churros into chocolate or coffee. We never tried it but I am sure it's greasy good! Plaza Nueva area is a good option for tourist to dine. There are plenty of restaurants there and good for people watching. Unfortunately, I can't remember this one amazing tapas place recommended by this local who sold these amazing Portuguese egg tarts near the vicinity of the Plaza Nueva! They served contemporary tapas and it was just tasty. We tried to locate the man from the tart shop again to thank him but couldn't find the narrow street where his store stood. If you so happen to find this tiny store that sells only Portuguese egg tarts, then ask him for dining recommendation and don't forget to try the tarts! Another great tapas place we liked was called Bar de Tapas Catalina located on Paseo Catalina de Ribera 4. Next door is Vineria de San Telmo, which was recommended to us by locals and the initial restaurant we wanted to try. However, it was packed and had another hour wait. But Bar de Tapas Catalina was just as spectacular too with cleverly made range of tapas. They had a goat cheese with dates dish that looked like a fried popsicle that was absolutely YUM YUM YUM! But I have to admit the sangria and my new favorite, Vino con Limon, are amazing in Spain. They are absolutely delicious and cheap! For someone like me who rarely drinks, I actually drank every day because I have never had sangria that tastes so refreshing and have never heard of mixing red wine with lemonade in NYC ever! NOTE: tipping at restaurants isn't required but normally people would leave their change or give one or two euros.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/catalina-sevilla
http://www.vineriasantelmo.com/index.php/en/


RONDA 

Ronda is a small charming city in the province of Malaga. Only two hours bus ride from Sevilla, Ronda is a good stop over if you were heading west to Granada. What attracted me to Ronda when I did my research were the images of the stunning cliff side city. Ronda is apparently one of the most ancient cities in Spain and sits on a plateau of a large rock outcropping. This city is known for its three bridges. The Puente Nuevo bridge splits the newer district from the old district and is the most popular of the three bridges. Most of the tourists are seen convening around there. Between the new and old district, we enjoyed walking around the old city more. You would see remains of prehistoric settlements dating back to the Neolithic Age and with the picturesque rural landscape of Spain, it is just gorgeous!

Hotel 
You can navigate Ronda by foot in one day. But it's also nice to stay for a night if you can spare. We stayed at the Hotel Acinipo, which is conveniently steps away from the Plaza de Toros (oldest bullring in Spain) and several blocks away from Puente Nuevo. The hotel was small but did it's job for one night so we had no complaints. The room was clean, simple, and modern. It was definitely at a great location and cost only $78 a night. Split between two people and it's at a cheap price. http://www.hotelaciniporonda.com/

Dining

Pionono yema y chocolate!

In terms of where to eat, our front desk suggested De Locos Tapas. According to tripadvisor, it is rated #1, so this place must be good! But the restaurant wasn't opened for dinner yet when we were there and we were starving so we ended up eating at Casa Mateos (http://casamateos.com/) and had our first vino con limon! After being introduced this drink here, it became our signature drink for the rest of our trip in Spain. I seldom drink but this was so good that I ordered it almost every day when I was in Spain! And finally, if you like sweets, there are two bakeries that I must mention and recommend! I always hear about these sweets made by nun's and how good they are. So by happenstance, we walked by La Casa del Dulce in the old town which sell these mantecada biscuits, a specialty based on almonds topped with sugar icing (Calle Tenorio 11). And near our hotel, there is a strip that runs several blocks where people can go shopping. And at this one courtyard, which you can't miss because you'll see all these restaurants, is a bakery that I believe is called La Yemas del Tajo. The lady at the shop recommended me their most popular dessert, which was this chocolate mango yema cake. Yema are normally these egg yolk cakes. This one was like a hybrid with some chocolate and mango jelly. It was DELICIOUS! My mouth is salivating just thinking about it.

View from old bridge.

Plaza de Toros - I got lucky and took a quick shot before people roam into view.

GRANADA

View of the Alhambra from Mirador de San Nicolas

Out of the three destinations that we've been, Granada would be my favorite. When people say you must visit the Alhambra, take it literally. The Alhambra, or the Red Castle, is one of the most fascinating and impressive monumental complexes that I have ever seen. What's remarkable to me about the Alhambra is the interior, the intricate designs of Arabic inscriptions that are woven into these geometrical patterns in the walls, floors, and ceilings. I was beyond impressed with the level of craftsmanship and the amount of time it had to take to create such detail on each tile and space. It was absolutely amazing but somewhat despairing as well knowing that we will never find such craftsmanship in our modern day architecture.

The Alhambra was originally constructed as a fortress in 889 and later converted into a royal palace in 1333. By the 13th and 14th centuries, the Alhambra was a palace, citadel, and the residence of the Moorish dignitaries and elites. In 1984, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The complex is divided into four different areas: the Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba or the military area, the Partal area, and the Generalife or garden area.

Alcazaba

Court of the Lions inside the Nasrid Palaces

I would highly recommend getting the tickets in advance if you want to visit the Nasrid Palaces.  They have restrictions on the number of people visiting this area and you are only allowed to enter that area depending the hour indicated on your ticket. If you do not visit the Palaces within the indicated hour, you will lose the right to visit this area, although you can visit the rest of the Monument. Do not forget that the visit to the Nasrid Palaces finishes an hour before the closing time, and it takes at least 30 minutes to tour the Nasrid Palaces, so you should visit the Generalife and the Alcazaba beforehand. Also you can visit the Alhambra complex either in the morning shift (8:30-2pm) or the night shift (2-6pm or 2-8pm depending on the months you're visiting). My friend and I paid a bit more by ordering the tickets through our hotel, picking the morning shift and the Nasrid Palaces ticket for 11am.

If you are following our schedule, it is advisable to get the tickets the day before because it's a 30mins walk to the entrance pavilion where visitors collect tickets. And then it's a 30mins walk back to the Alcazaba and Nasrid Palaces areas. Trust me, it doesn't sound necessary to get the tickets beforehand but if you wandered in from the entrance pavilion into the Gerneralife grounds, you'll most definitely end up taking pictures and embracing the beauty of the gardens that you'll end up rushing to the Nasrid Palaces and leaving not much time to visit other grounds before the 2pm deadline. SO, if you are following our schedule, 1) get the tickets the day before 2) start the visit by entering at the Puerta de la Justicia (Gate of Justice) and NOT by the entrance pavilion. From the Gate of Justice, you'll end up near the entrance to the Alcazaba so visit that place first. And then at 11am, (if you're ticket to Nasrid starts at 11am), head to the Nasrid Palaces which is next to the Alcazaba. 3) after that you can head to Generalife before 2pm. 4) then complete the rest of the complex that doesn't require passes.
http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp

After our visit to the Alhambra, we had enough time to walk to Mirador de San Nicolas and get a great view of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains. You can walk along Carrera Del Darro -> Paseo de Los Tristes -> turn left on Cuesta del Chapiz -> turn left on Carril de San Agustin -> and walk until you reach San Nicolas plaza. After taking some great pictures from that viewpoint, you can walk back along the CTA de San Gregorio street toward the Cathedral at Gran Via de Colon Street. There are some great bars and souvenir shops along the way.

Dining 
There are a few restaurants along Carrera Del Darro street towards Paseo del Padre Manjon, which faces the back of the Alhambra, which can be quite enjoyable during lunch or dinner times. Though the food at these outdoor seating areas was not something to rave about, dining with the Alhambra view at night can be very romantic! It's just a great hang out spot for people. Just be warn though that there will be spurts of local musicians performing and then approach you afterwards for some donations. At Paseo del padre Manjon, we also treated ourselves for a more pricey affair at Ruta del Azafran. Dinner here was good. Other places to eat would be south of the Cathedral area, near Plaza de Las Pasiegas and Plaza Bib-Rambla. There are quite a number of restaurants there as well. http://rutadelazafran.com/ 

Hotel
While at Granada, we stayed at Puerta de las Granadas. It's situated at a fabulous location because it was on the same street that leads you to the entrance of the Alhambra. It is also very close to the city center. The rooms are very small but it's not like you'll be in the hotel that much anyways. http://www.hotelpuertadelasgranadas.com/

View of Granada from the Alcazaba

Geometric patterns

Water fountain at the Generalife

 

Intricate ceilings at the Nasrid Palaces

San Diego Zoo

They say that if you are in San Diego, one of the must-dos is to go visit the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is actually quite nice and a great place to bring children. It's situated in the Balboa Park area so if going to the zoo is not your cup of tea, you can check out the nearby museums and gardens as well. Some of them were admission free.

In the past, I've always enjoyed my visits to zoos. This time, however, I felt my emotions slightly mixed. When I came upon the Colobus monkeys, I was very excited! I actually recognized them because I saw this species in Tanzania. They were raucous throughout our first night in the mountain. Thus, after seeing wildlife roaming around freely as they pleased in Tanzania, I couldn't help feeling sorry for these animals imprisoned behind the barb wired fences and glassed walls at the zoo. If you never seen animals in the wild, these prisoners would appear lifeless and unhappy in comparison. The Colobus monkey that I saw looked so sad. He wasn't even screaming. I really wanted to release him from his confined space and ship him back to Tanzania.

But of course in life, someone or something has to sacrifice. Without zoos, I would not be able to learn about some of the animals that I've never seen before and see them up close. At the San Diego Zoo, I saw a polar bear for the first time! Given the improbable chance that I would travel to a destination where I would see a polar bear in his own habitat, and the possibility that these bears might go extinct some day, I was extremely grateful for the zoo and its upkeep of this mammal. Seeing this beautiful white giant creature had truly made my day.

If you're in San Diego, do check out the zoo!

       

Part II: Safari in Tanzania

If you love the National Geographic channel like I do, then you will loooove seeing the real thing live! The only drawback is that you can't really get too close to the animals the way a camera lens can zoom in. But you will be able to drive up very close to the animals with no obstruction from fences or windows that you see at a zoo. At one point, I was literally 3ft away from a pride of lions! I really did have an urge to step out of the vehicle to curiously pet them. But that wasn't allowed by my driver. (Ha! I wonder why). So what's the next risky thing I could do? I stuck the entire half of my upper body out of the window. Yes, I know. It was not the brightest thing to do, but I wanted to take a photo and show people how close I was! And then... I lost my arm!!! Ha, just kidding! But in all seriousness, I really don't advise anyone doing what I did. Thinking back, if those lions were hungry, they could have easily jumped on me and pawed me out so fast that I would have been their Asian fusion meal for that day.

GAP Adventures
For my amazing safari adventure, my sister-in-law's cousin and I hired Gap Adventures. It was a 4 days tour that included a visit to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Mto wa Mbu, a Maasai village, and a delicious local Tanzanian meal. We were very fortunate to have the jeep all to ourselves and "Thomas" as our driver/guide throughout this journey. He was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his job. I actually think he was the 'predator' because throughout our search, he persistently wanted to hunt down the animals during the moments when we were weary. He was so good that at one point he stopped the jeep and told us to look. We scrutinized the vast savanna but didn't see a thing. As it turned out, Thomas wanted us to see an army of ants rushing about on the ground near the tires! How the heck did he see that while driving?!
www.gadventures.com

Personally, 4 days is the perfect number of days to see all that we saw. Though I would probably extend a few more days to glimpse more of the Tanzanian culture. But 3 days of watching the wildlife was enough for me. After a while, you see the same animals over and over again and can get superfluous. The concentration of wildlife at Serengeti and Ngorongoro basically allows one to see all the animals within the space of one-two hours. But perhaps, not that I enjoy watching gore but I acknowledge the survival of life, it might have been more exciting if we saw some predation or killing on this trip. Instead, the animals that we saw basically lounged around, gave us an aloof and indifferent eye, and as if they were thinking "not another group of pitiful aficionados."

Maasai

Though it took 1.5hrs from Moshi to Arusha and another 3.5hrs to Ngorongoro Crater, driving is a great way to see Tanzania. Arusha is about 5x more populated than Moshi, and hence, busier and more active. At Arusha, I saw the most beautiful purple foliage! I didn't even know tree leaves can be purple! And that astonished me. But then the drive from Arusha to Ngorongoro became even more foreign mostly savanna range lands with scattered Maasai villages. Wow, did I just go back in time?! I learned that the Maasai clan is a semi-nomadic tribe that has resisted assimilating into the modern world. The traditional Maasai people still wear their traditional red robes (shuka) and live in huts the way their ancestors lived hundred years ago. Maasai society is still strongly patriarchal in nature and polygamy is common. Women do most of the work. And the measure of a man's wealth depends on the number of cattle and children they have. Some boys as young as 12 still practice circumcision rituals to represent the transitioning of boyhood to 'junior warriors'. During the healing process they would wear black clothes and paint their faces in white. I tried to capture pictures of these boys but I had a crappy camera and they charge outrages amounts for a photo. At last, when we went to visit a Maasai family's home and tour their living space, I thought I had stepped inside one of the displays at the Natural Museum of History with a cast of people dressed in Maasai styled robes. But behold, these people were real Maasai and those huts were really their homes! It was amazing. So if you want to see how our ancestors probably lived centuries ago, then I highly recommend a visit to Africa. Heck, you must visit Africa! It's a beautiful continent. It's nothing that I have ever seen before and it's enlightening. And finally, let me tell you, the traditional dances that the Maasai women do appear so simple. But in contrary, I just couldn't bob my chest or shoulders the way they do! [Check out what I mean in my video under Videos].

Part I: My Kilimanjaro

Have you ever felt an urge to do something but didn't know why you want to do it? Well I did. Prior to going to Tanzania this past month, my colleagues and friends would look at me with skepticism when I told them that I wanted to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. After all, standing in front of them appears to be this gentle thin-framed somewhat fragile and soft specimen. "Mt. Kilimanjaro?! Wow! No kidding," they would say and continued to humor me with what they thought was my creative story. But quite frankly, even I often at times would entertain myself with my adventurous tale because, I too, didn't believe I would actually do it. But something keeps bestirring me from the inside to act upon this desire for the past few years. And I simply didn't understand why.

As a result, like any tasks that needs to be done, I started my planning of my trip to Tanzania. It began two years ago when I tried to entice my friends, my relatives, strangers, basically anyone, to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with me. Majority of the people responded with a definitive 'no'. I get it because who really wants to "work hard" during their vacation? But to me, hiking 6-7 hours a day for 9 days did not sound like hard work at all. It sounds therapeutic! And I get it because being unable to shower for 9 days sounds dreadfully stinky. But to reach to the top of the highest mountain in Africa sounds too irresistible that I am willing to forgo some beauty and cleansing! And why not go alone? Of course I can but I would much rather share the experience of such excitement with someone. Last year, I managed to find one friend and one cousin interested. I thought my adventure was finally brought to fruition. However, the plan quickly dematerialized after a few months of bluffing. I thought, perhaps, Mt. Kili was really a crazy fancy of mine after all.

Then one day during January of this year, a law of attraction happened. It turns out that my sister-in-law had two cousins and one of the cousin's wife were interested in climbing Mt. Kilimanajaro. We started communicating through emails and then we were booking our flights and tour operators, and then like instant magic, I was going to T-A-N-Z-A-N-I-A! Everything happened so fast and smoothly. The week before my departure, I still couldn't believe that I was heading to Africa.

Probably the best way for me to summarize my dream-came-true trip would be visually. (See under videos). But in short, I now understand why I had to hike Mt. Kili. I have always been inquisitive in understanding our journey of "life". Perhaps destiny had taken a role here. The moments I had at this mountain had finally shown me all the elements, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional, I had felt and seen all aspects of it there, and sometimes all three simultaneously! I came back down a different person. I have "grown" a little bit more. And what is most special to me is that it was at this mountain that I finally experienced what "free" and genuine "happiness" is like.

TUSKER TRAIL
A huge part of the joyous memory I had at Tanzania had to do with the people whom I met on this journey and choosing the right tour operator. There were 10 trekkers, including myself, hiking the Lemosho route. Amazingly, everyone of us got along very well. For our tour operator, we chose Tusker Trail. We had 44 porters and 3 guides escorting us. The 3 guides, Eliakim, Liberati, and Shabani, and an emergency porter, Godlisten, walked with us during the hike while the rest of the porters raced ahead to set up the next camp before we arrived. They all had a task and had done a spectacular job in ensuring our trip ran smoothly and successfully. (www.tusker.com)

Shabani, Godlisten, Eliakim, Liberati

On this trip, to my delightful surprise, I had built good friendships with a few of the crew members. There were Charles (Head Master of Camp), Regan (waiter), and Joseph (water boy). They shared with me details about their passion and hobbies. And then of course there were Eli, Libe, Shabi, and God. These guys were very entertaining and patient with me whenever I had an obstacle. I immediately came to love these four men and to this day still miss them terribly. They were the ones who helped our group to summit safely and successfully. Without their genuine care and support and Eliakim's great leadership, I'm unsure if I would have been able to step on the soils of the summit and participate a birthday celebration. (Yes, the Tusker crew threw a surprise birthday party for one of the trekkers whose birthday was on that day! How cool is that?!) Because I bonded so well with them, the only complaint I have about Tusker is their policy of not allowing their employees to keep in touch with the clients. (Um, how would Eddie Frank, the owner of Tusker, be able to meet his wife if he didn't get to keep in touch with her on their hike?) The point is, I have unfortunately lost a few new friends on this trip, which I'm very sad about.

Despite that one policy, Tusker is the tour operator one should use if one plans on hiking Mt. Kili. Comparing to most of the operators I saw on the mountain, Tusker had fairly sturdier and more reliable equipment. Moreover, the guides are very knowledgeable about the mountain and are medically certified. They do medical check up on the hikers twice a day to monitor our oxygen level and any health issues. They are probably one of the very few operators that carry a large supply of oxygen in case one needs it. There were instances where other tour operators would even ask Tusker for help! Furthermore, the food we ate was surprisingly delicious and yummy. None of the 10 trekkers had stomach issues. The two Tusker chefs are trained by the Culinary Institute of America and had concocted a variety of amazing treats for us. To this day, I'm still perplexed on how they managed to bake cakes and brownies at such cold weather conditions with the lack of kitchenware! In any rate, if you are thinking of hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tusker Trail is the right choice. They are slightly more expensive than most operators but given the uncertainty of the mountain's weather, it's better to be safe under trusting hands than sorry. And if you happen to get Eliakim, Liberati, and Shabani in your hike, then you got very lucky!

My fellow trek-mate Niki patiently wrote out the details of our hike. If you're interested, please read her blog! http://nikiharry.com/ 

RECOMMENDATIONS 
Prior to my hike, I did some research on how I should prepare for this trip. There were some useful information that I found on other webs, but this is an additional input from my experience. (This is assuming you are hiking/camping for 9 days).

• No need to bring a large day pack! I made that mistake and carried my Gregory 60 Deva, which  weighs 5lbs 8oz. I recommend going with a smaller and a lighter pack.
• Bring a bandana or a buff; something you can use to cover your face from the dust and the cold.
• As suggested from most websites, layering is key! A light gore-tex jacket is highly recommended. And a warm thick fleece pant that you can wear at night or under your hiking pants.
• Lots of wet wipes! And tissues. There will be some sniffles and possibly nose bleed which happened to me!
• Glad-lock plastic bags to store your things. The bags turn out to be quite handy keeping out the dust and condensation. It's also easier to see what you have in each bag when you need to pull an item out.
• No need to bring a book or a heavy journal book if you don't have to. The nights turned out to be too cold for me to want to pull my journal book out. I just wanted to get into my sleeping bag and go to sleep! 
• A solar charger. If you must be in touch with the outside world, there were certain points on the mountain that a few of my trek mates were able to text their family back at home.
• I brought my water filter but didn't even use it. Tusker provided filtered water for us. So make sure the operator you choose does that. But no need to think, just go with Tusker!
• If you have the option to buy waterproof vs. not, get the waterproof.
• Electrolyte or hydration tablets for your water. Extra boost of energy and hydration helps!
• Extra snacks for your guides. They will appreciate it!
• There are supermarkets in Moshi where you can purchase almost any toiletries. Just a fyi, in case you forgot to bring something along with you. It's Africa, but yes they do have modern supermarkets.
  

        

                    

Business Travel

Business-class seats

I stood with the economy-class passengers as we patiently waited for the booth attendant to announce which groups were allowed to board the plane. As always, I watched with envy as the first-class and business-class passengers pretentiously walk up to the front of the line. For a moment, silly me stood in line pondering how wonderful it would be if one day I could have that same privilege. Then with a quick glance at my ticket, I suddenly remember that I was traveling business today! What? I did not need to wait on line?!

I never thought a day like this would happen to me. I recently got a new job and my company was sending me abroad for training. So here I was sitting in the business-class section for the first time on the Cathay Pacific airline departing to Hong Kong. So this is one of the great perks that most corporate executives get. I must say, it is wonderful flying business class. I had complimentary access to the business lounge prior to boarding the flight. I did not have to purchase food or drinks, those comestibles were provided free of charge and I could take as many snacks as I wanted. And as I had briefly mentioned, I did not have to wait on line to board the plane. For the first time, I did not have to worry about getting on line earlier to ensure I get some space for my carry-on bag. And as soon as I sat down in my seat, a flight attendant came over to provide me refreshments and gave me a complimentary Agnes B. tote bag filled with cosmetic goodies. And in my seat area, there were two extra small flat surfaces for me to place my drink and tote without having to pull out the table. The seats were individually comparted providing private space, and with reclining and massaging buttons to amuse my comfort level. I can actually rest well by straightening out my seat into a bed! This was definitely better than asking for an exit seat!

Half hour into the flight, the flight attendant gave me a bottle of water and the menu for this journey. The menu for business class was extravagant.

This was my Brunch menu:
Starters: Mango energizer, fruit, fruit yogurt, assorted cereals.

Main course: (choose one of the 3 options)

* Scrambled egg ham roll, sauteed mushrooms, spinach and herb tomato

* Stir-fried noodles with Chinese chives, mushroom and assorted dim sum

* Seafood congee with steamed mushroom rice roll with imperial soy sauce

Bread basket and tea coffee

This was my Dinner menu:
                                                       Starters:

Pan-seared jumbo scallops

Pan-seared jumbo scallops with pesto and

Ratatouille Mesclun salad with grilled vegetables with olive oil and balsamic dressing

Main Course: (choose one of the 4 options)
* Stir-fried pawns w/ XO sauce with egg friend rice & mixed vegetables
* Pan-seared USDA Prime beef tenderloin with rosemary jus, potato gratin, stuffed eggplant & baby zucchini
* Grilled chicken with creamy polenta, asparagus & leeks
* Linguine pasta with truffle oil cream sauce, toasted pinenuts & baby zucchini.

Cheese & Dessert: (We actually get fresh cheese!)

Brie, Manchego, taleggio and Fresh seasonal fruit and Yogurt strawberry cake and Tea & Coffee

     

And of course, there are cocktails, aperitifs and snacks to choose from throughout the flight. It was fine dining at 35,000 feet altitude. Jumbo scallops on the plane? Really?! Boy, what do first-class passengers get?! Caviar? 

Breakfast served in my room.

Standard room at JW Marriot

    

In addition to flying business class, my company also provided me lodging for two weeks. I stayed at the JW Marriot Hotel at Admiralty Place and got upgraded to the executive level floors with full access to its executive lounge. I have to admit, it felt awesome every time I press the elevator button. Heads would turn and eyes glanced my way, all wondering who could that important woman be. So this is how it feels to be "special" or how wealthy people perhaps live. Never had I stayed in a luxury hotel for this many days. I think I can get use to this type of business travel. Needless to say, my first business trip was a terrific experience. 



Night view of Hong Kong



Aerial view of Hong Kong



Time Travel

The other day, I took a quick flight back to Hong Kong. I found myself wandering on one of the streets in Kowloon, near where I grew up. On this narrow street, all the buildings were either two or three stories tall. The weather was absolutely beautiful with clear blue sky and minimal clouds. On this street, I saw a woman, an older lady, and a two year old little girl climbing up a public stairway up to the roof top of a three storied amber-colored building. I decided to follow them from behind. The adults were chattering about immigration and family matters while simultaneously enjoying the amazing views of swaying river boats and Hong Kong skyscrapers across the water. The little girl with a pony tail clothed in her favorite deep blue velvet dress was left alone meandering around. Something soon was going to happen to the little one and I was going to prevent it. If I didn't, this little girl will forever be traumatized from this experience throughout her adult life. I knew because that little girl was me from the past.    

Now, wouldn't it be marvelous if we could travel back in time, or even into the future! I am currently reading an interesting book called Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Mr. Kaku is a renowned theoretical physicist. I rarely read such brainy scientific literature, but I couldn't help being intrigued about what Mr. Kaku had to say about teleportation and time machines. There are theories about black holes and wormholes, the latter being shortcuts between two places in the universe. Mr. Kaku further explained that if the universe rotates, and you were to go around the universe, you will come back before you left - hence, theoretical possibility of time travel. But the remarkable advances in science and technology over the years have now made teleportation actually possible?! Yes, you heard me right! According to Mr. Kaku, it's no longer science fiction but a science fact. Well, at the level of atoms that is. But simply the fact that it is possible, is incredible! Like Mr. Kaku said, "impossible" is often a relative term. Sometimes, I wonder if those extraterrestrial objects and aliens that some people claimed to have seen are our descendants on aircrafts from the future traveling back to our time to visit. I would like to believe it is feasible. We are constantly undergoing change. We used to look like monkeys. Maybe in the future we will look like creatures with thin bodies and colossal eyes. If we could believe that we can build planes to fly, I would like to believe that in the future we can build machines to take us back in time.

Time travel has always been an intriguing fantasy for me. If I can choose a point in time to travel, I would probably pick traveling back in time instead of the future. I want to leave room for some hope and anticipation in the future. Life would be uninteresting and pointless if I knew my destiny. I wouldn't need to use my brain or have any room for personal growth! But the past is a different story. I can revisit history, perhaps even going as far back as the dinosaur periods. I want to see how my ancestors lived and how they handle their daily activities that we now often take for granted. I want to help solve inexplicable myths and crime cases. I want to change some parts of my past and redo it all over again. For instance, preventing myself from touching some yellow viscid spit that day when I wore my favorite blue velvet dress! Yes, it was traumatic because I still remember it today! And heck, what we all probably desired most, I want to visit my younger parents and force them to purchase some stocks and real estate that had increased exponentially in value now! Haha. But I know situations and circumstances had to happen to lead us exactly where we are today. We can't change the past. But how cool it would be if I could check off "time travel" on my to-do list! That would definitely be an ultimate journey of a lifetime!