Positive change and honesty as a Dream...

Hostels in the big cities of Australia and New Zealand are currently home to many young people who are employed (in unskilled jobs) or who are looking for work.

These are the new immigrants who come mainly from some Asian countries and Latin America, as far as my experience has allowed me to ascertain.

Some of these young people have the soul of travelers and, among them, I met a young couple with curious dreams...

Emi dreams of the ability to generate positive impacts on people and Sofia's main goal is to remain honest with herself...

Beautifully formulated dreams...

On the sacred mountain of the Maori people...

In the beginning... the Prayer in the language of the Gods...

Then... the Song in Maori...

In the end... the Song of the Birds...

In the beginning... the Horizon limited by the Mountains...

On the way up... the Vision hidden by the Mist...

At the top... the White Universe...

On the way down... free from the Mist... the Multicoloured Landscape...

Lake Rotoaira appeared... and beyond... Lake Taupô... too...

In the end... the Tropical Forest!


At my request, guide Kenny allowed the recording of one of the songs:


Still on the subject of the Maori people...

The current queen of the Maori people (Nga Wai Hono) was appointed to succeed her father, as her two older brothers did not meet the requirements considered necessary to occupy the throne.

Although the position has normally been occupied by men, this is the second time that the Maori people have chosen a queen, with the first queen (Te tairangikaahu) having been appointed to position on an equal footing with Queen Victoria in negotiations with the British colonizers,.

Perhaps not everything has been properly resolved...

Traveling is necessary...

In the seclusion of Tongarinho National Park...

Two friends with vibrant laughter stood out in the silence of the Mountain...

It was a pleasure to meet them!

And I couldn't resist listening to their dreams: Katie Tooney and Grace Toniol - inseparable friends!

Auckland... Surrendered to its liquid component...

Wandering through the city towards the sea...

Wandering along the walkways of the Marina...

Enjoying a lazy lunch next to boats ...

Waiting for the light at the end of the day...

Surrendering to Auckland's liquid side!


Photos

The spell of the Trees...

In search of the blue of the Waihou River...

I stayed in Putaruru...

I lost a color...

I wan a palette: green, brown, gold and even crimson...

Some trees, partially or totally bare, displayed their shameless shapes...

Others displayed multi-colored foliage...

The shadow of the clouds added relief...

It was the end of an autumn afternoon...


Photos

Hobbiton - Day full of Fantasy...


I imagine Peter Jackson traveling through the beautiful New Zealand landscapes...

I can imagine his surprise when he found Alexander's farm...

Identifying it as the perfect place to materialize Tolkien's Universe...


How wonderful it was to travel through the bucolic county of Middle Earth...

The feeling of being able to cross paths with Frodo and Bilbo at any moment...


I didn't remember the plot, but the magical atmosphere of the Lord of the Rings is unforgettable!

It was a day full of fantasy!

(Movies watched with my son - teenage version)


Photos

Auckland... clear waters...

I surrendered to the clear color of its liquid component...

You can see the great love for boats, certainly inherited from the Maoris...

Photos

Draft / Australia

Similar to Asia, here are the main performance indicators for this country/continent:

·        I visited 5 cities and 2 islands during almost 1 month (around 6.316 km travelled);

·        I took 4 train journeys for an average cost of 59 € and 1 by plane for the sum of 115 € (the cost of travelling per km by plane is lower than its equivalent by train - 0.04 € versus 0.35 €);

·        I took 4 tours for an average cost of 75 €;

·        I attended a show for which the ticket cost 54 €;

·        I spent an average of 31 € per night in a hostel.

·        Visits to museums and exhibitions were free, although this is not always the case;

·        I used public buses with low prices and, whenever the driver did not have change, the journey was free.

As I was already tired of hamburgers and pizzas, whenever I had the opportunity I cooked or bought ready-made portions at prices similar to those in Portugal.

NOTE: The vendors were Indian and the sauces also followed their traditions...

The dematerialization of the word...

Since I couldn't bring physical books on this adventure, I bought my e-book reader...

I recognize the possibility of permanent reading...

BUT, it's not the same thing...

I miss the body/book...

The tactile and visual experience...

I miss the connection between hands...

The hug almost close to the heart...

I miss the permanent imbalance in weight distribution...

Only interrupted halfway through reading...

I miss the gentle fingering of the pages...

Mobilizing action of almost all senses...

I lack contact with the organic essence of the book...

I don't like words only existing between one click and another...

I don't like books corresponding to a line in the menu...

And I don't like statistics...

Reading is a pleasure!

Books are not ephemeral works!

And wandering through bookstores is almost always a fantastic adventure!

E.book reader - Only when travelling!

There will surely be alternatives to cutting down our precious forests...

(Concoctions during train journeys)

Back to Sydney...

In farewell mode...

I had a long breakfast on the terrace...

Ladies my age, with rugs in tow, were drinking their morning tea...

A sportsman was having breakfast with a book...

Teenagers were chatting happily between spoonfuls of their "porridge"...

An elderly couple was drinking coffee with milk and sharing a muffin...

The morning here is calm...

The terrace is located in an area bordering the center of Sydney...

Where the houses are reminiscent of Notting Hill, with added value due to the Art Nouveau-inspired balconies ...

Clique aqui


Great Ocean Road... The Greatest War Memorial!

Built by retired soldiers, it was dedicated to the soldiers who died during the First World War and it provides a connection between the cities of Torquay and Allansford (240 km).

Today, it is a pleasure to drive along its winding path along the sea...

After all ... the sea is such a great sculptor!

Photos

Melbourne - A Vibrant City...

A city crossed by the Yarra River with its serene banks...

With its remoteness... growing agitation...

The streets are predominantly Asian in layout...

Evidence of the pressure of emigration...

Last Saturday:

On one side of the river, a Korean festival was taking place magnificently... contagious joy...

On the other side, a rally against multiculturalism was taking place... worrying speech...

Signs of emerging tension...

But the city is Vibrant!


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Great Barrier Reef... With barriers...

The rough seas turned the trip from Cairns to Upolu Reef into an adventure worthy of Disneyland...

The boys and girls was thrilled with the jumps from the boat...

(I, as a precaution, put on my seatbelt...)

After about an hour of travel... the boat stopped in the middle of the high sea ...

A strong wind made the sea even more agitated...

Confident in the safety procedures, I jumped in too...

And it was indeed an extraordinary sight:

Corals of different shades and shapes:

Some looked like lettuce, others like mushrooms, others like stems stripped of leaves, others like small bushes, others like human brains...

There was movement among them... possibly due to the currents...

or, perhaps, respecting an unknown choreography...

Almost always in groups, coming and going from I don't know where, multicoloured fish busily crossed my gaze...

Electric blue... ... Silver with or without stripes... Yellow... Blue/Green whose colours faded as they moved...

I don't know their names, but I will never forget their shapes and colours...

Starfish rested gently on the flat surface of the reef...

All this was what I saw and didn't record during the breaks, and there were quite a few, when I raised my head to remove the water that, due to the surf and the wind, was blatantly entering my snorkel...

Of course I got an overdose of salt water!

But, it was worth it!

I'm just sharing with you a video of the reef, whose images are quite close to what I witnessed...

(I don't have a suitable camera for this purpose... Sorry!)


Note: In the video the sea was calm... If our adventure had been filmed, it would resemble scenes from the film "The Guardian" starring Kevin Costner...

Cairns... City kissed by the Sea...

Sea without waves... and fragmented...

Creates lunar space...

Habitation of flyers...

For people: Forbidden territory...

The Promenade, the bench and the pool remain entertainment valued...

Further away, the Rain Forest reminds us of what the Earth was like in ancient times...

Photos

Magnetic Island or Magic Island?

Guided by the famous Izzy's Dad (Netflix series Izzy's Koala World):

I met rock kangaroos…

I visited the Koala Clinic…

I explored forests…

And I dove into the serene sea…

I didn't find any turtles or dugongs…

But I did see MERMAIDS…

Among them, I chose the most beautiful one to share with you!

The island is not Magnetic… it is Magical…

PHOTOS


The Australian Dream...

There is symmetry in the distribution of the light-colored houses...

Pick-up trucks drive along the asphalt...

There is space for friendly greetings... (even for strangers like me)

Leafy gardens beautify these places...

Boats reveal the Greatest Love of their owners...

And the Sea is so close by...

There is time for contemplation...

Here... Life is good!


Photos

Skippy ... Skippy ... Skippy the Bush Kangaroo ...

In this place... 40,000 years ago...

They were much larger...

And they shared their habitat with Komodo dragons...

Separated by tectonic movements from their contemporaries,

Today, they live alongside humans, koalas...

And they correspond to the image I have of the late Skippy...


All this in the paradisiacal landscapes of the island of North Stradbroke...

Photos

Australia - Brisbane

The river gave it its name...

Man changed its structure...

A place where the new coexists with the old...

And the green was not forgotten...


Photos

Sydney Opera House... A masterpiece!

From a distance... they look like winged boats resting in the bay...

Up close... you can see a Conglomerate of Gigantic Shells...

Home to the most Precious Pearls of Humanity...

Singing... Music... Dance...

Happy are those who can delight in such arts...

(I had the opportunity to watch the classical dance show "Manon" and it was simply superb!)


Photos

Good morniiiiing... Sidneyyyyyyyy

A spacious city where...

The new and elegant buildings coexist harmoniously with the older ones...

The green parks are present...

The magnificent beaches are part of the neighborhood...

There is space... There is time....

And the people seem light-hearted...

In its plentiful streets...

No one says hello to me anymoreor asks for a photo...

No one calls me Madame, Mame or Máma anymore...

The smiles are reserved for the necessary interactions...

I feel sooooo... sooooo ... GOOOD!


Photos

Draft / Asia ...

It might be interesting to share some important negative aspects that I witnessed, as well as certain indicators related to the completion of this adventure.

Regarding the negative aspects, I would like to mention:

• Pseudo-amorous contacts between seniors from "rich" countries and young girls in Phnon Penh ... (including little hands on the legs of restaurant waitresses during lunchtime ...). In contrast, in Thailand, tourists were warned from the very beginning about the prohibition of prostitution ...

• City streets were generally not very clean and lacked effective maintenance;

• Natural paradises invaded, in an unharmonious way, by structures designed exclusively to satisfy the needs of tourists ...

• Unregulated traffic, making crossing it a permanent adventure!

(not applicable to Singapore)

And with regard to the performance indicators, I would like to mention that:

• I travelled through 5 countries and 1 city-state for about 3 months:

• I used 4 flights included in the BVM, which were complemented by 9 plane trips and 5 bus trips, whose average prices were, respectively, 109 € and 12 €;

• I took 11 tours with an average cost of 47 € each, in addition to another 2-day boat tour costing 172 € (whenever the places to be visited were outside the cities I used this system);

• I attended 4 shows with an average cost of 10 €;

• I spent an average of 10 € per night in a hotel/hostel and an equivalent amount per meal in a restaurant (this last figure is empirical).

Now that I'm in Sydney, where everything is different, I remember some happy moments from my trip that were fortunately recorded:

To be like me...


Their niqabs fluttered as they climbed the steps of the Entrance...

They looked like birds ready to take off...

I approached a small group... I would like to photograph them...

The answer, in perfect English, came in the form of a question:

Is it for publishing on the internet? Only if they allow it - I replied...

And not even the recording of the voice was authorized...

My interlocutor was a student of Islamic languages who remained nameless, ageless...

A voice coming from somewhere had abruptly cut off the communication...

All I learned was that she DREAMED of finishing her studies and teaching, traveling and...

BEING LIKE ME...

The next day, I returned to the National Library of Jakarta...

The shutters were closed... It was May Day...

... Perhaps there are secrets that will remain hidden....

Strolling through Jakarta...

Man dreamed...

The architect designed...

And the engineer embodied...

Giant geometric solids rose in the sky...

Habitation of the most privileged in Jakarta...

A place of contrasts, where May Day was celebrated by the underprivileged with sumptuous fanfare...

Everyone was smiling...

Some asked for photographs...


Photos

A quick visit to Nusa Penida...

In order not to question the satisfactory evolution of the remains of the small accident and in the time I had left in Bali, I only participated in a simple tour to one of the closest islands - Nusa Penida, where the tourist pressure subtracted the impact of the natural beauty of the island...

Here are some photos ...


Clique aqui

Now in Jakarta, more specifically at the National Library of Indonesia (a fantastic structure!), I remember plans to visit the Gili Islands and Sulawesi...

Maybe I'll go back one day...

Galungan/Kuningan... Speechless...


The calendar indicates Kuningan...

No one has been able to explain its meaning...

But, you know that:

It is time to decorate the entrances...

It is time to feed the gods...

It is time to engrave the symbol of Good Luck/Well-Being on the skin...

It is time to celebrate with families...

It is time to parade along the beaches...

There is joy for everyone!

Photos

Adventures that happen... And Islands... There are Many!



The Komodo dragon was the reason for the mini cruise I took from Buan Bejo to the island of Flores, which was once ours...

The traditional boat offered the minimum comfort expected...


The trip went well, although from the beginning I realized that the safety rules were not the best, considering European standards...

When, on the way back, the sea became rough and the waves grew to an almost frightening size...

I left the upper part of the boat that I had adopted as my habitat and went to the place I considered safest, i.e., next to the control cabin...

The waves were relentless and a large sailboat that had been rescued by our boat was leaning dangerously towards us...

Fortunately, it was safely delivered to another boat somewhere in the rough sea...

I admired the skill of two precocious sailors who, in a very fragile little boat and with only the help of ropes (for me they were ropes, not cables), unhitched and hitched the sailboat to one and the other boat...

Fantastic!

I remained seated on one of the benches next to the captain, because the storm was relentless...

And then a larger wave threw me (and the heavy bench I was holding onto) onto the table in front of me...

The pain was intense and prevented me from immediately responding to the guide, who, in a flash, appeared to ask how I was doing and recommend that I go to the cabin...

Damn! It's basic: On boats, equipment must be secure, especially when the sea is not flat!

For the remaining 3 hours of the trip, I remained lying down in the cabin, avoiding movement and, above all, taking deep breaths...

After being hauled off the boat in excruciating pain, I went to the local hospital, where a kind doctor treated me very well!

(interesting fact: the young doctor asked me beforehand about the possibility of being assisted by a nurse men ...)

Thank the gods, nothing was broken! Only 3 days of pain was predicted...

The deadline has passed and the pain has reduced significantly... but, as a precaution, I have abandoned the plan to visit Suwali Island...

I will be relaxing in Bali ...


I also plan to visit other islands in the vicinity of this one...

After all, around here: Islands... There are many!

On the dragon trail...


For Two Days...

A Sea was my Land and a Boat my Home...

Between Night and Day, the landscape was colored purple...

It was the call of the Mountain...

With the light of the Sun, the velvety islands paraded gently, always different in their similarity...

It was the incentive to the Silence of the Coves...

It was the invitation to Dive into the warm Turquoise Green Waters...

On the night horizon, the bright points confused me:

Were they Boats that were Flying? Or Stars that were Floating?

The waves entrusted me to the World of Dreams...

It was the place of pink sands...

It was the place of summer deer...

It was the place of frightening dragons...

Those fantastic lizards that have been carrying chromosomal information since time immemorial...

It wasn't a Dream, it was Reality...

And, arriving at the starting point, on a Sunday morning...

The boys and girls played in a different way...

That will also be the Future of our Tomorrow...

Fortunately, there was a smile in their eyes...

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Sweet Easter!


I wish you a super peaceful Sunday with your family and/or friends!

May it be a day full of good memories!

Big kiss from Bali (this time Easter will be different...)

And I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the direct and indirect feedback I received!

Bali... much more...


In addition to its pleasant beaches, Bali is full of spirituality...

And despite the isolation to which the island was subjected for countless years, today it reflects cosmopolitanism thanks to the tourists from all over the world who visit it...

Fortunately, the villagers of Penglipuran no longer need to live in windowless houses made of bamboo... They have been preserved and support several shops!

Photos

Some Ancestral Rituals...


Legend has it that a prince found the fragrant tree (Taru Menyan) and, falling in love with a local villager, decided to found a kingdom there...

Today, the Bali Aga people claim this origin and, isolated by the Kintamani mountain and Lake Batur, maintain some ancestral customs...

Whenever one of their members completes their life cycle, they are covered in a white cloak and placed in a prism-shaped bamboo frame that is left in one of the 11 available places next to the Taru Menyan tree... (in addition to 1 place reserved only for the chiefs of the tribe)

This is the Terunyan cemetery, one of the 3 of this people...

The others are reserved for their members who died young or by accident, i.e., without completing their life cycle (e.g. without marriage) ...

(Scientists claim that the absence of bad smell in the cemetery cannot be explained solely by the scent of the Taru Menyan.)

Photos

On the road ...


Nature offers Earth and Water...

Man manages the portions...

When Earth is scarce, Man conquers the Mountain...

When Water is excessive, Man redistributes it...

The fields become lakes...

And the Earth, grateful, reflects the Sky...


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On the Island of More Than a Thousand Temples...


Bali is home to the Hindu minority of the Indonesian people, and given that in every home there is a temple used for family ceremonies (e.g. weddings), it is easy to understand the estimate of the number of temples/shrines on the island: around 20 thousand!

I would like to highlight the temples of Kehen (near Ubud) and Pura Dalem (Ubud), where, in one, I found the symbol that, in Sanskrit, svtika, means "Good Luck"/"Well-being" and, in the other, I attended two night shows (Kerta and Kecak/fire dance).


Ver Fotos

Bali... over here...


Depois de alguns mergulhos reparadores no mar cálido de Kuta, rumei a Urub, onde fiquei no paraíso:



A day in the company of a guide who dreamed of the past...


Dharma, an ageless man, was the result of an arranged marriage between his grandparents who belonged to the 6th generation of a family from the island of Java...

He married by his own decision and has 3 daughters...

This guide told us many things about the places visited and about current Balinese society, among which I would like to highlight the following:

Marriages are freely chosen, but after marriage, the newlyweds go to live with the boy's family;

A man may marry a second time, as long as his first wife expresses her consent (in writing, I asked for such confirmation...);

All children must go to school for several years.

Answering the question about how the arranged marriages of previous generations worked, he said that at that time there was no TV or internet... people only knew the reality of their villages...

And when asked about his dreams/desires (I was afraid that the language might betray the objective of the question given the first answer obtained), he said that he has no dreams for the future, that he only dreams about the past...

Because if he dreamed about the future, he would run the risk of being disappointed whenever reality diverged from the dream...

The past is more important, because it determines the present...

After all, it is so simple...

(Dharma, as a Hindu, believes in the existence of a single God who presents himself in different forms, as well as in reincarnation, stating that a human being may come to be reincarnated as an animal or even a tree... it will depend on his conduct...)

On the way to the Domes...

Parts of everyday life spill over into the narrow streets of the less privileged neighborhoods...

Among the overlapping roofs, minarets and domes of multiple colors and shapes rise up...

It is life marked by religion... Or religion marking Life...


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Next of the hijabs...


Beautiful waves frame the feminine faces of complacent empathy...

They say they grow up dreaming about using them...

On the balcony of a house, children of different ages wait patiently for their meal...

A silhouette of a busy woman does not notice my approach...

I gesture to one of the children to ask for my permission to record such a unique daily life...

The child, with some concern, questions the woman, who promptly gives me a NO...

The woman has seriously damaged eyesight...

Disturbed, I thank her silently...


Back at the accommodation, a poster had been altered... only in the image of the woman...


And in the accommodation, a young non-native traveler wears a hijab...

A strange pillow hanging from her backpack is in disrepair...

You will stay in the room that had been mine...


Stories that remained unknown...

The Earth offering the Heavens...


With the increasing light of the sun, Bromo, Seremu and Batok gain color, shape and volume...

The effluvia of Bromo and Seremu rise gently and metamorphose into clouds...

It is the Earth offering to the Heavens...

The ancients say that there are Angels within it...

Clique aqui

In the Yogyakarta Sultanate...


A place of war and power games...

Time of Sultanate and Principality...

Reorganized sovereignties: Special Region of Yogyakarta!

Sultan Hamengkubuwono X (crowned on 03.10.1998) lives in the Royal Palace / Kraton, part of a complex built according to Javanese architectural lines and in order to protect the daily life of the court...

Of course I did not meet the sultan, nor any other member of the royal family...

All that remains is the record of one of his humble servants...

On 05.05.2015 the sultan renamed Princess Mangkubumi as Mangkubumi Hamemayu Hayuning Bawana Langgeng ing Mataram, which places her in line to inherit the title! Until now, this possibility was forbidden to women!


Photos

Yogyakarta - A city surrounded by temples...

After a particularly dull Jakarta, I headed to Yogyakarta by bus on a predictable 6-hour journey, but it took about 16 hours... It was worth having Jenny and 2 other young Dutch people with me, otherwise it would have been terrifying...

Here, temples are kings and the Borobudur/Prambadan duo did not disappoint...

Morning coffee on Setumbo Hill was a majestic experience...

I was the only participant on the tour...

Photos

All children of the same father/mother...


For 06.05.1889 (Great Universal Exhibition in Paris) a series of portraits were painted referring to the numerous ethnic groups existing at the time in Indonesia ("The first on Earth") and, on 27.03.2025, I was linked, at the National Museum of Jakarta, to the Minangkabau tribe (54%, i.e., it did not reach 100% ...)



The tribe would certainly not find their Queen of Java funny:

Singapore - Side B...

I arrived at Singapore airport with the usual time in advance:

The soft sound of a piano stood out over the refreshing melody coming from its imposing waterfall...

Without ordinary souvenir shops, Giant Monitors, assisted by assistants, provided all the necessary information...

A Brave New World!

Having identified the area for my check-in,  where I was unable to complete the process...

So, one of the flight attendants, smiling and politely repeating "no problem", directed me to a counter not immediately visible, where I was handed over to another flight attendant...

The latter, with her face framed by her hijab and without smile, identified the problem: I had a flight out of Indonesia scheduled for a date after the deadline for entry visas!

Calmly and with a smile reflecting the previous service, I explained that it was possible to request an extension, as clarified by the Embassy...

Not convinced about this possibility (she refused to read the explanatory emails I was carrying), she decided to consult someone else, leaving her workstation with a frantic step and holding my passport in her hand, the color of which stood out against her shapeless brown tunic ...

She returned, after a while, calmed down (perhaps not convinced) and completed my check-in, not failing to warn me strongly that from that moment on I would be at my own risk...

This incident took me back to thoughts I had during my brief stay in the cosmopolitan city I had left behind...

Surrendering to Side A of Singapore for its lightness and order, I relegated the Invisibles …

All Those who do not live in the beautiful and imposing buildings, who do not frequent the luxurious shopping malls and who perform all the essential but less appealing work for the functioning of the "miracle" of Singapore...

Finally, All Those who, on their weekly rest day, picnic on the asphalt...


NOTE: I am already on the island of Java where Muslim women have been very friendly, such as the duo Ami & Dw

Singapore - A lesson in architecture...

The buildings rise elegantly into the sky...

The contemporary coexists harmoniously with the well-kept old...

There is space and time for sustainability and multiplicity...

The planning was thoughtful!

There was vision and imagination: Marina Bay Sands - supreme admiration!


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Hanoi - Time to say goodbye...

I say goodbye to a city that, despite the daily challenges of crossing the streets (I even honked at a distracted driver...), transmits a special tranquility... perhaps because of its restful lakes... perhaps because of the sweetness of its inhabitants... perhaps because of all of this and much more...

After all, Hanoi is a vibrant and charming city! A place where it feels good to linger...

I leave a photo of offerings to the gods at the Quan Thanh temple:


PS: there was also another type of offering...


The magic of Ha Long Bay...


The fog reduces the resolution of the landscape...

The reliefs become diffuse and the Universe becomes Unicolor...

The boats glide towards their destinations...

There is enchantment in Ha Long Bay...


Photos

Luon Cave / Ha Long Bay

Hanoi - A city of contrasts...

Traditional vendors walk the streets...

Girls dressed in tulle take photos...

A military groom is tender towards his beautiful bride...


Photos

Words - what for?


Photos

In Vietnam... Being Vietnamese...

By force of circumstances... I would say!

I had signed up for a cruise around Ha Long Bay, and the operator was supposed to pick me up at my accommodation....

As the bus was big, so a man came to pick me up on a:

That's right, it was on this motorbike that the man who called me MAME took me to the bus to head to Ha Long Bay!

Ninh Binh... slide down the river and climb the mountain...

Territory of disunited mountains surrounded by the Red River ...

A brown river... nutrient for the soil... food for men...

Sliding through the waters is like entering the intimacy of the mountains...

Illuminated stalactites and lost temples are revealed...

Climbing the mountain... reaching the watchful dragon of the ancient capital of Vietnam...

A perfect setting for King Kong - Skull Island!

And even at the top of Mount Mua we found someone dressed up... Honestly, I thought the boyfriend wanted to check the photos ... but the result was this:


Of course, if I had known, I would have also worn a headdress to hide my messy hair... Sorry!


Photos

Vietnam ... Again ...

It's no mistake, the return to Hanoi was the result of that it was not possible to include the tour of Cambodia and Laos in the Round the World ticket!

So I took the opportunity to take a few more trips around the city and beyond...

I would like to highlight the balloons and umbrellas of the imperial citadel of Thang Long, the boy/teenager participating (I would say rebellious...) in a ceremony at the Vu Thach Pagoda ... and also the Hoan Kien Lake where people stroll peacefully... and where I like to have lunch...


Photos

Loose Tales -Delicacy in poverty ...

After a day in the imperial city, hungry but not wanting to question a late dinner, I decided to look for a banana seller who was always at the market after hours…

She was an ageless woman who was showing off huge bunches of green bananas, so I asked her if she could possibly sell me 2 ripe bananas… She replied, with gestures, that she didn’t have any…

As I was getting ready to leave, the woman, also using gestures, asked me to wait a little… She got up and went to get 2 pleasantly bananas that were in the back…

Of course I offered to get them, asking, using gestures, how much they would cost…

The saleswoman, again using gestures, said that they were free and that she would get me a bag (plastic… it’s part of this part of the world) so that I wouldn’t get dirty, emphasizing, using gestures, that her hands were dirty and I was clean…

I was very touched by her attitude and decided to make it up to her with a cake I had bought from a shop similar to a bakery that was nearby… When I offered her the cake as a way of paying for the precious bananas, I received a big smile in return…

And it was in a ceremonious way that we said goodbye…

Thinking about it: I should have bought 2 cakes… I ended up with a deficit… Anyway, not everything is perfect!

And you might ask: How can I be sure that the dialogue developed in sign language will be translated correctly? Well, I’m not sure, but I believe that the heart is the best way to read people’s attitudes…

Hué / Vietnam, on 15.02.2025.