Viajar é mais que cultura e boas fotos. / Travelling is more than culture and nice pictures.

Continuando com o tema "viagem", gostaria de falar sobre coisas que a gente aprende por esse mundão-de-meu-Deus que são de caráter mais particular, individual. Não estão nos guias turísticos. São as experiências que marcam e nos mostram perspectivas e ângulos diferentes de situações conhecidas e até mesmo situações novas. Cada viajante as sente de um jeito. E aprende com elas. Eu aprendi muito com elas!


O que consegui aprender de mais legal em viagens, longas e curtas, foram duas coisas. Duas coisas que me mostraram claramente algo que considero muito importante para nosso crescimento moral e ético:

Coisa Legal #1: preciso de muito menos do que tenho pra viver bem e feliz.

Em 2007, fiz uma viagem de dez dias na qual minha mala foi extraviada e tive que me virar sem "as minhas coisas" durante todos os dez dias! Presentes que havia comprado pra amigos que fui visitar tiveram que ser substituídos por abraços ternos. Não tinha meu precioso secador e usei o cabelo preso durante grande parte do tempo. Comprei algumas peças de vestuário como uma calcinha, um par de sandálias e um vestidinho simples, já que as roupas de calor estavam na mala e eu usava botas de cano longo e jaqueta de couro quando saí de casa!

Em 2010, uma amiga que viajou comigo até comentou que invejava a minha capacidade de sair pra uma viagem de 5 dias apenas com uma malinha de mão! Aprendi! E não passei apertado! ;-)


E, instintivamente, comecei a viver dessa maneira, tendo mais critério na hora de comprar coisas e a sentir menos falta de dez cores diferentes de batom na necessaire!


Coisa Legal #2: tolerância!
Quando a gente vai pra um lugar diferente, provavelmente, vai encontrar gente diferente, comida diferente, às vezes, até língua diferente. Sem falar nos costumes. E nem todos os viajantes têm paciência em aceitar tais diferenças, nem que seja somente por uns dias. Em algumas situações, até fazem chacota do pessoal local.
Eu sempre tentei ser compreensiva com os costumes locais, do lugar onde estou de visita, e me adequar à situação momentânea, pra aproveitar a experiência. Até incorporei o hábito de tomar chá, depois de um tempo em Cingapura e aprendi a apreciar comida apimentada, depois de algumas idas à Índia. Mas, o que mais gostei de aprender sobre ser tolerante, nessas minhas viagens, foi com a comunicação em línguas diferentes. O que realmente importa é a comunicação, de uma forma educada, mesmo que a gramática não seja perfeita, seja lá em que língua for a conversa. Mas, vi muito brasileiro zombar de alguém por não falar um inglês imaculado...!


Acho que por causa das dificuldades que um viajante passa, em determinadas situações, e sobrevive a elas, lhe dá a chance de aprender a ser mais humilde e aceitar que coisas, pessoas, costumes e situações, mesmo que diferentes de seu cotidiano confortável, podem também funcionar perfeitamente, em harmonia com a gente local e, quiçá, até com ele mesmo! Se ele se permitir aproveitar a experiência plenamente!


E você? O que aprendeu de mais legal em suas viagens? Aquilo que não está nos livros ou que mudou sua forma de encarar certas situações. :-)

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Travelling is more than culture and nice pictures.

Continuing with the theme "travelling", I would like to talk about things we learn from the world which are of a more particular and individual matter. They are not in tourist guidebooks. They are experiences that mark and show us different perspectives and angles of familiar situations and even new situations. Every traveler feels them in a particular way. And learn from them. I learned a lot from them!

The coolest things I could learn on my trips, long and short, were two. Two things that clearly showed me something I consider very important to our moral and ethical growth:

Cool Thing # 1: I need a lot less than I have to live well and happy.In 2007 I made a trip of ten days on which my luggage was lost and I had to cope without "my stuff" during all ten days! Gifts I had bought for friends I went to visit had to be replaced by warm hugs. I didn´t have my precious hair drier and kept my hair tied for most of the time. I bought a few pieces of clothing as underwear, a pair of sandals and a simple dress, since the summer clothes were in the bag and I wore long boots and leather jacket when I left home!
In 2010, a friend who traveled with me even commented that she envied my ability to go out on a 5-day trip with only a small carry on bag! I learned! And didn´t have a problem! ;-)

And instinctively, I began to live that way, having more discretion when buying things and regretting less not having ten different colors of lipstick in my necessaire!

Cool Thing # 2: tolerance!
When we go to a different place, probably will find many different people, different food, sometimes even different language. Not to mention the customs. And not all travelers have the patience to accept those differences, even if it is only for a few days. In some situations, even mocking the local people.

I always tried to be sympathetic to local customs, the place where I am visiting, and I adapt to the momentary situation, to enjoy the experience. I´ve introduced the habit of drinking tea, after a while in Singapore and learned to appreciate spicy food, after a few trips to India. But what I liked most to learn about being tolerant, on my travels, was with communicating in different languages. What really matters is communication in a polite way, even if the grammar is not perfect, whatever the language the conversation is. But I saw many Brazilian mocking someone for not speaking immaculate English...!

I think because of the difficulties that a traveler goes through in certain situations, and gets over them, gives him/her the chance to learn to be more humble and accept that things, people, customs and situations, even if different from his/her comfortable everyday life, can also work perfectly in harmony with the local people, and perhaps even to himself/herself! If he/she does allow himself/herself to fully enjoy the experience!

What about you? What did you learn the coolest on your travels? That that is not in books or that changed your way of looking at certain situations. :-)

Is it FUN or BORING?

It is a state of mind, my friend!! I think you will agree with me that something can be lots of fun for some people and, at the same time, appear sooooo boring to others. Exactly the same thing, in the same position, under the same sky!! Whatever the thing is: color, song, movie, place, pet, dish, conversation, work... whatever! To satisfy all senses of all people around, is impossible. I dare to go straight to "impossible" instead of being euphemistic by suggesting the existance of anything with the magical power of praising all beings on Earth! Hu-hu! There's no such a thing!

The best example I have to illustrate my point is Singapore! This small tropical city-state island in the South Eastern Asia. When I moved to live in Singapore, three years ago, the locals, my new friends, asked me how long I intended to stay, predicting a short stay because they "knew" I would, very soon, get bored from Singapore!! Hehehe... They couldn't be more wrong! I love Singapore!

The city itself is not too big, only around 700km2, but with over 5 millions residents, the first thing you learn about living in Singapore is that "there will be a queue"!! Sometimes, it gets to your nerves, but, if you simply accept the fact and relax, you might even have the chance to engage in a nice chat! But, when you're waiting for your turn to order a good meal for only USD 5 or don't have to worry about muggers assaulting you before you catch a cab home after great clubbing with your friends, it is not the end of the world to spend a few minutes in the queue, right?

The city is vibrant, crowded, noisy. Also, extremely clean, organized and safe. Not to mention the greenery that covers the whole city, with no exception, like a huge garden.

But, none of these make it boring or fun! What makes it boring is if you see not more than shopping malls and hawker centres as available attractions! Although, these places can be much fun too... but, what people use to tell me is that you get fed up of them quickly. I think it is right. If you spend years, or your whole life, going to shopping malls and coffee shops ONLY, of course you will start to want something more from life!

In that case, one should have a walk at Chinatown and visit the new Buddhist Temple and its museum that tells the story of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) and has free entry! All around, there are good eateries and shops of all kinda stuff.

Then, you could try Little India, the Indian neighbourhood, where you meet them, the Indians residing here, shopping for groceries. You'll find colorful saris and bindis, all 'bery cheap', as they say... it feels like a flash trip all the way to India!
A lazy stroll at Marina Bay, in the dusk, accompanied by your camera, will keep you busy for, at least, a couple of hours: Merlion Park, the stunning three towers skyscraper Marina Bay Sands Resort, The Esplanade Theaters On The Bay with its peculiar 'durian' shaped structure, the floating platform, The Helix bridge, Singapore Flyer... actually, you will need quite a number of visits to see everything. Plus, the happenings round there, plus the cafés and restaurants!

The museums... ah, the museums... are great in Singapore: The National Museum, The Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore Art Museum, and a good number of others, showcasing all cultures blended in this city (Peranakan, Indian, war, philately, toys, science etc etc).
For a little fantasy, a visit to the 'dreamland' of Singapore: Sentosa island and the Universal Studios theme park and its resorts and casino. Beautiful beaches, nice eateries, great attractions for the kids. A good getaway for all ages and budgets! Five minutes away from Singapore!! Only the way there itself can be good fun: cablecar or fast monorail train or even walk along the causeway that connects both islands. But, of course, you can simply take the bus, taxi or drive there.
To hang out after work and enjoy the good dining and wining and clubbing, again, plenty of options. Saint James Power Station, Chijmes, Clarke Quay, Dempsey Hill, Emerald Hill Road offer restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs for all tastes. As well as fine dining that you find at Equinox Complex at the 70th floor of Swissotel The Stamford, Jewel Box, Sentosa island. Many celebrity chefs bear an outlet in Singapore. To name a few: Daniel Boulud, Testsuya Wakuda, Guy Savoy and local flavor Justin Quek with his Sky on 57, at the top of Marina Bay Sands Resort.
If your thing is cultural entertainment, you have it! The cultural scene in Singapore is very vibrant and big productions are, more and more, making a 'stopover' here! All year round, you can find good plays, musicals, concerts etc on, daily. This week, we had Taylor Swift, next week, Eric Clapton, then Carlos Santana and Michael Bublé. A couple of friends of mine can't wait to see The Lion King, in the first week of March. Ok, there will be also Chippendales performing soon, but, nothing is perfect... sory, ah...
Out of the touristic box, it is easy to find anything else to do. You like sports? Try shooting, football, skating, golf, rowing, water skying, swimming, tennis. There's dozens of nicely structured parks for jogging. Looking for improving your professional skills or engaging in a new hobby? Enroll now for lessons of languages, cooking, all styles dancing, all musical instruments playing, painting, yoga, photography, mahjong, art crafts, acting, feng shui, etiquette etc etc etc

But, we can't forget that Singapore is, yeah, indeed, a great place for SHOPPING! Yaay!! All big and fancy brands are present. Sometimes, with better prices than in other parts of the world. If you are looking for some splurging, head Orchard Road, the chic shopping venue.

Some shooping malls are quite an attraction themselves, such as ION Orchard and Orchard Central with their ultra-modern façades. VivoCity is a whole town of meandering alleys and a huge playground on the roof!
I love the possibility of sampling so many different cultures, straight from the natives, a sort of close encounter of the third kind!, without needing to travel. Living in Singapore, you can do a specific culture every day. Besides Chinese (Chinatown), Indian (Little India), you can try Filipino, at Lucky Plaza, specially on Sunday afternoons, Myanma, at Peninsula Plaza. The Malay community is settled all over Singapore, but you see it better highlighted at Paya Lebar, where you can also learn a bit about islamic customs.
And let's not forget the Zoo with its fun Night Safari, the Jurong Bird Park, Wild Wild Wet... also the spas and all kinds of human beings pampering businesses! And Formula 1 Grand Prix at night, e v e r y  y e a r!
It is a whole world of experiences right there, across the street, within the reach of your arm, just waiting for you! So, stand up and let Singapore mesmerize your senses! :-D

Now, tell me: is it FUN or BORING?