Greetings from Portugal!

Having arrived more than a week ago, it is already my last night in Lisbon. I leave for Porto, another seaside city further north in the country. With Valeria, we leave Porto and Portugal on Tuesday.

After all the initial setbacks (e.g. I missed my flight to Portugal from Germany and had to book another one leaving from Brussels), I wasn't sure if I would make it to Portugal. But reality and enthusiasm finally hit me when the plane was descending to this cloudless, dry land mass with sparse greenery and surrounded by aquamarine waters. It was quiet relief mixed with excitement meeting Valeria (my IMPALLA coursemate from Milan) and Henry (Ecuador) again at the entrance of the campsite in Quarteira, a family resort town in the southern region of Algarve. The campsite was well above expectations - it was walking distance from the beach and town centre which came to life at night (even after midnight) with food and souvenir stalls, tourists, street performances, and a small book fair.

The following day, we moved from Quarteira to Albuiera. Originally, the plan was to catch the next bus to Lagos (a beautiful bay in this Algarve region) but we missed that bus (what do you expect when you have an Italian, a Latino and a Malaysian?!). The historic old town centre of Albuiera is extremely chic with many English tourists. We saw more of the latter as we move westwards (where the more famous beaches are located). Also ubiquitous were the posters of young Madeleine McCann (the Scottish six-year old who mysteriously disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia La Luz in Lagos) found in many shops and public areas.

Fast forward and since Tuesday, we have been in Lisbon. Today, I visited the Maritime Museum. There was a world map with all the years and places "discovered" (I find this word so misleading simple because cities like Malacca have had centuries of foreign trade with the Arabs, Chinese and Indians before being "discovered") by the Portuguese next to the "Padrão dos Descobimentos", a monument commemorating the Golden Age of Discovery (15th to 16th century). I couldn't suppress my excitement of finding "Malaka" and "1511" on this erroneous map (which almost made Europe the size of Latin America), or "Praça da Malaka" (a disappointing small patch of grass with five trees and a bush), and "Praça de Mouzinho de Albuquerque" (the funny-name guy who conquered Malacca).

Henry couldn't understand my positive sentiments over the Portuguese (he prefers to spit at anything Spanish). I tried to explain my personal interest in history (this part of Malaysian history superbly introduced to me by Mr Chee) and the ways the world and its people are linked to one another. For example, I tried the local "pasteis de Belém" (cake of Belém) or what I've previously come to know as the "Portuguese egg (custard) tart" of Macau. Fancy that I know this from the Hong Kong style ones made in Malaysia, presumably copied from Portuguese Macau.

Deprived of good seafood during my stay in the Benelux region, I have been eating seafood nearly everyday. Cod fish (known locally, as "bacalhau") is the unofficial national food. Ironically, it is not fished locally, and is sold salted and preserved. While seafood is generally fresh and tasty, I was not impressed with the Portuguese chilli sauce, "piri piri" (think Nandos). Coffee is excellent and cheap (an expresso shot sold for a mere 50 cents - this is for Pa's information *wink* *wink*).

It has been really nice to be out, backpacking and travelling again. But I do admit that I will appreciate some peace and quiet in Maastricht when I return on Tuesday.

cheng