Ana Moura, Esplanade, Singapura
Memória: Fado. Não há muito mais a dizer. Para um emigrante, o significado de fado fora de portas só tem paralelo em bacalhau, Marco Paulo e chouriço. Quanto ao concerto, estupendo. A guitarra portuguesa em muito boas mãos, e eu com uma lágrima.
18/20

Ana Moura, Esplanade, Singapore
Memories: Fado. Needless to say, for a portuguese emigrant, the meaning of Fado music overseas is only comparable to our cod fish, corny musicians and salami sausage. As for the concert, fantastic. The portuguese guitar in great hands, and a tear in my eye.

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Dubai

After 9 months in Singapore, it was time to go back home and say hi to the family. I was missing them dearly, after a year of intense work and little travelling.
I thought of making the trip a little more interesting, and give my travel bug something to chew on. So I got myself a stop over in Dubai, to finally see what the buzz is all about.

Fernando, my Argentinean River Plate hincha was the perfect host! I got to see most of what Dubai is, and couldn't help feeling it like those rich spoiled detestable kids with bankrupt socialite parents. At least they have some seriously good looking architecture to show for it.

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Thrilla in Manila

I never thought one day I would step foot on the Philippines. But life is unpredictable, and now an ongoing project takes me there every month. This video is a collection of clips from my very first visit to Manila, and no doubt, the most eventful one.

I took a number of different transport modes, fell in love with a thing called Jeepney and air raided a Vietnamese village. In 3 words: THRILLA IN MANILA!

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The Office

The average person spends more time working than doing any other activity. That's especially truth in my office. Some of my colleagues have all but moved in, and my reputation as a slacker grows. I tend to limit my daily average to 9.5 hours. So lazy of me...

Being away from my family and long time friends, the office tends to become the closest thing to family. I certainly have found some good friends there. This video is my little take on work and job, related trips and all odds and sods through these floydean eyes.

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Java - Land of the "bad guys"

My first true contact with Southeast Asia's culture was Indonesia. I wanted to make Indonesia my first experience of the real Asia, away from Singapore's "clean and safe" bubble. There were personal reasons behind this choice.

The experience was beyond my best expectations. Ancient architecture, archeology, mountain climbing, and most of all, extraordinarily friendly people made it an unforgettable voyage. Check out the video of INDOCHINA Episode 003 to see what I mean.

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The year of the Tiger

Integration to any alien culture is a progressive process. Singapore is no exception. It started roughly. Jet lag kills me. New year's eve went by like an out of body experience.

Soon after I started to see the sights. And what sights. This place is beautiful! (although I guess I can find beautiness anywhere. Its always there).
During the week I'm an architect. During the weekend I'm an explorer. Still, I've been living a quiet life. Relaxation above all. My pool and my bicycle are great companions, as is my Liverpoolmaniac flatmate.

Southeast Asia is a fascinating region, and Singapore is the melting pot. Everyone is here. The malay, the chinese, the Philippinos, Indians, Indonesians, vietnamese, you name it. There is one thing they all celebrate: CHINESE NEW YEAR! (even the indians and the portuguese join in for the party)
Come discover a bit about this fascinating event on the second chapter of my INDOCHINA videos.

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In the back seat

I've been going to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, on a regular basis, due to frequent project meetings. It's a short flight and a long taxi journey to the hotel. The other day I was looking around the taxi and it had a few stickers.
One said: "No food". Ok, fair enough, I thought. People could make a mess out of this back seat with a cup of noodles.
Another sticker said: "No smoking". Damn right! This cab is right up my alley. Nice clean environment and only the possible smell of curry if he's from India.

The last sticker said: "No kissing". Now HANG ON! What the fuck?! Kissing should be specified in the human rights declaration as beings in a first class along with breathing, freedom, krispy kreme donuts and clean underwear. It's an absolute primary need, and who's that cab driver to tell me otherwise?!
Lucky for him I was riding with my very cool but definitely unappealing colleague Chris Khoo. Had it been my lady and he'd see more tongue than a Rolling Stones audience.

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A new beginning

The unpredictable nature of life has once again prevailed, and I have again found a challenge far away from the old borders of the beautiful portuguese land.
I am currently working in Singapore. I hope to soak up as much as I can from all the fascinating cultures that surround this little island. I will be updating this blog with my impressions and experiences, in the hope that all my friends can share them with me. Inspiration is my motivation.

South America's adventure was labelled La Panamericana.
Australia's experience was fittingly named Down Under.
This time, come join me as I discover the tropical wonders of INDOCHINA.

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001 Madeira, Portugal
Cabo Girão, the highest vertical cliff in Europe

002 Yokohama, Japan
I miss my beloved lost red shoes

003 Kyoto, Japan
Hope jumping wasn't disrespectful to the Shrine

004 Lisbon, Portugal
Feeling like an eagle over my capital

005 Pag Island, Croatia
Eagle's nest. The good times

006 Edirne, Turkey
Check out the kid! (the small kid)

007 Istanbul, Turkey
The Blue Mosque. The largest mosque in the neighbourhood

008 Great Barrier Reef, Australia
I look like a frog. Ridiculous

009 Kalbarry Gorge, Western Australia
If only I could explain how hot it was that day

010 South island, New Zealand
NZ often comes to me in dreams. It's abusively beautiful

011 Oarsman's Bay, Fiji
My retirement hide away

012 Uluru, Australia
A place like no other

013 Moscow, Botswana
Just checking your attention! :)

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Massive Attack, Dom Sportova, Zagrebe, Croácia
Memória: O intenso fumo de tabaco criou um efeito psicadélico. Naquela noite os Massive pareciam estar a fazer a banda sonora do Apocalypse Now. Brilhantes como sempre. Tear Drop em declínio minimalista.
17/20

Massive Attack, Dom Sportova, Zagreb, Croatia
Memories: The tick tobacco fog created a psychedelic effect. For all I can tell, Massive Attack could be scoring Apocalypse Now that night. Very poor version of Tear Drop. Too minimal.

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When I woke up last Sunday, I had no idea of the amazing events that would unfold later in the day. Sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. That was me on Sunday.
Inside that 800hp Maserati MC-12 beast, doing a night time lap with italian driver Pier Guidi felt like the experience of a life time...
Click below for the PIT LANE video

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More Videos

As previously promised, I have now concluded my New Zealand and the Fiji videos. The New Zealand video is the conclusion of the M&M saga. Like any cult movie, a trilogy was in order, with this third and last episode dedicated to the North Island. Fiji is dedicated to all the ones that weren't there, and whom I missed terribly. Without further adu, please click below for my New Zealand and Fiji youtube pandemonium:

MUMMAGUMMA IN NEW ZEALAND PART 3

MUMMAGUMMA IN FIJI

Arohanui!

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Outback!

And then I went walkabout. There were two states left to visit in Australia. Unsurprisingly the driest of the country. I’m fascinated by the dry desert landscapes, and there was no more appealing destination down under than the red centre. As dry as a dead dingoes donger! Australians call it “the outback”, a vast extension of flat land covered in red dust where Kangaroos, Dingoes and Emus can be spotted on the wild. I left it to the end. I wanted it to be the last hurrah, and I wanted to disappear into the vast plain alone.

Australia stretches roughly for 5000km east-west and north-south, so it was going to be a sort of Dakar rally without a car. First stage was a 6:20 am 13 hour train from Sydney to broken Hill, on the border with South Australia (the driest state of the driest continent). Needless to say I missed it. I read 7:00 on the ticket, but failed to notice it was 7:00PM and that was the arrival time. Ended up arriving at 11pm on a boring bus! I spent two days couchsurfing with Liz and keith, who were terrific hosts! The next day I went to Silverton, a sort of Midwest cowboy town, where Mad max II was shot. The vision on the Mundi Mundi plain stretching as far as the eye can see was phenomenal. Broken Hill itself is a very interesting mining town with great touches of colonial architecture. From there I also did a day tour to Darling river, and some very surreal picture opportunities. Me and some 30 old times. Boy they were tough and loooooooved to sing! %$#”/#*#&!!!!

From there I flew to Adelaide. Nice city. Pretty and all, but I’ve seen plenty of that. I wanted the endless outback. Then took a night bus to a pirate town called Coober Pedy. It’s the Opal mining capital of the world, and a truly unique place. Got there at 5am and checked in at the backpackers… an underground building carved on the stone. You see, Coober Pedy reaches 50c in the summer, and -5 in the winter. Underground temperatures vary from 22 to 25. Brilliant!!

Did an amazing tour of the region the next day, and couldn’t be more amazed with the Breakaways Ranges, a group of incredibly colourful mountains placed randomly on the endless plain. As for the mining itself, so you have an idea, there are over four million holes in the region. It was a bizarre sight, and many people disappear into one of them without a trace. The next day was going to be essential. Not because of the early morning long bus journey, but because of the afternoon hitch hike. Anyone who saw Wolf Creek will understand. Aussies are less than keen on giving a ride after that serial killer. Well, but I’m even lesser than keen on letting popular folklore ruin my plans! Got a great ride to a cattle station with an old couple who liked me so much they gave me an open invitation to visit them in Melbourne. I was on the last state, the Northern Territory, to most aussie place there is, and I was not to be disappointed!

I was entering the holy trinity area. Mt Conner, Uluru and kata Tjuta. About the feelings and sheer impact of their presence to me there’s little to say. I was overwhelmed by the size, the colour, the sunset and the atmosphere (just so you have a clue, any of these rock monoliths is higher than the Eiffel Tower). It’s an experience I will more successfully transmit on my Outback video, out soon! My Australian adventure had arrived at its natural and most desired destination. Image fades to black, and all is good. Cut!

Silverton Hotel and the Mad Max Interceptor

Not to scale

The Darling river

The Breakaways

Sunrise

Mt Conner on the distance

Mt Conner

Jump Man at Uluru

Uluru at sunset

Jump man still in the zone!

Scenic flight over Uluru

Kata Tjuta with Uluru on the background

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New Zealand Video

After setting a trend with my videos, there was no way I was gonna miss out on the chance to make a video of my New Zealand experience. This was however a time consuming process, since given the raw beautiness of the place, I ended up gathering a lot of material. These videos are of the first 10 days on the South Island. Youtube also has size limitations, so I had to divide the video into parts. Without further bla bla, please click below for my New Zealand youtube extravaganza:

MUMMAGUMMA IN NEW ZEALAND PART 1

MUMMAGUMMA IN NEW ZEALAND PART 2

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Bula Fiji

Ever since I first conceived my time in Australia, I conceived a visit to Fiji. I can’t even recall why, but no South Pacific experience would be complete without the holy trinity Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Is it the name? Fiji. Fidgee.There’s another thousand islands scattered all over the Pacific, but Fiji has a ring to it...
It also had a rare effect on my lips. I couldn’t stop smiling for the entire first day. It was warm, sunny, the people were nice and chilled out, and it had that smell of exotic fruits and colourful cocktails. It made me wish my parents were there. It was Africa all over, with a touch of the Caribbean and many memories of places like Brazil and Cuba. It’s the perfect mix.

Jon was the couchsurf host of hosts. Turns out he’s a hotel manager, and so we were treated to a hotel room and complementary tour of the main island! He also helped us book our days in the Mamanucas and Isawas islands. Fiji is composed of two main islands, where most locals live. It’s the agricultural centre of the country. However, the touristic epicentre is the island hopping, where carefully set resorts populate islands of idyllic beauty, with a sunset made for romance. The Blue Lagoon or Castaway are some movies set on these islands.
During my last night on the main island Viti Levu, at 2am I tried in vain to follow the tennis as Federer made history in the Roland Garros final, through slowest wireless connection ever. Needless to say I saw 1 second of moving image in every 10, but still found reason to celebrate!

The first island was Beachcomber, on the Mamanucas. It’s your typical very small atoll “party island”. I Did the limbo till I got a dislocated shoulder and met a very cool crew. 5 stars to Vinny Costello, the Fijian/Irish owner, who drowned me in Kavas (the non alcoholic local drink) and was a great company. 5 sacs of shite to the 100 bed dorm. I’m too old and grumpy for dorms and shared facilities. (Although it is an experience)

The second island was Oarsman’s bay, on the Isawas. It’s nothing short of heaven. A great Island full of surprises and the most chilled out place on earth. That’s the sort of place i wanna take my missus on a honey moon. 5 stars to the clear warm water and the view from my room. 5 sacs of shite to having moody Marcos there instead of my missus! :)

The last island was Manta Ray, on the Isawas. It’s a mix between party and nature. By this time I had no patience for socializing, but made the most of the kayak to explore empty beaches and the amazing reefs. 5 stars to the food, the moonlight (the best I’ve ever seen – watched the moon rise on the beach with The Dark Side of The Moon and Massive Attack for a company) and swimming naked on an empty beach. Apologies to the male fish in the region. 5 bags of shite to the shared facilities and cold shower.
In the end the Fijian people was my most enduring memory. Relaxed, happy and always smiling. They’re never late for anything: Even aussies can’t beat the “Fiji time”. Bula!!

The Mamanucas islands group

Beachcomber views

Vinny Costello in fire red

The Isawas islands group

Oarsman's Bay beach

Oarsman's Bay beach

Big Fish

The sunset

deserted island

Oarsmans Bay - The view from my room

Manta Ray - Marcos contemplates

Manta Ray - Ace and the wavebreakers

South Pacific sunset

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