It there’s a European city where it feels like Christmas all year round, it has to be Salzburg. It has all the elements that anyone can truly enjoy, on Christmas day or any other day of the year: memories of a singing family, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a whole range of food which are difficult to spell but fairly easy to devour.
Keeping Christmas alive in Salzburg Read More »
Published workAmsterdam has something for everyone. Maybe because for a city that entertains around 12 million visitors each year, variety is something that Amsterdam can’t live without. But with so much choices comes stress. So where should you go or what should you do as a first time tourist in Amsterdam?
First time Amsterdam Read More »
Published workMy colleague wanted to buy a box of chocolates from a Polish store but couldn’t get the vendor’s attention. If her voice was too soft or her approach not good enough for the vendor to recognise, I don’t remember anymore. But when I said “Dzien dobry!” coupled with my biggest smile, the vendor quipped “Dzien dobry!” back in her most friendly tone and welcoming smile. Our business in the store was done in a matter of minutes. I closed the conversation with “Dziekuje”.
Talking the talk and why it is important to learn a few foreign phrases while traveling Read More »
Inclusive communication, Travel and culturesThe skies were blue and the wind was calm. We were blessed with good weather. It was like the harbor of Rotterdam was trying to show off its picturesque qualities. On that day. A little over an hour and the sun began to set. Suddenly, the city of Rotterdam turned to gold.
The face of Rotterdam Read More »
Travel and culturesJimmy is 24 years old and looked just like any other Cambodian we’ve met – small-built, welcoming, his eyes smiled along with his lips. He also wore long sleeves even in the dead of the heat.
But there was something else about Jimmy that made him a bit different – his dream.
Jimmy’s Cambodian dream Read More »
Travel and culturesGo as a guest; act like one, and you’ll be treated like one. Travel, as in the rest of life, you reap what you sow. – Rick Steves Believing that I have always been an organized-bordering-on-obsessive-compulsive traveler, I never thought of picking a travel skills handbook for myself. Ok, I toyed with the idea, looked
Attitude adjustment for travelers Read More »
Inclusive communication, Travel and cultures“Wherever you live is your temple, if you treat it like one.”- Buddha No one visits Cambodia without putting the Angkor Archaeological Park on the itinerary. To most tourists, it could be the ONLY reason why they choose to go to this country which was once Southeast Asia’s largest and most powerful empire. It is
If you have a day to visit the temples of Angkor… Read More »
Travel and culturesI have heard so much about Barcelona before I saw it for real. It is Lonely Planet’s top pick for Europe and one of Mr. V’s favorite cities. I heard about things that one would normally expect of Spain — cuisine with paella in the starring role, late dinner, colorful handicrafts. I also heard about (and saw) the fascinating works and world of Antoni Gaudi (although pictures are never as intoxicating as the real work itself!). And the non-stop partying in La Rambla. But what you hear does not prepare you as much as real life itself. That is why traveling is a must when you hear so many beautiful things about a place. Indeed, Barcelona is as alive as one may think. Day and night, it breathes like a real person in his/her youth. As green as the first bud of spring, if I may say so poetically.
Barcelona, where the party never ends Read More »
Travel and culturesI admire people who follow their passion. And you know one when you see one. A person who does what he or she is passionate about, glows. People who live their passion come alive in many different indescribable ways. They do what they are passionate about like there’s no tomorrow, full of energy, with bright eyes, happy, big smiles that makes them almost look like big newspaper caricatures to me. Ok, that’s quite an exaggeration but you know what I mean. They are alive. It is a joy to see people who know what their one passion is and live it.
Passion, the virtue of the brave Read More »
Travel and culturesGeneva smacks you right in the face with multiculturalism as soon as you arrive. You’d think you’re in Rotterdam, except that they speak French here (among other languages). The most popular city of Switzerland, often mistaken for its capital city, teems with different colors, languages and cuisines. It is a good example of the phrase “small but terrible” – small in size but big in causes. The United Nations is here, the International Red Cross, World Health Organization and International Labor Organization, to name but a few. This global city is also one of the biggest financial hubs in the world, the diplomacy capital, a center of peace. That’s quite a lot to represent, don’t you think?
The world in Geneva Read More »
Travel and cultures