"How do you manage to travel the world?!"

Many of you (like... hundreds? ;)) have asked me how the heck do I manage to travel the world. Do I earn a fortune? Nah, and actually far from that. Do I have unlimited days off from work? Nope, just the same amount as the other colleagues!

So what is the magic trick?
Well, first of all, I don't live like a queen, I don't need to buy all the fancy gadgets such as ipad or iphone, I don't ride a sports car, I don't wear posh clothes. As a matter of fact, I use a very old Samsung mobile device, my car is super old (I tend to enter it from the passenger's side as the driver's door is usually locked! and no-one knows why...) and if I wear any cool stuff it's because I designed it and my mum sewed it as per my verbally shared requirements ;-)

My first time... in Asia! China baby!

This is my post about China from Sept 2009, copied-pasted from a very old travelblog which nobody has seen before. Interesting how I perceived things 3 years ago. Interesting how travelling changed me inside and outside. "The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only one page". How true is that...Enjoy reading!

It's been 2 months... and I am still impressed by this huge country... so different from everything I have seen so far. China is incredible. First of all, it's immense, if you are planning to go to a different city, bear in mind you need to predict at least 16 hours by train for that! Secondly, Chinese people are very nice, however they don't speak English in general, so don't even try to speak louder and slower :-) What is more, Chinese food is amazing! Tasty! Cheap! Colourful! and you get used to the chopsticks much faster than you think you would! :-) European "Chinese cuisine" has a different taste... would it be for European ingredients? I don't know... Nonetheless, nothing can be compared to the traditional Chinese dishes... and currently, I feel unhappy because it will take a while till I am back in China again. 

Yes, the enormous space taken on the world's map, people and food... These are the most important factors to be taken into account when speaking of incredible China. Not to mention their culture, looong history, inventions... Did you know that the paper, gun powder, kite or compass have been discovered by the Chinese? 

So we went there... Four crazy girls, eager to discover this amazing continent. For the first time in Asia. For the first time so far away from home. Our adventure began on 5th September 2009 when the plane took off and left Europe behind. My dream was about to become true... Two wonderful weeks in the country of the Great Wall and Shaolin Temple. I would have never dreamt about it to be so perfect. And yes, everything was just perfect, even if some things weren't going the way we had planned before, it didn't really matter. The most important was that we actually WERE there! Together, smiling, happy and curious what China would bring to our lives! And I must admit it, China has changed my life, my way of thinking and it has awaken my curiosity towards other places in the world. Now I am greedy... and I want to discover as much as possible. But I don't want to be a regular tourist, I don't want to buy travels, I don't want to stay in hotels, I don't want to search for McDonald's... I want to absorb 100% of the place I'm currently in: the smells, the tastes, the atmosphere, the people, the food... This is the best what a place may offer you - its own character. There are no places similar one to another. That is why each place is so unique and that is why some people come back to the same place several times... Will it be my case as well? Will I return to China one day?

 

Beautiful autumn in Malta & Gozo

I would have never thought of falling in love with Malta. In autumn. Yet, I must admit I wasn't prepared for the rainy season. I went rather optimistic with my flip flops and bikini (had one chance to wear my bikini but didn't actually do it!). I realized quite soon this trip was not a summer get-away ;-) It did not stop me though from admiring the architecture, colours, food, nature and adorable people. I switched gears and put myself into a different mood. Autumn mood. One week in Malta.
Here we go!

The first thing I saw the following morning (because I can't count the day of our arrival! - we spent 2 hours on the airport bus stop waiting for any bus going to Bugibba and then, the other 2 hours on the bus when it was already dark so we couldn't admire the landscapes at all!) was this amazing architecture and old buildings across the whole island. Our first stop - medieval Mdina. A very calm old town, with numerous narrow streets and hidden cafes. It is indeed called the "Silent City" and I'm not surprised why. I could not stop taking photographs...