Portugal day 3-Lisbon-11 June 2008

Cool! I met a Singaporean girl at the hostel the night I stayed at the Lisbon hostel. She´s actually a graduate from SMU and she´s touring Eastern Europe with her friends but they decide to skip Portugal so she came here by herself.

Lisbon is big, HUGE! Once again, I found it difficult to pull myself out of bed and only got up at around 815am. The first thing was to embark on the walking tour. Initially, we wanted to join a PAID walking tour but after countless experiences, I gave up. It´s like you pay and the guide most probably just bring you to a place and dump you there for 20 minutes or so and you move on. Yes, you get to hear stories and know what´s going on but that´s provided you listen really hard. So I told myself, unless it´s free, I will skip it! haha..

National Pantheon

Down the streets of Lovely Lisboa...

Inside the Pantheon. Houses the tomb of Henry, the Navigator. He was the one who brought riches to Portugal since he discovered numerous sea routes.. :)

So ended up, the Singaporean girl followed me and we took the tram 28 to the starting point of the walking tour that Lonely Planet recommended. We went to the National Pantheon, a church which apparently I forgot about the name, the Castello Sao Jorge, Alfama streets, Gateway of the Sun and had lunch at this restaurant street along Praça Rossio. It was good to just walk around and see what´s going on in Lisboa but I can´t tell much stories. Anyway, after traveling to so many cities, I am getting sick and tired of buying all those brochures. They are expensive and heavy and adds on to the weight of my bag! haha..

But I know you guys want stories. So let me talk about National Pantheon. It´s actually a building designed by a famous architect in Portugal but he died halfway during the construction. Someone else had to continue with the project and halfway through, they were doubtful if the building could support the dome top. Eventually, they had to add on another two towers to make sure the base was able to support the top. It´s actually a National Monument.

Stunning views from the Pantheon. :)

Views from the Sun's Gateway. The area near to Alfama, with narrow streets etc. It's amazing why this Coconut tree can grow amidst those buildings. :)

Janice & me.

Then to Castello Sao Jorge. Obviously, it used to be a castle or rather a fortress for the royalties. It has a really strong foundation and the castle walls are DAMN THICK. There are a million watchtowers and climbing them is tiring enough. haha..But anyway, it´s good exercise for me I guess...

The thing about Portugal is it´s always full of up and down slopes.CRAZY! When I was in Porto, I actually saw kids cycling upslope with bicycles that had no gear. But they did it with ease. I guess they are used to it. I still remember when I cycled to Mt. Faber with CC once but I couldn´t pull myself up Mt. Faber even though I was riding a mountain bike. Maybe it´s because my bike is old and lousy? haha...

View from Castello Sao Jorge. Lovely! :)

The thick walls. :)

View from Castello Sao Jorge.

Streets down Alfama.

We finished the tour later than we thought we would. Lunch was good. I ate typical Portuguese food. It was rice with steak and the steak had cheese and ham melted on it. FABULOUS! It was cheap too. Just a mere 4,40 EUR! You can never get a meal for this price anywhere in Europe or Scandinavian.

Rice with steak and melted cheese and ham right on top! FAB FAB!

Janice ordered Cod Fish.

As I wanted to go to Belem, we split ways after lunch. Janice had already been to Belem the previous afternoon while I was in Oriente. So she headed to Oriente and me to Belem. It was a bit rush for me honestly. I had to catch the bus back to Porto at 7p.m and it was almost 3 when we finished lunch. That means I only had 2.5 hours to go to Belem and back. On the tram, I met this really nice and cute young Portuguese boy. I wasn't sure where to alight to get to Belem so I seeked help from this old couple who looked like they could understand English. God knows I was so wrong and this boy was carrying his Mathematics textbook and sitting right across. He offered to help as he spoke fluent English and he was really nice. He was alighting at the same stop as I was so he told me that he will inform me once we are there. Apparently he´s in his final year in high school and if he passes his exams, he will go into University. I think to be able to attend university in Portugal is a big thing because the Portuguese are not as well-educated as we assume they are.I am impressed by his command of the language but he thinks I speak better English haha.. So I told him that´s because English is my first language in Singapore. Anyway, I thank him for his help and wish him all the best for his EXAMS!

At the tower of Belem, I met tons of Portuguese kids who are on school excursion. What´s so special about the tower of Belem? Well, that has got to do with this guy by the name of Vasco da Gama. He was the commander of the first ship to sail from Europe to India which means he was the one who discovered the sea route to India from Europe. That brought riches to Portugal and explains why the Portuguese were so rich back in the 15th century. I really wanted to find out more about all these stuff and obviously I need to go to the museums to get such information. But due to time constraint, I didn´t manage to. I guess I will just have to read up on it by myself. The tower of Belem represents the fortress of Portugal and it was built to commemorate Vasco da Gama´s successful expedition. I can only say though it´s not as high.not as popular.not as grand as Pisa tower or Eiffel tower, I like it still. The architecture is just amazing and the view from the tower was awesome.

Tower of Belem

Anyway, I met these 3 really nice and cool French guys at the top of the tower. Being alone, I had to seek help to get photos or do it with my self-timer as usual. One of them who likes photography I suppose (since he carried those really professional and big cameras) offered to help me. Then we started chatting and realise they are actually from France. Well, I could introduce myself and greet them with my broken French and they were quite impressed. haha.. I found it weird because I thought my French was pretty bad honestly. But still, as long as they understood me, it´s fine. So they gave me their number and said they will show me around in Paris for a day or two when I am there. COOL! On top of that, they were on their way to watch the Portugal Vs Czech game but too bad I couldn´t join them! I hurriedly went to the next monument which depicts a captain in front and his seamen behind. It´s amazingly nice I´d say. I really like it. I need to show you guys the photo some day. I can´t recall the name at this instance though. hehe...

Ponte 25 de Abril

Just one of the "trying-to-be-artistic" shots.

Look at the waters. How Clean and Green they are!

The sad thing is I didn´t manage to get into the Jeronimos Monastery because I was running out of time and I need to catch the soccer match too! haha.. I just took a few photos outside but I didn´t forget my beloved Portuguese egg tarts. They don´t call it egg tarts in Portugal. They call it custard. If you ever get to Portugal, you must try this at Belem. It looks and tastes COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the one you see in Singapore. I seriously feed myself with portuguese custard every single day when I was in Portugal. They are just too good to resist. :) In total, I ate freaking 5 custards during the 3 days when I was in Portugal. I wouldn´t say it´s a lot but it´s definitely not little. hahaha..


Symbol of hardwork and teamwork in getting a ship to sail! If you can see the commander standing in front of the ship!


Jeronimos Monastery - Just 5 minutes down the road, you will catch the famous Belem Egg Tarts with Cinnamon and Icing sugar. :) Tasty!
I headed back to the hostel, picked up my bag and headed to Oriente where I am supposed to catch the match with Janice at a bar at Oriente. GOSH. I miss the time by 1 minute and my transport card which lasts me for 24 hours expired! Ended up I had to wait to queue and buy a new ticket and by the time I reached Oriente, it was already 6.25 p.m. which means I was only left with 20 minutes of the game. Lazy to walk, I decide to just watch it at the first bar I chanced upon and the crowd was amazing. People were just gathering outside the bar at a metro station and cheering so loudly for Portugal. When Portugal netted another goal in the closing minutes, the crowd roared! After the game, I headed to the bus station and it was home sweet PORTO.

At the game!

Catch the crowd reaction's when Portugal scored!

On the journey, I didn´t sleep at all to my surprise. haha.. Guess what, I caught the sunset once again. It´s awesome. I remember I caught the sunset once when I was going to Liverpool airport from Manchester. The scene will forever be etched in my memory. But this time in Portugal, it´s completely different. In UK, the surroundings were roads and probably some trees but in Portugal, it was the SEA! I practically saw the sun ´hanging at the horizon´... It was gorgeous. I was hoping to get some nice photos but it didn´t turn out well.

From the Glaring Sun..

To the peaceful little red circle faraway,

And slowly, with the sky dimmingTill it goes beyond the horizon. Time Check: 9:30 p.m :)

In the past whenever people ask me ´Do I prefer Sunrise or Sunset?´, I always went for Sunrise. I caught it a few times and I really love it. But now that I am in Europe and caught the sunset in Portugal, I will no longer go for sunrise. I love both equally. It is just beyond description in words honestly. With that, I ended my day in Portugal and next morning, I am supposed to wake up early to walk around the coast of Porto but sad to say, as I am blogging it a day later, I have to say I didn´t manage to. I was just too tired... hahaha..

Agios Portugal, Bonjour Marrakech!

Portugal day 2-Porto/Lisboa- 10 June 2008

I can only say I love Portugal.A lot a lot. Western Europe is really my cup of tea. :)

Recently, I find it difficult to pull myself out of bed. I don't know the reason behind it honestly. I was supposed to wake up at 8a.m to go for a walk along the coast at Porto but I just couldn't get up. Shucks! I pull myself out of bed finally at 9a.m and headed for breakfast before I went to the Torre de Clerigos. Alvin said he wanted a postcard so I thought since Portugal is so beautiful, I should send him one here.

Church at Clerigo

I bought the postcard which depicts the Clerigo Tower and guess what? I actually wrote him a message on the postcard when I was right on top of the tower. It was so windy that I couldn't write properly. haha.. I hope he will like it. To make things worst, you can only buy stamps at the Post Office in Porto and god, I have a bus to catch to Lisbon at 11 a.m. I had to walk like probably 1km to the post office from the Clerigos Tower and I was sweating and panting like mad when I finally arrived at the bus station. Anyway, buying stamps was cool. The government employs mentally-challenged adults as assistance at the post office. The girl couldn't understand English well but she was super helpful to help me get the stamps and mail out the postcard. I really appreciate that. :)

View from Clerigo Tower

Where I got the stamp....

The bus journey to Lisbon is around 3.5 hours. I should be taking a train but there's a strike going on so the frequency of the trains are a bit irregular and bus was the alternative. I met this really funny Portuguese guy on the train. He couldn't speak English fluently but he understood simple words that I said. Initially, he just confirmed my doubts about where the bus is going. Then we started to strike conversations because he sat beside me on the bus. He says he like Spain better than Portugal because Portugal is just hills, trees and mountains all over so it's boring. Really? I don't think so.


Next, he showed me photos in his Ipod of Porto and Portugal. They were insanely beautiful pictures and I was so convinced that he took them. But after looking through 10 or so, I figured out that those were probably downloaded from the computer. Honestly, I didn't think he deliberately lie to me that he took all those photos. Most probably, he didn't understand my question so he just said YES when I asked if he took those photos? Anyway, it was nice meeting him. In exchange, I showed him photos that I took in Madrid and some outdated photos from Stockholm.Chelsea.Manchester which I haven't delete away from my camera. When he saw those photos and my traveling plan, he commented that "I have a beautiful life." What a description. haha.. Frankly speaking, when I reflect on that, I really feel that we Singaporeans are quite fortunate to a certain extent.

Yes, these people have freedom of speech, can conduct demonstrations and strikes as and when they like but what is happening to their life? Are they genuinely happy? I rather trade freedom of speech for prosperity and progress of the nation which ultimately leads to a well-off nation. So what if our government is authoritarian?

The moment I landed on Lisbon, I took on a different impression of Portugal. That's because I arrived at Oriente which is the modernised region of Lisbon. Buildings rocketed towards the sky, shopping malls, people carrying Zara, Mango bags etc. I felt I was back to Singapore momentarily. haha.. When girls see shopping, there isn't any way to resist honestly. So I started shopping and all the familiar brands just kept popping up, like Levis.Diesel.Mcdonalds.KFC.Pizza Hut etc..

Orient & Surroundings..

Inside the shopping MALL

Lovely riverfront, ain't it?

I headed down to the riverfront area and saw the Vaco Da Gama bridge and the TV Tower etc.I practically spent 4 hours there walking along the riverfront, taking photos plus shopping before I decided to head to my hostel in the old district in Lisbon.

TV Tower with Vaco Da Gama BridgeThere's the cable car too!! Girls can never resist shopping :)

Self-timer works wonders!

Streets lined with bars for SOCCER! hehe..

My plan was to embark on the walking tour recommended by my Lonely Planet guidebook but it failed. I couldn't find the starting point of the tour thus I merely took the tram (really old, traditional tram) from one end to the other. I arrived at Martim Monitz and it was very intimidating there. Blacks were hanging all around the square, people were eating roasted pigeon and a lot of weird characters hanging around thus I decided to leave. Instead, I thought maybe I should head to Belem instead but god knows I waited freaking 15 minutes for the tram 15 which never arrived! Along the way, I met 2 Indian guys (White-skin indian) who used to live in England and now Portugal and they were extremly helpful. They helped me to find the tram stop and guided me. Btw, the time was 9.15p.m haha..

The OLD 18th Century TRAM! :) Martin Monitz.

The winding narrow tram tracks.... :)

Just one of the views taken from the tram... Alfama. LOVELY!

The TRAM Interior!I wonder how the gears work?

The Story about this man who didn't want to pay for public transport. He simply "sticked" himself to the exterior tram door. Each time the tram stopped, he would jump off the door and when it was time for the tram to get going, he hopped back. A girl wanted to take his photo and he looked damn pissed and turned his back to us. Fortunately I took this picture secretly. By doing so, he's endangering his own life honestly. Unlike in Singapore, cars are always parked along the roadside, and there is only enough space for just one tram to pass through the narrow roads all the time. So by clinging to the tram, all it takes is just a BLINK of a AN eye or a look away from the traffic to get himself knocked over and fall. But it should be fun huh! hahaha...

Praca Pedro _ Baixai Chiado area. :) Lovely!

Either the Municipal House or Theatre. Can't recall .. hehe..

Ended up I didn't go anywhere and headed to Hard Rock Cafe instead to get my collection shot-glass. Who knows the city shot glass was sold out and I bought a shirt instead. I was a bit indecisive as to whether I should buy the bear or the shirt. The bear was really cute with the portugal football jersey on but spendin $50 on a bear isn't convincing. After buying the shirt, I kind of regretted. I should have saved that 24EUR and top up another 16 EUR to buy a Portugal jersey? haha... I am totally into football jerseys nowadays. I already have quite a few though. hehe..

Elevador de Sana Justa

According to sources, the Elevador de Sana Justa is the first passenger elevator in Lisbon! Cool! But it's really rundown and old...hehe...

Old Rossio Train Station.. Yet another stunning creation by the Portuguese...

When I stepped out of the HRC, I saw that 2 Indian guys once again. What a small world!!They were very nice to walk me back to the hostel and surprisingly, I met a SINGAPOREAN at the hostel. This is my first time meeting a Singaporean on my traveling trips putting aside my friends. haha...

Basically, I wasted my time in Lisbon that evening since all I did was shopping and going on trams.. haha. The next day was a damn packed one.....

But before I end off, we shall talk about one of my favourite places in Lisboa-Praca do Comercio. Why do I say that? It's a big square by the beach/sea. At there, you can catch the beautiful sunrise and sunset, see the Ponte 25 Bridge.. The scenery is just .......... Unbelievably NICE!

Muacks, Lovely Lisboa!