I didn’t plan my trip to Annecy. It was the excitement of not knowing what to expect that thrilled me. I took a bus from Geneva and the journey lasted for one and the half hour. Annecy is a city in the Rhône-Alpes (Rôno-Arpes) region of east central France; it is on the shores of Lake Annecy and 22 miles south of Geneva. You know that you are about to cross the border when an uniformed officer boarded the bus and demanded every passenger to present their passport. When I arrived, it was noon with sun fiercely shining above my head. [View Full Entry]

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Looking at this year calendar, the date of going home is drawing closer and closer. If i didnt take any action now, i will end up doing nothing and achieving nothing. When i say achieving nothing, i mean not travelling to anywhere.Though at least i think i shall still be able to get my Msc done. So, to make things happen...i frenzyly look through all low cost airlines websites.. damn, the price has gone up. I should really book the flight that i saw before the last May bank holiday. It was a deal flying to Marrakesh for less than 50 [View Full Entry]

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Ok, it is true that everyone in England talk about the weather most of the time. I couldn’t understand why this is the case as I grew up in a country where weather is consistently unchanged, or at least no dramatic changes in a day. I also learnt that you have to seize the opportunity when the sun is out, as it might disappear with a flick of finger. It was a sunny Sunday in Newcastle; we decided to swap indoor tango dancing with a walk in the Allen Bank. Allen Bank is located in the North Pennines, it only took [View Full Entry]

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Xochimilco, if translated from the language of Aztecs, it means 'Place of flowerly-sown land'. Since the 12th century, vegetables, medicinal and ornamental plants are grown here and these traditional activities have remain unchanged. It is here that it claims to have the last few remaining canals of Lake Texcoco and its pre-Hispanic floating gardens, which is built by means of chinampas or artificial islets. The brightly colored squarish boats, most of them complete with female name, the floating food vendors and the Mariachi on the canals have made this place one of the favourite tourist [View Full Entry]

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Virgin of Guadalupe is Mexico's most popular religious and cultural image.Guadalupe's feast day is celebrated on December 12, it is to commemorate the apparition of Virgin on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City from December 9, 1531 through December 12, 1531. Here is how the story goes, Juan Diego saw a beautiful lady dressed in a blue mantle trimmed with gold on an old Aztec shrine, which is the now Tepeyac Hill several times. He was sent to tell the church that he had seen Virgin Mary and a shrine should be built on that site to honour her. However, [View Full Entry]

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Today was an interesting day as i would be joined by two travel companions- Kamila and Damien, and Veronica would be leaving the three of us to hit the road ourselves. I knew Kamila through the salsa circle in Newcastle, as of most of my salsa acquaintances, we never get passed the level of saying Hi and Bye. Damien is a friend of Kamila and she only knew him for about two months at that time(if i am not mistaken), and it was my first time meeting him. The three of us were going to spend the next week together. I [View Full Entry]

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Having spent the last few days in Mexico City, I was really looking forward to get out of the city to see this archaeological place. I was thrilled at the thought of going to see and climb a pyramind. This would be my first time as i have never been to Egypt. Although I have seen some pictures of Teotihuacan pyramids on the internet, but it is not the same when you are pyhsically there. The idea of a real pyramid stand right before me really excite me :). We took the bus from Terminal Norte and it took about an [View Full Entry]

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Our knee were aching and our feet were soring due to the long salsaing night yesterday at Mama Rumba. We decided to take things slowly today, we went to Chapultepec - The Grasshopper hill. On top of the hill, is the Chalpultepec Castle, where Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota of Mexico lived. At the bottom of the hill, there is a huge park, about 1600 acres and can easily take up to 2 or 3 days to explore. It has a few lakes, playgrounds and a zoo. The park is also the house of many museums, this includes the famous National [View Full Entry]

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It was another sunny day in Mexico and the temperature was mild, thus made sightseeing very pleasant. Coyoacan- 'Places of Coyotes' in the Nahuatl language, is in the southern end of Mexico City. It is quite close to Veronica's home. She used to hang out here when she was living in Mexico. It is also here, in Church of San Juan Bautista, where her parent got married. Coyoacan has a bit of everything to offer its visitors- the narrow colonial-era streets, cantina, plazas, parks, cafes, book stores, market and etc. All these has contributed to its lively yet relaxed atmosphere. After [View Full Entry]

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Coyoacan market is the heart of the commercial life of this colonia area. It offers an insight of mexican tradition to all visitors. You will find typical Mexican handicraft, clothes and fresh food ingredients here. I was drawn to the regional cuisine that they sold here at the food stalls, and was very tempted to try their food, but the thought of possibly getting stomach upset had kept me at bay. We then came to a Mole store, selling brown Mole powder or paste. I remembered trying out this dark brown Mole sauce in Vero's house party. At that time, I [View Full Entry]

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