RARECATION 13: AUSTRIA (Part 1) - Hallstatt

The route we took from Bovec to Hallstatt was quite interesting. We traced our route we took the other day back into Italy and into... Austria. Passed quite small towns along the way. Not seeing anyone outside...feels weird though.

no one around...

The monument I mentioned in the 
previous post

sorry for the angle...but monument dedicated
to Johann Hermann von Hermannsdorf by
Kaiser (Emperor) Ferdinand I

Italy!

the Slovenia and Italy side of border

one more time, back to Italy

I admit, with all the pictures...I was unsure. Unsure of the route we took..but it seemed that we were climbing higher towards the Austrian border, I guess. Most of the pictures, I had to magnify for clues and chart them on the Google Map to see the actual route. 

From the monument in Predel, we passed the area which I enjoyed the most...a zigzag. Syibli refused to drift with the camper van though. 

NIGERIA: Lagos: Lagos International Trade Fair

Every year, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a huge trade fair. Malaysia thru its MATRADE (Malaysia  External Trade Development Corporation), has an office in Lagos. Since there aren't many of us here in Nigeria (the rest are in Abuja and Port Harcourt) we are pretty close. All in all, there are about 20 of us (Malaysian) in Lagos. 

The man in charge....Saifuddin

Saifuddin is the officers's in charge of the office in Nigeria. He is also overseeing another 20 over countries in West African Region. So far, I can tell you he is indefatigable promoting Malaysia's products and technology to Nigerian business people (women here are very much enterprising too!). This year, the fair is at TBS or Tarawa Balewa Square. A big ceremonial ground that has seating capacity for 50,000 people. 

A historical place, named after the only Prime Minister of Nigeria back in the 60's. Sir (Knighted by the current Queen Elizabeth II) Alhaji (means he already went to Mecca to perform Hajj) Abubakar (his name) Tafawa Balewa (his origin, an area in Bauchi State). I found this video in youtube...take a look. He speaks very well, accent included... without looking, one might mistook him for an English gentleman rather than a very simple man, a leader of a new independent Nigeria. He is now immortalised on the 5 Naira note.

RARECATION 13: SLOVENIA - Bovec

This morning, the camper van seems to be empty. Abang Rashid and Kak Mona continued their journey from Venice straight to Prague or was it Budapest. Anyhow, this couple had traveled far and wide. During our trip, they would talk about their Switzerland trip, how they enjoyed Verona and their next visit to Jordan to visit the eldest of their children. It will be sometime when our path will cross again...InsyaAllah (Allah willing)

Anyway, the ladies and 2 men (Januar and Anz) were nice enough to cook breakfast for the whole lot of us. I think it was spaghetti and nasi lemak. Yummy!!!

coconut rice

the ladies hard at work...that must be
Che Mun's batik sarong

The top part of the small California van,
enough space for 2

RARECATION 13: Venezia (Venice)

I don't know about the rest of the team, but to me Venice or Venezia has always been in my top 10 list of places to visit. Read about it quite a number of times from various books, gathering infos and would only imagine the places  like Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sigh, San Marco's Piazza, Rialto Bridge etc. 

"he must have traveled everywhere, at least in the spirit "

 - Jules Verne describing Phileas Fogg in 'Around the World in 80 Days'

Marco Polo was from Venice, so does Tomaso Albinoni (one of my favourite composer known for 'Adagio in G Minor') and Antonio Vivaldi (also a Baroque period composer, composed '4 Seasons'), it's importance in trade between West and East, the place where spices from India arrives in Europe brought in by the Muslim traders...and of course the not popular ones like being the centre of some secret society as depicted in Lara Croft's: Tomb Raider movie and other movies as well etenerlized Venice as one of the best place to visit....hmmm put in under the headline of "Old Cities"

Anyhow, from Verona...we arrived just before Maghrib at this camping site: Camping Sporting Centre

The camping ground

Hotel and reception centre

lined up for the night...

RARECATION 13: Verona (Part 2)

Verona!

From my first observation, if you can't get to Rome....Verona certainly would be the next best thing. It has almost all of the things you might expect in an ancient Roman town. Lots of plaza, tall huge medieval walls, the Roman Arena (amphitheatre) and enough ruins (above and below ground) which I promise you, will occupy an amateur historian like me all day long. Happy is the word...

our convoy passed Chiesa (church) di San Fermo Maggiore
-picture taken from inside the camper van

We circled the town twice before our convoy parked at a public parking area near Ponte Aleardi. 

RARECATION 13: Verona (Part 1)

Luckily for the pictures that were taken during the trip, it has been months since I last wrote about the Rarecation trip. Now to start all over again, it won't be easy without the pictures.

Anyway, we left Maloja in Switzerland and arrived within the vicinity of Lake Garda (Lago di Garda) around 11pm. It was raining too. The name of the camping site was Camping Amici di Lazise (it's beside a theme park - Caneva Aquapark)

Campsite location on Google Map

MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur: Mama

When my mum gave me the message urging me to come home sounding distressed...

I just simply went under the radar.

It has been 6 weeks since my mum was admitted in UMMC (University Malaya Medical Centre). I just simply stop writing. By the way there, were other things to do too. In between there were other programs, day and night...but last week on her insistence...oh how she insist, that I start posting again. So, squeezing every ounce of creative juice to come up with a suitable topic to talk about.

Mum is diabetic. It has been under control, until recently. Through the siblings’ WhatsApp group, we discussed about her condition. 

NIGERIA: Lagos: A Name (PART 1)

Let's face it, I can wear the colourful dashiki (derived from Hausa language which means 'shirt'), put on a kufi, fila, or mahadu abanki (all are skull caps.... I have to check with Zaharan), wear the Super Eagles football jersey...speak in Yoruba or even fluent Pidgin like Petros (A Greek descent, but born in Nigeria)..I can tell you the state of Kogi with Lokoja as its capital is adjacent to 10 other states in Nigeria...But with my skin colour..I am but an Oyibo (not local, not Nigerian)

At Lake Como (Lago di Como)

Worse still, I am pretty sure that there is no Yoruba name begins with the letter 'Z' (I think) much worse when it's "DZ" in my case. So I get the stares. To pronounce my name is even worse than the tongue twister. 

My friends from the North mostly have Muslim names (Zaharan, Yahaya...even the President, Muhammadu Buhari)  You either will correctly identify them as Hausa (here muslims are the majority), a Muslim or they originally comes from the north of Nigeria. 

From the East, names like Amaka, Chibuzo, Chukwuemeka, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Nnamdi Azikiwe or Ngozi (the list goes on and on). But I noticed, a healthy dose of 'Z' and the sort of name where consonants combine could be a dead giveaway of the origin of the person.

Lagos (pronounced as Lay-goes) the melting pot of various sort of people around Nigeria and Africa, a Yorubaland. You would find names that begins with Olu (ooh-lu, which means God), Oba (means King), Ade (crown/royalty..hmmmm the footballer Adebayor seems a likely match), Akinwunmi (current Governor of Lagos), Babatunde (name given to a son which has the similar trait as his forefather, Babatunde Fashola...previous Lagos Governor's name, now Minister of Power, Works and Housing), Taiwo (name given to a younger set of twin) and some named their children according to the day of birth. Sunday is quite famous. Each day has its qualities according to them

Good names makes person, naturally. Parents give good names to their children which hopefully, will aspire them to greater heights in life or a higher purpose. To a foreigner like me, pronouncing the names here is another matter and worse, not pronouncing it properly. I remembered Anthony (a friend of mine in Abuja) mentioned that they know you are saying their name, but they most probably would not respond to you because of how you say it.

And since name is important..and I am beginning to miss the point regarding this particular posting, my friends at Madams workplace had given or rather bestowed me with one. I am humbled by it, felt given a batch of honour by them. 

You can call me, Femi (which means, love me..)

Oh my!..I was gobsmacked when I heard it. I was studying about the names of the main tribes of Nigeria when the news came. I guess, if it's easy for them...easy for me too. Aheh!!

at Lake Atter (Attersee in Austria)

RARECATION 13: ITALY (Lake Como) - Switzerland (Maloja) - (PART 2)

From Maloja, we drove on a little further. The town how should I say..quiet? I mean there were people walking here and there... hiking the terrain, but I am sure this place is livelier during winter. That was what we noticed, travelling around this mountainous area. 

A few kilos further down the road from Maloja we came to a lake, Lake Silser (Silsersee). We stopped again, naturally, to take photos of the area. How we decided to stop at one place, instead of the other...it depends on how loud the request for the driver to stop the camper van by the roadside. 

"cantiknya..berhenti, berhenti berhenti!!!!"
(Nice...stop, stop, stop!!!)... someone would called out. 

RARECATION 13: ITALY (Lake Como) - Switzerland (Maloja) - (PART 1)

This trip, to me was an exciting one. 

The drive up to the destination was scenic too! The sun finally decided to show up, it promises a day of trouble free and no drama.

A1 "California" and "Temerloh" at the gas station

doing a 'time-lapse' using the GoPro