Marbella Conference
Posted On Saturday, October 14, 1995 at at 9:19 PM by AlvinThis is our first time to Spain and I left a day earlier with my colleagues via Munich to make the start date of the Marbella conference; Mandy followed the day after and good luck to her, she missed the 10 hours delay we suffered. I got to know the Munich airport restaurants and toilets pretty good as we spent 10 long hours there !
The conference took place inside rather nice hotel grounds and the organisers arranged day trips to Ronda and other interesting Spanish towns for the spouses while the rest of us slaved away.
Unbeknown to me, the conference organisers had arranged a sing-song and a birthday cake for me at the conference dinner. Here it is:
Also during the conference, the organisers arranged a street artist to draw our funny portraits and he did such a good job !
Friendly Locals By The Lake Of Titicaca
Posted On Sunday, August 27, 1995 at at 1:11 AM by AlvinAfter the journey through the Incan heartland, we visited a few inland cities like Puno along the shores of Lake Titicaca, Tequile Island and Arequipa. We met some very friendly locals who were even too shy to smile; these two fishermen/boatmen we met on our way to Tequile were very interested with my guidebook as they seemed to have recognised the Peruvian peoples described in the book and they gave each other a few knowing nods each time they turned a page.
When we finally hiked up the top of the island, we were gasping for air as it took us almost an hour of major "step-masters" and prepared us for a great dinner at the one and only restaurant on the island. Mandy met some local girls skilled in the knitting department and this was right down Mandy's hobbyland ! And away she went exchanging knitting tips and short cuts with them , good on you Mandy (and wake me up when you had finished, would ya ?).
Cuzco and Sacsayhuaman
Posted On Saturday, August 19, 1995 at at 1:03 AM by AlvinHaving gone through the mighty Inca Trail, we were ready for some rest at the Incan heartland city of Cuzco. Truly a city of magical Incan heritage as well as impressive surroundings, we visited the Spanish churches, walked around the ancient alleyways full of characteristic hand-cut stone walls including the famed twelve-corners-stone as well as the unforgettable (hey man, EVERYTHING was UNFORGETTABLE HERE!) Sacsayhuaman. Cuzco was such a relaxing place and we decided to stay for a few more days; we had some of the best Argentinian beef steaks here and the Pisco Sours were awesome ! Surprisingly, the lady who owned the hotel was from Rome !
From Dry Coastal Desert To The Altiplano
Posted On Monday, August 14, 1995 at at 9:19 PM by AlvinPeru had a amazing array of landscapes nestled between the country's Andes backbones and the famed Incan heartlands; from here, the landscapes falling off sharply towards the arid Pacific coasts and the urban cities like the capital, Lima as well as the world-famous and mysterious Nasca Lines.
Nasca Lines were incredible gigantic patterns (geoglyphs) of spider, humming bird, monkey and lizard which were etched into the arid desert in the south of Peru; the purposes and constructions of these amazing patterns were still not yet fully understood. We hired a plane and obtained "spaceship" point of view of these truly unfathomable engineering phenomena.
On the other hand, the Incan inland included the scenic Urabamba valleys, colonial cities such as Arequipa and of course Macchu Picchu. By following the dry coastal roads towards these inner Peruvian lands, our bus had to first pass through the awesome Altiplano where the entire highlands were located at an average elevation of 3,000 metres and this was where we stayed near Lake Titicaca and the lakeside town of Puno. We experienced breathing difficulties during the night's sleep; especially Mandy, as she had the audacity to SWIM (!) in the hot spring of Chivay and ended up feeling drained and nausea, silly girl... All in all, Peru had a very diverse and unusual series of landscapes.
Nasca Lines were incredible gigantic patterns (geoglyphs) of spider, humming bird, monkey and lizard which were etched into the arid desert in the south of Peru; the purposes and constructions of these amazing patterns were still not yet fully understood. We hired a plane and obtained "spaceship" point of view of these truly unfathomable engineering phenomena.
On the other hand, the Incan inland included the scenic Urabamba valleys, colonial cities such as Arequipa and of course Macchu Picchu. By following the dry coastal roads towards these inner Peruvian lands, our bus had to first pass through the awesome Altiplano where the entire highlands were located at an average elevation of 3,000 metres and this was where we stayed near Lake Titicaca and the lakeside town of Puno. We experienced breathing difficulties during the night's sleep; especially Mandy, as she had the audacity to SWIM (!) in the hot spring of Chivay and ended up feeling drained and nausea, silly girl... All in all, Peru had a very diverse and unusual series of landscapes.
The Inca Trail To Machu Picchu
Posted On Sunday, August 13, 1995 at at 12:53 AM by AlvinWe flew in to a buzzling Lima where we sampled a Pisco Sour before an excellent dinner of Cerveche (raw local fish marinated with unions and vinegar) and beef steaks from Argentina. We fed ourselves well to get ready for the 3 days' gruelling Inca Trail. We passed "The Dead Woman Pass" on the second day before being rewarded with the dawn view of the awesome (hey man, couldn't really find a more suitable word) Machu Picchu !
The morning eeriness made us feel like we had gone back centuries when Machu Picchu had only just been abandoned and the last crow had flown; all that was left were ruins and memories of this once powerful and exotic empire back garden ! The first tourists began to arrive by train and Machu Picchu slowly changed into one of the world's most photographed and photogenic attractions. You started to think of those eternal questions "Who lived here ? Why did they leave ?", before being interrupted by your fellow Japanese, American visitors - "could you take one more photo for me please ?".
Sunset San Francisco - A Relaxing 2 Weeks
Posted On Thursday, June 15, 1995 at at 1:40 AM by AlvinWe spent 2 weeks away from Frascati and visited Mandy's Pa and Ma, Lawrence, Tiffany, Vivian who live in Sunset, a quiet, clean and highly walkable suburb in SF. We spent countless mornings walking with Mandy's Dad down Sunset - a major but restful road from Yorba to Noriega before digging into a huge breakfast.
Mandy loved to talk to and tease her many cousins in Candy, Alfred (from Toronto on a visit) and Vivian (Hey Michael, you were not yet around !). We did manage to explore more of the down town SF areas by visiting Coit Tower and meeting some of my friends from HK days. We played football one afternoon with the Cousins on the Sunset beaches and enjoyed their company very much.
Mandy loved to talk to and tease her many cousins in Candy, Alfred (from Toronto on a visit) and Vivian (Hey Michael, you were not yet around !). We did manage to explore more of the down town SF areas by visiting Coit Tower and meeting some of my friends from HK days. We played football one afternoon with the Cousins on the Sunset beaches and enjoyed their company very much.
