I'm a traveler not a tourist

So many month since I have not moved my figure to another country, since I did not spent hours breathing another culture's air. 4 month since I am home and I'm happy about it...but sad also. Sad because I feel the world is not mine anymore, it belongs to those who's turn came to make the bold step and discover it.
In the meanwhile, going back to the places I've been, the people I met, I realized that I am one of the lucky ones, cause I went there and enjoyed  the journey as a traveler, not a tourist.
Just to define the meanings, absolutely from my point of view, the traveler gets involved in the journey, while the tourist sees it somehow from outside. The traveler takes a bus and doesn't hire a car, goes by train or bike not by plane. The traveler eats the traditional food from the food stall on the sidewalk not from the restaurant, he learns a few words and impresses the locals, dresses like them and sings their songs, while the tourist prefers pasta and jeans wherever he goes. The traveler, by default, travels a lot inside the journey to discover more and more places, does not lay on the beach and plays golf all day. He looks at the inhabitants as if they are his brothers and sisters, not locals. He walks in nature and gets impressed by every living piece, even though he saw it before. The travelers feels the journey and makes friends with it, the tourist does it for a change. The traveler is there to learn, learn about himself, life, people; to get inspired, to relax and discover himself among the million others. The tourist is looking for a vacation to get out of his routine, to have fun, drink a lot and smoke a joint (not that it's bad and the traveler would not do that but in different circumstances and different implications :)
Me? I'm a traveler for sure, even though I ate french fries in Rio and McDonalds in Singapore, that was a lack of money :P But from all these places, from all their magic, their culture, I became what I am. They are guilty for me having these thoughts, they are responsible for my daily activities, for my reactions to the life around me, they are responsible for me dressing so colorful or wearing such a long hair. They make me smile and cry sometimes, them, the cultures, their traditions and religions. They make me want to walk a lot and spend time with old people. They make me have strong feelings and love my friends so much but not show them.
You? I suggest to you beautiful reader, be a traveler not a tourist, and your life will pay up.

Singapore part2 ~ wildlife ~

Such a difference, such contrast, in such a small place. Cause let's face it, Singapore is not that big city-country to visit in weeks and still not see everything. And if first day of the trip was dedicated to the modern side, second day left us breathless and...wet :))) Breathless because of the amazing nature and wild life from the 2 places we visited, wet because it rained like hell but in the same time it was so hot that we sweated like crazy under the plastic rain coats :)
The Botanic garden of Singapore was more than expected. We entered the place, free of charge (there is no fee at entry) and we did not get out for 4 hours, imagine. 4 full hours of walk in the green fresh nature, with waterfalls, with trees, flowers, from palm trees valley to ginger garden, from evolution garden (as in dinosaurs era rain forests) to orchid garden where we paid 5 SGD to enter (5 singapore dolars), with an expensive lunch in the middle of the tropical nature which was totally worth it even doe we paid 100 SGD, the place is a must see if visiting Singapore. We filled our lungs with so much fresh healty air and we took so many pictures that we left the poor cameras one without memory, one without battery, so we decided to keep it down :)) Rain eventually stopped, so we got rid of the plastic rain coates, rested our feet and continued our journey to the another wildlife place, Singapore Zoo. And man what a Zoo. We were imagining we might see all the creatures of the world there, but not running free between the people :)) Monkeys in the trees all around, no cages, parrots singing over our heads, well the white tigers and elephants were separated not left to run around between the people but still, no cages, so much space and so much freedom for the animals, hippos with a huge aquarium and a real stone cave just for themselves...what can I say...lucky to be an animal in the Singapore Zoo. The place is closing at 1800 and we did not have the time to see the entire place, so I missed the zebras and giraffes, but hopefully I'll get to see them in Africa soon :D
So after one full day of nature and animal life, we finished out trip cyclic, back in Chinatown for some more souvenirs and some chinese noodles, after that rushing to the airport to catch our Emirates flight back to Dubai desert, with a huge regret of having to leave such an amazing place so soon...

Singapore part1 ~ fashionable ~

To Singapore or not to Singapore, we kept wondering for 4 days and then we decided...NO. As you might heard or not, when working for an airline you get crazy discounts on airfares, but you get in the flight if it's not fully booked of course, as in they won't take a company staff and leave out a valued customer, right? So with several options in sight, me and my girl friend here decided to choose another destination to have our small vacation but guess what, everything was full. So in the last morning before the days off we decided... we are going to Singapore.
Tickets check, bagpack and camera check, list with attractions check, money and passport check (no need of visa for europeans in case you are wondering), enthusiasm fully check--> online check-in and pam pam, after 7 hours of flight...welcome to Singapore :D
Now this place is something. Starting with the public transportation that is so smartly positioned to cover the whole city, the cool metro that links you to almost everything (which we learned by heart in 2 days ;)) ) tall modern glassy buildings, large boulevards with several lanes and guess what... green everywhere, flowers, trees, palm trees, probably the greenest city in the world.
First stop...Chinatown.
Metro drops you right there, the only thing is to start getting lost on the small colorfull streets crowded with chinese objects that will steel your eyes. Small fashioned houses, food shops everywhere, delicious smells, souveniiirss, how could you not love it. In the same area we found one place that we wanted to see and was on the "to do list", Sri Mariamman temple, a typical hindu temple with all Indian Gods painted and sculped on it, a place that brought back so many Indian memories...ufff.
After about 2-3 hours of mixed cultures and delicious chinese foods, destination... the famous Orchard road, the heart of Singapore, the fashion boulevard itself. You could barely see the shops and hotels because of the amount of vegetation spreading all over the place, which we did not complaint of course, but gosh, so much green in that city! Fency malls, hotels, what to say, la creme de la creme on Orchard, but more a delight to walk than to shop because of the seights, at least for us :)) Short stopover at Hard Rock Caffe for a beer and a coffe to wake up and continue our way and off we were to Marina Bay, one of Singapore's atractions because of the lovely view from around and their very own dancing fountain, which besides the dance and light show, singapore people decided to project images on the water....unique....
Last stop of the day, Little India, a central area in Singapore where of course everything looks smells and sounds like in India. Man again so many memories, with fresh veggies on the side of the road, cheap prices, Indian music, flowers, small streets and the place where we stopped over night, at Prince of Wales hostel, on Dunlop str, a friendly and cousy place to spend the night and plan the second day of the trip :)
Now getting into Singaporese culture...majority of the people are descending from malay, chinese and indian culture, speaking some weird languages called malay or chinese or tamil which have a very cute and curly alphabet :D, eating a hell lot of noodles, with chopsticks of course (an instrument that I could not figure out yet), looking extremly pretty and very fashionable. I could not stop myself from staring at the lovely chinese or malay girls, all dressed up in trend, with the latest wear in fashion, fun or fancy combinations, decent make up and quite short skirts or pants. Ok forget the ladies, what about the wemen, all walking female were looking hot and trendy, can you imagine that (with some small exceptions of course), no matter the age or shape or size :D And not only looking trendy, but updated with the latest technology, everyone was having at least 1 piece of iPhone in hand, buttoning, chating, playing, drawing, working, wathing movies or videos, in the metro, in the station, on the street, while walking, all the freakin' time. You could not even see their cute faces very well because they were all stuck in a small screen, doing something on the phone. What can I say, passionate people :)

Coming up next Singapore part2 ~ wildlife ~

Viata in Asia - povesti de suflet de la zeci de mii de km departare

Sonia Oprean (1 an in Filipine-management internship)
Noi suntem calatorii. Nu suntem niste oameni care strabat niste continente cu pachete de turism, care stau in hoteluri de 5 stele, viziteaza monumente si checkuiest lista de obiective turistice. Noi calatorim cu mintea si sufletul, iubim diversitatea si ea ne iubeste pe noi. Intr-o zi am decis, am pasit in avionul cu destinatia Filipine. Mi-am dorit sa plec in eXchange ca sa ma descopar, sa ma indrept spre libertate si noi provocari. Mi-am dorit sa vad lumea cu alti ochi. Astazi ma intreb daca ar fi existat alt loc pe glob care sa imi ofere mai multa nebunie, controversa, si culoare decat minunata tara insula. Am condus o echipa de oameni in realizarea unei companii din nimic, arhitecti, avocati, constructori, economisti. Ma intrebam atunci ce incredere au avut acei oameni sa ia un total strain sa le coordoneze afacerea. Traiesc cu onoarea de a ridica o companie de la 0. Am avut privilegiul sa invat de la filipinezi despre demnitate si incredere, despre antreprenoriat si coordonare. Ba mai mult decat atat, am trait cu extraordinarii oameni filipino, le-am descoperit tara si obiceiurile, m-am bucurat de oceanul lor si am trait alaturi de ei momente unice.


Oana P (6 luni in India-marketing si vanzari)
Imi amintesc cu sufletul la gura de primul pas pe taramul indian. Era o zi torida de septembrie, vreo 40 de grade afara si o temperatura uscata de mi se ingreuna gatul doar cand trageam o gura de aer. Am trait si muncit in India jumatate de an. A fost experienta vietii mele, am trait o poveste pe care o vedeam doar in filme. Locuinta si locul de munca le aveam in centrul Indiei, in orasul Nagpur cu o populatie de 4 mil de locuitori. Am lucrat in marketing si vanzari si am avut onoarea sa cunosc viata simpla si pura a indienilor traditionali, usor conservatori dar curati la suflet. Traditia si obiceiurile locului mi le-am insusit chiar dupa prima luna. In jumatate de an am trait cele mai intense sentimente care le poate trai un om cu mintea si sufletul deshis. Sunt bucuroasa si mandra de experienta mea, dar totodata nerabdatoare sa o retraiesc.


Iunia P (1 an in Singapore-management internship)
Atrasa de mica de farmecul si culorile Asiei, am aterizat pe taramuri singaporeze in ianuarie 2008, pentu ceea ce eu credeam ca va fi o experienta de un an intr-un internship. Au trecut 2 ani jumate si sunt inca aici, pentru ca nu ma pot desprinde de locurile acestea speciale si pline de farmec si suflet. In acesti doi ani jumate am avut ocazia sa traiesc in Singapore si China si sa calatoresc in tari precum Malaezia, Indonezia, Filipine, Laos, Vietnam… Ce am invatat in Asia? Ca oricat de diferiti sunt oamenii (in ceea ce priveste rasa, cultura, traditii, istorie) intr-un final ceea ce ne leaga e mult mai puternic, si anume faptul ca suntem cu totii fiinte umane, cu aceleasi tipuri de dureri si bucurii. Faptul ca atunci cand iti doresti cu adevara un lucru, el iti va iesi in cale. Faptul ca a fi bun cu cei din jur fara a astepta nici o recompensa e printre cele mai minunate lucruri pe care le poti face in viata. Faptul ca viata noastra e ca o carte, si la sfarsitul fiecarei zile mai scriem o pagina care apoi nu mai poate fi stearsa niciodata. Faptul ca atunci cand esti jos, in fundul prapastiei, se vor gasi mereu oameni sa-ti intinda o scara daca si tu le-ai intins o mana cand a fost cazul. Faptul ca e mai important sa dai tu primul, in loc sa astepti sa primesti primul si sa dai in schimb. Faptul ca orice experienta ai intr-un anumit moment e experienta de care ai nevoie atunci. Asia mi-a schimbat viata!


Deea R (3 luni in Malaezia voluntariat)
De mica imi doream sa merg intr-o tara si sa fiu voluntara undeva,sa simt ca ajut efectiv la ceva; dar nu prea stiam eu cum sa ajung sa fac asta. AIESEC mi-a oferit aceasta oportunitate, asa ca prin programul de Exchange am ajuns in Malaezia, Asia, voluntara la un oferlinat – acolo am petrecut 2 luni minunate care m-au schimbat si nu cred ca le-as putea egala cu ceva, sau poate cu alte 2 luni in care as mai merge o data in Asia desi nici o experienta asiatica nu e la fel. In Malaezia exista 3 mari culturi pe care le poti simti fara sa paraseste tara; si anume: cultura traditionala din Malaezia (sunt toti musulmani, insa difera mult de cei din Orientul Mijlociu de exemplu prin traditiile sale), cultura hindu (cu multe influente colorate din India) si cultura chineza (de la mancare la stilul de lucru, se potriveste totul). Am avut ocazia sa calatoresc, sa gust din fiecare parte a vietii de acolo, de la plimbari prin modernele Mall’uri si Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur la baie cu elefantii intr-un rau, de la o plimbare prin jungla (canopy waling) pana la suisul pe cel mai inalt munte de Asia de Sud-Est (Mt.Kinabalu), de la renumita Moscheea Albastra din Shah Alam pana la piata de noapte din Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. Am trait din plin fiecare experienta pentru ca asta e supriza pe care ti-o ofera Asia.