PORTUGAL 2005 Part 2

(THIS STORY CONTINUE FROM PART 1)

I intended to modify my first part to add more into it but I change my mind now. Better to start another part than go back and correct the old one ^_^

**FIRST AFTERNOON IN LISBON**

I arrived at TIVOLI TEJO, a four star hotel, in just some minutes after the bus left the airport. All participants were with us except the Singaporeans since their flight were different (they went there via London). The hotel was very nice and luxurious, including a free computer with Internet in the lobby. It's service reminded me of the good hotels in my home country. I do love its modern technologies because there were WI-FI in public areas and meeting rooms, Internet broadband access in the rooms, Free ADSL line in business centre, and so on... The hotel is located near the bank of the great Rio Tejo (Tejo River).

Credit: VENERE.COM

After I and Mr. Praphon put our luggage in the hotel, we decided to have a stroll. 'Yes, only this jacket is fine for me!, it's not too cold out there' I replied to my senior colleague's question who brought with him 2 waistcoats & an overcoat. He looked at me strangely and put on 1 waistcoat, 'I'll bring these two in case of emergency'.

We walked straight from the hotel to the great river, which was so great; I can't see the other side and almost think that it is a lake or a sea. We walked on the stone paved footpath, looking on both side of the street. THIS IS AUTUMN PORTUGAL, I thought. It was beautiful with the still-green grass and several colours trees, including the cold wind piercing my clothes. The air was very fresh and the city was very clean...we walked 'till we reached the river.

The wind was stronger at the river bank than in the town since there is no building or wall blocking their way. I's more forunate because my jacket is wind-proof but my colleague's waistcoat is not. He put on another waistcoat when we were strolling along the river's bank. We talked a lot to each other about the terrific scenaries we have seen.

One hour passed, the rain was started to fall. It was very bad, although it was not a heavy one as in my country, because it was very cold. We were in a difficult time finding shelter due to the strong wind from every direction. My poor colleague put on the overcoat and gloves because his waistcoats cannot protect him from the rain. Again, my jacket has some water-proof ability in it ^_^ We ran, with freezing feet, as quick as possible (so slow it might have been) back to the hotel to stay away from freezing rain...

When the rain stopped, it had been already dark. Both of us went out again, this time we headed to the "Gare do Oriente" or ORIENT station in English, which located next to the hotel. We thought we may have to use it the other days entering the centre of Lisbon. Gare do Oriente was one of the biggest transport hub in Lisbon. We found that it was the hub for buses, trains, and undergrounds. The station was constructed with very well designed which I have no skill to describe such this man-made thing. Watch my picture closely for my hat since I've lost it here -- No more of it later ^_^ The station had a connection to Vasco Da Gama Shopping Centre, a huge shopping centre which at my time in Portugal no other was bigger than this. We had our simple dinner at the food court of this Centre. My plate was a chicken with rice, I can swear to you that it was too salty, not only the chicken but the rice itself. However, I ate them all as a consequence of the hard afternoon. How much does it cost? My dear....it 8 euros -- you might think it's so cheap but I was not ready at that time to spend 400 Baht for the salty and "unproper" cooked rice.

A nice clip about Gare do Oriente from youtube

And that's all for my first afternoon (and evening)...with HAPPY...

THIS STORY CONTINUE ON PART 3

PORTUGAL 2005 Part 1

Hi again everyone and welcome to my another series. It might takes me a bit longer to post a new post because of my hard work consumed my whole energy in this last 2 weeks. Don't worry, it'll soon be better. In this series you will find my exciting experiences in Portugal, where I spent my whole 2 weeks training there.

**THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC**

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), is a country in southwestern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula. Being the westernmost country of mainland Europe, Portugal is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.

the First County of Portugal was formed. A victory over the Muslims at Ourique in 1139 is traditionally taken as the occasion when Portugal is transformed from a county into an independent kingdom.

Portugal is a democratic republic ruled by the constitution of 1976 with Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The four main governing components are the president of the republic, the assembly of the republic, the government, and the courts. The constitution grants the division or separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Portugal like most European countries has no state religion, making it a secular state.

The president, who is elected to a five-year term, has a supervising, nonexecutive role. The current President is Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral parliament composed of 230 deputies elected for four-year terms.

The climate of Portugal can be classified as Oceanic in the north and Mediterranean in the south. Portugal is one of the warmest European countries, the annual temperature averages in mainland Portugal are 13 °C (55 °F) in the north and 18 °C (64 °F) in the south. The Madeira and Azores Atlantic archipelagos have a narrower temperature range.

Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 and started a process of modernization within the framework of a stable environment. It has achieved a healthy level of growth. Successive governments have implemented reforms and privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy. Portugal was one of the founding countries of the euro in 1999, and therefore is integrated into the Eurozone.

Credit: WIKIPEDIA

**FLYING TO PORTUGAL**

First of all, I have to thank you the EC-ASEAN programme for providing me a chance to train in a European country, which regulation system is renowned. But not only academic knowledge I have got but the life experiences as well. My training was on 14 to 25 November 2005 but I have to leave my country Since Saturday 12th. I went to this training with Mr. Praphon, my senior colleague.

I travelled from Bangkok (via Zurich) to Lisbon, the capitol of Portugal. After 10 hours on SWISS air, I have to spent some times at the Zurich International Airport and it is long enough for me to explore the main system of it ^_^ I used the underground train, which linked between terminals, several time until I was sure that it use no wheel to operate. I, once finding my way out, turned into the restricted pathway and went downstair when I and my colleague found a guard and he told us to came out immediately. I found a clip in YouTube about this underground train (in the clip it is called "tube")

And...this is my pic with the train

After spent some hours in Zurich International Airport, I and my colleague travelled to Lisbon by 'Portugal Ground Force' Airline (Strange name, isn't it?). I arrived at Portugal just before noon. The Lisbon airport was very small compared to Zurich's. The ventilation might also be a problem there because I could smell cigarette everywhere.

The organiser of the training was there... I've met Nunu, Nuno Fortunato, there and he accompanied us and the rest of the participants, all from South East Asia, to out hotel.

And that's my first STEP in EUROPE!!

THIS STORY CONTINUE ON PART 2

CHIANG MAI - CHIANG RAI 2005 Part 4

Hi and welcome to the last part of this journey of mine. As I mentioned in the previous parts that the trip was covered both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai province of Thailand. But since I've been to Chiang Mai a few times, this trip, then, focused on Chiang Rai.

You may also like to see the other parts of this series here | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 |

**GIANT PANDAS AT CHIANG MAI ZOO**

The last thing I would like to share with you in this series was my experience at Chiang Mai Zoo and their pandas.

After another night in Chiang Rai, we woke up refreshed from our tough journey on the hills. I drove the poor old rented car back to Chiang Mai. The path was uphill again, the worst for my mom since she has got motion sickness.

We, except my mom ^^, arrived Chiang Mai with the strong will to visit the Chiang Mai Zoo but for the time we had, we couldn't complete the whole zoo, so, we visited the only @ Chiang Mai Zoo (in Thailand), the pandas from China named, Chuang Chuang (M) and Lin Hui (F).

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, "black-and-white cat-foot") is a mammal classified in the bear family, Ursidae, native to central-western and southwestern China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though belonging to the order Carnivora, the panda has a diet which is 99% bamboo. Pandas may eat other foods such as honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges and bananas.

The Giant Panda is an endangered animal. According to the latest report, China has 239 giant pandas in captivity by Nov 2007, 128 of them in Wolong and 67 in Chengdu, with 27 pandas living outside the country. It also estimated that around 1,590 panda are living in the wild. However, a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that there might be as many as 2000-3000 pandas in the wild. Though reports show that the numbers of wild pandas are on the rise, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) believes there is not enough certainty to remove pandas from the endangered animal list.

The giant panda is a favorite of the human public, at least partly because many people find that the species has an appealing baby-like cuteness. Also, it is usually depicted reclining peacefully eating bamboo, as opposed to hunting, which adds to its image of innocence. Though giant pandas are often assumed docile because of their cuteness, they have been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than predatory behavior. Research shows that in cases in which its offspring may be under threat, the panda can and often will react violently.

The Giant Panda has a paw, with a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified sesamoid bone, which helps the panda to hold bamboo while eating. Stephen Jay Gould wrote an essay about this, then used the title The Panda's Thumb for a book of essays concerned with evolution, punctuated equilibrium, intelligent design, the Piltdown Man hoax, Down's Syndrome, and the relationship between dinosaurs and birds among others. It also has a short tail, approximately 15 cm long. Giant Pandas can usually live to be 20-30 years old in captivity.

Quoted from: WIKIPEDIA

In Thailand, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui caused panda fever effects for the time we received the both of them, 10 years on loan, from the government of China. Countries, except China, that have Pandas (for show) are USA, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. See? It's a very great gift from China to us...I've a clip of them to share with you ^^

They, the Pandas, I mean, were taming in the large air-conditioned room with artificials environments that the zoo try to fool them. I do not think they success because the architecture is too rough. But I think that it's because these 2 pandas were born in the zoo as well. So, it's okay for them I hope. The attendance need to be quiet and stay calm because they are often sleep during day-time...and YES!! Chuang Chuang had woke up....

He, after some yawns, slowly climbed down the slope and drank some water from the pouring man-made spring. Then he directed lazily (it's like he's doing his job) to one small place decided to be his show-off seat. After that, a zoo staff throw him a bamboo and he tried to catched it!!??

'FOOL!! HOW CAN YOU THINK PANDA CAN CATCH A FLYING BAMBOO!!!', I thought and said to my brother 'Hey! What will happen if that dude throw a bamboo to his head'. He replied nothing (-*-). Chuang Chuang was not hit when I was there. He was lazily catching throwed bamboo and eat it. I confess that I thought pandas eat bamboo leafs not hardcore as what I had seen that day...EATING BAMBOO CANE!!

However, he didn't eat it all; after the staff throwed him a new one, he left the one on his hand and eating a new one...again and again...ARE YOU REALLY DOING A ROUTINE JOB....MAN!!!!????

In a sudden, after more than 10 bamboo canes he ate, he left his show-off site and headed to the only one of his kind in Thailand...Lin Hui!!

Lin Hui was sleeping at one corner of the chamber when Chuang Chuang reached her. It seems like she is shyer than Chuang Chuang whom I think likes to show-off. He, then, tried to woke Lin Hui up...to switch with him in this boring show-off job... However, she didn't look like having a mind for. She angried at Chuang Chuang and scared him off... 'POOR OLD PANDA!!!', I thought, 'She doesn't wanna help even for a little'.

Chuang Chuang, then, crept back again to the site show, playing with an man-made equipment...released some poo and started to sit at his show-off seat again. 'WHAT A LAZY GIRL SHE IS, OKAY, I WILL CONTINUE DOING IT FOR NOW!! COME ON MAN...THROW ME SOME BAMBOO!!' he might thnk this way...

After I completed my time with the poor Chuang Chuang, I really had no enough time to walk around the zoo because we needed to return the rented car and hurried back to the airport....

Is this Chiang Mai trip too short? I think so ^_^ if comparing to my standard.

The NEXT trip would be 'PORTUGAL'...yes, PORTUGAL! Keep in touch! I'll share all my experiences there with you...

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CHIANG MAI - CHIANG RAI 2005 Part 3

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all. As I mentioned in the last part that I'll dedicate one part of my blog to Doi Tung Royal Villa, and here it is!!! If you do not read the first and second part of this trip, you can find it here...part 1...part 2.

**DOI TUNG ROYAL VILLA**

DOI TUNG: Switzerland in Thailand

This description seems apt when viewing the crisp line of mountains of Chiang Rai in the cool winter season, or when the mist and clouds of the rainy season roll in above the verdant forest against a background of an ever-changing sky.

This natural beauty has been enhanced through the effort and perseverance of the people of Doi Tung in reviving their once deteriorated forests. The now lush forests are their legacy to pass on to their descendants. It is through their work that they accomplished the gracious commands in the memory of Her Royal Highness, the Princess Mother, through the Doi Tung Development Project under Royal Initiative, that has returned the mountains to their natural environment. The Princess Mother has passed away, but her inspiration has lived on through the dedication of the loyal staff of the Doi Tung Development Project.

Visitors to Doi Tung can experience for themselves the natural beauty of the hills, and appreciate the efforts of the people of Doi Tung. They can see how people and forests can live together, while the people preserve the forests, the forests support the livelihood of the people.

TOURISM HIGHLIGHTS OF DOI TUNG
- Doi Tung Royal Villa
- Mae Fah Luang Garden
- Princess Mother Commemorative Hall
- Mae Fah Luang Arboretum
- Phra That Doi Tung
- Ethnic and Hill-tribe Communities
- The Wildlife Conservation Centre and Open Zoo
- On-site Accommodation on Doi Tung Peak

DOI TUNG ROYAL VILLA

Doi Tung Royal Villa is the final residence of Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindara of Thailand. The Doi Tung Royal Villa was constructed for the Princess Mother; from 1987 to 1995, it served as the royal residence and base from which Her Royal Highness supervised the reforestation of the project area and other development priorities. The Doi Tung Royal Villa thus came to symbolise her personal commitment and dedication to improving the lives and well-being of her subjects.

Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindara, the Princess Mother referred to the Doi Tung Royal Villa as her ‘home on Doi Tung’. Construction of the villa began on December 26 in 1987 –the year His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej celebrated His Fifth Cycle or 60th birthday anniversary. To mark the inauguration of the main pillar of the villa, ancient northern Thai customs were observed and an ancient Lanna Thai ritual known as the “Pok Sao Heuen” ceremony was performed according to traditional practices.

Set on the gentle slope of Doi Tung, the two-storey split-level villa was built according to design concepts and specifications as briefed by HRH the Princess Mother and her daughter, HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana. It combines architectural elements inspired by the Northern Thai or Lanna style with those of a typical Swiss chalet, reminiscent of the Princess Mother’s residence in Switzerland where she lived for many years. The Royal Residence is on the upper floor and the residential quarters of members of staff in attendance are on the lower floor.

The Doi Tung Royal Villa features teak floors with most of the interior panelling made of pine timber from recycled shipping crates. The wooden gables are decorated with ornate hand-carved designs depicting floral motifs and creatures representing the signs of the zodiac. A set of “Ka-lae”, distinctive Lanna-Thai roof decorations coated with lacquer and laminated with gold leaves, sit on either end. Verandahs and railings are decorated with flowing “Mek Lai” designs.

The villa also includes a section for HRH Princess Galyani, elder sister of His Majesty the King, and her daughter, Thanpuying Tasna Valaya. The residence is open to the general public. Apart from its delightful interior, it offers a picturesque view of the mountains of the Nang Non range.

Doi Tung Royal Villa is open daily from 08.00 - 17.00.

References:

1. Chiangmai-chiangrai.com
2. doitung.org

About the Doi Tung Royal Villa, I've quoted things for you to read it because I think it's better that you get more precise information than what I, a travellor, have got in my memory. Here are pictures of me and my families there, in cluding a clip showing scenary from a balcony of the Royal Villa, I hope they can reflects the beauty of the Royal Villa to you.

**MAE FAH LUANG GARDEN**

Close to the Royal Villa located the fair "MAE FAH LUANG GARDEN". This 4 hectares botanical garden consists of flowerbeds planted which many of them I have seen no where. Over 70 species of cool climate and temperate ornamental and flowering plants that thrive at high altitude are planted here along with native plants. It is said that the plants here come into bloom all year round. In 1993, The Mae Fah Luang Garden was awarded the Pacific Asia Tourism Association’s PATA Gold Awards in the ‘Tourism Development’ category in recognition of its outstanding achievement in the development of a new tourist destination.

Personally, I think this garden is of the fairest in Thailand and the more years passed by, the fairer it becomes owing to continuing improvement of the garden itself. I was wishing I could dwelt there for as long as I could, but I can't. 'WALK THROUGH' it was the best I could do at that moment since my family was going to have a long journey that day.

After that, I and my family went to the northern most part of Thailand, Mae Sai, for lunch and souveniors buying. We, then, tried to drove to 'Phu Che Fah' but our rented car couldn't get it and it's getting dark. So, we had to returned to the city of Chiang Rai and spent our night there...Before the end of this part, I've brought you a clip on Doi Tung Palace and Mae Fah Luang gardens from YouTube, please enjoy...

The last part of this journey will be about Chiang Mai...CLICK HERE TO READ...

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