lisbonchick

As most of you know, my blogs are mainly about the photos with some information on the side. This one takes us to the end of 2019 and another set of adventures… Enjoy!

Another trip to Penang in Malaysia for yet another visa, no more until next year. At least Penang is an interesting and a fun place to spend two days at. This time I ventured out of town to see some temples and visited old Chinese mansions – there are plenty! Another great thing about Georgetown is the amazing Indian food, I always come back stuffed.

Kek Lok Si Temple

Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Sky Walk at Penang Hill

Summer in Portugal never disappoints, in fact, we cannot think of many other places we would rather be. This time we explored Marvão and Castelo de Vide. What a stunning area; old medieval villages, castles and views to die for. If you like history, some of Castelo de Vide’s earliest inhabitants were the Romans who settled there in 44 BC. There is no shortage of cobbled streets, whitewashed houses with granite and gothic doorways.

Castelo de Vide

We did a short hop to Cáceres in Spain which was truly amazing. The medieval walled city has been declared a UNESCO Heritage Site. Narrow cobbled streets twist and climb among ancient stone walls lined with palaces, mansions, arches and churches, while the skyline is decorated with turrets, spires, gargoyles and enormous storks’ nests. Protected by defensive walls, it has survived almost intact from its 16th-century. It is like stepping into the Middle Ages.

Back to Marvão! A little bit of information from the internet as I love a bit of history: Perched on a quartzite crag of the Serra de São Mamede, Marvão’s name is derived from an 8th-century Muladi duke, named Ibn Marwan. Ibn Marwan, who constructed the Castle of Marvão – likely on the site of an earlier Roman watchtower – as a power base when establishing an independent statele – covering much of modern-day Portugal – during the Emirate of Cordoba (884-931 CE). The castle and walled village were further fortified through the centuries, notably under Sancho II of Portugal (13th century) and Denis of Portugal.

Marvão by horse – can’t keep the girl away from these beasts….

Evora

As luck would have it, we stumbled upon Lisbon Pride, great fun!

In Lisbon for the Santos Populares festivities

Bansky exhibition in Lisbon

LX Factory

Quinta da Regaleira near Sintra is worth a visit. Never been there before and I am glad that I went! My favourites were the gardens, the secret tunnels and the inverted towers.

Inverted tower

The “other side” in Lisbon, across the bridge for lunch and to go up the Boca do Vento lift. Beautiful views and some cool graffiti.

As a lover of graffiti, I took a day to explore and discover various murals around the city. There are some amazing graffiti artists around, here are some examples.

Just a Lisbon doorway….

EDP Headquarters, great modern architecture!

My place!

Some random photos of Phuket!

Bang Tao beach, close to our house where we often go for sunsets.

One my best buys of 2019! Make your toilet great again, Trump toilet brush.

I wonder if he knows what his T-Shirt means….

Getting ready for the rainy season in November

How to make yourself confortable

Phuket graffiti by Cece Nobre

Phuket Town, no idea….

Geoff finally finds out who he is

In April, we ventured into Laos to Luang Prabang. Beautiful town and we caught the Festival of Lights which celebrates Lai Heua Fai, in celebration of Boun Awk Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent. The city was incredibly beautiful, illuminated by wax candles melting to pagodas and crepe paper lanterns hanging from temple roofs and the windows of local homes.

Going up to Mount Phou Si, 100 m high. It lies in the heart of the old town peninsula and is bordered on one side by the Mekong River and on the other side by the Nam Khan River. Amazing views and a lovely temple!

I love bugs!

The Mekong

Moon bears sanctuary – these poor bears are trafficked and suffer a terrible fate. They are trafficked as exotic pets but many are imprisoned and abused in bear farms, where they are often kept in tiny cages, unable to move, while catheters are inserted into their gall bladders to extract their bile, believed to have a multitude of health benefits in
traditional medicines.

Kuang Si waterfall, so beautiful!!!

Just a walkabout in Luang Prabang

And we end the year in Bangkok to see the Christmas lights. Over the top and extravagant as always. Bangkok is a city of extremes and excess, you either love it or hate it. I am not too fond of it but am drawn to it now and then…

Exposure of Tolerance: LGBTQ in Southeast Asia exhibition in Bangkok

Cocktails in the sky

And so ends another year in Thailand. Who knows what 2020 will bring?