Liv's latest adventure around the globe

my first dinner at Dianne's house.... Korean food is not only about Kimchi and spices but a mix of all these that really made my whole day of travel from Beijing to Seoul worthwhile. 

At the HK airport, I spent around 5 minutes in front of the immigration just staring at the immigration officer who kept on staring at me & my passport as if there was a huge difference with the one who was there. I tried to smile several times for him to at least see that it is indeed me. Yeah, I just look better in person that’s probably why they’re doubting it all the time. The same thing happened when I was at the Korean airport where I spent another 5 minutes with the same kind of stare… it’s so intimidating in a way as if they have certain perceptions of you already even without asking what was my purpose of visit or if it was my first time to travel to these countries(coz it's been my 2nd time)… had they asked any of those questions then maybe their suspicions would have been clarified and definitely not just by staring at me as if the face in the passport photo is different from the actual person standing in front of them. I guess the next time I should start also wearing the same blouse as I have in the photo so as not to provide any more further suspicion...

The world is going to China… and that’s probably why in any Chinese embassy around the world, it would be filled with people wanting to discover more about this much talked about country soon to rule the world economy. Just arriving at the Beijing airport, I already knew that this is just a normal day and not even a Friday or Saturday, yet it was filled with many tourists and people arriving from various parts of the world. Even with an AIESEC dance or AIESEC chant, I don’t think that I would have been able to find the Chinese Member Committee nor they would have been able to find me that easily with the enormous crowd in the airport.

I spent 5 days in Beijing and 2 days in Shanghai… I’ve always been asked which is better, then of course my reply would always depend on who am I talking to right? Hehehe Well, Beijing is known for its cultural and historical characteristic attractions while Shanghai is the modern cities with great architectural buildings and nice city line at night. It’s almost like comparing Amsterdam or Rotterdam, Manila or Makati.. one is the old city and the latter is the modern one…if asked which one I would choose I would rather have a mix of both.

A great train ride for only 15 euros…. However, would need to travel for about 14 hours to reach to Shanghai from Beijing. They told me it was a terrible decision since we got the hot seat for that great deal and I was actually expecting the worse from their term hot seat which I thought was wooden chairs and no aircondition. Yet, it appeared to be still ok with cushioned chairs and aircondition, with just a little more of patience for the long ride but at least traveling at night would lessen one's anxiety to reach on the final destination.

Eating culture in Asia has always been the best one. I remember back in the Philippines when we were touring some foreign trainees in Bacolod, it was actually just one whole day of trying out different dishes such as having chicken inasal for lunch, halo halo for merienda, lapaz batchoy for dinner, cakes for dessert… and yes, that was already the day tour around Bacolod. J This time, while having meetings and tours around China, Hongkong & Korea it’s always best to hold meaningful conversations with a full stomach…. Otherwise the mind would just be wandering off with the variety of food that one can eat. Chinese food is no different for me as going to those lauriat meals or hotpot dinners has always been a favorite from my family. However, what was different now were the ingredients being used as these are indeed authentic Chinese food. See for yourself what I am talking about and I am sure you’ll be hungry by now even if it’s not yet break time.

My Chinese parents from Shanghai: very accommodating during my visit at Chris¡¯ house in Shanghai, where they let me taste the best crabs I had which was fetched from fresh waters and not sea water, as well as their homemade dumplings which really filled my stomach even for just 2 days.
 

Xie Fen Xiao Long: shrimp dumpling with soup inside so the way to eat it is to make a hole from the dumpling to get the soup inside and then dip it into vinegar for a tasty warm meal. It took us an hour to wait for our order and when our order came many people were standing up waiting for tables as well, so we were eating faster than how long we had to wait for the food.
 

At Nan Xiang Xiao Leng Dian which is regarded as one of the most traditional places in Shanghai as the rest of the tourist attractions in Shanghai is about their modern architectures and nice city line at night time 

the tallest building in Shanghai 

at the TV tower in Shanghai 

See for yourself which one do you think is better... I would still say I would love to have both, except that they are about 14 hours away and definitely not an easy ride.

at the MC office with Flic & Cris, with a wonderful view from the 14th floor of the traffic lights across one of the major roads in Beijing. 

cycling in China. Felt so much like Netherlands with loads of cyclists on the roads. However one would need lots of courage and strength to just bike around with the public buses along the wide roads of Beijing¡¦.
 

view of the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha from the lake 

boating at the lake of Summer Palace.
 

a wonderful view from the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha, overlooking the lake that surrounds Summer Palace as well as the city line of Beijing  

after that hike to the top of the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha, you can see a magnificient view of the ancient Chinese temples and artifacts. 

Statue of the thousand handed Guanshlyin Buddha, cast in bronze and gilded with gold. It¡¯s 5 m h igh and 5 tons in weight was cast during the reign of Emperor Wanlig of the Ming Dynasty. 

Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha: one of the main attractions at the Summer Palace. It was originally built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong then burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The octahedral tower has 2 stories with 4-layered eaves, altogether 36.44 m high.  

at the summer Palace with Kim & Leer (Member Committee AIESEC in China)
 

Summer Palace: It is an area of 2.9 square km, ¨ú of it is underwater. Summer Palace, originally namesd Qingyi Yuan or Garden of Clear Ripples was first constructed in 1750. The Government of the Qing Dynasty started to rebuild in 1886 with funds that it had misappropriated from the Imperial navy & other sources. REnamded later as Yihe Yuan or the Garden of Health and Harmony, it was supposed to serve as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi. Known also as the summer palace, it was ravaged by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900. 

Peking Duck: authentic Chinese meal at Dadong Restaurant where one of the famouse Peking duck in Beijing is served¡¦. It is served as the last dish so we were never full until the Peking duck was served and it was indeed worth the wait 

Dining in Beijing-with the MC team of China. This is already our 5th dish and still 2 to come¡¦ eating has never been so much fun especially at 2pm when you¡¯re so hungry already but still happens to be the rush hour with still many customers¡¦ probably a lot of them like us who were there for the discounted rates of great Chinese dishes.
 

at one of the nice parks in Beijing, Di Tan(Terrace fo the Earth), originally know as Fangze Tan(Square Moated Terrace), was the venue for the sacrifices offered to the Goddess of the earth by the Ming & Qing Emperors. The terrace used to cover an area of 37.3 hectares Square in shape, it was the largest Terrace for worshipping the Earth in ancient China.
 

The Maitreya Buddha-eighteen meters above ground and eight metres below ground was carved from a single trunk of white sandal wood. In August 1990 A.D> this Buddha was in Guinnes Book of records 

entrance to the Lamah Temple¡¦ a journey to a hundred buddhas. Yonghe Gong is the buggest Tibetan Buddhist Lama temple in Beijing, built in 1694 as the residence of the Qing Dynasty Prince Yong. In 1725 it was made a palace called Yonghe Gong(meaning harmony and peace palace in Chinese) by Emperor Yong Zheng. In 1744, Emperor Qian Long changed it into a lamasery.  

my last night in Hongkong... where else but in Lam Kwai Fong once again... with me are the previous and current MC team of AIESEC HK as well as Paulie who was a trainee in the Philippines now working in HK 

chinese lauriat... at an LC meeting with City University of HK... got to meet members, executive board officers and at the same time enjoy real chinese food 

Great cityline by the bay... at tsim sha tsui 

night life at Hongkong... the party has just started at 12midnight... and still lots of people at 3 am! 

Just one of the great drinks we had for the night... feels great to be with young freshmen members once again.... 

My first night in Hongkong at one of the famous bar district... nice atmosphere, great drinks, a bit expensive but still fun. With me in the photo is Michelle(LC HKU), and trainees Ceha and Katryn. 

Most of the directors are off to different parts of the world now for the first round of country visits. Before Lele(Director for SSGN) left for Brazil, she has always kept mentioning about not being given a second chance so we must seize each possible moment. This holds true for the first 4 months that the AI team have been everyday working and living together that sometimes you feel that there’s always tomorrow anyway to finalize something. Until that tomorrow can turn into weeks, months and whola the year is over! Right now I am just overwhelmed with how 4 months can really be that fast that the time for us to go to our respective growth networks and drive the messages we would want to pass to these countries. I could just imagine then how a week in each country can just pass by so swiftly that seizing each moment, minute, hour & day is far more important as ever for there might not be another opportunity for me to visit these countries again and meet them face to face.

Monday morning is usually a relaxed morning to bike to the office and I wasn’t on a rush to catch the 9am Monday morning meeting as I had enough time. While crossing the street while the green light sign was flashing for me, a fast car was suddenly passing my way which almost hit me had I been driving faster. It made me think more on the possibilities of given a second chance as it could have been the end for me on a great Monday morning. Although it must have just been my luck or my fate as well, I really don’t know. What I know though is that these second chances barely come your way and all is but a lost opportunity. In my life that’s full of hopes and regrets, I realize that some things just have to be enjoyed as they come for there might not be another lifetime for these to come again-be it weeks, days, hours or minute differences can mean a totally different direction of your life. Maybe windows would be open when the door’s closed, but we only have one lifetime with no other alternatives to it.

It seems that mommy tries to follow my footsteps as she recently attended a conference in Barcelona, Spain & Berlin, Germany.... ooops... it's the other way around, she's always encouraged me to explore different opportunities as these which is why I have actually travelled and attended several international conferences. Travelling in Europe has never been that hard so I was very happy to find out that she can stop by and see me in Netherlands, which I already consider my second home.

A mom not only to me, but also to the rest of the AIESEC International team, whom she considers her international kids. She was already known as "Liv's mom" even before she arrived, as she has always sent us email greetings for our upcoming transition or conference periods. Having had that publicity already, she's even made it higher to being known as a great cook of Filipino food when she showcased the Adobo and Sinigang dishes. Thanks to Mama Sita for the great flavour and the rest of my team has yet to see that I can also cook such great dishes... but for now it's all mommy's great recipes that's made the Tuesday cooking team the best team dinner we've had for the week.

Bidding mommy a safe trip to Paris from the Rotterdam central station.... feel sad but at the same time excited that I would be seeing her again in 3 days time as I visit the Philippines for a week. 

Hop on mommy! Biking has never been easy here in Netherlands with bicycle friendly lanes 

mommy tries to do some biking... at least for photo shoot purposes as this one is a special one for me, with very low seat for my convenient driving 

Leiden Centraal station: very fine architecture for a train station in Netherlands. 

a long walk around Leiden and you'll find the most windmills around.  

autumn leaves are falling all over 

big water lillies:where is tumbellina? 

Visiting LEIDEN: at the Botanical Garden with mommy 

a great view from my room in Rotterdam. I always wake up seeing the time from the city hall clock, although these days looks impossible to believe that at 7am the sun is still hiding. 

Mommy walks around Old Harbour and takes a pose by the Dutch Maritime Pub... she is indeed in the Netherlands. 

A great dinner treat for mommy at Popocatepetl mexican restaurant.  

Mommy's visit to the AIESEC office, a great landmark indeed for her stay in Netherlands. 

Mommy witnesses the systematic knowledge management of AIESEC International. Currently, we're creating a more conducive learning environment for the AI office, thus getting rid of unecessary things in the office and re-arranging files and documents into more useful mechanisms.  

Tita Babie and Tito Tony: my adopted family from The Hague-my most visited city in Netherlands because of visa applications to Korea, China and Bangladesh. 

It has been by far the greatest vacation deal I could ever get. It just cost us 50 euros for a train via Thalys from Rotterdam to Paris Nord. I got to meet mommy and some of her friends there, with my great Paris travel companion, Amit. It was just about 27 hours spent in the city of Paris(with the cheap deal there must be some restriction as to when we can take the train). But given the limitation of time arriving Paris at 2pm, we immediately went around the well known architectures of Paris. There are still a long list of where to go back or spend longer time at, especially that of museums such as Louvre. Yet, we were able to manage seeing the Eiffel tower, Sacre Coure, Champs Elysses(longest shopping street in Paris). Since Paris is the city that never sleeps, travellers also don't sleep maximizing every minute that we only had 3 hours sleep from 6-9am. After that we had to go around the city once again for our trip back to Rotterdam was at 5pm.

As they say, Paris is one of the most romantic cities in the world. After visiting Paris, I am still wondering if indeed it is, but I could say that I enjoyed this great vacation of my life most especially having to spend it with my mom whom I haven't seen for 4 months but seeing each other like we've never seen for a long time.

A big group of Pinoys plus Amit enjoys a great nightlife in Paris, whereby the traffic jam at 1am has just started for the bar hoppers. One of our great destinations for great music and raving dance floor was at Milliardaire which just happens to have 40 euros entrance but we got in for free, thanks to one of the Pinoys who had contacts in the top discos and bars around Paris. Dancing has never been so much fun. 

Mushi mushi: dinner time at a Japanese restaurant.  

BASILIQUE DU SACRE-COUER(Basilica of the Sacred Heart): the interior of the church contains on eof hte world's largest mosaics, and depicts Christ with outstretchced arms. The nearby bell tower contains teh "Savoyade". Cast in Anncey in 1895, it is one of the world's heaviest at 19 toons.  

great view of Paris from Sacre Couer 

MOULIN ROUGE: around 200 euros to get in and would even need a month in advance to book your slots.... otherwise you can just rent the movie of the very famous moulin rouge in Paris 

The biggest Louis Vuitton bag I have seen, unfortunately it's not for sale and neither will it fit into my 20kg allowable luggage back home. 

ARC DE TRIOMPH: world's largest traffic roundabout and the meeting point of 12 avenues. Managed to take a photo in the middle of the street while waiting for greenlight. From the viewing platform on the gop of the arch(284 steps), you can see the 12 avenues-many of them named after illustrious generals-radiating towards every part of Paris 

The famous EIFFEL TOWER: world's tallest structure at 320m(1050 ft) until Manhattan's Chrysler Building was completed. Three levels are open for public viewing with very long queues especially on the weekend. 

This is how a common "rotonda" or round abouts in Paris looks like: with a central fountain and two old buildings surrounding it. I definitely would have been lost if I would just use these 2 descriptions to where I am currently located. 

after 4 months in Netherlands, saw mommy once again excitedly like we've not seen each other for years 

great lunch at Hippopotamus restaurant after 3 hour train ride from Rotterdam to Paris