Travel Destination #6.1 - Porto, Portugal

"It's a bitter-sweet thing, knowing two-cultures. Once you leave your birthplace nothing is ever the same." -Sarah Turnbull

I love the meaning of this quote as it is a true fact in reality. I never knew how big the world is until I participated the global student exchange program in Europe. I definitely felt different after coming back from the program in terms of the super-Cina mind set I had before I went for my program. For those of you who did not know what is the meaning behind the term of super-Cina mind set, it is actually the similar definition of having a close-minded and traditional way of thinking in a person. I am not saying this kind of thinking is a bad thing but somehow it does affect the way we live as a human in the modern world.

Anyway, I am not going to touch on anything sentimental today. For those who followed my travel stories before, I mentioned that I will talk about my favourite destination of all times and it is definitely not Spain.

Well.. Whoever is reading this, it is your lucky day because it is time for my next favourite chapter of Aly's travel book.

When I was learning my heart out during primary school, I remember that there was this subject where we talked about history of Melaka that is related to the country of Portugal. (If I can't remember clearly, it means that I hate this subject) My hometown is in Melaka and so basically there is a tourist attraction there called A'Famosa which is the remains of a fortress that was built by the Portuguese in 1511. The history of Melaka that was involved with the ruling of Portuguese had been installed in my brain over and over again but it never crosses my mind that I will visit the country of Portugal.

So the question is how did I ended up choosing Portugal as one of my destination in Aly's travel book?

The country of Portugal is literally next to Spain and thanks to my travel buddy who watched this famous travel Youtuber that went to the city of Porto in Portugal, we added two cities of Portugal in our adventure trip. We went to the city of Porto first, followed by the city of Lisbon. Like I mentioned before, all districts or cities in a country have their own unique character and vibe. That same goes to the city of Porto and Lisbon in Portugal.

I am a girl that always love to experience the local culture of the travel destination as I had always been curious on how the locals will treat me as an Asian. To be honest, I had heard people yelling vulgar words to me just because I am yellow-skinned. It was not comfortable at all to hear all these ,especially when you were there to just have some fun or relax.

Why am I telling you this?

Because what shocked me for the city of Porto was the calm and friendly environment that I never experienced in my life.

When I first arrived in the city of Porto, there were no "why are you here" looks on their faces. A grandmother even looked at us and gave out her most beautiful smile to us. We travelled all the way from the airport to our hostel by metro and I was in a frozen mode the entire journey. My friend and I were the only Asians in the metro train and so, we gained everyone's attention in the metro.

Just imagine everyone looking at you in a confined space where the only thing that ran through your mind was RUN.

Everyone was literally looking at us from top to bottom. Their expressions or gaze were not as scary as the looks from villains or criminals. It was more like the looks of curiosity as it is not a daily experience for them to be in the same metro with actual authentic Asians.

I still remember Albert, the hostel staff that we stayed in was so friendly and helpful. He explained every details about the city of Porto to us even we had plans in terms of where we will go for our trip. As we were there earlier than the actual check-in time , the assigned room was not ready for us. Thus, he happily led us to the luggage storage room and put our luggage as well as ensured us that there will be a room in an hour. Hence, with our stinky body, my friend and I went out for brunch. When I was walking down the street, I felt like I was walking back in my country where it felt like home but of course minus the increase crime rate in Malaysia and everyone there is Caucasians. I had no idea why I felt that way but it was as if the scene in the movie where I can hold a romance storybook while walking down the street and waved at random people that I never met before in my life.

Porto is one city that is very dearly to me because it is a place that made me think of life, in another word, contemplating about life. My life before I went to Europe was messed up and I had some dark moments back then. But as I walked down the streets in Porto, I saw happiness in their eyes, no matter old or young.

The smile on a little girl's face was priceless when she received a 1 Euro ice cream from her father.

The friendly smile from the waiter in the restaurant during a glaring sunny day was so consistent until the point where I felt like he is so going to get cramps for his cheek.

The handsome street artist beside the edge of River Douro was singing my favourite song from Ed Sheeran, "Perfect" with all his heart as if he was in a singing audition.

There were a lot of moments and scenes happened throughout my trip in the city of Porto until the point where I realize that I should live my life to its fullest. Money and wealth is important in life. This is the truth and fact in life. I mean who do not like money or who will not wish for wealth in their life? Everyone do and it is a norm in life. But what I realize was the simplest thing was actually the hero that will bring happiness in life. I still remember that it was a sunny chill day near the river of Douro and there was an old man working as a street performer. His performance was a "rock" statue that was cutting items using a saw in a frozen mode. His whole body, from top to bottom was covered in silver paint with some glitter in it, as if it is a real rock statue under the sun. Since the sun was exceptionally strong on that day, there were moments where he felt like his paint was about to drip off and he could not really focus in his act. Suddenly an old lady came out of no where came out and wiped his sweat away. She made sure that he was in good condition and when he was on break, I can see the lovey-dovey gaze in their eyes towards each other as if they were giving motivation towards each other in life. A street performer like him, could not earn as much as the ones in restaurants or other businesses in shops. To him, it is enough for the day and what kept him strong was the woman behind his back supporting him by all means.

During the second or third day in Porto, my friend and I were visiting a famous book store and while we were inside busy taking pictures and fidgeting with all the books, I heard a group of girls singing in harmony outside the shop. The group of young girls, approximately aged 13 to 17 in their uniform singing songs that I did not understand at all. They were singing their hearts out with the help of some musical instruments. Apparently they were promoting a festival that was organized by their school as I overheard their teacher explaining what they were doing in English. They sang with passion and dance freely with each other but instead of "marketing" the festival, I felt like they were using the streets as their open stage. They sang day and night and people were clapping along with them with joy and laughter. It was a heart-warming moment to remember as everyone there treated each other as if they knew each other for more than 10 years but strangers in reality. This is a great example of strangers becoming family in just one night, or to be exact , one moment.

I know that I promise to not share anything sentimental but I can't help it as this city really change the way I think in terms of the way I live and how I treat people. There were times where I hope that the people surround me or my country would see what I experienced. But I knew that it is not easy to change one's thinking overnight and I guess you just need one miracle moment to change the way you live in your life.

My next travel story will be all the juicy details of my trip in the city of Porto.

Thank you and stay tuned!

Cheers!