The reason why I still couldn't post an article about the recent travel to Peru is because I still have a jet lag. I feel sleepy every now and then, and there are so many things I needed to catch up on. Anyway, here's the long overdue first post about the recent Peru trip. This is the first chapter on the Peru Series. :) 

We took Star Peru from Lima to Cusco last 9th of November. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 0935, and although it left on time, our flight got diverted to Arequipa because the aircraft was not big enough to land in Cusco where it has been raining. The supposed to be 1 hour flight lasted for 4.5 hrs. and so we arrived Cusco at 2 pm.

I must admit that it was an unpleasant experience, firstly because the flight attendant have not even announced at all that the flight got diverted. My colleague and I thought we already landed in Cusco, however we found it's strange that there's not much people in the airport itself. We needed to go and ask the flight attendant what was the matter, before they finally reveal what had happened.

I was still cheerful in the morning, even posting a photo with my Inca Cola :D

Star Peru aircraft

The seats looks old

With broken / damaged trays

While taking off, this overhead compartment was left open by the flight attendant. This can result to injuries, luckily nothing happened.

The empty Arequipa Airport

A panoramic shot

We stayed in Victoria during our short trip to Hoi An, Vietnam. This is a four star hotel located around ten minutes by drive to the Hoi An old town, a UNESCO site. Victoria is a known name in Vietnam as it also owns several hotels all over the country including the one in Sapa, located north Vietnam and where they also operate an overnight train.

When you visit Central Vietnam, a recommended hotel will be the one near the Old Town and at the same time located in front of the sea. Victoria has both qualities, however although located in the coastal area, it does not have any beach (it only has a tiny portion, but it really does not count). It used to have a beach, but after the flooding from the recent years, water just comes up and unless it's low tide, you won't usually see a beach. The Da Nang area is a much better location for beach resorts and is located around 20 - 30 minutes from the old town.




What I like about Victoria is that although I do agree that it needs refurbishment, it has its own charm, the local Vietnam taste. It is also affordable and the staff are very hospitable, always greeting you with a smile. They do have a nice pool overlooking the sea which is very relaxing.

FOOD
There are plenty of choices for breakfast and it definitely does not disappoint. Pancakes, bread, eggs, pho, congee, fruits, Vietnamese coffee, you name it! I also had the opportunity to try a special seafood dinner evening with Vietnamese dancers and a Filipino singer. It was great!






ROOMS
We have been upgraded from standard to a Sea View Deluxe room which comes with a balcony. When you entered the glass door, a king bed awaits you, there's a sitting area, a bath tub and an outdoor shower. The room was clean, although there was a sign that geckos roamed the area, which is unavoidable, still acceptable. There were a lot of flies in the evening so we needed to keep the door shut. The air-condition was a bit weak but we didn't bother (or rather we keep on forgetting) to inform the staff.









SPA
The spa was good. There was a 10% discount so we tried the 60 mins. massage. Relaxing!

AMBIANCE
I love the ambiance of the hotel. It's not very luxurious, but you can definitely feel the genuine hospitality in all other ways.


TOTAL RATING
I am rating the hotel a 4 star out of 5. There are a lot to improve, but the foundation and the most important things are already present at this resort. The hotel offers free shuttle to and from the old town which I found very helpful (a lot of resort do this). It's good value for money and I would definitely recommend this hotel.

We saw boats in the shore like the above. Fishing is one of the main industry in Vietnam with its long coast.

We first took the basket shaped boat from the shore to a much bigger boat. They said 10 people can fit in inside. Men, the captain even danced in the tune of Gangnam Style while we were in the boat.

We were transferred to a much bigger and comfortable boat later on.

The bigger boat is motorized.

In the bigger boat, we met our captain "also known as Captain Cook" and another staff. Both could not speak in English so our guide will be the one to translate for us.

Thumbs up for this tour!

Along the way, we passed by a boat where there were two fisherman, a husband and wife. They showed us and thought us how to fish. My husband tried and he got a few, while I can't have any luck throwing the net properly. The wife does the navigation, she was the captain of the boat, while the husband does the fishing. And all I can say is what a great team work! Sure, I came from the Philippines where fishing is also an industry, however this tour gave me a good insight that fishing is a real hard work.


We then went to Palm Paradise using the smaller boat, we were gently rowed to see the many palms under water. We were told that the palm paradise were used by Vietnamese soldiers, this is where they hid from the Americans during the World War II in the daytime, and in the evening they would attack and make their opponent weaker by stealing their firearms.

We were then transferred to a smaller village and see the local fisherman's home.

They got fat hens!

And once again, we were taught how to pull the fishing nets using the above heavy pulley. Unfortunately, we were not very successful fishermen, we only managed to catch two small fishes (and a tiny shrimp). What a shame!

The tour finished at around 12 pm and it was the time for us to rest and relax. Captain Cook cooked us a full and delicious Vietnamese meal.

We think it has been a productive day!

I love how they ran their tours which started year 2005. When you visit Hoi An, make sure to include Fisherman tour in your itinerary. It was one of the highlight, an educational adventure for the two of us.

Several videos were projected on a screen showing a subject being followed while wandering. What got me was this video shoot in the Philippines, young boys were being followed (I suspected around Manila), while they gather old newspapers, used bottles or what we call Kalakal. In the video, you can see a lot of garbage on the street, a jeep passing by (confirming it was indeed in the Philippines), a stray dog, other people just passing by or just sitting around. What I reflected with this video was that despite poverty, these kids managed to play around and remained cheerful while doing their job. I can also see perseverance, there was hope.

This was another exhibition which shows various artists' works. There was no specific theme but each of us got interested in a certain work, waking up sleeping inspirations inside of us. My younger brother got hooked with the running man made from ink, while my husband was watching a video which shows different shoes in different parts of the city - I believe the video was quite long. I was hooked in another video showing Family History of certain people, probably random memories that touches them, something they will remember for the rest of their life.

We were looking at the huge collection of Chinese Bamboo carvings donated by Dr. Ip Yee.

A Fishing Harbour Dated 1997 Artist's Statement: Small painting, large fishing port, where black and white jostle in proximity and in conflict. While painting at a fishing port one year in the 1980s a storm rolled in, and I witnessed the scene of a flotilla of fishing boats hurrying to port for shelter. I sketched frantically and managed to catch the details. Several years later the sketch served as the basis for some large-format and medium-format works, in which I discarded the extraneous anecdotal details of the boats in an attempt to concentrate on atmosphere, balance, rhythm, and mystifying mathematics. Ironically, the motion resonance and spirit to which I aspired were caught in this, the smallest of the group of works.

Puzzlement Dated 1998 Artist's statement: Flowing lines, intermittent dots, random shapes, the leaping and falling of colours... when they gather in the same space, they are like fierce snow that sweeps across the good and beauty of the mundane world, bewildering viewers with its indiscernible appearance. Representational subjects are absent, or one can describe them as abstract depictions; they are the incarnation of bits and pieces in the painter's anxious mind and fragment memory.

Remaining lotus flowers in ice and snow Dated 1996

A lotus pond (Double stamping) Dated 1995 There have been countless scrolls depicting the lotus in traditional Chinese painting, but their conformed style is not stirring. In the pond, large and small lotus leaves overlap, curves and straight lines intersect, even the reflections are hidden under the foliage, making it difficult to tell between the original and their reflection in water; I am like a big beneath the leaves, lost in the maze of foliage. I've painted lots of withered lotuses, focusing on the winding lines, rippling reflections, and their drooping forms.  "I studied the life journey of the lotus through observation. When depicting the lotus, it is not the flower or the pond that I paint, rather, it's the sentiments associated with lotuses and the approach to visualize such feelings with my brush that linger in my mind.!"