[Wanderlust Tips March 2019] With the theme “A journey through history”, Share the love section of Wanderlust Tips travel Magazine March 2019 will share with you memorable travelling stories, helping you appreciate your past and aim to a great future.
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I ALWAYS REMEMBER STEPPING BACK IN TIME, ON MY JOURNEY TO TIBET
LUKA GOY, TRAVEL BLOGGER, HANOI
I have a keen passion for travel and adventure, having travelled extensively through more than 24 countries and counting. One of the main influences that inspires me to travel is the prospect of seeing and experiencing a different way of living than that of my own. As a travel blogger, photographer and potential adventure inspirer, in documenting my adventures and misadventures I hope to provide inspiration for you too, to get out and explore the beautiful, the crazy and the wild that this world has to offer.
I have travelled to many places that have a rich history or are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These include old castles in France and Germany, the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China and the temples and palaces of Tibet. If I had to choose my favourite place of historical significance it would be the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. To most of the world, at least the Western world, the name Tibet conjures up images of a mystical far away land, shrouded in secrecy and religion. Just being in Lhasa you can sense that you are somewhere special, you definitely feel as though you have somehow managed to sneak past the curtain of mystique and see into a world unseen. The Potala Palace is the epitome of this, with its elevated position and backdrop of mountains, it sets a very imposing figure. A place that combines the beauty, charm and history of a faraway land hidden on the roof of the earth, the Potala Palace certainly leaves a lasting impression.
On my travel list for 2019 – I’m currently weighing up between an extended trip through the Philippines, Indonesia and a re-visit to Sri Lanka or a blow-out in Japan, maybe taking in a little bit of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in September.
TRAVELLING HELPS US APPRECIATE THE PAST AND HEAD TOWARDS THE FUTURE
LAN ANH HA, VIETNAMESE STUDENT WHO STUDIED ABROAD IN SPAIN
In Vietnam, my hometown is Hue but I am living in Hanoi, my parents live in Quang Binh and my family used to live in Nghe An, so every time I go home, I make a trip from the North to Central Vietnam. After every journey, I fall even more deeply in love with the lands and people I met. That’s why when starting my life as an international student in Madrid, although at first I felt a bit uneasy and life here was unfamiliar, I quickly adapted. The one and a half years there was also a time when I dived straight into local life and participated in all ranges of festivals in Spain, from big to small ones and experienced all forms of emotions.
I remember most vividly the experience of welcoming in the Vietnamese New Year with the Vietnamese Embassy in Spain. I met many Vietnamese expatriates from other cities coming to Madrid. Vietnamese, my familiar native language, was a bridge for everyone to come together. Handshakes, new year wishes, group photographs, happy laughing and chatting voices along with familiar Tet songs performed by Vietnamese far from our homeland brought us the greatest comfort and happiness.
I hope in the future, I will have enough courage to travel to many distant lands. Going far away is also a way to help people appreciate their homeland, along with the past and look forward to a better future.
PRESERVING TRADITIONAL CULTURE OVER THE YEARS
THUY LINH PHI, MISS AO DAI VIETNAM 2018, HANOI
My family’s tradition of making Uoc Le sausage (Vietnamese traditional sausage) has existed for many generations. My great grandmother passed the skills of the craft to my grandmother, and then my grandmother, in turn, taught these family secrets to my mother. Since the time I was young, I was familiar with the cherished scene of my family gathering to make traditional sausage and from the age of 7 until I got married, every year, I always helped my family make this dish. When I was a child, I was assigned the task of arranging leaves and helping my parents but after I had grown up a little, I was in charge of guiding the guests to line up to receive their orders.
Almost every new year in the spring, all of my family are always busy but we feel warm and happy. To make this sausage, we have to wake up at 2am to go to the market, choose fresh meat, then wash and puree it and add spices. The meat is then wrapped in banana leaves which is very important to shape the meat and create the special flavour of the dish. There are many different types of fare including pork sausages, beef sausages, pig ear sausages, chicken sausages, cinnamon pork and pork meatballs in green sticky rice, each of which has their own delicious taste.
Until now, even though my job is so busy, I still spend time with my family making traditional sausage. For me, it is more than just making a simple dish but a childhood memory, a family connection and a precious part of local culture.
SPIRITUAL TOURISM TO SACRED TEMPLES
QUYNH HOA TRAN, MAKEUP SPECIALIST, NGHE AN
One of the spiritual destinations that I visit every year is The Saint Hoang Muoi Temple located in Xuan Am hamlet, Hung Thinh commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province. It is said that The Saint Hoang Muoi Temple is very sacred and that your every wish will come true. As for me, the fresh and pure air here, the smell of incense lingering in the air, the bells ringing and the sound of the bamboo prayer bowls all make my heart feel free of burden.
Every year, the new year festival is held in the third lunar month and the festival of Saint Hoang Muoi is celebrated in the tenth month of the lunar calendar. The festivals attract numerous local people and tourists, offering many interesting activities such as the boat parade to carry a royal seal from the Nguyen family church to Saint Hoang Muoi Temple, chầu văn (a trance-like chanting) and cockfighting.
For me, these cultural and religious traditions are really beautiful, they remind people of the legends of the past as well as offering meaningful life lessons and creating a connection through the generations from the past to the present and to the future.
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