Alja´s packing list

It´s the same packing panic each time... for some people
(not for my brother, though...who goes on months long trips to India and Pakistan and start packing 15 minutes before slowly moving to the airport, in the last minute... while his girlfriend goes insane)

Fortunately I´ve learned to cool down a little, too. I´ve also learned not to bring a thousands of unnecessary stuff that only weights in your bag and won´t even be used during the trip.

Here is my list:

- a good backpacking bag (rinkka)
- comfortable travelling clothes so that you can sit, stand, freely move around and even sleep with the same dress if necessary. They need to be both warm and cold enough. (Women: I´ve found that a long skirt actuallty is the best to travel with! Then u can put on or take off pantyhoses easily and you never have to suffer from pains due to tight pants sitting on the plane for hours).
- a nice little female handbag for the purse, passport, ticket, lipstick etc :)(it has to be one you constantly have under control so noone snatches it)

- underwears enough, clothes - but only the absolut necessary amount (since you can use washing machines abroad). Make sure you also have something warm and wind/waterproof. Women: beware of the dressing code of the destination country. For ex. if you travel to a Muslim country you have to bring long skirts and long sleeved shirts!
- if you have to stay at some airport night time: make sure you have some simple kind of mattress to lie on + warm clothes enough (otherwsie you can easily catch a flue, like I did last time). A inflatable travel pillow is well worth having, too!
- walking shoes (for ex, comfortable sandals where you can have socks if necessary)
- sun burn prevention stuff: good sunglasses, a sun hat, sunlotion + sun block (lotion) (don´t be a "stupid tourist" fro the north...who desperately burn themselves red just in order to get a "nice" little tan...) Think of the cancer risk.
- tablets or medicins for prevention and treatment against stomach problems and ache etc medicines (for example Lacto- or Ascidophilus tablets + Burana painkillers
- intimate wipes (for hands before eating or after toilets)
- toiletpaper (cos at some toilets there just isn´t any paper)
- a small towel + swimsuits
- communication device: the mobile (text messaging is a reliable and cheap way wherever you are). In most places you find cheap internet cafees where you can keep in touch with your loved ones or hosts. That makes it unnecessary to bring a laptop of your own.
- the camera + big memory card enough
- contact info (to the tourist office etc important people or places), maps, paper and pen will help you a lot once you are there. It saves you time, energy etc.
- contacts to local people is a must for me these days (read more on
http://www.couchsurfing.come/ and http://www.hospitalityclub.org/ It´s good if you have several contacts in the same city/area just in case something happens or goes wrong.
- facts about the local system and customs is wise to have before you go, This helps you prepare and plan the budget, the packing etc. Many local people appreciate if you know something about them or can say speak some words in theuir language. This will defenetively give you much more than it ever costs you! And facts/info is very easy to find on internet these days.
- music... is the extra luxury I need have. That´s why I load the mobile full of good mp3:s + headphones

Portugal: Couch Surfing and Hospitality Club

My two day visit in Lisbon was much coloured by the great meeting´s with people I had there.

I wanna THANK all my hosts that have hosted me or guided me around in their city while travelling in Portugal and Morocco! You made my trip, friends!

It´s amazing that you can meet people and get so well along eventhough you´ve never met each other before. My gorgeus host Helena in Lisbon (picture) let me stay at her place and be part of her nice family. I really enjoyed spending time with her, discussing, relaxing and drinking tea. She, as well as others, are defenetely people I hope I will stay in touch with in future. I also wish you all very welcome to come to Finland one day to surf my couch, too

Links:

http://www.hospitalityclub.org/

http://www.couchsurfing.com/

Portugal: The Douro river in Porto

My first impression of Oporto (Porto in Portuguese) was that it´s an old, respectable and nice city. It might not be the most beautiful city you´ve seen since many of the fasades of the houses are in bad shape. But Porto has an intersting history, old fascinating and beautiful buildings and last but not least: it´s from here the real Port Wine comes from.

The river Douro resques a lot. It gives the city breathing space and separates Porto from the nearby city Vila Nova de Gaia. If you stand on the Gaia side you will see a Oporto in a different light and also the other way around. There are bridges between the two cities and you can easily walk over to the other side in a couple of minutes.

I found people in Oporto very friendly and helpful! The older ones don´t speak much English but younger ones often speak some or quite a good English. As a Finn I felt it was easy to get along with the people I met there but also with people in Portugal generally.

Maybe Finns and Portugues generally have more in common than the Finns and the Spannish?

Morocco: Why stress?

I hate to admit that I´m a very typical Finn...

That I just can´t seem to take it easy or just relax and enjoy... not even when I ´m on holiday and there´s absolutely no rush anywhere.I seem to be in a hurry when moving from point A to point B... like I have to maximize the use of time, tempo, programme.

Why do people have to stress so much in today´s society?

Why do we have to be so successful, rich, beautiful, well-educated, hard-working, ambitious, perfect... all at the same time? It´s not human. And it´s not fair.

I wish I can take a small piece of that relaxed mentality that people in Morocco has, take it home with me...and relearn myself a bit.

Morocco: Trance and Gnawa music

You can hear the music

everywhere, especially at squares where artists, singers, musicians and all kinds of entertainers gather to play and collect money. The music is also performed in private parties, at religions meetings or rituals, in homes and cafees ect. Traditional music might also be combined with dance and storytelling.

I got to hear some nice examples of Gnawa music at the square in Meknes.
The style is an interesting mixture of religious arabic songs, african rythms, trance music and mysticism. Professional dancers are at lest as wild as the wildest heavy-metal singers/musicians that wave their heads up and down with the long hair...! And the trance feeling you get from listening and looking at it reminds a lot of the trance - and dance music we have at home.
The music were developed by slaves from other parts of Africa who were brought to Morocco at the 16th century.

Unfortunately I had to leave before the big and famous Gnawa festival held in Essaouira every year in June.

Music & Social work in Meknes

Meknes is a rather small and religious city

It's still unspoilt but even here the tourism and comersial life is growing every day (like in Rabat, the capital). Walking in the city, shopping in the souks (bazars) and communicating with people were different here. You could still feel the genuine open attitude towards you as a tourist and visistor; people welcomed you very kindly and didn't even try to "fool" you (too much) on the prices - which still were low in the shops and souks.

But what was one of the greater experience I had was the "social work" done by some professional street musicians on the market square. People stand in these big clungs around the artist (who ever it is for the moment) and to get to see what is happening you have to squeeze yourself to the front. This time it was a singer and a guitarist playing, singing and entertaining. With short intervals the singer collected money from the crowd. He had an enormous power on his audience making everyone listen, laugh and give the small money they had.

The whole thing was a happy little circus until...

...a very old, dying man in wheelchair was brought into the crowded circel.

Everybody stopped and became serious. And suddenly there was no sound at all.
The singer talked privately to the old man for a minute. It turned out that he needed money to support the family since he couldn't do it himself anymore.

And then the real collection started; the singer suddenly turned into preacher, more of a political religious master, an artist, a teacher...while he at the same time remained the professional entertainer he was. He preached, told dramatic stories (which I didn't understand a word of)laughed, he sang while the guitarist silently accompanied him in the background. Suddenly he also draw my friend (and host from couch surfing) into the "band" to sing along and dance! (They knew each other from before and my host is kind of a musician too). This funny show mixed with seriousness kept on going for quite a time and meanwhile the singer had managed to collect a big sum money for the whealchair-man.

I thought it was beautiful to witness.

This is where music and culture meets the basic human needs
and is useful to the maximum.

Morocco: Glimpses from a family

I don't wanna generalize too much, cos I know that the familylife, traditions and ways differ much among Muslim families. This story is therefore only about this specific family, not about Muslim families generally.

But I have to tell you this:

I had the great honour to visit a nice local family in Meknes. And I must say; my view on the Muslim family life changed a bit!

I could never have imagined that under those innocent scarves and burkas that women wear, lies these wild, funny and half carzy women! Outside the house most of them wear traditional clothes and scarves covering themselves. But what happens at home when they take off the scarves..?

In this happy little family everyone spend a lot of time together, eats, laughs, cries, makes jokes, dances, sings, and smokes the water pipe (sisha) together. Some years ago they all smoked marihuana, but now they have gone over to some more "healthy" smoking, only using fruit tobacco. In the first picture above there was a lot of action and noise going on. The family's son's wife looked at me lauging and said "crazy family...ha?"

Sitting there amongst them made me happy too.
I wish our families had more of that spontanous life and love...

(I´m not saying you should smoke Marihuana, though)

Thousands of thanks to "Breakfast" from Couch Surfing who brought me around to local friends in Meknes.