The Portuguese In Me ...

There are so many places in this world that I would like to go for a visit. And one that is high on my list is Portugal. Why Portugal, you say? Well, why not? It's a cool place and besides I do have Portuguese blood in me from my mom's side. It would be cool going for a visit and checking out my 'home' country ... LOL!

My mom is of Portuguese decent that dates back to the time when the Portuguese invaded Malacca and all that. If you asked me they should have just kept Malacca to themselves but unfortunately, then came those Dutch fellows and invaded Malacca from them instead. In fact a long time ago my mom even used to live there for a while during her childhood days. I was born here in KL and have totally lost whatever roots there is connecting me with my Portuguese kinfolk in Malacca. In fact I don't even know if we have any more relatives at all there.

The very tradition of being a Portuguese family is slowly dying away. I mean, I can't even speak a single Portuguese word though back when they were alive, my grandparents could speak it fluently and they would always revert to the Portuguese when they didn't want us to know what it is they were talking about. The only 3 or 4 Portuguese words I know are deemed too filthy to publish here ... LOL!

I'm a full fledged Malaysian but being of mixed blood and falling under the race of Eurasian puts me under the category of 'others' when it comes to filling in official documents here. It's really pathetic to be under the 'others' category. Makes us sound like low class citizens! But that's the way it's been over here for as long as I can remember anyway.

That is why one of my fondest wishes is to actually visit Portugal one of these day. I'd love to visit the city of Lisbon which is situated where the River Targus meets the Atlantic Ocean and can be considered the westernmost capital of Europe. It's so full of history and heritage and was naturally a target for the likes of numerous conquests by the Greeks, Romans and The Moors. And it wouldn't be hard finding some Lisbon Hotels to bunk in while I'm there.

Another place I would like to visit would be Glasgow in Scotland. I've always love Scotland and the way the people there speak with that accent of theirs. I've only ever seen Glasgow on TV with it's combination of ancient structures, modern architecture and host some of the best festivities that you’ll find in the UK and it would be such a thrill to actually book some nice and affordable Glasgow hotels and spend a few weeks there.

But alas with the current hike in fuel prices, the only place overseas that I could probably afford and I stress the word probably here, is a trip to Penang or something. I'm sure I could find some really dinghy and cheap Penang hotels that could probably, again I stress probably, work on the budget that I have ... LOL!