Quiz Question

Some say the following accessory is for back-scratching. Some say it is for fishing. What do you think it is for? I will give you a clue. It is commonly used by motorcycles in Brazil!

Live from Uruguay

The photo album of Uruguay part of the journey is here. The highlight was undoubtedly the amazing drum performance by Nico Arnicho. We thank our Couchsurfing host Javi for this wonderful tip! Check out this video that Q took. (If you cannot see the video link, click here.)

Personally I thought Uruguay was a small country with strong beats that should not be missed.

Now onto Brasil!

A is for Asado in Argentina

Now that we are heading north, we have left the gaucho (cowboy) country behind. However I feel compelled to blog about one of the most essential cultural signatures in Argentina: Asado.

Asado is essentially barbeque, but done in a very patient and artful way. A typical asado consists of many different types of meats, besides the common steaks, there are often interesting parts like intestines, sweet bread, blood sausages - all the same delicious in different ways. A good asado is served over the course of several hours, with the meat selection getting increasingly better and more delicious.

Just about every Argentinian man takes extreme pride in his techniques in making the perfect BBQ - it may cause a heated debate as to who is the best asador. But there is no doubt in my mind that the best BBQ is in Argentina.

We have had the honour of joining a few and it never failed to impress. Here are some great asado moments. (Sorry to make you drool, dad!)

(Courtesy of Juan Pablo in Puerto Madryn)

(Courtesy of Claudia y German in Tucuman)

(Courtesy of Bas y Sas in Buenos Aires)

There, A is for Asado. Now you know the most single important cultural fact about Argentina. If only if you can taste the meat yourself. So tender, so delicious…

“Where Are You From?”

It is one of the most frequent questions we get from the curious strangers, and it is the one we dread answering most. Some days I feel like getting the following laminated and stick it to our foreheads.

Driver: Half-Filipino Dutch.

Passenger: Chinese Canadian.

Motorcycle: UAE-registered German.

Bet you can’t imagine all the questions that answer would invite, and very quickly instead of a 10-second speed chat, we are telling the whole dozen-page story. Sometimes hearing myself makes me feel like a broken record player, telling bits and pieces about ourselves and trying not to be too confusing at the same time.

Often we just reduce our answers to single words, out of sheer laziness. Mine is “Chinese” and Q’s is “Holland”.  But with a slightly more educated or observant crowd, Q gets himself into trouble with the simplified answer. “You don’t look very Dutch.”

Crap. Here goes the broken record again. I guess at the end of it, we are eager to see those satisfied nods because we too can be curious sometimes.

So where are you from?

The Switch

I knew it would happen. I just didn’t know when.

As you may have noticed in my recent postings, I missed home a little too much, in fact I couldn’t stop dreaming about it. I really really missed home. All the strange environments I wake up to every day morning, always different and strange, sometimes clean, sometimes dirty or smelly, even worse buggy. The thought of home grew stronger and stronger, and I am nowhere near it. It was getting too much, and I knew I had to stop, but I didn’t know how.

I was so homesick that I couldn’t even make up my mind as to what to do for the next few months. Should we stay in South America, or perhaps go to another part of world, or settle down somewhere for a while? I couldn’t decide because what I wanted was a home. I began to feel like a baby who can’t take its mind off the unreachable cookie jar.

Then I sat myself down, and asked myself what does it take to stop obsessing about home. I don’t know about your conscious, but mine isn’t always available when I call. Eventually it came to me. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to look at what we have and simply appreciate them. We are having a once-in-a-life time and doing the things that we have been dreamt to do for ages.

So I switched myself back on, re-appreciating my two sets of clothes and Casa. And you know what, my home sickness is gone. Just like that. Now more than ever, I am looking forward to explore more of South America in the coming few months with Q, Casa, and everything else we have with us.

Speaking of which, you may wonder where Q was in this whole picture. Well, he was the silent supporter. Don´t we all love one. I love mine.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Enjoy your home for us. :)(:

(Photos from our Christmas celebration with friends in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Muchas gracias, Gaby, Ber y la familia!)

Roadside Stops

There is a reason why at some of the road-side stops, I only walk around and stretch my legs, but refuse to drink or eat, even if I could certainly use a bit of both. Because it is a 10-step process to get anything in my mouth.

1. Release right-hand glove velcro straps (2).

2. Release left-hand glove velcro straps (2).

3. Pull out sunglasses.

4. Release motorcycle helmet buckle.

5. Pull off helmet.

6. Stuff the sunglass in one of the gloves, and stuff gloves in helmet so they don’t get blown away or misplaced.

7. Find a flat surface (ground usually) and put helmet on it so it doesn’t get blown off.

8. Pull off balaclava off face. (Before you panick, the face below is not mine, but of a fellow overland motorcyclist.)

9. Feed self with water and snacks.

10. Reverse steps 1-8 to get ready for the ride again.

I won’t bother you with the steps involved in dealing with nature calls.

That is why sometimes I try feed myself chocolate this way. Enjoy your ginger-bread cookies, everyone!!

End of The World at Last

Six months into our travelling, we have reached a significant milestone of our travelling – Ushuaia, Argentina, known as “El Fin Del Mundo” (The End of the World). For situating at ~54 degree south, it is the most southern city in the world, and we are standing at it!!

To be honest, Ushuaia didn’t quite feel like the end of the world with some more islands scattered to its south. But it is such a stunningly beautiful place, I am more than happy to live with this end-of-the-world memory.

So we should be jumping up and down at this highlight. Except there is something missing, or rather we are missing something. Home. Not just a Casa with two wheels and two sets of clothes. Our purple sofa. Our worn-out coffee-table. Our sharp knives. Half a year of bed-hopping (ha!) later, we have a serious case of home-sickness. So now you can guess what my new year’s resolution is.

Happy preparation for the holiday season, everyone! :)

Selected Views for You

When we travel with Casa, more than half of the time my view is the back of Q’s helmet, less than half of the time it is completely dark because I tend to doze off during the boring parts. Only occasionally – as occasional as one spots a Cindy Crawford I suppose - we come across some views that are so gorgeous that they are stuck in our minds. Here are some to share with you:

We have just ridden through the Lake District of Argentina – another wonderful sight for all of us:

Now on the front porch of the mystical Patagonia, and see what greeted us:

And for the first time in South America, we know exactly where we are heading to for the next two weeks! This is very exciting, and I shall share with you once we reach THERE!

Our Luck in God’s Office

“People in the province are fond of saying, ‘God is everywhere, but his office is in Santiago.’” - Lonely Planet guidebook

We have been very lucky during our travelling so far: whenever something goes wrong with Casa, help always come along our way very quickly. This time, we were so lucky that we already had the help before we knew about the problem.

This occurred last Friday. Just as we pulled into Santiago de Chile city, Casa started making some really loud and disturbing clunky sound. We had to pull an emergency stop off a highway and take a closer look.

It turned out that Casa’s rear wheel ball bearing was completely shot. So there we were, in the middle of nowhere, stuck again. Fortunately we had pre-arranged couchsurfing for Santiago, and our host Javier was quick to rescue. He called the local BMW shop, and was able to arrange for a pickup transportation for Casa.

When we finally dragged our tired and hungry bodies to Javier’s house later that night, you can imagine the look on our faces when we were immediately greeted with delicious lentil stew and carrot rice. Talking about experiences that money cannot buy. (Sorry I was too eager to eat and forgot to take photos!)

Later on that weekend, fearing that we will be stuck in Santiago for a while for spare parts, I sent out a few more couchsurf requests, and received overwhelmingly positive responses. Thank you, Santiago hosts!

The truth is that more and more, our travelling is less and less about tracking from point A to point B. The most interesting experiences often happen after the most frustrating incidents. In addition to tourist attractions, our journey are landmarked by friendly faces and warm families. It is incredible.

Stuck as we are, we are more than happy to count our lucky stars in God’s office. Thanks, dude!

Finally a big THANK YOU to Chile Moto Rent on their kind offer of test-driving their BMW F650GS. Good luck with your business!!

Good Morning from the Pacific Ocean!

It took us a while to get back on the road since returning from China/Toronto, but we finally managed. And here we are in northern Chile, riding down south along the Pacific Ocean coast line. Personally I am loving the dramatic and gorgeous scenery of mountain-meets-ocean!

Oh, and I have always wanted an opportunity to say this: we ate yummy CHILI in CHILLY CHILE!