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Postcard from Lisbon (Stranger in my homeland)


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Back to my roots! I finally made the journey back to Portugal, the land of my ancestors. Or at least one possible line of my ancestors.

But somehow I don't feel at home here. I am like a stranger here. I don't speak Portuguese as I am from Penang, not Malacca.

Nothing is familiar to me. Not the faces. Not the street names. Definitely not the language.

Where do I start?

From the beginning, I suppose. To get a feel of what it was like in the early days of the voyages of discovery, we headed to Belem located on the mouth of Rio Tejo (or River Tagus) 6km west of.

"How it was translated from Tejo to Tagus, no one knows," said the receptionist at our hotel.

Belem was where Vasco da Gama and his brave seafarers set sail for the new world.

I figured a good place to start would be the maritime museum, Museu de Marinha.

Everything is big here, starting with the old ship anchors parked outside the museum. I did not realise they were so big. Imagine the size of the ships.

Statues of Portuguese adventurers line the way from the entrance into the large and long halls of this building. I recognize only two names -- Vasco da Gama and Alfonso de Alberqueque, the conqueror of Malacca in 1511. I guess I need to brush up on my Portuguese history

I have always been fascinated by model ships. Imagine seeing all of them on a giant scale. Actually only about 2 metres high. Good enough as there were lots of them.

And taking its place of honour would be the Nua S. Gabriel, the flagship of Vasco da Gama's fleet which charted the sea route to India in 1498. This was the journey which started it all for the Portuguese.

Next we headed to Padrao Dos Descobri Mentos or the Monument to the Discoveries located just across the highway from this museum.

The 52-metre tall structure, part of it shaped like the bow of a sailing ship, was built to mark the 500th death anniversary of Henrique the Navigator, the son of King Joao I, who is credited with playing the leading role in the voyages of discovery.

Lining up along both sides of the bow were statues of Prince Henrique (or Henry the Navigator to many of us) and 32 other personalities who contributed to the expansion of the Portuguese empire.

If you look carefully you will find only one woman among them - Prince Henrique's mother Queen Felipa. And she was English.

We took the lift up to the 6th floor but had to hike up one more floor to get to the top of this monument.

The view from here is magnificent. You can see Rio Tejo flowing towards the Atlantic Ocean. This is where it had all started.

So what did the Portuguese achieve? According to the narration provided, these brave men set sail to bring back gold from the Americas, diamonds from Africa and spices from the East. But the greatest treasure they discovered was Knowledge of the new world.

I thought that was smart but my son David disagrees. "It's corny," he said.

So how else can I experience Portugal? Or get a taste of its culture.

We did not have far to look. Just as our bus was approaching the museum, we saw a long queue outside a shop called Pasteis de Belem.

They were lining up to buy Portuguese tarts. This shop has been making tarts since 1837.

We bought a dozen for €12.60 or €1.05 (RM4.60) each

So how good are they?

My idea of good Portuguese tarts are Lord Stow's which I had in Macau. They cost HK$8 (RM3.30) each.

Tarts are just tarts to me, so I asked David. "The ones here are good," said the young man. But are they better? After a moment's hesitation, he replied: "They are different."

Try them you must, even though you have to endure the long queue.

We tried tarts in two other shops. The one at a pastry shop near our hotel was cheaper, at €5.50 for 6 or less than €1 each but they are horrible.

The one outside Castle Sao Jorge, costing us €1 each, was just as good

What else symbolizes Portugal? Cristiano Ronaldo.

The World Cup fever is on and just like in Malaysia, fans are watching the football matches in eating outlets everywhere.

We headed for Parque Eduardo VII, one of the numerous parks which have been converted into football viewing centres, to join thousands of Portuguese fans to watch the Portugal vs USA game.

The atmosphere was electrifying, like watching a live game at a stadium.

Fortunately, Portugal equalized at the dying seconds, giving the fans reason to sing and dance all day home.

No visit to Lisbon would be complete without exploring the old city with its old buildings, churches and countless museums. And you must do it on the old trams.

It is a miracle how the tram drivers manage to navigate these vehicles on the narrow and winding cobbled roads.

You can hop off and spend time at a place that interests you, and hop on again to continue the rest of the journey.

We had time for only one stop and we decided it had to be Castelo de Sao Jorge or Castle of St George. I am fascinated by castles, and so is David.

I even managed the steep climb to the castle walls and I did it while it was raining.

It was worth it. The panoramic view of the city was exhilarating.

I feel I must return to Portugal again to get to know the place and my ancestors' people better.

For the moment, I feel more at home in England.


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