Category Archives: Travels

My travel notes

The wayfarer’s solitude.

Regardless of being a UNESCO world heritage site -and regardless of its deserving it-, my interest in Bamberg this time was to reencounter an old friend. I already did the tourist thing in Bamberg years ago and took the typical photos, … Continue reading

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Is order boring?

Austria and Germany are so come to terms with their common identity that, by way of border roadsign, there’s only the twelve yellow stars on blue background; a sign that passes almost unnoticed. However, being socially almost identical (at least around … Continue reading

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The great fortress.

When Napoleon occupied Cherasco, after several defeats upon the Piedmontese, one of his conditions for granting them the armistice was the demolition of the Exilles fortress, an impregnable emplacement too dangerous to be left on foot. It is said that its … Continue reading

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The bizarre Hua Qiang Bei electronic market

Hua Qiang Bei is arguably the largest market for electronics in the world, and definitely one of the more fantastic and bizarre places I’ve ever been. Deep in the very heart of Shenzhen city, China, there is a street called … Continue reading

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Tastes of Japan

(Click on any photo for a full size.) It was a serendipity that I found this Japanese restaurant in Shekou district, Shenzhen (China); and what a discovery it was! It suited all my tastes: a free buffet of Japanese food, … Continue reading

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Macao: the last European colony in Asia

A tax heaven and a free port, Macao isn’t just casinos, gold and Bruce Lee movies, but an interesting long history. Up to right yesterday -so to say- this city was under Portuguese administration. Actually, it was never a proper … Continue reading

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How I managed to cross to China

This is a story with a happy ending, reader. Or, well, sort of. Happy if we don’t consider the irreversible emotional damage caused by the loss of the first visa, the failure to get a second one, and the vanishing … Continue reading

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The 24 hours I lived dangerously

The situation was this: by accident, Willow had stalled in one of the metro stations while I kept riding a train towards Causeway Bay. We could not communicate. We didn’t know which would be each other’s next move, but we … Continue reading

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