Lisbon Part 2: Sintra and Cabo da Roca

Previously in Lisbon Part 1, I explored the city center by joining the walking tour. Weather was beautiful, and being winter and low season, it was a super pleasant day. Review it at:

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2021/02/lisbon-part-1-city.html 

On Day 2, I travelled to the town of Sintra, 45 minutes train ride from Lisbon. If you open any guidebooks, Sintra is a must-see when you are in Lisbon. Located near the Atlantic coast, the hilly town of Sintra is one of the wealthiest and most expensive in Portugal. The top attractions are the Pena Castle (15th century) and Moorish Castle (8th Century).

Pena Castle - On a clear day, you could see Lisbon

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If you need motivation to stay fit, you should visit Lisbon. By refraining from taking the slow and weird-timed trams, you can burn calories climbing up and down hills daily.

The view after the first corner from my hostel

The train ride from Lisbon to Sintra was pleasant. I made some new friends during the journey, and planned for the day. There is always a certain style of backpacker/shoestring type of student traveler, that you could click instantly. One of the new friends is Wendy from Taiwan (who just completed her studies) We would explore Sintra together. 

Winter = low season = less crowded = Cooler climate = cheaper tickets

Pena Castle was as describe in travel guides, quite spectacular. Located on a hill within the Sintra mountains, this World Heritage Site was originally a monastery. In the 1800's, King Ferdinand and Queen Maria II design and built a Romanticist castle. The guidebook equates design with romanticism. I wasn't sure I felt any sense of romance, but maybe that's just me.  

It does give a field of promise and positivity

Being a palace for the King of Portugal during the 17th century, I as a commoner would always be happy to spend some time inside. 

Michael Portillo visits Johor Bahru

I have been enjoying this BBC series, and followed Michael Portillo around Europe, Australia, and now Asia. His knowledge, presentation skills, likeable demeanor and humour never fail to put a smile on my face.

Thank you for all the great shows!

 

Lisbon Part 1: The City

I had quite a mediocre Glaswegian winter in 2016. I would always remember the nights I walked back to Winton Drive after classes (French class in particular). One of my essays on Human Resource was deemed unsatisfactory by the academically inclined lecturer. My score was short of disastrous. I could only bite the bitter pill after meeting the lecturer for 'counseling' or post-mortem. It was a timely reminder to always write based on the reader. If the lecturer is someone academic (haven't have experience in the working world), you better write academically (rather than practically). 

Exams are always subjective, and I learned not to take results too seriously. 

Whilst completing my finals and submitting my essays, I had to buy an escape for myself, a (budget) trip to somewhere that had sunshine, as a reward for the hard work. Looking at the map of Europe, Portugal stood out, and was as south as the budget airline Ryan Air could reach. 

When you talk about Lisbon, it has to be the sunshine, the history/tradition and great food

Ryan Air had return flights from Glasgow Prestwick-Faro (in Portugal). I did not need much invitation. Faro is a seaside town at the Southern tip of Portugal, and was a gateway to Lisbon. 

I arrived in Faro at around 9pm, went into the city center, chilled at McDonalds, and took the 1.30am bus to Lisbon. 

Never a fan of fastfood, but McDonald's is my top choice as a backpacker - Trustable food, free Wifi and clean washrooms

Being half awake during the 4 hour bus ride, I walked out at Lisbon's Sete Rios bus station at 5.30am wanting to find my way to my hostel. Took a U-turn after finding myself the only soul on the cold and quiet street. I went back to the bus station and slept until 8am, when it was warmer and brighter. 

I would find out that Lisbon is a hilly city. Similar to Istanbul, Rome, Edinburgh, Moscow, Lisbon is also built on 7 hills! In fact, Portugal actually a country full with hills, so if you ought to have strong legs! Glad that I spent at least twice a week at the University gym (and steam room), just beside Rankine Building. 

Thankfully, I always kept my fitness, all these while

The reward was spectacular views

Stayed at Equity Point Hostel, among the hills for 4 nights

Risk and Opportunities

Recently attended a webinar by The IET and ACostE, by Tony Reid - Back to Basics: Risk and Opportunity. You can try and view the webinar here: https://communities.theiet.org/communities/events/item/27/10/26723 

You should be able to view the video recordings after registration. 

Meanwhile, I thought it was worth sharing some key points and learnings, especially for those who manage and run projects.

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Life is full of both risk and opportunity.

We need to UNDERSTAND and learn to recognize the potential benefits. For example, when faced to decide whether to do a career change:

• Risk: To you, your family, or both
• Opportunity: For you, your family, or both

Give it a thought... On the pros and cons. 

On top of HRSG16 (during internship, circa. April 2009)

Fear of risk is normal and natural. We should try to deal and manage it, or if possible, turn it into something positive. It brings out the best in us. Dealing with fear often leads to success. So don't fear 'Fear'. As the saying goes, the first thing after falling off the horse, is to get back up again. 

Can we transfer the risk to someone else (like a supplier)? Before getting the answer, we should know why are we trying to transfer or subcontract it. Is the risk:

• Too trivial or minimal that we will be wasting our time? You need to think more about it. It may not be as trivial as you first thought.
• Too serious that we do not have the resource/skills are not able to manage? You need to accept that the 3rd party may not access the risk as you do, and may rate it as trivial.

In both the above scenarios, we should understand the risk, and assign it to the most suitable responsible person. 

Nevertheless, there is always a tendency to ignore a risk after identifying it, like to assign a low likelihood (unlikely). We need to remember that projects are dynamic, and situations can change.  

There is always a possibility to use risk to identify opportunity. With innovative ideas, we can leverage and convert risk into opportunity. As humans, we are good in turning negatives into positives. On the other hand, an opportunity could also bring risk.