SDF - A Lifestyle Element

🇨🇴 4K Gold Museum Pre-Colombian Gold Relics! El Dorado Legend! Bogota, Colombia 2021

Discover The "El Dorado" Legend! WHEN IT COMES TO GOLD, few museums on earth can rival the Museo del Oro in Bogotá. Its spectacular collection of more than 34,000 pre-Columbian gold artifacts is the largest in the world, with relics from the various cultures that inhabited Colombia before the Old World collided with the New. Since the 1930s, Colombia’s Bank of the Republic has helped to preserve, catalog, and exhibits some of the country’s most treasured historical artifacts. Among these is a vast collection of gold, housed in the Museo del Oro in Bogotá. The absolutely stunning piece is the Muisca Raft (Which was the reason why I wanted to visit the Gold Museum, well also thanks to Josh Gate from Expedition Unknown on his El Dorado episodes intrigued me so much that I had to come visit!) Back to the Muisca Raft, it portrays the ritual that brought about the famous legend of El Dorado. Legend says that there was once a place in the South American continent where everything was made of gold. Many 16th-century, Europeans, obsessed with the legend of El Dorado, traveled great distances searching for its hidden treasures. Of course, they never did find it. However, they did find many indigenous chieftains adorned with nose rings, breastplates, and other metal accessories. They also heard rumors about a chieftain so rich that he used gold powder to adorn himself in place of baubles. It was said that he shone like the sun. This legendary, gold-coated chieftain who sailed a raft to the center of a lake, was the one from Guatavita. And that, it seems, was the El Dorado sought for so desperately by explorers, and so masterfully represented in the Muisca Raft gold figure that you can view in the Gold Museum. The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and on Sundays from 10am to 4pm. FREE to enter! Touring the whole museum will take about four hours. Remember that all of the exhibits are in English and Spanish, and that you can rent an audio tour that will help you delve deeper into the remarkable histories of these indigenous groups. Address: Cra. 6 #15-88, Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and on Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Phone: +57 601 3432222

No comments

, by Jessica Sophia Wong

Coffee

🇨🇴 Horseback Riding Cocora Valley Colombia Coffee Region 2021 Salento Quindio HD Solo Traveler

1 comments

, by Jessica Sophia Wong

Blogger

🇨🇴 Custom Emerald Ring Making Airbnb Experience and History Walk 2021 Bogota, Colombia 4K

No comments

, by Jessica Sophia Wong

Airbnb

On this YouTube channel, you'll find artisan crafts/travel/arts/NYC life/food/startup life/photography.

No comments

, by Jessica Sophia Wong

Shopping

Six Unusual Souvenirs To Buy On Your Vacation

There's one thing that is most exciting about going abroad on an adventure, and that's souvenirs. Being able to pick up trinkets from each place that you have visited is exciting: it’s the memories that you get from each item that will forever transport you back to those places over and over again.

There’s something fun about selecting and choosing the most authentic trinkets, the most fun and the most unusual items. It’s going to be as much fun choosing to get a tattoo in New Zealand as much as it would be to click here for diamond nipple rings after you get the piercing you’ve never been brave enough to do. While both of those are excellent “souvenirs” from your travels, the real souvenirs are the ones you can see on the shelf at home. Let’s take a look at six ideas for souvenirs on your next break!

Something To Eat. You can’t go to Belgium or Switzerland without sampling the chocolate, right? Well, bringing home something delicious is an absolute must when you go abroad. Buy local teas in Asia or check out the mangoes in the Caribbean. Always check the rules, though, just in case your edibles aren’t allowed through customs.

Something To Wear. An awesome brooch? A printed t-shirt with the location you stayed in emblazoned on the front? How about something in local materials and locally made? You can even purchase those earrings in that one shop that you could barter in - everyone loves jewellery! Something to wear can be everything that you need to feel transported back to that place all over again.

Something To Use Daily. Printed mugs, a souvenir plate with the map of the area you’re staying in and even novelty spoons are the best options for something that you’ll use every single day. If you aren’t up for buying something for the kitchen, blanket throws for your bed or cushions for the couch can be an excellent alternative. Make sure that whatever you buy you can fit in your luggage!

Something For The Walls. Artwork is always easy to come by, and we don’t mean “art” by the local artists caricatures, either! Instead, think about canvases with the local landscapes painted with watercolor onto them. If you don’t want to bring home a canvas, put together some of your pictures that you took while you were away and collage them together instead.

Something For Next Time. Quite the adventurer, are you? Well, you can bring something from this adventure to the next one. Look for things you’d need, like koala luggage tags if you’re in Australia, or camels if you’re in Egypt. You can even buy sunglasses from your destination for your next trip.

Something That’s Priceless. You’ve already spent on the tattoo and the nipple rings, but now you need something sentimental. Seashells from the beach at the Maldives resort, or a maple leaf from Canada, some coins from the local currency - all of these things are going to remind you of the places you once visited.

No comments

, by Jessica Sophia Wong

Caribbean

The Caymans Are The Idyllic Islands You've Been Dreaming Of

It’s the once-in-a-lifetime kind of holiday you would save and save just to enjoy. Some of the most gorgeous natural beauty in the Caribbean. True luxury experiences under the shining sun. A fusion of cultures and tastes the world over mixed with some of the most exotic ingredients you can find locally. It’s all at the Cayman Islands. Visit and you’ll be convinced it’s the ideal holiday you’ve been dreaming of.

Sun, sea & sand

The jaw-dropping coasts are something that everyone wants to travel to the Caribbean for and there’s definitely no lack of them on the Caymans, either. No tourist rush could ever stop you from finding a beautiful, quiet spot to enjoy at the Seven Mile Beach, for instance. If surfing is your thing, then you might not find as fantastical waves as you would see in Australia for instance, but you will find a thriving community at places like Manners Cove.

The lap of luxury

If the Caymans ring a bell, it’s probably because you’ve heard they’re a haven for the rich and influential. That haven is to be found in George Town in particular. If you’re willing to splash some cash, you’re going to be rubbing elbows with millionaires at luxury hotels with all the spa delights you could ask for at places like the Ritz-Carlton. There’s a thriving retail center here, but, given the local clientele, you want to make sure you have the padding in the wallet to really be able to enjoy it.

The depths of nature

Despite the live-it-up nature of George Town, when you take a few steps off the beaten track, you’ll get reminded that the Cayman Islands are a Caribbean destination and they have all the kind of natural beauty you’d expect to see there. Stingray City, despite the dangerous-sounding name, is one of the most beautiful spots with shallow reefs and the animals of those waters are actually a lot friendlier than you would imagine. You’re even allowed to pet them.

Something to salivate over

Another wonderful thing about the Caribbean is the cuisine. Asian, English, European, Indian, cultures of foods from all kinds come together and get mixed with fantastic local seafood and some of the sweetest fruits as the most available produce of the day. Restaurants like the Grand Old House offer all of those fresh in truly luxurious dining experiences. Don’t be afraid to visit some of the homes of that all-famous Caribbean rum like the Cayman Spirits Co. Distillery either. The distillery tours are fascinating enough, but you might get a little taster at the end of them to enjoy as well.

There’s something for just about everyone on the Caymans. If you want to be pampered and treated like a king, you’ll find plenty of company rubbing shoulders with the millionaires. If you want to get away from everyone and see the sublime beauty of Caribbean nature, you’ll find it. If you want nothing but a cocktail and a beach to enjoy it in, there’s plenty of that, too.

No comments

, by Jessica Sophia Wong

NYC

6 Reasons Why Europeans Would Love NYC

If you’re from the old continent and you’ve decided to open your wings and fly to a new adventure in the States, then New York City is the perfect place to start your new life. As Truman Capote summed up quite rightly, New York isn’t a tree or a street or a house, something that belongs to you, but you belong to it anyway. The feeling of belonging is exactly what brings the various districts, cultures, and people of NYC together. Wherever you come from, you’re from NYC when you live here. In fact, it’s difficult not to love NYC as there’s so much the city has to offer – and keeps offering day after day, night after night. But if you’re European, visiting the Big Apple can feel like a very long journey. After all, you’ve got amazing countries just next doors. So why should you come and see NYC nevertheless? I can give you 6 excellent why you will love New York City if you’re from Europe.

New York City

#1. Your fashion world might implode

If you’ve got a strong sense of fashion, you’ll enjoy the New Yorker’s approach to fashion more than anything else. Fashion in the Big Apple is very different from Europe: The contrast in style and personality is appealing, to say the least. Compared to the effortless and timeless Parisian elegance the New York gal always follows the next big trend. Trends in NYC come and go as fast as you can blink, while Paris cherishes a sense of underdone style that never dies. In the Big Apple, it’s about getting noticed, and consequently mixing brands, colors, and trends for a ‘notice my style’ effect. Not an avid admirer of the Parisian style? How about the edgy and experimental class of Londoners? The New York style has a researched runaway touch to it, while British girls are happy to mix and match their bold and edgy patterns for an individual festive style. If you love your brands, you’ll enjoy the American branded style in New York. What about the German style? Berlin is a cultural hotspot that happily mixes flea market discoveries and high-end fashion. There’s a sense of eccentricity that brings together unmatchable patterns. This eccentric mismatch of labels, designs, and prices is a bright clash against the polished NYC trends.

#2. We happily mix cabs & public transport

If you’re used to living in big towns, you’re probably an expert in public transport solutions. Places like Oslo have a vast network that goes from the sea to the mountains just via subway/tramway and buses. If you live in London, you’re certainly an expert of the Oyster card, the public transport card that allows you to use boats on the Thames – the ones connected to the transport route – intercity trains and subways all for the same price. There are buses too, but they tend to be a favorite only at night when the subway stopped running. Paris also uses a strong network of subways and inter-regional trains to connect all the suburban areas. For most cities, taxis tend to be a one-off solution to take you to an appointment without the stress of switching between transport connections. Here, in NYC, taking the cab is a much more natural exercise, and especially for short distances. It’s a change of mindset for the European culture, but most budget transportation in NYC adds cabs for short travel, whether it’s to reach to neighborhoods safely at night and to avoid being crammed in public transports when you’ve got a lot of things to carry. We love our iconic yellow cabs and are happy to book the trendy limos from JFK Car Service from the airport into town. Traveling by cab is a lot cheaper than you might think, as long as you’re smart with your transport choices. Short distance and defined services are okay. Just don’t grab a cab to get you to the other end of town as it’ll cost you an arm!

View this post on Instagram

Looking out from @1hotelscentralpark at the Young Travel Professional event. (📷: #sillydrunkfish) #OnGoogleMaps @queenseats @urbanadventures @impacttravelalliance #YTPNY

A post shared by Jessica Sophíā Wong (@sillydrunkfish) on Jun 11, 2018 at 3:18pm PDT

#3. The Big Apple is a melting pot of cultures

We are a melting pot with 18 ethnic micro neighborhoods spread across the 5 boroughs of the city. Chinatown and Little Italy are the most famous of them, but they are far from being the only ones. We’ve got a little Dominican Republic, a little Senegal, a little Guyana, a little Poland, and even a little India, to name but a few. There’s a sense of diversity all across the town so that you’ll rapidly feel at home even if you’re not American.

View this post on Instagram

(4.5/5) Hidden away in the back of Tibetan Mobile (which is exactly what it sounds like—a cell phone store), this tiny Tibetan kitchen serves up authentic momo dumplings, thukpa soups, fried potatoes, beef sausage and more. Thanks to @anthonybourdain (RIP 😢) whose Jackson Heights eatery was on his CNN show, '@partsunknown.' 📸: #sillydrunkfish

A post shared by Jessica Sophíā Wong (@sillydrunkfish) on Sep 21, 2018 at 11:09pm PDT

#4. NYC is cheaper than European cities

As surprising as it might sound, if you compare New York City to a European capital, such as London, you’ll find that their offering is very similar. In fact, NYC might even be a better option for tourists. For a start, housing for tourists and locals is cheaper in NYC than in London. But the transport system is also cheaper, more spread out and runs later than in London. There are even more prestigious restaurants in NYC than in London. So why don’t you come and see for yourself?

#5. People love the planet

You may not be an environmental activist, but there’s no denying that eco-friendly areas are better for everyone. Believe it or not, but NYC is one of the greenest urban areas in the USA. New Yorkers consume less electricity with only 4,700kW per year and they privilege public transports and bicycles over cars. Overall, in NYC, we’ve got the smallest American carbon footprint. Can you say the same about Paris or London?

View this post on Instagram

New York City, I am falling love with you all over again. #rooseveltisland @eastmidtownpartnership #midtown

A post shared by Jessica Sophíā Wong (@sillydrunkfish) on May 12, 2018 at 12:40pm PDT

#6. If you’re European, you’ll identify with the New Yorkers

People in NYC have a strong European vibe to them. We may come from all over the world – and some of us might have European descendants several generations back – but we have in fact a lot in common with our European neighbors. NYC people are passionate about pizza and bagels. Parisians, in comparison, know everything about their favorite little bistros and their boulangerie. Surprisingly, both New Yorkers and European city dwellers have a bad rep for being friendly to tourists, but they agree that tourists are rarely polite. In fact, most people in NYC have a European behavior about their city: Pride, savviness, and we love our local specialties!

Don’t let the long flight stop you: NYC is a place to visit to give your European heart a throb. We’re distant cousins, separated by an ocean but much more alike than we’d care to admit!