Somewhere along the way, we all loose it. Some lose it earlier than others, but for most it trickles away little by little every day, until there is none left. By late teens its normally all gone, and I do not mean virginity here, I mean mojo – the will to explore, ask silly questions, say Yes to things and just enjoy life. As kids we learn that falling over hurts, but we quickly get over it, and get back to daredevil stunts with new vigour (my speciality was loosing front teeth over my brothers knee). We were all fearless explorers once, but years of conditioning takes its toll and we learn to play it safe, say No to unfamiliar things and experiences and crave for 40-year mortgage, HD telly and holiday in south of Spain instead, I’m no exception.
I say there should be mojo refill meter (like ones for oil in the cars), that alarms you when it has reached dangerously low levels and gives you 3 options how to get your mojo up before its too late, e.g.:
1. run a half marathon;
2. punch the annoying dude (who eats chicken drumsticks on the bus and plays loud music on mobile phone’s speakers) in the face;
3. next time you want to visit expensive restaurant or shop for new shoes you don’t need, donate that money to some charity that builds schools in Kenya.
Can someone please invent the mojo meter and get it installed on all of us hopeless souls?
This blog is part of my plan, the plan of getting my mojo back. Hope it works or I’ll have to use witchcraft as a last resort. I really want my mojo back. Do you?
Posts Tagged 'experience'
Just Do It
Published November 29, 2009 Life Leave a CommentTags: experience, explore, just do it, Life, mojo, nike
Mean streets of Shenzhen
Published August 17, 2009 Travel Leave a CommentTags: asia, china, experience, Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Travel
In autumn 2007 I visited Hong Kong, Southern China and Macau. Three very different places although very close together.
First off was Hong Kong. My favorite airport to date, with sleek design, efficiency and infrastructure built to last for decades. I expected HK to be a bit of mish mash, infested with expats and keen to copy mega cities of the West, but instead it offers a very authentic experience with few chain stores, good congee, busy red light districts and little parks where old men smoke and play board games. HK transport system is second to none, its metros are clean, quiet and fast, its stations are covered in bright colored tiles and old tramlines criss cross the city offering great tour rides for pennies. Although very different in scale somehow it reminds me of Porto. I could live there.
Next up was the real China, I hopped on the metro and went for epic 30min ride up North, where HK ends and China starts. Get off the train, walk a few hundred meters and you are on the border crossing, with Shenzhen on the other side. I stayed with some friends who are architects and worked in Shenzhen at a time. They gave me great little tour around the city, including slum areas that were set to be demolished to make space for some more skyscrapers. At night we went for the famous foot massage, where bulky ex-farmer woman from inland crunch your feet for an hour, until you weep like a baby. I was told that locals go for foot and even full body massage at least once a week, for me one time was enough. Shenzhen was how I imagined China, with heavy trucks congesting the fragile traffic arteries, no street signs, no one in sight that speaks English and taxi drivers that have to stop 3 times and ask shop owners to find the way around the bustling city.
The last part of the journey was Macau, the small ex-Portuguese colony that was finally handed over to China in Dec 1999, two years after Hong Kong. It’s basically Asian Las Vegas with Portuguese twist. Unless you want to waste few hundred quid in slot machines or play golf with wealthy Chinese businessman coming here from inland, there is not much else to do. I went for a day trip as it is a quick ferry ride away from Hong Kong. My favorite part was cuisine as Macau offers very authentic Portuguese and Brazilian experience in the heartland of Asia.
Full set of photos can be seen here.
