When one thinks of Mongolia the first thing that comes to mind is Ghengis Khan (in fact to all Mongolians he’s known as Chengis khan). Today the story of Mongolia is far from the conquering days of old Chengis. 

The capital Ulaanbaatar is like any other city but if you go a little further out into the countryside you will find a whole other world. Something you’ve never seen before. Imagine a place that seems infinite. There are mountains and rocks and valleys as far as the eye can see. The very few manmade constructions are lost in the absolute vastness of the country. There are 2,5 million people for a country three times the size of France. It is a nomadic culture. Those who do not live in the city live in ‘geres’ (Mongolian tents) that can be dismantled and tied to the camels ready to go within one hour. The people here are free to roam the lands and can go weeks without meeting anyone else. Freedom is something vital to these people. There are no territories. The land belongs to everyone. You can pitch your tent on it, walk on it but never claim it is yours. It is so sacred that in the ancient rules one was never to dig the ground. 

It is hard to describe the feeling you get when you look around you and see infinity stretching before you. It is so peaceful and quiet. In our modern world we are bombarded by sounds and noises from everywhere and we end up tuning them out. In the countryside of Mongolia the word ‘silence’ takes on a whole new meaning. It is simply liberating. I can understand why the happiness for these people is simply being free, in every sense of the term.

What do you do with only six hours in Macau in the pouring rain? Well, you rent an open topped rickshaw, of course, and ride down the rainy street singing songs and laughing at yourselves. At least, that's what we did.  Macau was a former Portuguese colony and now it has a very interesting mix of Portuguese and Chinese culture and food. Looking at the mix between Portuguese and Chinese food on some menues can be confusing and also highly entertaining. With only a short amount of time, however, and the rain coming down   around us, the interaction between the three of us made me realize how special this group is and how our silliness has helped us survive this far. We, quite literally, rented a rickshaw in the rain and drove down the   middle of busy streets - to the frustration of the speeding bus drivers and to our accumulating horror - singing songs at the top of our longs. Even the rickshaw driver started laughing and joined in! In our silliness, this was day that we coined the phrase, "It's raining lions and hyeenas out here," to add to the ever growing list of inside jokes we have developed. All in all, we had a great time in the rain in Macau and it was a perfect example of the humor, silliness and perpetual happiness that keeps us going on this trip.

What? Are we on the same plane as the World Cup Trophy? Yes we are, ladies and gentleman. We had the chance to hop on the Trophy Tour plane along with the Trophy Tour team and we had a really good time!

The manager of this famous anime store tells us that 12 percent of their customers are people that come from overseas. Then I asked him what he believed that made anime so special and made people so happy and passionate about it that made people to come from so far away and he answered: "It's a hard question... But I think that anime has something for everyone". I have to agree with that.

The driver of the Jinrikshaw showed us around. We saw some cool places while he talked to us about traditions in Japan. Then when I asked him how does it feel to do his job he answered me with a simple but eloquent: "Cool!". Remember to hop on one of these cars when you are in Tokyo!

Some of the guys from the staff of this famous japanese amusement park talked to me about how much they enjoy watching people's faces while they are leaving: you can watch a lot of huge smiles and the eventual kid that's crying because he doesn't wanna leave! Here comes a lot of people: from children to adults! It's all about having fun like a kid!

Qué decir de Japón sin caer en un lugar común? Para empezar he de decir que al haber tenido la fortuna de visitar este país este año pude concretar uno de los más profundos deseos de toda mi vida: estar en el país del Sol Naciente y de tantas manifestaciones culturales que llevo en mi mente y que me fascinan. Durante mi corta estancia en Japón pude corroborar muchas cosas que siendo un admirador de este país ya sabía de antemano… pero al mismo tiempo pude conocer muchísimas cosas nuevas que jamás me habría imaginado. Sin embargo, una de las cosas que más llamó mi atención fue el grado de felicidad y de satisfacción que encuentran los japoneses al ser generosos y proveerle al prójimo aquello que pueden necesitar: ya sea para salir adelante o para -simplemente- hacer feliz a esa otra persona. Durante los días que estuvimos allí siempre que necesitamos o deseamos algo nos encontrábamos con que, de alguna manera u otra, organizaban lo que fuera necesario para que estuviéramos bien y contentos. Siempre que se conoce gente que se llena de felicidad al hacer sentir bien a otros es una ocasión especial. Japón por esa (y por muchas otras razones) fue muy especial.

A smile on the way between South Korea and Japan? Just like ours!

Seoul is a city of colors and sounds. The place is teeming with activity. You walk around at night and the place is as busy as during the day. South Korean society is a paradox in itself. 

On the one side the traditions are very important. For instance, there are different ways of addressing a person according to his or her rank in society. Also age is very important. When young people meet they always ask what year the other is born in - only if you are from the same year can you be considered a peer. When entering most restaurants and bars you are required to take your shoes off. The list of old traditions goes on. This is what gives the Korean culture so much character.

My friend from Belgian recently returned to her Korean roots and showed me around Seoul. This is her and her friend. They say the main things that represent Korea are : IT and advanced technology, food 
(Korean barbecue is a must!) and... Fun stationary and cool socks... Yes, very random but it's original to say the least! :-)

Then on the other hand, the country is very advanced in modern technology. Youngsters are crazy about social media and all the technology that enables it. Bloggers are stars. The need to share is very strong. The happiness for these people is being creative and sharing their lives with as many people as possible. 

We were lucky to meet some of these superstar bloggers and share with them too. They gave us the most amazing gifts: an mp3 player with their favorite music, a photo album with pictures taken by them, a t-shirt illustrated by them. I must point out that we have encountered so many generous people who have given us presents and things to remember their country by. We are very lucky and honored to receive such special gifts and always feel bad having nothing to give in return… apart from a bottle of Coke!

We arrived in Laos the day after their New Year. It was obvious from the vibe of the city that everyone was inside sporting a hefty hangover from the previous day’s festivities. The streets were deserted while the whole town was recovering. 
We headed out nonetheless and strolled along the Mekong river. 
We came across some hardcore partiers who were still going. They were singing songs on the worst sound system ever and calling us over to join them and share a drink. Temping as it may be to drink dodgy looking alcohol at noon with people in a prolonged state of inebriation, we gave it a pass and simply wished them a happy new year. 
It was to take our time and simply walk around discovering the city. Being laid back, we were told is a characteristic typical of the locals. Always willing to comply with the cultural ways of the country we happily relaxed and took it easy for a change. After a while though the heat started to get to us and we were acting a little crazy… joking around, playing, wearing one’s pants on one’s arms… Yes I did just write that its not a typo. Antonio, thank you for that. Actually, we always act crazy. The heat was just an excuse… We are funny people, and not in the ‘haha’ way. Although we do make each other laugh and that’s all that matters! We enjoy each other’s company (thank god!) and when we’re bored you better watch out because we will launch ourselves into our own little world and speak our own language. That’s what happens when you spend so much time together!

Llegamos a Cambodia mientras celebraban el año nuevo. La celebración dura tres días y en este periodo la gente visita los diversos templos budistas que colman su capital. Nos explicaron que, siendo un país predominantemente budista, la población encuentra una gran alegría al poder ir durante estos días a los templos junto con sus familias para dar gracias por todas las cosas que lograron el año pasado y para desear lo mejor para sí mismos y para los demás durante el año que se avecina. Gente camina por los parques que circundan a los templos y, aun cuándo se trata de lugares a los que les tienen un profundo respeto, se percibe una atmósfera de festividad y de celebración. La gente va de un altar a otro a dar gracias por todo lo que sienten que deben dar gracias y, acto seguido, van hacia los parques dónde se sientan a disfrutar de una comida al aire libre; o bien, se dedican a divertirse jugando juegos tradicionales en la plaza pública. Tuvimos suerte de poder llegar en fechas tan significativas para el país. Pudimos presenciar de frente matices particulares de la felicidad de este hermoso país, llamado Cambodia.

Stepping into United Arab Emirates is like stepping into another world. You have a trifecta of differences with the lands that any of us grew up with: People dress differently, people act differently and people think differently. It was interesting to see that now matter how different your culture is, happiness could still be the same. We visited a local University in Abu Dhabi and the students there were surprisingly warm, welcoming and friendly. Walking around the University we were searching to find out what activities kept people happy there. Overwhelmingly, football was the number one answer. Football, football, football. We tried to peak their interest in other things and their willingness to participate was surprising. Antonio even taught a little martial arts and the laughter that created was priceless.;) 

Did you know that working out makes you feel better and has the opportunity to change your life? This guy from United Arab Emirates tells us about how he enjoys lifting some weights and how he used to have some extra pounds, but now he's on his way to become a bodybuilder! ;)

The men we met where covered from head to ankle in their traditional wear which meant that body language was a bit tougher to read. As we were leaving, we shook hands with some of the people we met and the smiles that lit up their faces was all the expression you needed. Those smiles radiated brighter than that super hot sun they have there and in that smile, you could see how welcoming, how warm and how friendly these people are.

Our first stop in Qatar was a souk. Expecting run down stalls and dirty side-alleys we were pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful the souk was. Recently renovated to its previous splendor the Souk Waqif is a maze-like complex with beautiful cut glass roofs and intricately carved stone archways. I had always wanted to get a henna tattoo so this seemed like the perfect spot. We found a little shop where a woman with the hands of an artist applied the henna paste on my hands and foot.

It was a relaxing experience to be amongst Qatari woman, who feeling safe enough in the beauty parlor, pulled off their headscarves and chatted to me as if I was one of them and even asked me advice on which pattern to choose for themselves. The guys were getting impatient as I had left them outside – obliged by respect for gender separation - while I indulged in some girly pleasures, it was time to get going to our next item on the agenda. You don’t see many people walking around in Qatar. They are all in malls. Our host explained that this is the only place where people of opposing sexes can meet unsupervised. You see groups of young men looking very distinguished in white ‘thobes’ (long white floor-length tunics) and woman in different attire, ranging from fully covered with the ‘abaya’ (a floor length black robe) complete with veil across the face to simple scarves covering the hair or ‘Hijab’. We had no problem chatting to men even though the language barrier didn’t help. But the women were too shy to appear on camera. It was sad for me not to be able to have the women represented in our video but I did get to chat to some of them and they were oh-so-friendly.

Mauritius – Flik… and Flak! 

We arrived at night, and it was stinking hot by the way! We wondered what the day was going to be like… It was hot. So we had two choices to meet local people3: a market or a beach. Which do you think we chose? Apparently they were just coming out of a long weekend holiday where people all rush to the beach in groups and families, pitch up tents and stay there for three days. So we headed out to Flik en Flak beach (simply love the name!) hoping to still find some people there. Hah! It was packed! As we were coming up to World Health Day we decided to give our video a sporty theme. It wasn’t hard to find active people as everyone was doing some activity or another: football, volleyball, swimming (duh!), running, biking… you name it! It’s quite a difference from a typical tourist beach where it’s hard to see the sand from all the sunbathing bodies lying there like beached whales. Not a single person lying lazily in the sun here (except me at one point, I admit shamefully) It was wonderful seeing all these people hanging out in groups, playing volleyball next to their tent or strolling on the beach with a football. Everyone we talked to told us they loved to be active because not only does it make them feel healthier, it also gives them the opportunity to hang out with friends. We should all take a page out of their book.

Una isla a la que nunca había imaginado ir. Nuestro paso por el océano Índico nos estaba dejando con las bocas abiertas: lugares paradisíacos en los que reina una atmósfera relajada. Llegamos a la isla mientras atardecía. Los olores (de flores y árboles tropicales) nos regalaron una grata bienvenida. Eso y después el trato amable del taxista que nos transportó a nuestro hotel. Era Domingo de Pascua. Por lo mismo casi toda la gente se encontraba en sus hogares descansando o, por otra parte, se habían ido a pasear a las playas de la isla o habían aprovechado para salir de viaje. A la mañana siguiente salimos a buscar gente con la que pudiéramos compartir, que nos permitiera aprender un poco de su modo de percibir la vida y la felicidad. Las calles se antojaban desiertas. No obstante, cada cierto tiempo nos encontrábamos con alguien. “Vayan al parque” –le dijo en francés a Kelly un señor con el que platicamos durante unos minutos. “En un día cómo éste la gente va al parque a disfrutar”. Así lo hicimos. Caminamos durante media hora bajo el sol de mediodía hasta que llegamos al parque. Una vez allí pudimos corroborar que una de las cosas en las que la gente de Reunión encuentra alegría es en albergar los espacios del parque mientras comparten. Diversas generaciones se congregan en un mismo lugar. La vida y la felicidad los cobija, mientras el viento los refresca del sol veraniego.