Christmas in Crete

The European sun is elusive in December, but this year we tried our luck to catch some lukewarm rays in Greece. We didn’t have much luck, but we did have fun in a winter wonderland of grilled meat and classical ruins with remarkably cheery folks.

Incredible distant view of the Acropolis from hills above Kaisariani

During the summer season direct flights to the Greek isles are a dime a dozen, come winter it’s a different story. All flights stop in Athens. So we made it a long layover both directions to Heraklion in Crete.

Athens

We arrived in Athens on Christmas day and were surprised to see that everyone was out and about — they were shopping and dining instead of at home with their families, as we’re accustomed to for the holidays. Our Airbnb was centrally located in Plaka, which meant we were within easy walking distance of the Acropolis and many other notable sites. Though all were closed for Christmas, we were able to get up pretty close to the mesmerising ruins without having to battle the usual hordes of tourists. After a quick lunch of kebabs with yogurt at O Thanasis taverna, we ambled up the hill to navigate the buildings bunched around the Parthenon.

After walking around the Acropolis, we continued to enjoy the view from a rooftop bar called A for Athens. With a spectacular panorama of the ancient city, it was a good place to take in the sunset.

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  Sophie outside the 11th Century monastery atop the hill

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  Street art in Plaka

Much of the city was still closed on the 26th, so we wandered between meals. Next door to our Airbnb was a modern little cafe called Lukumades, serving its namesake (something akin to Dunkin Donuts ‘munchkins’). Hot out of the fryer and traditionally served swimming in honey and cinnamon, these were an enticing snack. After breakfast number one, we made our way north towards dicey Omonia Square in pursuit of an authentic dairy bar. We found it: Stani. The interior felt like a small town American diner, and the food was simple, superior quality dairy products. Here we had a plate of thick, creamy sheep yogurt drizzled with honey and hearty walnuts.

These fantastic doughnut dough balls were a delight

Afterward, we felt like a stretch. We took the metro to Evangelismos station and walked about 45 minutes to reach the forest at Kaisariani. We followed the path beyond the cemetery and picked up the trail markers for the monastery. Our reward was a breathtaking view of the city and of the ancient Acropolis.

Good view of the surrounding city atop the rocks in the Acropolis Park

Euboea

On the way back from Crete, we spent another day in mainland Greece. Satisfied with our visit to Athens and wishing to explore further afield, we rented a car. We drove just under two hours to Euboea (Evia), the second largest island in Greece (after Crete), accessible from the mainland by bridge.

The road turns into a path and an exciting, goat-filled adventure

On Euboea, we headed to Mount Dirfys to hike Agali Gorge. A false start as we struggled to find the trailhead, soon enough we were climbing the steep trail up through the gorge. As the altitude increased, our lack of winter gear made us turn back. Even partway up we enjoyed some spectacular, snowy views!

Headed to the Gorge on a wintry Greek morning

As we slipped and slid back down, we kept hearing a strange call that sounded a lot like “hhhaaaalllp“. Confused by the plea, seemingly in English, we ran into a Greek couple after not too long who were completely unperturbed by the loud hollering. “What’s that noise?” we asked innocently, “Is someone in trouble d’you think?” They laughed. It was a mountain goat. Shortly thereafter, around a bend, sure enough, a small herd of goats stood bleating out their call for “hhhaaalllp”.

Despite 90% of the Greek population being present on the mountain that day, there was enough view for everyone

To get the full mountain view, we carried on driving the winding, icy road up the mountain. The domestic tourists thrilled in blocking the road, joyously parking half-submerged in snow banks while they posed for selfies.

Sophie, pictured here being a good sport despite not possessing the right shoes for snow trekking or goat combat

Chania

Quick stop headed south from Chania to the coast

We arrived in Heraklion in the early evening after a quick flight from Athens and set out at once for Chania, a smaller city towards the west of Crete. We spent three nights at the charming Kanso Rooms, located in a quiet village just outside Chania. The kind manager gave us many rain-proof activities to keep us busy despite the torrential weather.

In the cave of Agia Sofia looking out at the gorge

The first night there we walked into nearby Galatas, the village by our hotel, for one of the best meals of our entire trip (and maybe our lives!) at Taverna Elia. We especially loved the casserole of gigantes beans, the local red wine and the friendly family who ran this establishment.

Next day, it was off to Elafonissi beach, with a diversion planned (courtesy of our host’s recommendation) to the charming little converted village of Milia, an eco-resort. Be careful to follow local directions, not Google Maps. We almost gave up after trying to follow a goat path and ripping the bottom out of our rental car. Such fun! (On an unrelated note, get full rental insurance).

Enchanting Milia from above

An excellent “mountain beer” available at the top of the mountain

The cosy interior of the Taverna in Milia

Nothing like a warm fire on a rainy afternoon

The abandoned village was purchased and turned into an eco-resort, it’s idyllic

After our pleasant lunch in the taverna in Milia, and the harrowing switchbacks to get up there, we coasted down to one of the most famous beaches in Crete. On the way, we had passed an ancient Orthodox monastery in a cave dedicated to Agia Sophia located in a scenic gorge. Though we had heavy rain much of the way, once we arrived at the beach, it was abandoned and beautiful.

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The following day we enjoyed the local flavour of Chania, including torrential rain, really excellent seafood and the incredible Venetian Lighthouse and seawall. The winter season means that not many places are open, but we managed to find great local coffee and many fun shops to explore. With few tourists and even fewer locals, there was no lack of good service and friendly shopkeepers eager to help.

A word of warning, many locals in Greece are excited about a phenomenon known as Nanou’s Donuts. Don’t get the f$&%# donuts – they’re literally frozen pieces of trash. We tried three times to be sure. Yep, we confirmed they suck — stick with Lukumades.

Venetian Harbour and Sea Wall in Chania

Not wanting to spend the entire day in the car yet again, we set off to see a gorge to stretch our limbs. We had to change course many times because of severe flooding (from the many-mentioned torrential rains). Our diverted course meant we stumbled on the incredible ancient Arkadi monastery (it was filled to the brim with cats), a bizarre fresh water lake (still not sure why it’s a tourist attraction) and a Georgio’s Mountain Attack (AKA Patsos Escape) — all on the way to Patsos Gorge. (Yes, we did spend the whole day in the car). At the end of the long day, we got a few donuts at Nanou’s. They’re the worst.

Old town in Chania

At Georgio’s Mountain attack, we did a small hike down the flooded gorge and through a slightly creepy bit of woods with sheep skulls stuck on sticks, there was also an abandoned shack where a voice went “oooooohhhh”. We hurried back, eager to leave, but Georgio’s mom insisted on cooking pork steaks and oregano fries, and preparing a massive Greek salad for us. Meanwhile, she kindly toasted our socks and shoes by the fire, they had gotten soaked in the rain. She didn’t speak any English, of course, so when she wrapped our feet in newspaper we were momentarily confused. For entertainment, Georgio told us the story of how he befriended an American tourist who wrote a book that briefly mentioned his village on page 255. He showed us a copy, and then proceeded to recite the main points of the book for 45 minutes while we gnawed on the porksteak (it was tougher than a Nanou’s donut).

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  Arkadi Monastery

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  Staff member

We also spent two days in Rethimno. Chania has everything Rethimno has, but is nicer. Maybe it’s good in the summer but it’s mostly a concrete maze full of diesel fumes and NO Nanou’s in sight! Although, the fort was cool. And Sophie did find some shops that were acceptable.

Heraklion – in the halls of the Minotaur

The only reason I agreed to go to Crete at all was to see my friend, the Minotaur. He’s one of the best bits of Greek mythology and I had to visit Minos’ palace at Knossos. Naturally, being as many thousands of years dilapidated as it is, it leaves much to the imagination. Still, there is something special about seeing the spot of the fabled labyrinth where the Minotaur lived.

Mesmerizing artifacts a plenty… perhaps the first Nanou’s Donut?

The history museum in Heraklion was pretty fantastic. All sorts of ancient artifacts from the civilizations that pre-date the Hellenic conquest of Crete – (Phoenicians, Minoans etc). There were seals, tablets, swords, and a number of intact sarcophagus-style clay burial pots, some fascinating stuff. Also, hilariously mis-translated signs made for ‘funny moment’. Unfortunately, the Hellenic wing was closed for maintenance. I blame the Romans.

The last incredible meal in Crete was at Hairi. They had traditional Cretan food, rather than just generic ‘Greek’ food. Sophie had a Cretan pasta and I had a porridge-like soup that was savoury and brothy, and delicious. It was a bit like a congee, but much much better.

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Although Crete in the winter was great, looking out from the inside of our lockdown Corona-house now, a warm beach and a fresh Greek salad sounds pretty ace. Next time I get a chance, I’ll raise an Alfa Beer and say “Cheers to Crete” (preferably on the beach in Crete).

-Brian

Colombian Honeymoon Part I

When faced with the question of where to go for our (delayed) honeymoon, we batted around several ideas before landing on one country that ticked all our boxes. We wanted:

• Luxuriant beaches
• Hikeable mountains
• Vibrant cities
• Charming countryside
• Thrill of adventure
• Reasonably affordable
• Spanish speaking (as that’s one of our couple hobbies)

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick: Colombia

(Side note: highly recommend a delayed honeymoon as it prolongs the newlywed fun, takes the planning burden off of the pre-wedding stress storm, and gives your bank account a much-needed chance to recover).

How’d that get in there?!

Once we decided on our destination, we started to plan the trip in our usual elaborate style, but  quickly found we couldn’t commit the time to do it well. Definitely wanting to avoid a pre-packaged holiday or tour bus situation, we were intrigued when we found kimkim to help us build a bespoke travel experience. By pairing us with a local Colombian agency and connecting us through their online platform, kimkim enabled us to book OUR honeymoon at cost somewhere between UK and Colombian prices. They collected a dozen bits of information off of us – what we wanted to do, what type of activities we prefer, what type of activities we hate, how much we were will to spend per day, etc. and within a week we had a fully customized itinerary. Through their online platform, we were able to chat and call with our Colombian agent to ensure everything was as we liked before handing over our card details. The best part of this was that, without being shadowed by a dedicated tour guide for two weeks, we were able to seamlessly travel extensively across Colombia semi-independently with cars lined up for airport transfers and guides for remote mountain hikes, but no chaperone on “explore the city days” or to hold our hands getting on an airplane. We could cover so much more ground because we weren’t spending precious time figuring out what taxi company we could trust to take us to our hotel or debating which birdwatching guide seemed most trustworthy.

So, with very little planning on our part (except for an accelerated course of rabies pre-exposure vaccine) we were off!

Caribbean Coast

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Santa Marta

After transferring overnight through Bogota, we began our honeymoon in the northwest of the country in a small city called Santa Marta which is commonly used as basecamp for lost city trekkers and the less-wild Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona explorers, like us. We arrived to a hot, sunny day and immediately went to the harbour for ceviche from Emmanuel’s. For dessert, we grabbed some freshly sliced mango with lemon juice to munch on while strolling through the market stalls along the water. Though there’s not a lot to see by foot in Santa Marta, but we did manage to visit the Catedral de Santa Marta and the funky, colorful streets near the popular Parque de los Novios.

Catedral de Santa Marta in the busy heart of the city

In the evening, we took in the surroundings from the modest hotel’s rooftop bar where we were the only guests jabbering in broken Spanish to the bartender. Here, we took advantage of what would be the first of many stunning sunsets we’d see in Colombia.

Accommodation: Hotel 1525

Parque Tayrona

The next day we took the hour long drive north to Parque Tayrona early in the morning to beat the heat. All visitors need to register at the gate and foreign visitors pay a relative premium (plus insurance) for the day – nevertheless, this national park is WELL worth the $20 fee. Most visitors start in the north of the park, which is the most walkable and offers diverse landscapes within just a few hours.

Just a mediocre view in Parque Tayrona

Our tour took us over rocky crests, through brushy dunes, under tall monkey-filled canopies and to meet some indigenous people selling coconuts. The best part was when we were taken to a secret stretch of beach we were could privately splash in the sea to cool off before carrying on. Three or four hours into the park a is a popular cove for people to sun and eat arepas before turning back or setting up at a camp called Cabo San Juan. Here, we saw a giant iguana just running through the people to get the most choice spot on the high boulders to catch some rays.

Iguana King of Cabo San Juan

After our excellent adventure in the park, we retreated – fully – to a WiFi-free, hot water-free cabana further north, right on the ocean. Though the host at this campus of backroad cabanas was a super weirdo, the resort was set amidst lush palm trees with coastline and mountains as far as the eye could see. With just solar panels for energy, we were able to properly disconnect and just let vacation mode sink in as the sun sank into the turquoise waters.

Just another boring ole sunset on the Caribbean coast

We stayed in our beach retreat for two days, during which time ate a few kilos of mangoes brought in upon request by a man on a motorbike, walked a few miles along the beach without seeing more than a dozen people, and splashed in the Caribbean sea when we were too warm. An especially funny moment (for me, anyways) was when – due to jet lag – we woke up at 4am and sat on the beach for a couple of hours watching the sunrise. Sounds idyllic, right? Well, the rub was that the “resort” wasn’t open yet and therefore, Brian was without coffee for four whole groggy, morning hours. When it finally came time for breakfast, Brian was further unnerved to see fresh juice at every place setting, but no coffee. The host came over to us and – thank goodness – offered us coffee. Having noticed that most people in Colombia drink their coffee black (and full of sugar, but more on that later) he requested in Spanish that he be served milk with his coffee. But, the waiter was confused and returned with a steaming mug of milk. Brian almost cried.

Dumb sunsets always ruining good pictures…

Accommodation: Tayrona Tented Lodge

Minca

Wanting to make the most of the spectacularly diverse scenery in Departmento del Magdalena in northern Colombia, we went against our better judgement and went to the touristy town in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Minca. Known as the ecological capital of Colombia, this small town itself is derelict and strewn with white tech bros sporting dreads, but beauty lies all around it. It was raining when we arrived, so our insane transfer driver from Tayrona offered to take us up the mountain to the famous Cascada de Marinka (waterfall) – for a steep fee. I acknowledge that it was a nice waterfall, but really nothing more.

Minca’s most famous waterfall

We walked down the mountain, unwilling to hail one of several motorbikes for hire zipping down the steep road for fear of instant death, and we were rewarded to see some remarkable old growth trees that were about as wide as our flat! We arrived back in town about an hour later and were disappointed to find that a few of the very few cafes and bakeries were closed, so we ended up eating a sad attempt at Western food (and we would have way preferred Colombian food) on the terrace of a smoke shop. We watched many tourists stop by to stock up on hash before disappearing into the undergrowth of their beards again.

A view in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Minca

By the afternoon the sun was out and our bellies were full, so we summoned the courage to climb up towards a different peak, this time going towards a cacao farm. It was hard going, but the views were well worth it. We could even see where our journey started in Santa Marta in the distance. Towards the end the path got a bit confusing, exacerbated by our collective heat stroke, but we eventually made it to Finca La Candelaria where we were rewarded with free coffee and bananas while we waited on the stone patio for the next small group tour to begin.

The tour took us down into the vegetation to see cacao pods on the trees, as well as a myriad of other symbiotic produce such as coffee and bananas, of course! The tour was simple enough that we could understand it in Spanish, but one poor guy admitted to not speaking Spanish very well and was just patronized the whole time by the guide trying to help him by talking very loudly and slowly in his face, with wild hand gestures, despite the fact that the tour could have effectively been delivered in silence.

Luxurious spa treatments on down on the farm

A bodysnatcher pod

Brian sees… a chickadee

There’s birds in them there mountains

The second part of the tour covered the mechanics of how cacao is processed to make cocoa butter, cacao nibs and chocolate. We sampled cacao seeds right from the pod, which were fruity, cottony white slime balls – weird, but not bad, and even got cacao facials. All in all, a fun little jaunt made all the more enjoyable by the sunset on our way back down.

 

We awoke very early the next day for a bird watching expedition arranged by Kimkim with the same crazy man who brought us to Minca from Tayrona and enjoyed taking shortcuts through slums at top speed in a rickety old wannabe Jeep Willys. Fortunately, this former drug runner was partnered with a slightly more sane and coherent avian enthusiast who led us and another couple on a slow stroll through the mountains to spot lots of brightly colored birds which bored him and lots of things that looked like chickadees that just thrilled him. We were most excited to see a toucan high up in the trees, but we also saw many types of parrots and parakeets. The tour was only meant to be a couple of hours, but the guide became obsessed with finding one particular migratory bird that would soon be flying north for their winter. So he dragged us up and down the mountains for a good five hours without food or a break (except when we broke into a finca to steal the workers coffee #whenincolombia). Luckily, he did eventually find the bird hanging around a compost heap where we then had to wait for him to get the perfect photo of the perfect bird, ay yi yi!

Accommodation: Hotel Sweet Harmony

Cartagena

The color explosion that is Cartagena

That afternoon we were picked up from our hotel and driven about 5 hours to Cartagena. Domestic travel in Colombia is only really safely done via car or plane, rarely bus and never train (there simply isn’t a network). The ride took us along the coast, through Barranquilla and Parque Isla de Salamanca. We stopped at both Wawa-quality convenience stores and roadside stools bearing bags of mangos. We arrived at our swanky hotel (thanks Kimkim) right by the clock tower in the old city at dusk and enjoyed a roof top bar quite unlike that of our first hotel before setting out for dinner. On the recommendation of the hotel staff for Colombian Caribbean food, we walked over to La Mulata for zesty seafood and sumptuous coco rice, a Cartagena speciality. We were grateful for the pre-dinner fortification because the streets of Cartagena at night were sketchy – not stabby or kidnappy sketchy, but Times Square sketchy. We found that, every night after sunset, Brian would be offered drugs every half block that we walked because, unfortunately, we do scream tourist.

Street scene: Cartagena

Street scenes of Colonial buildings

Las Islas del Rosario

The next day we took a speedboat from the harbor to Las Islas del Rosario. This was a day-trip that friends (and the internet) recommended to us, or rather to me as a beach lover. Truly, this is a beautiful destination to include in any Cartagena itinerary, BUT it is serviced in the most bizarre way. Essentially, each island is a bead in the “rosary” of islands and each island/bead is its own resort. So, the deal is that each speedboat is owned by a resort and it takes you to that one specific resort island for a few hours, during which time you are subjected to the worst resort attributes including planned activities signified by ringing bells *gasp*, incessant upselling of massages *gasp*, and exorbitantly priced cocktails *faint*. This is interspersed with a fish lunch buffet and some random artisans hawking the wares to you while you splash in the shallows. The hour long ride to the islands is an efficient way to see the more modern leg of Cartagena that wraps around the bay and is pretty fun, in a log-flume ride kinda way. But truth be told, you almost spend more time going to and fro than you do lounging on the white sand on the practically private beaches. So, it’s a bit of a toss up whether I’d carry on this recommendation. Brian hated it thoroughly.

Life on the islands

Gente de Mar resort

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That night, relying on another recommendation, we had a marvelous dinner just down the street from our hotel at Maria. As my wise friend April shared when recommending this place, it’s like going to a hip, haute 5-star restaurant in NYC, but paying a quarter of the price – including drinks! Creative cocktails featuring local fruits we couldn’t pronounce, multiple types of ceviche, and expertly cooked fish – what more could you want? We do carry on this recommendation.

Getsemani

On our second full day in Cartagena we were left to our own devices, so we started the morning by walking out of the old walled city and crossing into the next neighborhood, Getsemani. Vibrantly decorated and nearly tourist free, Getsemani is a far cry from Ciudad Antigua (the old city), but is in fact steeped with its own historical markers and is en route to the castle. We spent an hour or so wandering the quiet streets and drinking little coffees in the church square under the blazing sun. There’s a lot of Cartagena we didn’t get to see, but I’m glad we got to see this one authentic corner of it (before the hipsters fully Brooklynize it).

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We kept walking from here over an ancient stone wall and bridge to reach Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. Though it is possible to walk from the old city to this site, the last bit of the journey was a tad sketchy and we did see a car catch on fire on our way back so…yeah, spring for an Uber. Anyways, the fort (16th century colonial outpost) was built atop a hill with a great view all around. Today, you can still walk along the parapet and take silly photos with the cannons. It is well preserved and you can see more than enough in an hour. Note, we didn’t find any bathrooms here so that was awkward.

Colonial era fort with cannons and all

Ciudad Antigua

After a quick dip in our hotel’s rooftop pool (oh and before I forget, the breakfast buffet was also outstanding), we were refreshed enough to head out into the busy, beautiful and boiling throughways of Ciudad Antigua – the walled city beside the sea. Part of the neighborhood was without power, but ceviche is a dish best served cold so we dined al fresco on raw salmon and avocado tostados and a mountain of guacamole that cost just pennies. Avocados and mangoes are so abundant in Colombia that they practically give them away, which we made an effort to take advantage of. Fueled up, I managed to drag Brian through a couple hours of shopping as long as I interspersed it with cocktail stops. The shopping was excellent, everything from handicrafts to chic boutiques, to stylish name brands.

The old streets in Cartagena

We made an effort to get a spot on the ocean side of the wall to watch the sun set over the modern high rises in the distance. We were approached many times over the course of an hour by beer sellers, tour guides and folks looking for some spare change. Memorably, we spent a good twenty minutes talking to two little Venezuelan boys who were trying to get some money by selling boxes of cookies to tourists. Throughout our time in Colombia, we saw dozens of Venezuelan migrants trying to restart their lives here, even selling their own Venezuelan currency on the roadside for fractions of a cent per bolívar.

Iglesia de San Pedro Claver

After talking to the boys from Caracas and a tour guide that was so pleased that Brian had a conversation with him just for the sake of it, rather than shooing him away like most tourists would (me included), we went for our final fabulous meal in Cartagena. We ate at Candé, a well known spot for traditional Cartagena Caribbean food, decor and dancing. I enjoyed a local crab and rice dish while Brian adventurously selected the baby shark stew. Every 15 minutes of so, a male and female dancer would appeared and danced in the middle of this busy restaurant, an interpretive dance that acted out a creole love story complete with betrayal and deceit — each time in different, more elaborate costumes. At one point, one of them was the grim reaper and tried to kill Brian while I egged them on. Not long after, I stepped away to use the ladies and came back to the woman trying to kiss Brian. It was weird, but the food was excellent, as was always the case in Cartagena.

 

Drinks over a well!

Accommodation: Hotel Santa Catalina

Right, so that was the first half of our amazing honeymoon and I’m going to stop now before I make myself hungrier. Part II coming soon!

Shot of newer city in Cartagena on the way to the islands

-Sophie

Heart and Seoul: Why South Korea’s capital is well worth a visit

Best That Won Can Buy

Seoul is hands down the most impressive city I’ve ever been to. I’ve never seen a city so well-organized and so meticulously and sparkling new, which is especially impressive for such an ancient place.

In reality, Seoul looks more like a mall than a city, and there are many malls in Seoul, because shopping is a big part of the culture. These retail spaces are woven so cleverly into the fabric of the city’s infrastructure, that you don’t even realize when you’re walking into a mall, either underground or from a pedestrian footbridge.

The city is simple to traverse. Trains, buses, and walkability make Seoul one of the most easy to navigate cities I’ve ever experienced. It has all the functionality of Tokyo, with the cultural depth of Bangkok, the glamor of Paris, all while maintaining its growing position as a business centre, the likes of New York or Shanghai.

The soul of this ancient city may have been diluted somewhat by the heavy American presence over the years, and now perhaps by an influx of Chinese businessmen, but this is one city which I think has benefitted from the cross-cultural fusion and has become, as a result, a more interesting overall experience for visitors. Obviously, I can’t speak to what the city was or what it’s like to live there (I wish!), but these are simply my impressions as a traveler.

Explore

We decided to stay central, and in the end this was a great choice. Myeong-dong is an incredible area from which to access the rest of the city with ease. It’s a quick walk to the metro and easily connected to the neighborhoods/sites you’ll want to check out. Our accommodation was an inexpensive, humble bed & breakfast / hostel called Guest House The Hill where we had our own en suite, but then shared a kitchen and laundry space with other guests. I would recommend staying here if you are traveling on a budget (which most people will be in S.Korea!).

The area of Myeong-dong is very fun. Lined with countless high-end stores, some dedicated to the most bizarre things, e.g. cartoon character stationary, funky socks — the main takeaway is that Korea’s retail economy must be bucking the international trend.

Better than the stores — the evening market at Myeong-dong is also a thriving street enterprise, creating a very fun and vibrant mixed shopping environment. There are food stands selling hoeduck (sweet sesame stuffed pancake), dumplings, and other finger foods, as well as trinkets like socks and gadgets for as little as $1. It’s fun to wander along and browse through the dozens of stalls, winding your way through the district.

Some seafood bites at Myeong-dong

But this wasn’t the only street market we came across. Our first evening there, we stumbled across an arts market that kept us enthralled for hours. You never know what you’ll find on the [super safe] streets of Seoul.

Eat

Though an expensive city, you will find unparalleled quality and variety in food here. There is an unmistakable Korean flair to the food that gives everything a sweet/spicy edge, and naturally, the best food is the actual traditional Korean, but there is also good coffee and excellent international street food.

To really get a feel for the city we wanted to walk around — as we always like to — to feel out the culture, follow the locals into their favorite spots. As I mentioned, your dollar won’t go very far here, the Won is a strong currency like the Yen and you’ll feel it hit your wallet hard. However, that being said, this isn’t Reykjavik and the food is actually high quality — so it won’t be wasted.

One of the most fun parts about the food culture in Korea is that it is made up of a lot of sharing plates. Now normally, I really hate sharing my food. I don’t want to have to ask “Can I have the last slice…?” etc. In Korea, you don’t have this problem so much, because there are mountains of food. At many of the restaurants, especially with more traditional Korean food, the meal consists of many small plates packed with an intensity of flavor. There is always such a variety that you’re sure to get something you like. A few of my favorites food items are the topokki, bulgogi and sundubu-jjigae, as well as the staple of Korean food we all know and love: kimchi. Kimchi is a magical fermented cabbage that is semi-sacred in Korea (and in my fridge). The average Korean consumes almost 50lbs of it a year!!! And once you try it, it’s easy to see why — it goes with the other dishes like any old condiment, and it is exceedingly healthy.

Don’t forget kimchijeon — I never will. There is nothing as delicious as a good kimchi pancake. This savory delight is a nice counterpoint to the sweet & sesame deliciousness of a hoeduck (the sweet sesame pancake that can be found at street stalls). There are few cultures that have mastered pancakes like the Koreans (maybe the Poles with placki ziemniaczane— but I’m impartial).

Sophie looks on in delight as the dishes keep coming…

Remember

The Koreans are fiercely proud of their cultural heritage, having a long and sometimes difficult history, having been wedged between the proud Japanese and the irredentist Chinese. Their cultural story is measured in millennia and is sure to impress with a score of historical sites scattered throughout the city.

Jongmyo shrine

This is the burial place of emperors and empresses and is strikingly austere but beautiful.  The ancient architecture is worked over in places where the monuments were damaged and have burned down, but a lot of the original infrastructure remains. It’s a peaceful place that, to be honest, isn’t well-explained by the tour guide (or not in a captivating way) but the beauty of the minimalist architecture speaks for itself.

Nearby to Jongymo, the district that abuts the park is worth exploring with charming, quiet streets and little shops for perusing

The shrine itself is somewhat austere, but it is tranquil and at such a scale that photographs struggle to capture its grandeur

The colors and minimalism of the shrine are a nice break from the busy urban city outside

Ancient Confucian shrines and monuments

Dotted around the city are many ancient sites, so many that you will stumble on quite a few without even trying. In such an old city, you can throw a rock hit something that’s a piece of this place’s long history.

An ancient Confucian monument in the middle of the park

 

Palaces

While a lot of the monuments and palaces are reconstructions, due to warfare and fires over the years, they’re still worth seeing. There’s too many to even try to list here, and for some, I recommend skipping entrance to some of these things and viewing at a distance so as not to become repetitive. You don’t want palace time to eat into your meal times.

Near the ancient city bits is a nice view of the wooded hills nearby, the city is very walkable and has a lot of trees

Explore Some More

The city is sprawling, yet easy to navigate. One of the most enjoyable activities is beating the pavement and getting out to see the city. We went to some of the most recommended ones such as Hongdae, which is the vibrant, young university area and Samcheong-dong where the Bukchon Hanok Village of traditional Korean houses sits. These are were both perfectly interesting, but not as memorable as the more scenic residential neighborhoods we simply stumbled upon.

Bukchon Hanok — here you get a good view back at the main part of the city, such as the tower and Myeong-dong where we stayed

Some of the best exploration we did took us outside of Seoul to Bukhansan National Park. Easily reached by train to city bus, this verdant park offers a range of hikes for all ability levels. With a whole day in front of us, we opted for one of the longer hikes that had us climbing slick rock faces with freshly fallen leaves underfoot. It was a beautiful autumn day when we went and the locals were out in force, but that didn’t taint our enjoyment because everyone was in good spirits. At the top of the trail was a steel rope that you had to use to pull yourself to the peak of the climb. Though there were probably 100 people in the queue, everyone was supporting each other to reach the vista and – admittedly – photo opp point without too much pushing and shoving. Also, weirdly, there were dozens of stray cats gambling about up there. Honestly, the view from here after the lovely hike was one of the high points of the trip [pun only partially intended].

On top of the mountain

Sophie is climbing down while peeps breathe down her neck

A tattered Korean flag flies at the summit

Beautiful in the autumn

On the way back down we came across a few stalls selling local produce and we got some of the most insanely good apples I’ve ever eaten, the people at the stall just gave us a couple. “Take them.” They said.

Seoul was a real surprise, on our tour of Asia, it was the place I was least excited about, but the place I ended up enjoying the most. I am eager to go back to Korea and see more of the country sometime soon — and more importantly, eat some more of the fantastic food.

-Brian

 

How To Get Sick of Massages (As If!)

When you travel around Asia on the cheap, you will inevitably be routed through Bangkok on basically every international flight. We had been through this airport about four times before we actually stopped and stayed in Thailand. One of our Don Muang International Airport layovers featured a mentally unstable man screaming religious slurs as he tried to board our flight to Kochi with us. After about 10 minutes of this, I went to the check-in desk to ask if they were going to do anything about this menacing character.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ve called airport security. They’ll be here in just 15 minutes.” Great.

Bustling streets of Bangkok near Chinatown area

Based on our many less-than-enjoyable airport stays, we approached our couple of days in Bangkok with trepidation. But, from the moment we stepped into the cool interior of our Uber, we realized that the city was far more sophisticated and exciting than we had anticipated. Bangkok is vast, modern, and charming — the antithesis of the airport. We easily found our B&B and were immediately upgraded to the suite when she couldn’t find our original reservation. (Don’t be too jealous – the lock on the suite’s double doors was broken so we had to use a bike lock to secure our possessions).

One of gajillion street stalls dotted around Bangkok

 

Italian coffee, meat on sticks… everything the modern girl could want.

We arrived in the early morning, so we set off in hot pursuit of coffee and we found several options. While we are all for seeking out local, authentic experiences generally, we wanted (needed) some western coffee on this day, so we sat down in a modern, dare-I-say-hip, Italian style coffee shop where we had fast wifi and a view of the street vendors selling their breakfast delights. After surveying the offers, and fortified with caffeine, we went out to get some breakfast. Much to our surprise, just 20 minutes later, the vendors had all moved along, new vendors had moved in, and much shuffling had occurred. We couldn’t find what we were looking for. We bough some sticks of delicious  grilled mystery meat and sat down at a little picnic table to eat some piping hot noodles covered in hot sauce. This juxtaposition of the cosmopolitan coffee shop across the street and the portable grill tops nicely summed up the feel of Bangkok and our time there.

The Chinatown market was redolent of Chinatowns around the world, with red dragons and lanterns strung overhead, crates overflowing with dirt-encrusted produce, and stalls selling branded knickknacks of all sorts. The web of alleyways was vast and congested, but the slow pace of getting around offered us the luxury of gazing at all the random wares without being hurried along. We bought our family members flip-flops that were made to look like “real” fish and found the Japanese anime character, Totoro, emblazoned on everything a person may ever wish to own, from patches to picture frames to pencil cases.

Quick snack of scorpion

Most of all, we were really amazed to see trays of grilled scorpions on sticks (as well as other many legged creatures). We wanted to try them, but weren’t even sure how to begin eating them. Can you eat the pincers? What about their heads? Nevertheless, our senses were fully saturated and satisfied from exploring this area.

A big pile of durian fruit

Luckily for us, our hotel was nestled in the heart of a neighborhood where every other storefront was a massage parlor, so we decided to head back for an afternoon massage. We knew that Uber was a popular and convenient mode of getting around, so we went looking for some internet connectivity to call a car. In a few short strides, we left the loud, odorous, chaotic market seen and were in a Starbucks in an upscale mall, ordering a ride using their free wifi.

Ornate stupas at Wat Pho temple

One of the great things about Uber, if you’re a tourist, is that you can’t be price gouged for unwittingly being driven around a few extra miles for a higher fare. But, in Bangkok, you may be waiting upwards of 30 minutes for your driver to arrive. This isn’t because there aren’t many drivers here – it’s because the traffic is SO bad, that from even just a few blocks away your driver my accept your ride and then be completely unable to retrieve you.

A different kind of ‘happy ending’

Eventually we made it back to our neighborhood, Phra Khanong, and scanned the streets for a non-sexy place to get a massage. It was pretty easy to distinguish which establishments offered services we were disinterested; they’d had names like Miss BJ’s “Massage” House and Bouncy Bouncy Fun Times. We ended up just around the corner from our hotel at a “luxury” spa that charged about $30 for us both to get an hour long massage. But, really, it was as luxurious as most western spas and the lower price made the experience even more luxurious and enjoyable. 

The very giant and golden reclining Buddha

Over the next two days, between visiting temples and palaces, stumbling through shops full of memorials for the deceased King, gawking at the reclining Buddha, and trying durian popsicles (flavored like a moldy onion…I wouldn’t recommend), we got half a dozen more massages. Not all were as good as the first, but they all were remarkably inexpensive and just what out aching backpacker shoulders needed.

As pop culture would lead one to believe, Thai massages really are super deep tissue style massages and feature the masseuse using their full body weight plus gravity to release tension in your back. But in fact, this was true across several of the other countries we visited and got massages in. However, some other common themes were vats of hot oil, confusing hospital-style gowns, and sheer bliss.

Statue in Wat Pho temple

One massage we got in northern India in 2016 at a fancy hotel spa was called the “Royal Ayurvedic Treatment”. With only two common words with my masseuse, “pressure” and “full-body”, I soon found myself buck naked having my hair massaged with the same very hot oil that was poured all over my body. After 40 confusing, slimy minutes the masseuse gestured to a dark chamber in the corner of the room and eventually I figured out that she wanted me to remove my towel and stand naked in this blacked out vestibule. So I did and after a few long moments a puff of steam erupted from an unseen source overhead and as I started to scream. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I recognized a shower head, I was soon washing the gallons of oil off in a perfectly functional, but nevertheless creepy shower. As I left the spa, by way of farewell, my masseuse said to me, “Pressure!”.

Relaxed outside Grand Palace in Bangkok post morning of massages

Well in Thailand I certainly had flashbacks of this experience — but rather than being in an upscale hotel, I was on a mat on the floor in any one of dozens of basic massage parlors in Bangkok. I was instructed to fully undress and lay on a mattress that was little thicker than a yoga mat in a row of clients on mats that was reminiscent of a hospital ward. The massage, of course, was fantastically acrobatic and really relieved my aching muscles. However, my American puritanism didn’t just put me off by being unclothed in a room full of strangers, the masseuses definitely weren’t of the sexy sort, but they definitely went further past the Universal Standard Shorts/Bra Cut-off Point to the point where my mind went, “Uh-oh, did I pick the wrong type of massage?” but it was all fine in the end.

The many meats of Bangkok

Really, I could go on-and-on about the $20, 90-minute, man balancing on my back, linking arms with the man standing on Brian’s back massage experiences we had in Vietnam, or the super serene couples massage in a poolside spa during a mesmerizing thunderstorm in Cambodia, or the $10 Laos massage-slash-yoga pose stretch sesh, but I’ll try to stop myself…There were many other fine and surprising things we experienced in Bangkok.

There was food, also

If I haven’t already mentioned it, let’s talk about the food. The FOOD. I’ve had “thai food” in the US, and that generally has the gist of it, but the actual food in Thailand kept us coming back for more and more. Between restaurants and rickety tables on the street, we definitely preferred the food at/from the carts. Plates full of steaming fried vegetables and bowls of soup kept us satisfied for just 50 baht (less than $2). Restaurant meals cost considerably more and were simultaneously bland and super spicy. Bizarre.

Even more delicious than it looks

Another fabulous food discovery was mango sticky rice. This is sticky white rice cooked in coconut milk and, more traditionally, with some blue flowers which dye the rice a pale periwinkle. This warm, sweet, vaguely floral rice is then served with freshly sliced mango and crisped rice topping – so simple but a heavenly combination that I frequently crave to this day.

Lastly, the most pleasant discovery — the people. The people we met in Bangkok were amongst the most lively and friendly we met throughout our time in Southeast Asia. From our B&B hostess to our Uber drivers, everyone we met had a smile on their face and a genuine interest in showing off their charming homeland. We cannot wait to visit again.

-Sophie

Sikkim and Darjeeling: A former Buddhist kingdom and a tea-soaked adventure

 

Little villages are scattered along the steep road to Darjeeling

 

Getting there

Flying into Bagdogra is an experience in itself. This remote airport in the northeast of India is strictly a ‘no photographs’ location. Only around 100 miles from the Chinese border, the Indian air force keeps a stash of bombers there, ready to go, in case their Chinese neighbors get handsy at the border. There are plenty of serious looking mustachioed dudes with submachine guns standing around nervously.

Deplaning though, you would almost think you’re in a cafeteria — the 80s paneling, the rows of oddly arranged chairs, and then armed guards asking for your visa (you need special permission to enter most areas around there). You get a quick rundown with a metal detector, which is unusual when leaving an airport… But then again, many people arriving are traveling to Sikkim, which was not too recently its own country, and as mentioned shares a border with the ever aggressive China.

Our first stop was Darjeeling. The majestic and mysterious West Bengalese city synonomous with tea, trains, tranquility and Kachenchunga (the world’s 3rd tallest peak — depending on how you measure).

Darjeeling was merely a stop off, a recommendation from our friend, Rudy (he’s been everywhere) who heartily recommended a day or two to chill there amongst the tea. It was lovely — and we certainly did chill — to the bone. As we left Bagdogra, the soot, sweat, and grime of the small city (and there was a lot for such a small city!) faded away. Soon, in our formerly sweaty shorts and t-shirts we were shivering our way to an altitude of 6,700 feet in a matter of hours, watching as the sun sank into the distant smog of West Bengal.

The smoggy sunset on the way up the mts to Darjeeling

The air up here was (mostly) clean and fresh. We rolled through the cool evening mist passing towns with those half finished concrete buildings you find throughout southeast Asia, little settlements with houses dotted in among the trees, sometimes with faces peeking out calling children to dinner, or people carrying laundry baskets. Through lush greenery, we rose. Our driver, completely oblivious to our existence, rolled his windows down and barreled onward roaring up the winding path, dangling off the mountain at times, not phased by the fear of falling thousands of feet to a fiery death.

Darjeeling

Finally, around 8pm or so, in the freezing dark, we arrived in Darjeeling. Our hotel was a simple multi-story concrete structure – basically a refrigerator with a functioning toilet (hooray!) and a bed. We put on four layers of clothes, mostly t-shirts, I bundled up in what I could, and Sophie’s toes blackened in anticipation of a hard night’s sleep.

Actually, I slept pretty well. We had our run of the kitchen, “What would you like?” they asked. Unable to read Ghorka or Bengali, we were content to point at the menu and hope for the best. The food was some of the spiciest I’d ever eaten. My nose ran from the cold and the spice, and we shivered, exhausted.

Checking out a monastery in Darjeeling after a lovely 3am wakeup call to head up to Tiger Hill and see Kachenchunga

I had interviewed for a job in London in September, just after we returned from Morocco and the recruiter (in, as it would turn out, her infinite wisdom) had chosen this particular night to speak with me. After our earlier flight to Bagdogra, our harrowing white-knuckled ride up into the mountains in a freezing truck, and our traumatic welcome into Darjeeling (which included almost being hit by the Darjeeling Express), Mildred (her name has been changed) decided this was the night for a conversation about renumeration.

“Hi Brian, how are you?” She asked.

“Fine… My teeth aren’t chattering…” I said, delirious with fatigue. “And you?”

“Oh well, I’m well…Where are you in your travels now?”

“The Himalayas.”

“Lovely.”

“Y-y-eah…” I said shivering.

At this point I would have settled on a warm cup of coffee for a salary (in fact, I did). That evening, we went to look for snacks before our dinner came, but we were only able to find piles of Nabisco type things: banana crispies and what-have-you.

Darjeeling is relatively small (for India) at around 130K souls

The next day we woke up at 3am to head to Tiger Hill to get catch a glimpse of the Kachenchunga peak at sunrise. This is a very touristy daily event, and hawkers ran back and forth selling hot chai from a thermos and weirdly shaped woolen caps (that looked like they had been made for house elves).

Was it worth it? Yes. After an hour of shivering and buying woolen caps, we finally mashed in with some people to catch a glimpse of the glorious Kachenchunga, a sacred mountain for the Lepcha people, and it should certainly be considered one for the rest of us too. It was awe-inspiring. But exhausting. And teeth-chatteringly cold. But ultimately totally not too touristy and worth the pain.

Mighty Kachenchunga just after dawn on Tiger Hill

Our driver then took us to a confusing stupa, but to be fair, I am confused by most stupas (being as unintentionally ethnocentric as the next Westerner). But they are still an interesting and eye-catching religious symbol.

Darjeeling is obviously famous for the eponymous tea that so famously grows on its steep slopes. The people that have picked it there for generations have come from different places — but many of them are well cared for by the family companies that have been running the slopes for many years. Of course, I believe this is mostly bullshit PR and that they probably live in difficult conditions — we attended the tea museum in Darjeeling that begged to differ, stating that the tea pickers are mostly women because they have ‘tiny, tiny hands’. The truth is, the workers are all women because they work harder picking tea while they chatter happily at one another (this is what another tea company man said). But they also have healthcare and childcare, relatively good benefits in India, I’d wager.

Happy Valley tea plantation — what a happy place. Fancy a spoonful of tea?

Hands down, the most incredible part about Darjeeling – besides the surrounding beauty, and interesting cultural traditions — you truly do have access to the most incredible tea. For those of us among the uninitiated, we didn’t know there were such things as first, second, and so forth flushes — types of tea strategically picked at different times to exhibit certain properties. For some of these teas, a cup can cost around $45… that’s one cup. The most expensive we sprung for was a $12 first blush black tea. It was easily the most interesting cup of tea I’ve ever had. Back in the city, every fifth store sells tea and conspicuous tea wholesalers are rummaging through piles of tea packages wafting and scrutinizing the leaves, rattling the little foil packages. It’s quite fun to explore the little shops get to inhale the different aromas.

Nowhere in the world will you have a chance to sample tea so fresh.  It really is the dream experience for a beverage lover, and it really gave me a new appreciation for tea (a beverage that has never been too fascinating to me).

Sikkim

Well, after a few days in Darjeeling, it was straight on to Gangtok in Sikkim. Zooming through the underbrush at the speed of sound, our next driver (in a long series of drivers) dangled off cliff after cliff, but interestingly enough, we were headed down to a lower elevation in Gangtok. After we passed the proper military checkpoint – which included paying a small visa processing fee and getting a pretty cool little stamp in our passport — we headed on.

Gangtok was fun to walk around — it had many alleyways that meandered up and down, this way and that — each one had snacks

The city itself wasn’t much to marvel at. Unlike Darjeeling, it sits at a lower elevation, so doesn’t quite cling to the mountains in the same way. While it’s buildings are mostly built-up concrete, there is a certain charm to its streets and it is possible to walk around, if nervously (as always in Indian traffic).

One of the more depressing, but interesting sites we visited was the Tibetan Refugee Center. For anyone that cares about the Tibetans and how they were robbed of their country, leader, heritage, relics, and livelihoods by the imperialist dogs — it is pretty riveting and may cause an intense emotional experience. For someone who really loves the beauty and mystery of Tibetan Buddhism, it will be an even more emotional experience. However, I must warn it’s not a light-hearted experience.

This is where a lot of Tibetan artifacts were brought after the Chinese murdered most of the Tibetans in actual Tibet and annexed their country and enslaved the inhabitants brutally

A monk smiles at a dog at Rumtek Monastery outside of Gangtok

Another incredible part of Tibetan culture certainly worth experiencing was the food. In Gangtok, we enjoyed an incredible Tibetan food experience. Up two flights of rickety stairs in the town’s high street, we found a little Tibetan cafe that smelled incredible. It was packed with people, and we got to share a table with a mother and her little son. Her three year old was eating food so spicy that it would have reduced most adults to full-on tantrum mode. Here we enjoyed momo dumplings and hot noodle soup.

Prayer flags waving in the wind at Rumtek Monastery

The people of Darjeeling, and Gangtok, were all very accommodating. All in all, two of the least touristy places I’ve ever been (although, as our driver in Gangtok pointed out, that’s changing rapidly). He was a friendly fellow, fluent in Bengali, Lepcha, Gorka, and pretty good in English too. After he drove us around for the day, he asked, “Can we stop for a chai?” We sat down for a few chais at a quaint little cafe, where the proprietor kept a vat of tea kettle simmering all day long. Our driver conversed with the owner a while, and we enjoyed the peaceful ambience of the mountain city.

It’s their land after all… but don’t tell Modi

As part of our quirky tour, we were repeatedly handed off from driver to driver, subcontracted out by our truly bizarre tour company. As we prepared to hop out of one truck to the other, I tried to hand our new friend a tip. He shook his head vehemently, “You’ve already paid.” He said, and sent us on our way.

Another time our driver dropped us off in a parking garage and drove away without telling us anything. We just stood there for an hour questioning all the decisions in life that brought us to that frightening vault full of rabid dogs and keyed up young men. But we survived.

In Gangtok, you have a chance to visit Rumtek Monastery, a heavily-guarded and functioning Buddhist monastery. After an incredibly uncomfortable, but worthwhile trip around the valley, we arrived at the monastery. The heavily armed guards seized our passports — which made us very nervous — and then we wandered around as the monks read their morning prayer. I think the prayer lasted close to an hour and was punctuated with frequent coughs and snorts. As this went on, we wandered around awkwardly, past the canteen where some monks were eating bowls of rice and candy bars…for breakfast. Then, we peeked into the shrine, where yet another armed guard (with an AK-47 under his arm) looked at us suspiciously as we made an offering of some unknown amount of rupees.

A shrine with a view

“Hmmm…” We said, unsure of what one ‘does’ at Rumtek. The only clearly marked sign was the men’s bathroom, and there were some stalls on the way up selling some trinkets. We were the only tourists that day, but it was clear there were normally more tourists. So we took a quick walk up the hill to where one could catch a glimpse of the shrine building itself and the beautiful many-colored and waving flags that adorn the monastery. It was really very lovely. It smelled like incense, as almost everywhere in Sikkim does, and we coughed a bit as we brushed through a cloud of it. Then, we dodged the monks’ underwear which were drying on a clothesline and headed back to the car for a bumpy, dusty ride back to Gangtok.

At the gate, we asked for our passports back. They looked puzzled, and for a moment we almost vomited out our hearts when they couldn’t find them. Then, the we saw a lightbulb form over the guard’s head and he pulled them out of his vest pocket, dusting them off and handing them back with a less menacing grimace which I think was meant to be an apology.

Rumtek is stunningly beautiful and colorful, the location is incredible — but there is nothing else there besides some banana crispies

For a Buddhist shrine, there sure were a lot of men with guns. That must be part of that new agey second-amendment-fold-path — No wait… that’s BOOMism, not Buddhism. I’m confused.

All aboard the Darjeeling Express… Just watch out that it doesn’t run you over

Sikkim is a magnificently beautiful part of India, despite really being its own country. It has lost its autonomy but still retains a distinct cultural feeling that separates it from the rest of the country. The Ghorkas as recently as we were there, were in a state of revolt to retain some of their autonomy from the strong administration of the Modi government, which controls much of the local government politics of a largely Buddhist region. Still, better that religious freedom prevails somewhat stifled, rather than being completely stamped out like the Tibetans who now live in exile in Sikkim if they weren’t already murdered.

On the charming streets of Gangtok in the evening

-Brian

 

Kolkata: Gotta make sure your hotel exists

 

Outside the temple of Kali, after a nice $25 fleecing by a tout.

Kolkata: Kali, Mother Theresa, exposed wires, and kati rolls

Kolkata is hot. In the city, exhaust from millions of idling cars fills the air and forms an oppressive choking cloud that makes you really wonder how people adapt to life like this.

This has always been one of the more beautiful things about India — it’s full of a resilient, determined populace who aren’t discouraged by lack of clean water, soil, or breathable air. They’re tough.

We, the pathetic and clammy Americans, however, found it difficult. Kolkata embodies the urban chaos of India that we’ve grown accustomed to. Its highways were a bedlam of insanity, the usual mix of cows and humans, dogs and goats, mopeds and buses teetering with ten young men dangling off the luggage rack and four more hopping in the door as the bus slows down, but it doesn’t ever completely stop to let them on — instead rolling off with limbs sticking out in all directions.

We came to Kolkata knowing that we wanted to see a few things. The temple dedicated to Kali, some colonial buildings (from when the city was Calcutta — although most Indians I spoke to still call Kolkata “Calcutta” and Mumbai “Bombay”), and the Mother House, where Mother Theresa worked her miracles.

When we arrived, we were faced with that all too familiar conundrum at Indian airports, you’re a long way outside the city and it’s a long way in. On a shoestring budget, we chose poorly. We didn’t spring for the A/C taxi. And we ended up with a greenhorn.

“You sure you know where this is?” I asked, holding the slip from the radio taxi stand, pointing very clearly to the address of our hotel.

“No problem,” he said with the customary shake of his head. It was a problem. Our hotel no longer existed. It was a BIG problem. Furthermore, it was impossible for him to find the hotel, and would have been even if it existed. He had no idea how to find his own foot. After a godawful taxi ride (2 hours in the chokingly polluted traffic, windows open breathing away our future lung capacity) and a quick detour to a school which our driver insisted was our hotel –we finally found the hotel at the site of where our hotel should be. But, it turned out that our hotel had been discontinued.

So large was our problem, that we spent another two and a half hours on a relay call between Hotels.com help and the staff at an imaginary hotel. Well, nothing sucks as much as wasting precious travel time you can never recover. However, we did get an upgrade, of sorts to a new “fancy” hotel.

We couldn’t do much that night, so we resolved to make our remaining time worth it. That evening, we instead just enjoyed the most kick-ass kati rolls ever created. Despite my recent (and relatively ongoing) food-borne illness, the mutton kati still hit the spot at Kusum Rolls. Don’t be put off of eating standing up down a crowded alley way, 50 cents has never been so fresh and delicious.

The next day we checked in our friend Kali, the beautiful (and, at times, vengeful) Goddess ,who is worshipped by many as the Divine Mother. For us Westerners, we know her as some dark and perhaps demonic consort of those villainous dudes from the Temple of Doom. Well, pop culture does that a lot. Instead, she is a very important deity worshipped across India. One of her most notable temples, however, is here in Calcutta.

Our temple visit, as with most tourist sites, was a damn racket. But it was still fun.

A tout greeted us as we tried to wander in, pegging us as easy money.

“You must have a guide to enter. I am a registered guide, you must come with me.” His logic was undeniable… But, sometimes, we find it’s easier to just give them the money and laugh it off. What’s being swindled out of another 5 or 10 thousand rupees.

Of course, by the time we had seen the spot they sacrifice the goats (you know, standard stuff) and stuck third eye dots on our foreheads to mark us as the ultimate tourists, and our guide literally pushed us through the Kali body temple (where we basically got our pockets double-checked for spare change and got to rub up against 400 sweaty pilgrims, then we got to look at a shrine that resembled an empty birdcage.

“Tell me the name of your mother.” The tout asked.”Father? Brothers?” I answered.

He then proceeded to bless each of my family members, the family dog, my dentist, and my third cousins (just kidding), but for Sophie, the fee was higher (because she has five siblings). This was one of those times where I wish I was quicker and could have answered: “I’m an orphan!” and escaped, paying just $10 or so. Instead, stupidly, I listed off all my family members, and they’ve since been blessed by Kali. (Ahem… forgot to mention that, guys… She sees you when you’re sleeping, etc.)

Well, we eventually escaped with minimal damage and headed on over to the Victoria Memorial. We walked through a political uprising, quick to leave and found ourselves in a very random piece of empty grassland, next to a gigantic racetrack. Well, apparently someone let the horses out, and so we wandered by and tipped our hats.

Completely lost, and relying on a map with cartoon versions of everything drawn not to scale (NEVER GO TO INDIA WITHOUT A DATA PLAN… stupid stupid stupid), we panicked and grabbed a taxi.

Despite repeated attempts by Sophie to communicate with the driver, I realized that the taxi driver was handicapped — he was unable to hear at the frequency women speak. So, I had to translate for Sophie into ‘man talk’.

“Hey punk (a respectful term in man speak), can you take us to the royal thing?”

He nodded the customary, “no problem” nod.

A memorial to Victoria, a character from a Netflix show… Apparently, she’s really big in India.

Victoria Memorial. It’s a memorial for Victoria. The rest is FAR too boring to relay here. The building itself…very impressive…as buildings go. Worth a visit, but mainly for the park area behind the memorial and the other historical buildings in that end of town.

From there, we meandered over to the Hooghly River and set off along the river walkway with small refreshment stands, tour boat opportunities, dead parade floats, and druggy animal trash cans.

One of many types of stoned animals seeking your rubbish

He’s seen better days…

We emerged from the path a mile or so uptown, where the path intersects with a railway and a shantytown. We were surprised to find that, all of a sudden, we’d crossed into colonial Calcutta, with dozens of British government buildings, mansions, and churches. Behind the St. John’s Church we found a memorial to the Black Hole of Calcutta which was terribly grim.

There was one more site Sophie wanted to see before we could recuperate in the coolness of our hotel room. Our visit to the Mother House — Mother Teresa’s home — was, to my surprise, not at all a tourist trap. This peaceful compound is still today an active home for the Sisters who carry on Mother Teresa’s work, as well as temporary volunteers. Here you can see her room, pray by her tomb, and learn about her life through a small museum display. Not to minimize the important work Mother Teresa accomplished, but we were surprised to see a picture of her when she was young, before she was Mother Teresa, and she was movie star pretty. She could have had anything in life, and still she dedicated herself to those in need.

We found ourselves in this weird, empty field. Who let the horses out? Who? Probably those guys standing under the tree. Why? They were hungry. Horse dosa.

For our final evening in Kolkata, Sophie dragged me to a mall under the guise of something cultural that I can’t remember now. While we were in briefly in Chennai the day before, we went to a very non-Western mall that was like an Indian marketplace just with escalators, rather than winding alleyways. Surprisingly fun as malls go. This, however, was an upscale mall much like only the nicest malls in the US and, as such, it was dreadfully boring. But we did get to shop in a grocery store that had tea flavored mouthwash and chili flavored toothpaste, so that was pretty cool.

Though our hotel was nearby, we didn’t want to drag our newly purchased suitcase for knickknacks through the inevitable street sludge, so we hailed a taxi. We showed the driver the address but he shook his head and shrugged, indicating that he did not recognize the street name (truly less than five minutes away). A tuk-tuk driver convinced us that he knew where we needed to go, but he grabbed the address (actually Sophie’s phone displaying the address) and ran over to another driver to ask where the hell it was. While we were sitting in that tuk-tuk waiting, another driver came over to us and asked, “Need tuk-tuk?”

“No!” We both responded, “we’re in a freaking tuk-tuk.”

A moment later our driver returned (with Sophie’s phone, fortunately) and we were off. Paused at a traffic light, a third driver rode up to us and asked, “Need tuk-tuk?”

 

 

 

Da Nang and the Delta

 

Hoi An is worth a stroll, but in the rain is considerably less fun

Hoi An

Hoi An, the ancient city bit is known for its resemblance to a French Village, preserving the colonial Indo-China style town as part of yet another UNESCO heritage site. It was highly recommended to us by many people, and it was definitely an interesting place. The main attraction is the river and the bridges with scenic riverfront buildings on either side of the water. Like other UNESCO heritage sites, the main thing to do here is try to fight other tourists to take a picture without the other tourists in it. Hoi An has been thoroughly touristed. Prices here are twice to four times as high as in Da Nang, so only get lunch here if you want to punish your wallet.

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You’ll pay more for everything in Hoi An, especially to get to the village. Take Uber, or as my local friend Hien suggests, take Grab, a cheaper motorbike option that will drop you at the village and allow you to arrange pickup at your convenience.

While being brutally ripped off for lunch, we overheard some women discussing their plans to stay in Hoi An for five days. Five days!!! It’s interesting and certainly worth taking a few pictures, splurging on a coffee and rambling a bit, but I would suggest limiting your time here to a morning or an afternoon. See a temple and wave goodbye as you motor on your way back to Da Nang.

Gosh Da Nangit!

Da Nang at night is an impressive sight, full of dazzling colors and light

Ringing in as the impressive fourth largest city in Vietnam, Da Nang has a much different vibe than HCMC or Hanoi. It should be noted that there is also a dividing line that runs from a few blocks west of the beach through the middle of town, a line that is marked by average prices and tourists per square foot.

On the beach side, Da Nang has a row of resorts full of Russian, Chinese, French, German, and American tourists. With their private beaches and built-in restaurants, they mostly never venture past the line of towering hotels that make up the seaside. Hey man, that’s their loss! Venturing into the bustle of the larger city is well worth it for a food adventure or a run-of-the-mill anthropological experience. Da Nang is very much a large, everyday city full of normal people going to work and eating normal Vietnamese food. I’m sure there’s a formula that entails the price of food declining per meter as you head away from the water. We got dinner for 20,000 Vietnamese dong each at a little stall deep in the city, where you can find a big bowl of pho for less than $1. Granted, some of it is horrible, but there is a lot of really great food too. Overall, our experience was good, and for that price you have to be willing to risk a bellyache.

It’s a Day at the Beach!

Da Nang’s coastline on a stormy day

After you’ve had your fill of the commotion in the city, and oggled the dazzling lights of Da Nang at night (which are seriously glitzing), please take a day off and go plant yourself in a beach cabana. Pick a day that it’s not raining, and ideally one not too close to typhoon weather and pay about $3 to rent a cabana for as long as you like. The beach in Da Nang runs the length of the city and abuts a couple marvelous mountains to the north. If you fancy a swim, make sure the waves aren’t too insane because the overzealous life guards won’t cut you any slack, and, in fact, we saw one kick a local man after he braved a dip in the roaring tide when he wasn’t supposed to. However, you’ll find an ample supply of refreshing drinks to sip waterside. Try a freshly cracked coconut or an iced Vietnamese coffee and enjoy zoning out a bit as the tide rolls in along the long, beautiful coast. Make friends with the bartenders and don’t sweat it when a gaggle of Chinese tourists want to take selfies with you, feel those beach vibes and smile.

On to the Delta…

Not to be alarmist, but if you want to see the Mekong Delta, you have limited time. The Chinese have been building dams for the past five years or so and are set to complete more soon at several points along the Mekong River, that begins at the Chinese-controlled origin of the river. You don’t have to know a lot about rivers to understand that the more the Chinese choke off the source, the less the river will flow. As the river dries it will destroy traditions, communities, and the way of life of people in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and of course China. Not to make the Chinese Development Bank out to be a villian here, come on folks there’s no imperial country that isn’t guilty, but there was a theme on our trip, and I’m just saying, it was that everyone is nervous about China destroying their way of life.

Taking a boat ride with an old lady in her miniscule boat is an authentic way to be terrified by the scale of the Mekong

Anyway, the Delta is in real danger from this, as well as from development of other kinds, i.e. roadways, techology, and even, yes, tourism! So, if you want to see it before it’s gone, counterintuitively, go and visit it before it’s too late. Don’t just take my word for it, please read this incredibly thorough and well-written (as always) article from The Economist. This is why I chose this year to visit the delta.

Wild jackfruit, pineapples, coconuts, black pepper, and a variety of other fruits and spices grow wild along the backwater paths

Be careful about how you get there, of course. There are tours that will whisk you down to the delta and back in a day and with the new highways that connect the growing cities there, it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable. But it will cost you at minimum $65 and a miserable visit to a pineapple farm and a coconut candy factory (with an obligatory purchase of 5kg of candy). Heeding the advice of those that came before and lived to tell the tale (on Tripadvisor) and also share an aversion to being ripped off, we decided to do it on our own). And our experience getting to Can Tho was interesting enough…

A picturesque scene of bamboo swallowing an untended harbor, at first I thought this boat was abandoned but realized many people were using boats in similar shape to transport themselves and goods around the delta

A ticket from the Ho Chi Minh City airport to the bug bus station is around $2. From there, there are a multitude of companies that offer cheap yet comfortable service to Can Tho, Ben Tre and other locations along the Mekong. Of course, knowing so little, we didn’t choose one of those services. We walked up to a window and said “Kann Toe!” to which the ticket seller looked confused, then seemed to understand we meant Can Tho. A woman ran over to us and hurriedly grabbed us, “Can Tho? Can Tho?” She asked, and dramatically added, “Must hurry!” So we paid around $5 each or 110K Dong. And we did not enjoy that ride, let me tell you! The bus, like many of the long haul buses in Vietnam, have semi-reclining seats, much like the seats in a dentist’s office, except these didn’t smell extremely sterile (and, in fact, were not extremely sterile but quite the opposite)… Also, Sophie discovered about ten minutes into the journey that she had a seat companion, a large roach named Pho, living in the pocket where riders are expected to stick their odiferous feet. In addition, a really poorly-executed Vietnamese drama about a singing pageant winner with family drama was blaring on the television for 90% of the journey. Added to that cacophony was the screeching laughter of the ancient woman perched in the seat in front of me, who turned around to glare at me every fifteen seconds and moments later smacked my feet with mirth when the show’s protaganist delivered each cheesy punchline. In short, it was not a fun trip down.

Can Tho, you should go!

The dwellings and palms along the river and its small tributaries is beautiful around sunset

However, Can Tho is worth the arduous journey. Having grown at such a rapid clip, the population skyrocketing in the past five years by about ten times, it is surprisingly now a bustling city. With the construction of the new highway, the city is also choking the boating way of life of the people that used to ship and sell on their little skiffs. As Doi, our gregarious and well-informed tour guide explained, the floating market at Cai Rang, once a truly gigantic affair consisting of 1,000+ boats, has since shrunken to a meager 150 or so merchants peddling pineapples, mostly for the benefit of tourists. The reason, Doi elaborated, is that it is much easier and more cost effective to ship by truck on the new highway. His dire prediction, though tinged with his infecting optimism, is that the market will cease to exist within three years or so. Life is changing on the delta.

A pagoda deep in the delta

But, we had a chance to enjoy it while it’s still there. We bargained with a decrepit old woman, who was so bow-legged she waddled like a turtle, as she offered us the best sunset cruise in Can Tho on her boat. We agreed, and when we returned at dusk, she said, “Yes, go with my sister.” I doubt it was her sister, but another equally hunched woman puttered us around the delta, and even enjoyed making me row the boat for a while, across the Mekong at a wide point, cackling at my difficulty in operating the standing oars. By the time I got the hang of it, she had lost interest, and we zoomed along backwaters through dense jungle, past humble waterfront houses, and abandoned, half-sunken boats.

Rowing one of the “traditional” boats was surprisingly complicated and required more coordination than I possess

We wanted to see ‘the real delta’, but we were skeptical of tours, however, after carefully perusing the tours on offer at our hotel, we took the plunge. We got lucky. Our tour guide, Doi, training at a local school for tour guides, was a delightful person to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the delta. We went for a muddy bike ride to a shrine, deep in the jungle, sampling wild fruits and leaves along the way, as we happened on them. We visited a somewhat tacky rice noodle factory and say a brand new monastary that the jungle had already half eaten. We took a boat ride, exploring an entirely new bit of the backwaters than we had seen at sunset. Finally, Doi took us for a meal at a local place, warning me, “it’s not included in the tour’. It was OK, it only cost us about a dollar for a soda and bao xio, meat or veg wrapped in local leaves, i.e. banana, mint, basil or a variety of tree leaves that are consumed locally. Dipped in a local, but unknown sauce that really made the whole leafy wrap palatable, it was one of the more memorable meals for the atmosphere. “I want to take people to local places, show them the real Can Tho”, Doi explained, beckoning to the long concrete, warehouse-building full of cafeteria fold-up tables with plastic chairs. It was truly local and incredibly delicious. Before departing, Doi recommended we try Vietnamese hotpot on the street in Can Tho called ‘hot pot alley’.

We biked around the backwaters of Can Tho, seeing a good amount of the muddy countryside

So, that night we stumbled, fatigued from biking around the narrow, muddy paths of the delta through bamboo forests and rice paddies, onto a street humming with motorcycles and Vietnamese youths. Nothing was in English on any of the signs, so we knew we were on the right track. We passed over a few places after a dirty look or two, and finally decided on the last choice, a place that looked like a cross between a parking garage and a lawn party. A young guy saw us looking at the menu and smiled, giving me the thumbs up, then he stuffed a chicken liver in his mouth and gave me another thumbs up and a nod.

A local shrine to the sacred, now-extinct wild tiger that roamed in the region before migratory resettlement of the delta region around a thousand years ago. People still burn incense and ask the tiger to protect their family from illness and harm.

“Ok,” I said, “This is the place for us”. We sat down and pointed at a few things on the menu, the adolescent waiter lit up a huge burner and dropped on a gigantic pot of clear liquid, and brought about fifteen little bowls which contained all manner of meats, vegetables, spices, noodles, fats, and other unknowns. We shrugged, and started chucking things in, a dash of red fiery sauce, a handful of offal, a cube of fat, a splash of that dark black broth. Then, we waited, basking in the ambience of the laughter of local people enjoying a meal with friends. There was a lot of anticipation. After it was thoroughly cooked, we pulled out some pieces, added the noodles, and chowed down. It was very good, and just the right amount of spice that we cried a little. As we were leaving, the guy threw us another thumbs up, this time an inquisitive one, like “Was it good?” I nodded to signal yes, it was very good.

Sophie looking a bit dazed and perhaps underwhelmed at Cai Rang after getting up at 4am to see a lot of pineapples on boats

I want to mention one more awesome place in Can Tho. A&T Coffee. For 15K dong you can get an excellent pate bahn mi and for 20K more, you can add on a great little coffee that is sugary as candy but also bold and robust. It doubles as a pawn shop, and if you’re not careful the owners will politely ask you to play the guitar and sing for them. After I asked if I could noodle on the guitar a bit, the owner asked me to play a song. “Ok,” I said shyly (this was our second visit) and I played House of the Rising Sun. “You come back later?” she asked. “Maybe,” I said. A lot of the places we went on our trip, we ended up going back a second time if we were sure we wouldn’t get food poisoning or ripped off, but Sophie and I drew the line at three times, that was just getting weird.

Last bus out of Saigon

So, we had learned to be more careful when getting bus tickets in Vietnam. We had our hotel book our tickets on the way back to HCMC, and what a difference! For the same price, FUTA picked us up, gave us a bottle of water, and the bus was sparkly clean. So, word of caution, do your research so you don’t end up with Pho the roachy seat mate.

Enjoying views of the palms and water plants along the might Mekong

So, we didn’t get to see as much of the delta as we would have liked, in reality, it is still hard to get between places. But we loved Can Tho, and the people were a world away from the attitude in HCMC. As we ventured south in Vietnam, the people got friendlier and friendlier, and Can Tho was the icing on the coconut. Every adorable little kid we biked by in the Delta and every shop owner was eager to wave and say hi, ask where we were from, how we liked the Delta. The proprietor of our hotel went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and went beyond making us feel like customers, and instead made us feel like guests. I’ve never seen deeper smile lines or the look of contentment of the fishermen who lazily threw out their nets into the muddy depths of the Mekong. The hospitality made me think of the lyrics from Proud Mary,

“they don’t have no worries,
they ain’t got no money,
people on the river are happy to give.”

I hate to think that that culture will change as Can Tho grows exponentionally. As Doi explained, construction and migration are the new way of life in Can Tho, there’s not enough housing and an influx of people, investments, and tourism will completely alter the way of life. But that’s the way of rivers, as my favorite Disney princess says, “You never step in the same river twice”.

-Brian

A woman reluctantly sold us one pineapple after hauling them all the way from Cambodia on the river, hoping to sell them in bulk on a slow market day

 

You Can’t Go Wrong in Hong Kong

Before arriving, we thought Hong Kong was going to be all food and shopping, food and shopping, and it was — except it was also hiking and beaches and celebrations. It’s amazing, you’re in the heart of a cosmopolitan city surrounded by skyscrapers, and then 40 minutes later you’re deep along a wooded trail climbing up a mountain! We loved everything we did in Hong Kong, from the touristy to the lesser-known. We could ramble all day long about everything we did in Hong Kong, but to spare you, here are our greatest hits:

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Best Beach: Long Ke Wan

We took a train to a train to a bus to a taxi to a 90 minute hike in order to reach this bay beach. Worth it? Absolutely. Along this Sai Kung area hike you will first come across a tiny cluster of huts and a gorgeous beach. Keep going. The next section of beach over the crest is twice as gorgeous, with crystal blue waters, warm waves to play in, and two small restaurants for an inexpensive drink. When you’re done basking on the white sands, you can grab one of the infrequent motor boats back to town (from which you can get a bus and a train or two to get back to downtown HK). Though it’ll set you back about $20 per person, it is a wild ride past sea stacks and coastal coves that you simply can’t forget.

View on The Dragon’s Back trail mid rainstorm

Best Hike: The Dragon’s Back

While this is a very popular and well-known hike, I think it deserves recognition for being a great trail that is easily accessed by city dwellers and travelers alike. Google Maps will easily direct the way to the starting point for you in Shek O Country Park. The hike takes only two hours or three for moderate walkers. Along the way, you will see beach vistas that rival popular holiday destinations and see the “dragon’s back” series of hills stretch out in the distance like a medieval guarded wall. At the end of your hike, follow the signs to Big Wave Bay Beach for a swim to cool off before grabbing a bus back into town.

The bright lights of the Lantern Festival where I had my first of many egg waffles

Best Snack: Egg Waffle

Egg waffles are a popular street food in Hong Kong sold to pedestrians in the afternoon and evening. It is a crispy, wafer-like waffle with egg shaped puffs (and a light, egg-y batter). I would most liken it funnel cake, but it is not necessarily a sweet treat.  My favorite variation was chocolate chip, which, when straight from the iron, has melty chocolate pockets throughout so each bite is a chocolate lover’s delight. I recommend Mammy Pancake in the Temple Street Night Market, though you’ll have to wait a bit for this snack attack during high market traffic in the evening.

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Best Skyline View: Central Green Trail to The Peak

Faced with enormous queues to ride the Victorian tram up to Victoria Peak, we found a walking path called the Central Green Trail that we were able to pick up from just beside the tram station. It is quite a steep walk, especially in the midday sun, but the different views as you climb higher and higher make the effort all the more enjoyable. Plus, you can get great city skyline pictures before running into the tourist crowds at the top of the tram line so there are fewer straw hats framing the bottom of your shot.

Char siu bao

Chicken paws

Best Dim Sum: Char Siu Bao at DimDimSum

We ate A LOT of dim sum in Hong Kong — and enjoyed most of it — but DimDimSum Dim Sum Speciality Store in Wan Chai was our favorite spot simply because all of the dumplings, rolls, and buns were flawlessly prepared and the atmosphere was relaxed. We ordered seconds (or was it thirds?) of the steamed BBQ pork buns known as char siu bao. Most notably, we ordered plenty of different dishes, including chicken paws and crispy veggie rolls, and still the bill was about $7 a person.

Hong Kong blurring by from the top deck of the trolley

Best Evening Entertainment: Tung Po

Cooked food centers are a Hong Kong staple for ultra casual eats and cheap beer. Arranged like an old school cafeteria, these centers are composed of several different restaurants serving family style dishes of traditional Cantonese food like tender grilled octopus and tangy pineapple beef stir fry. Tung Po, in the Java Road Cooked Food Center, wins my (admittedly not very prestigious) award for most entertaining venue in the city. While I enjoyed the circus of getting a breakfast table at Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan, the proprietor at Tung Po actually danced for his customers. On the table. Constantly, and without provacation. The eardrum-bursting stereos pump out a mix of 70s hits and Cantonese pop ballads, while raucous crowds of drunk business men fight over plates of pork intestines and the owner snaps selfies with tourists. The food was fine, but the atmosphere is really what you’re buying, especially when the waiters train you to uncap you beer with a chopstick.

The city all lit up for the light show from the Kowloon side

Best Tacky Tourist Attraction: A Symphony of Lights

If it were up year round, I would say that the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival is the most fun example of bright lights and crowds in Hong Kong. But alas, it is not. Nevertheless, Hong Kong’s A Symphony of Lights river lights display is delightfully tacky and entertaining. It’s sort of like laser tag meets DanceDance Revolution meets a high school orchestral concert. You can catch the show from either the HK or Kowloon harborsides at 8pm every night. Get there early for a prime spot to watch the buildings light up in time to the music — and for a great city at night view afterwards.

A selection of bonsai in Prince Edward Flower Market

Best Market: Prince Edward Flower Garden

While Temple Street Night Market is a great time for hearing ear-splitting Cantonese karaoke and buying knock-off Mulberry wallets, Prince Edward Flower Market is more memorable to me because it floods all the senses as soon as you arrive. Bright buds fill buckets and baskets spilling out of every store front and ornate little bonsai are artfully displayed. You will smell many pleasant fragrances and hear the proprietors bargaining off their wares. My favorite part was all of the individuals I saw carefully selecting the flowers they wanted in a bouquet to bring home to their special someone at the end of the day. Every one of them was grinning.

Hong Kong is a shining example of an international city, but it is almost an exact microcosm of the inequities present across the globe. Peer into any bar in SoHo, nestled around the famous escalators, and you will see gaggles of Westerners buying rounds of $10-a-glass cocktails after a day at the bank headquarters. Then, on the weekends, walk around those same escalators and overground walkways and you will see thousands and thousands of women sitting on cardboard, listening to music, and sharing food with friends. These domestic workers come from the Philippines and elsewhere to earn a better wage than they can at home — but while in Hong Kong they can’t afford to participate in this flashier lifestyle. And let’s not forget the longtime locals who have had to adapt quickly to retain their neighborhoods and customs in the face of such rapid and impressive globalization.

This is not a judgement on Hong Kong or it’s inhabitants; merely an observation of the intensity of this East/West crossroads and how much change has happened since gaining independence from British rule. The question on everyone’s mind though: What will change when China gains authority of modern Hong Kong?

-Sophie

Tokyo, And You Can Too!

As a child of generation Pokemon and Tamagotchi, I’ve always wanted to go Tokyo, but I was anxious when many people described it as being similar to New York City. While NYC is a great place to visit, I don’t want to fly for 14 hours to see it again. However, I found hardly any similarities to New York or other major world cities for that matter. Yes, Tokyo is large and heavily populated, there are renowned restaurants and a subway system, but the similarities stop there.

Tokyo was clean, quiet, efficient, and safe. We figured out the metro system in a morning and rode the peaceful, air conditioned trains to far flung neighborhoods and back again with absolutely no concern. Expecting body-to-body traffic jams in Shibuya, we found orderly masses of people moving along without delay. Even the price of food and goods wasn’t that bad, comparable to what you’d pay in many parts of the US. All of my worst fears were quickly allayed in Tokyo.

There are 1,001 things for tourists to do in Tokyo, I’m sure you could live there all your life and never do them all, so we certainly didn’t even try. Here’s a run down of what we did with our three full days, but this hardly scratches the surface of what to do here.

Day 1

Sashimi bento box for breakfast

7am – Tsukiji Fish Market

Some folks will insist that you get up at 3am to watch the tuna auction at this local fish market. From what I’ve read, the best part of this pre-dawn activity is enjoying a sushi breakfast in the outer market afterwards, so I made the executive decision that we’d inaugurate our trip with a raw fish breakfast (and spare ourselves the ungodly wake-up time). There’s no need for specific recommendations here, just wander around until you see a couple of seats at one of the many sushi counters tucked into tiny spaces where the chefs prepare your meal casually in front of your eyes.

 

10am – Royal Palace Grounds

The Royal Palace itself is an entirely new build and, therefore, pretty unattractive. But the park surrounding the palace is worth a visit to see decorative gates and pagoda views. This is a good way to spend your morning get oriented with Japan’s history.

1pm – Tonkatsu

Hungry yet? Grab a greasy lunch of tonkatsu, perfectly fried pork cutlet served with a heaping bowl of sticky rice, cabbage, and miso soup. Japanese cuisine is considered the forefather of frying, and this is evident in their panko crusted comestibles, as well as tempura anything.

Sprawling view of Tokyo from the 59th floor of Sunshine 60

4pm – Sunshine 60

In the hip university neighborhood, Ikebukuro, there is everything from multi-story arcades to multi-story hostess bars. After devoting some time to wandering around this area, wander on over to Sunshine 60 for shopping and city views. On the 59th floor, you can have a drink or a meal with a wide panorama of Tokyo and the price gouging for enjoying this real estate is not as bad as you may think! If you’ve got yen to burn, go up one more floor to the observatory and appreciate the trippy elevator ride on the way.

7pm – Harajuku

Harajuku neighborhood is a delight to cat lovers and children alike. Famous for catering to the anime-watching, manga-reading, school girl uniform-wearing girls of Japan, one will be inundated with bright colors, cute socks, and cafes full of cats or owls, depending on your taste. Walking through here in the evening is a delight for the senses – cheerful lights, bubbly noises, and delicious smelling crepes.

9pm – Collapse due to jet lag.

Day 2

9am – Traditional Breakfast

Many restaurants are open early and offer breakfast sets that make ordering off of a Japanese menu easier and cheaper. Though I can’t say it was the best meal either or us ever had, Brian and I had a traditional Japanese breakfast one morning just by looking for a cheap and cheerful eatery on our way into town. Brian was served a smoked fish and a brothy soup with clams in it. I was served a raw eggs, sticky rice, and stringy fermented beans. Gotta say, I prefer raw fish to eggs for breakfast (or anytime).

Prayer cards at Hanazono Inari Jinja shrine

11am – Ueno Park

Ueno Park is one of the largest in Tokyo and is full of attractions. Coming into the park from the south, you will quickly come across a few Shinto shrines and temples. Tourists are welcome to explore these (respectfully) and even write prayer cards. Don’t be a douche and use this as an opportunity to proselytize your own religion though.

1pm – Shinjuku

Shinjuku neighborhood hosts a major intersection of multiple roads filled with bright billboards, store signs, and taxis. When the walking man icon turns green, people fill the crossings going every direction and then, when the icon turn reds, everyone is calmly walking along the sidewalks again. Beyond the main intersection, there are big brand American and Japanese stores, as well as many other smaller establishments that were unfamiliar to me. This a great place to explore with much of the glamour of Times Square without the creepy Elmo that only has one eye.

3pm – Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Don’t dawdle too long before getting to the garden, it has deceptively early closing at 4:30pm. This garden is composed of several small themed gardens connected by winding paths. Come here for views and a chance to see the sky away from the skyscrapers.

Lantern outside of Sensoji in Asakusa

5pm – Asakusa

Asakusa is one of Tokyo’s oldest neighborhoods and houses the famous Sensoji temple. This iconic Buddhist temple is comprised of several elements including statues, archways, and a giant lantern. There are several photo-friendly spots and many Japanese tourists visit in traditional clothing, amping up the historical atmosphere here.

After you’re done ogling the pagoda and the old market stalls, visit an izakaya. These are casual gastropubs where locals frequently drink and socialize after work. Izakayas are notable for their greasy small plates served tapas style and the requirement for all patrons to purchase a drink. Choose an outside table to watch the sun go down over Asakusa.

9pm – Collapse due to jet lag.

Day 3

9am – Explore Your Local Neighborhood

Our hotel was in the Arakawa ward in the northern part of the city. There aren’t many well known tourist sites here, so we went in search of things to see here on our own, armed with pamphlets from our hotel’s front desk. Quickly, we founds a quiet, covered market with store fronts lazily opening for the day. We had a breakfast that was served, basically, out of a man’s house (but it was delicious) and a coffee shop selling real, freshly brewed coffee. This coffee shop, Papa Noel, is run by a little old man who roasts his beans fragrantly on the premises. He told us that he named his shop Papa Noel because, when he first opened his roastery, he didn’t have a store yet and would be called up to deliver his beans around the city. He spent many hours a day with a sack of coffee beans thrown over his back as he zipped around Tokyo on a motorbike, bringing his goods to customers all over. He felt like Santa Claus, hence, Papa Noel. And his coffee tastes like Christmas morning.

Escape the city…right in the middle of the city

11am – Rainbow Bridge View from Chuo

The Rainbow bridge, named for it’s painted pillars (which are difficult to see in the daytime), crosses Tokyo Bay, south of central Tokyo. While there are many places to catch views of this bridge that connects the Odaiba artificial island, we got a nice sighting from Hamarikyu Gardens in Chuo. These gardens are much less crowded than other traditional Japanese gardens nearby and offer lovely waterfront views. There is also an ornate teahouse and several koi ponds to see while wandering through.

2pm – Shibuya

Shibuya is the classic image of hectic, modern, economically-booming Tokyo. With several major roads intersecting around a mass of multi-storied malls, this is the throbbing heart of Tokyo’s shopping options. Brian, being taller than most Japanese people, was able to see overhead as we approached the crossing and just said to me, “Let’s not split up here.” While orderly in typical Japanese fashion, there were thousands of people enjoying the energy of these bustling thoroughfares. I recommend quickly peeling off down one of the side streets. You will still see loads of shops and people, but you’ll have enough space to window shop as you roam. You can also get good views from cafes and restaurants on upper levels of the madness below.

5pm – Happy Hour at Good Faucets

Before leaving Shinjuku, try a Japanese craft beer at Good Faucets. This slightly Western feeling bar is up on the second story allowing for interesting people watching and beer is remarkably good. This is the only place we found interesting beer during two plus weeks in Japan, though in all fairness we didn’t try that hard.

8pm – AFURI Ramen

Recommended by my beloved Serious Eats, AFURI Ramen has several locations across Tokyo to enjoy their expertly prepared ramen bowls with badass yuzu infused broth. Yuzu, a popular Japanese citrus fruit, taste like a cross between a lime and a clementine, making this ramen lighter and more refreshing that most bowls of murky miso-ness. After ordering our food via a ticket vending machine, we creepily watched other people eat their ramen and determined that there are many ways to skin a cat – literally – just kidding, no one was eating cat…as far as we know. In the end, we enjoyed our shio ramen with a hybrid of chopstick shoveling and spoon slurping goodness.

10pm – Hey, you’re awake! Go have fun.

Luckily, we get another full day in Tokyo on our way back to the US at the end of this trip. I know that I’ll be tempted to make repeat visits to a few spots, but I’ll try to venture out to a new neighborhood or two for so more orderly chaos and perfect bites.

-Sophie

Not Your Mom’s Madrid

If you’ve been to Madrid before, you’ve probably visited the royal palace, some beautiful plazas, and the many other great tourist attractions this city has to offer. Of the handful of European capitals that I’ve been to before, I would suggest that Madrid’s features are some of the most resplendent and memorable. But the world does not need another blog post about the obvious appeals of this Spanish city. Hence, I offer you here five other things to do when in Madrid.

The unique decor of Zombie Bar

1. Explore the “Brooklyn” of Madrid

It is well known, apparently, that Chueca is the hippest neighborhood in Brookl-I-mean-Madrid. And it is indeed funky, but it’s starting to turn chi-chi rather than chai-chai. However, it’s neighbor Malasaña has inherited that grungy, gentrifying vibe from Chueca. Part red light district, part old family businesses, this area is now interspersed with cute clothing boutiques, artisanal cocktail bars, and Instagram-worthy food-porn restaurants. By pure happenstance, our Airbnb was located here and we had a great time exploring the neighborhood and finding some good seats from which to people watch. Much like riding the L train as it goes from west Manhattan to Brooklyn, the outfits quickly digressed into overalls, mom jeans, and crop tops. You could lose hours wandering around here or drinking in Zombie Bar with the light-up Ronald McDonald head. You know, the usual.

Baos and dim sum at Toy Panda in Madrid

2. Ethnic Cuisine

Of course, Madrid offers excellent native cuisine from pigs ears to tapas classics gone gastronomized (i.e. liquified tortillas). Our favorite meals, though, were some ethnic influences brought in through the active trail of immigrants to this cosmopolitan city. We ate a three course Peruvian meal in Malasaña for only €10 at Ceviche Madrid, including a hearty portion of ceviche (obviously) and stone fruit jelly for dessert. For a more casual meal, we ate baos at Toy Panda not once, but twice within a five day span in a city with a gazillion fabulous restaurants. If that doesn’t tell you something about these amazing Chinese bun sandwiches, I don’t know what will! We loved everything we tried from the wasabi mayo tempura prawn bun to the Korean sriracha sauced crispy squid bun to the wide array of dim sum. Nothing in Toy Panda’s dishes could be faulted, each bite was perfect. Except for the last bite, because it made me sad.

You never know what you might see…

3. The Lesser-Known Collections

Madrid is famous for its art museums, namely El Prado and La Reina Sofia. Most people burn out after one or two art museums per vacation, but People of The World, don’t give up! Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza has a fantastic collection including works from Caravaggio to Dali to Renoir to name just a few. Arranged with the oldest pieces on the top floor so that patrons are obliged to work their way down to the modern exhibitions on the lower floors, this museum offers a great morning activity and is easily located on the same stretch of road as many other major Madrid museums. Best of all, there were so few people there, even during tourist season. No one with a big head to block out Cezanne, yes!

A Dixieland band jamming in La Latina

4. Sunday Street Party

We were fortunate to be in Madrid for a Sunday morning, which allowed us to go down to La Latina, way past Plaza Mayor, to the Il Rastro market. The market itself was overcrowded and offered the same standard issue stalls selling “hemp pants actually probably possibly made in or near Nepal”, but there were street performers all over that kept the crowds upbeat and moving. Hands down, the best musicians we saw were right at the top of the market and they were killing it with Dixieland standards. Situated in a mercifully shady courtyard, this group of artists were jamming out with huge smiles on their faces as small children danced clumsily in front of the “stage”. Next time, I will skip the market and just bring a picnic chair to watch the street acts at their best, just as the locals were doing.

Sunset on the Gran Via

5. Rooftop Bar Market

Mercado San Anton is still a little off the beaten tourist path, but it won’t stay this way for long. Situated on a quiet street in the “Brooklyn” part of town, this market is comprised of three upper levels that are pristine and visually appealing to anyone with a tongue. The first story houses about twenty or so food vendors selling fresh produce, perfect pastries, and a wide variety of charcuterie. The next level up offers more prepared foods, a small art gallery, and a colorful bar with a secluded open air balcony. The top floor is an open-air bar with a wide skyline view of the neighborhood that dazzles during sunset. In short, there is something for everyone here. So everyone should go. Except don’t, this is Madrid’s best kept secret.

That’s the funny thing about traveling, isn’t it? There’s usually a reason places are visited by droves of visitors — because it is historically significant or offers a unique sighting of something that cannot be experienced elsewhere. But when something becomes a must-see, it is promptly ruined by the foot traffic, the rules, and the 25,000 photos of the exact same doorway posted to Facebook. See this recent article from The Guardian on UNESCO heritage designations ruining places. Seriously, we are one hundred percent guilty of this.

We often say to each other, “Wow, it would be so cool to have visited this place 200 years ago, there’d be no one here! It would actually be a novel experience. Our friends and family wouldn’t believe what we’d seen. Souvenirs would actually be treasured. It would be so fascinating!” However, if that were the case — that we tried to travel 200 years ago, we’d be pretty much out of luck between the prohibitive cost of travel and the basic resource of time it would have required. So really, I can’t complain that Madrid has been trampled over by a million gagillion people. The resources that make it possible for everyone else to enjoy Madrid are the same resources that I benefit from. And I’m glad I went.

-Sophie