I arrived in Manila and met Paulo Campos, a future HBS classmate from the Philippines. He was excited to show a visitor around. We drove to the Mall of Asia by Manila Bay for a drink before heading to the other airport terminal to pick up his other friends who were visiting from Hong Kong. W dropped off our stuff at his apartment and then went to Embassy, one of the top clubbing areas in the city. We grabbed a couple of drinks at the lounge before calling it a night.
The next day, we got the local Manila experience - we hung out at the malls. We grabbed brunch at a local restaurant inside Glorietta, one of the malls, before heading to the mall area near Embassy where we grabbed coffee and massages. That night, we had dinner at Greenbelt, yet another mall, before going to an exclusive lounge called Members Only at Embassy for Paulo's friend's (Carlos) birthday where we tried a ridiculously expensive clear tequila called Petron Silver. Early the next morning, we departed for Boracay.
My first impressions of Boracay was one of disappointment. We stayed at the Boracay Regency, one of Boracay's largest and nicest resorts by Boat Station 2. However, the beachfront is extremely crowded and overdeveloped with hawkers galore harassing you about boats and water sports, etc. We grabbed a delicious lunch at Lemon Cafe at D'Mall, then had drinks of the beach before it started to rain. So we didn't do much the first day. For dinner, Q (Carlos' girlfriend) brough Le Chon (a whole roasted suckling pig) from Cebu. It's a specialty there. We ripped pieces of meat off with our fingers. Rather barbaric but quite tasty.
The next day, Fei (one of January's colleagues who is in Manila on a rotation) and I went to Boat Station 1, where Dawn (another future classmate) and her fiance were staying. Now I could see why people raved about Boracay. The crystal clear water was a beautiful light aqua blue and the soft white sand was the nicest I have every felt. The water is also extremely shallow - you can walk way out into the ocean and the water still barely comes up to your chin. It looked like a swimming pool in the ocean. It was quite simply - amazing.
That afternoon, we got a boat to take us snorkling. Afterwards, we stopped at Puka Island, a tiny island that was completely undeveloped. While the sand was coarse, it did feel like there was just us, the sand, the ocean and the sun. We watched the sun set at Puka Island before heading back to Boracay.
We spent our 3rd day in Boracay at Boat Station 1. I got extremely tanned (I'm so dark I can pass as Filipino right now!). On our last day, we grabbed a late breakfast and then I hung out in the pool.
Back in Manila, I met up with Sabrina. Since she got her work visa denied by the Chinese government at the last minute, she decided to travel with me for a few weeks. We grabbed dinner together at Sentro in Greenbelt mall before meeting with Rico, our dive instructor.
We spent the next day at a pool doing our pool training for our Open Water Scuba Diving Certification. We left for Anilao late that night, where we were heading to a resort called Pacifico Azul to do our Open Water dives. The resort was simple but charming, with little nipa huts all over. Run by Japanese managers - it was clean and efficient. Our meals were tasty meals of local Filipino food. We ate whatever they served us. We did 2 dives a day and then pretty much just ate and slept and studied our diving book. The dives were amazing. We went to 3 different dive sites, all with something different and unique. The first two dives took place near the coral reefs byu Dive and Trek resort, where there were iridescent purple giant clams a meter long. We saw all sorts of fish and coral. We were supposed to go to Bubbles, a dive site thus named for the bubbles that come from an underwater volcano but the currents were too strong. Instead, we went to our second dive site, Twin Rocks, first. There were two huge rocks underwater, with coral all over. We saw amazing schools of jackfish and yellow snapper. And yes, we did see Nemo as well as a bunch of other fish, including blue starfishes. Our last dive site, Cathedral, named for the cross that was placed underwater between two rocks, is one of the most biodiverse in the world. We saw yellow trumpet fish there as well as loads of other types of fish, both large and small. We finally passed our quizzes and exams on the 3rd day. We're now both certified Open Water divers!
One of Sabrina's friends met us in Anilao. Ariana is working for a mapping company in the Philippines for a couple of months. We ate dinner together and hung out for a bit. The next morning, we left for Tagaytay, on a ridge that overlooked Lake Taal and Taal Volcano, one of the smallest but deadliest in the world. We grabbed lunch at Leslie's which had an amazing view of the lake. Then we made our way down to Talisay on the lakefront. Sabrina and I decided to stay here overnight at the Tailsay Green Lake Resort. We got a boat and took it to the island in the middle where the volcano was located. We hiked up the dusty and hot path up to the main crater, where you can see a lake within the crater and a small island inside the lake. The views were absolutely stunning.
Ariana left to go to Batangas City for her work. Sabrina and I watched an awful scary movie that gave us both nightmares. Early the next morning, we took a tricyle to a jeepney to a bus that brought us back to Manila. We head out tonight for Kuala Lumpur. Apparently you can swim with whale sharks and manta rays in Donsol, another part of the Philippines and some of the best wreck diving (both American and Japanese ships) in the world. Definitely need to come back!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Shangrila and Xiamen
Xiaoyu and I headed up to Shangrila with high expectations. It's supposed to have beautiful grasslands and mountains, and is about as close as we are getting to Tibet this year now that it's been closed off by the Chinese government. While there is Tibetan influences that can be seen, the Old Town was not particularly interesting. We went to a temple to visit what is the world's largest Tibetan Prayer wheel, and then visited a Tibetan Monastery - the largest in Yunnan. The monastery say atop a small hill overlooking a Tibetan village. It was extremely improverished but nevertheless quite a sight to behold. We visited the grasslands the next morning. Wild flowers bloomed everywhere. It was quite pretty but hot.
We decided against paying the exorbitant fee to visit a "national park" that was in the area. Instead, we hopped on a bus to Baishuitai, or White Water Terraces, natural terraces formed by mineral deposits over hundreds of years. The long bus ride wound through beautiful terrain with gorgeous terrace farms that sparkled green and yellow in the sun. Baisha, the closest town to the terraces, was so small you can barely call it a town. And they clearly did not get many visitors. We joined the only other visitors, 3 foreigners (2 American and 1 French student), stayed at a very simple guest house for the night, before climbing up to the terraces in the morning. Inadvertently, we went up the "illegal" path and got yelled at by the locals in charge when we came down.
We left Baishuitai for Haba, with the intention of hiking the snow mountains there but the rain led us to change our plans. We headed straight back to Lijiang where we just spent a quiet day and a half wandering the Old Town and relaxing.
We flew from Lijiang to Kunming the night of the 25th and stayed overnight in Kunming with Jessika, a Clinton Foundation doctor who used to live with me in Beijing. Early the next morning, I left for Xiamen, where I needed to go to catch my Cebu Pacific flight to the Philippines.
Xiamen is a port city close to Taiwan in Fujian Province in southern China. People there speak a dialect very similar to Taiwanese and the food is very similar too. After spending a bit of time at an internet cafe, I spent several hours walking up and down Zhongshan Lu eating various types of snacks including shaved ice, shumai, buns, etc. It was yummy and reminded me of Taiwan.
That night, I flew from Xiamen to Manila, my first international stop in my trip this summer.
We decided against paying the exorbitant fee to visit a "national park" that was in the area. Instead, we hopped on a bus to Baishuitai, or White Water Terraces, natural terraces formed by mineral deposits over hundreds of years. The long bus ride wound through beautiful terrain with gorgeous terrace farms that sparkled green and yellow in the sun. Baisha, the closest town to the terraces, was so small you can barely call it a town. And they clearly did not get many visitors. We joined the only other visitors, 3 foreigners (2 American and 1 French student), stayed at a very simple guest house for the night, before climbing up to the terraces in the morning. Inadvertently, we went up the "illegal" path and got yelled at by the locals in charge when we came down.
We left Baishuitai for Haba, with the intention of hiking the snow mountains there but the rain led us to change our plans. We headed straight back to Lijiang where we just spent a quiet day and a half wandering the Old Town and relaxing.
We flew from Lijiang to Kunming the night of the 25th and stayed overnight in Kunming with Jessika, a Clinton Foundation doctor who used to live with me in Beijing. Early the next morning, I left for Xiamen, where I needed to go to catch my Cebu Pacific flight to the Philippines.
Xiamen is a port city close to Taiwan in Fujian Province in southern China. People there speak a dialect very similar to Taiwanese and the food is very similar too. After spending a bit of time at an internet cafe, I spent several hours walking up and down Zhongshan Lu eating various types of snacks including shaved ice, shumai, buns, etc. It was yummy and reminded me of Taiwan.
That night, I flew from Xiamen to Manila, my first international stop in my trip this summer.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Lijiang and Lugu Hu
We spent an easy day exploring the village of Baisha near Lijiang, at the base of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, a tiny charming place that is much less overrun with tourists than Lijiang's Old Town. We met this Taoist doctor who has been featured in many articles and books, making him one of the most famous doctors in China. An old, eccentric man who studied Chinese medicine and treats patients with herbs found at the foot of the mountains, he didn't really say much except show us articles about himself and proclaim himself to be famous. It was an interesting experience.
Alice and Fred had to leave that afternoon, so we headed back to Lijiang. After they left for the airport, Xiaoyu and I spent a bit of time walking through parts of the Old Town we had yet to explore en route to the Black Dragon Pool Park. The Old Town, which is lined with cobblestone streets and traditional Naxi-style (one of China's many minority groups) buildings, consists of hundreds of little charming alleys. Although beautiful, it is completely geared for tourists, with hundreds of Naxi-style, hundreds more tourist shops selling beautiful wood carvings, shawls and handicraft, as well as restaurants selling Naxi food (very similar to Chinese - I can't really tell the difference). The most pervasive Naxi food is the "baba," which, depending on where you go, varies between fried dough and something closer to scallion pancake. We tried it at several places and decided it was too greasy.
The Black Dragon Pool Park is a typical Chinese park with a most-likely man-made pond in the middle surrounded by trees and rocks. However, it's claim to fame is it's location. In front of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, on a clear day, you can see the mountains and the reflection in the water. However, despite many attempts to catch a glimpse of the elusive, snow-capped peaks, we were not lucky enough to see it. Although clear and sunny in Lijiang, the clouds congregated at the tops of the mountains surrounding Lijiang, obscuring the mountaintops.
The next day, Xiaoyu and I left for Lugu Hu. The lake is home of the last matriarchal society in the world supposedly. The Mosuo women practice something called a "walking marriage". Each night, they pick a lover for the night, and in the morning, the men goes home to their mothers house. They named the area Women's Kingdom to make it sound catchy and attract tourists. According to the Lonely Planet, the strategy worked and they are the richest minority group in China.
We arrived at the lake after a brutal 8+ hour bus ride through bumpy, mostly unpaved mountain roads. We passed through beautiful scenery of mountains and valleys. I was beginning to get grumpy until we caught our first glimpse of the lake when we descended the last mountain. The sun was out and the lake literally sparkled. It was breath-takingly beautiful there. When we finally got off the bus, we picked a guesthouse right along the lake in Luoshui, one of the villages along the lake, and then went exploring.
Maybe it's because I've lived in Beijing for too long and don't remember what blue sky should look like, but the sky was absolutely incredible - a brillant, rich blue color dotted by huge patches of cotton candy-like clouds that varies between pure white and stormy gray in the blink of an eye. I was mesmerized.
We had dinner with some people who came on the same bus as us before calling it a night.
The next day, we walked part way to Lige, another town around the lake before two of the guys from our bus found us. We hopped in their car, drove to Lige with them, where we had the opportunity to go inside a local family's home for tea since one of the guys, Lulu, is half Mosuo (on his mother's side, his dad is another minority). After that, we went to a Tibetan Monastery where Lulu's grandfather, a "living Buddha" of the Tibetan religion, resides whenever he is back at Lugu Lake. It was a truly unique experience. Since he resides in Lijiang, we hope to meet him before we leave Yunnan.
After lunch, we rowed out to the middle of the lake. We were joined by Lulu's childhood friend and a hard-core Taiwanese outdoorsman who brought his own kayak, mountain bike and ATV with hime. We grabbed a cup of coffee at a guesthouse before jumping into the water for a swim. Apparently it's not allowed according to all the signs posted around the lake, but the locals do it so we jumped in with them.
We grabbed dinner at a fish restaurant by yet another village. After we got back to Lige, we explored the village by foot, walking along the banks of the lake. And then we went to the performance and sort of learned some Mosuo dances. It was fun.
We left for Lijiang early the next day. The ride was truly bone-jarring, and I thought wistfully of seatbelts. The driver did not slept the night before (he told us this as we got into the bus) and then proceeded to speed up and down the mountains. I flew out of my seat many times. It was absolutely crazy. I was relieved when we finally got back to Lijiang.
Today, we are heading up to Shangrila, formerly known as Zhongdian (not as catchy as Shangrila - they renamed it to attract tourists a few years ago). Unfortunately we do not have enough time to head up to Meili Snow Mountains, which is supposed to put the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains to shame (well, we still haven't seen any snow!), near Deqin due to time restraints, but I'm still looking forward to seeing some Tibetan villages.
Alice and Fred had to leave that afternoon, so we headed back to Lijiang. After they left for the airport, Xiaoyu and I spent a bit of time walking through parts of the Old Town we had yet to explore en route to the Black Dragon Pool Park. The Old Town, which is lined with cobblestone streets and traditional Naxi-style (one of China's many minority groups) buildings, consists of hundreds of little charming alleys. Although beautiful, it is completely geared for tourists, with hundreds of Naxi-style, hundreds more tourist shops selling beautiful wood carvings, shawls and handicraft, as well as restaurants selling Naxi food (very similar to Chinese - I can't really tell the difference). The most pervasive Naxi food is the "baba," which, depending on where you go, varies between fried dough and something closer to scallion pancake. We tried it at several places and decided it was too greasy.
The Black Dragon Pool Park is a typical Chinese park with a most-likely man-made pond in the middle surrounded by trees and rocks. However, it's claim to fame is it's location. In front of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, on a clear day, you can see the mountains and the reflection in the water. However, despite many attempts to catch a glimpse of the elusive, snow-capped peaks, we were not lucky enough to see it. Although clear and sunny in Lijiang, the clouds congregated at the tops of the mountains surrounding Lijiang, obscuring the mountaintops.
The next day, Xiaoyu and I left for Lugu Hu. The lake is home of the last matriarchal society in the world supposedly. The Mosuo women practice something called a "walking marriage". Each night, they pick a lover for the night, and in the morning, the men goes home to their mothers house. They named the area Women's Kingdom to make it sound catchy and attract tourists. According to the Lonely Planet, the strategy worked and they are the richest minority group in China.
We arrived at the lake after a brutal 8+ hour bus ride through bumpy, mostly unpaved mountain roads. We passed through beautiful scenery of mountains and valleys. I was beginning to get grumpy until we caught our first glimpse of the lake when we descended the last mountain. The sun was out and the lake literally sparkled. It was breath-takingly beautiful there. When we finally got off the bus, we picked a guesthouse right along the lake in Luoshui, one of the villages along the lake, and then went exploring.
Maybe it's because I've lived in Beijing for too long and don't remember what blue sky should look like, but the sky was absolutely incredible - a brillant, rich blue color dotted by huge patches of cotton candy-like clouds that varies between pure white and stormy gray in the blink of an eye. I was mesmerized.
We had dinner with some people who came on the same bus as us before calling it a night.
The next day, we walked part way to Lige, another town around the lake before two of the guys from our bus found us. We hopped in their car, drove to Lige with them, where we had the opportunity to go inside a local family's home for tea since one of the guys, Lulu, is half Mosuo (on his mother's side, his dad is another minority). After that, we went to a Tibetan Monastery where Lulu's grandfather, a "living Buddha" of the Tibetan religion, resides whenever he is back at Lugu Lake. It was a truly unique experience. Since he resides in Lijiang, we hope to meet him before we leave Yunnan.
After lunch, we rowed out to the middle of the lake. We were joined by Lulu's childhood friend and a hard-core Taiwanese outdoorsman who brought his own kayak, mountain bike and ATV with hime. We grabbed a cup of coffee at a guesthouse before jumping into the water for a swim. Apparently it's not allowed according to all the signs posted around the lake, but the locals do it so we jumped in with them.
We grabbed dinner at a fish restaurant by yet another village. After we got back to Lige, we explored the village by foot, walking along the banks of the lake. And then we went to the performance and sort of learned some Mosuo dances. It was fun.
We left for Lijiang early the next day. The ride was truly bone-jarring, and I thought wistfully of seatbelts. The driver did not slept the night before (he told us this as we got into the bus) and then proceeded to speed up and down the mountains. I flew out of my seat many times. It was absolutely crazy. I was relieved when we finally got back to Lijiang.
Today, we are heading up to Shangrila, formerly known as Zhongdian (not as catchy as Shangrila - they renamed it to attract tourists a few years ago). Unfortunately we do not have enough time to head up to Meili Snow Mountains, which is supposed to put the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains to shame (well, we still haven't seen any snow!), near Deqin due to time restraints, but I'm still looking forward to seeing some Tibetan villages.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Lijiang
Except for a few short trips, one to Dunhuang (where I went to the amazing Mogao Caves and the Crescent Moon Lake in the middle of the Gobi Desert) and one to Shanghai to visit January who just moved there, I've pretty much been in Beijing. I finally left last Friday for my 7-week trip across Asia. My first stop is northwestern Yunnan Province in southern China.
I left on Friday the 13th and the trip did not get off to a good start. My flight sat on the runway forever due to poor weather in Beijing. We did not land in Kunming until 4am in the morning, at which point it did not even make sense to leave the airport. My flight to Lijiang with Alice left at 7:15am, so we had to spend a few hours at the airport waiting for our flight. We found Julia and Lauren, who were traveling with us as well. Their flight to Kunming did not take off until 2:30am and they made it to Kunming just in time for our flight to Lijiang. Luckily, our flight to Lijiang took off without any problems, but at gate 13... and Alice and I were in the 13th row. Lijiang was rainy when we arrived. We went directly to Mama Naxi's Guesthouse, a charming place run by Mama Naxi, who seriously treats every traveller like her child. We spent the morning recovering from our flight, grabbed some lunch, then spent the afternoon exploring Lijiang's Old Town while waiting for the last 2 people in our group, Fred and Xiao Yu to arrive from Shanghai. But the continuous rain put in doubt our plans to hike Tiger Leaping Gorge the next day.
The next day, the weather looked okay, so we headed off to Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest in the world, as planned. Although it was sunny when we started the hike, we were lucky we bought rain ponchos. It was a grueling 2 hour uphill hike in the hot sun to our first stop - Naxi Guesthouse, 6 km into the hike. We had lunch there and then left, prepared to hike the infamous 28-bends, an even more grueling 1+ hour uphill hike to the highest peak. However, less than half an hour later, it started to rain. We found a small shack, which we reached just in time before it started to pour. When the rain let up, we took horses up the 28-bends, the roads too slippery for a bunch of novice hikers to go up. At the peak, we got off the horses and hiked another 2 hours before we reached our second stop, the Tea Horse Guesthouse, were we had amazing Naxi Sandwiches - layers of pita-like bread with cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce and egg. After we finished eating, we quickly left for our last stop of the night, Halfway Guesthouse. The name is pretty self-explanatory. It's the half-way point of the gorge hike. About 2 hours later, with just a bit of sunlight to spare, the 6 of us rolled into the guesthouse and collapsed on the terrace to enjoy the amazing few of the mountains enshrouded by misty clouds, and the gushing gorge far below. As the sun set, the moon and the stars appeared, casting a silvery light over the mountains - it was simply ethereal.
It rained all throughout the night, and most of the morning. We hunkered down at Halfway, hoping the rain would let up. Even the guides were predicting tough hiking conditions. It was still 2-3 hours to our final stop, Jane's Guest House at Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge. We hung out with a group of 3 Belgian guys doing the hike, and a couple of other Europeans. When the rain slowed to a drizzle, we started out again. We passed the beautiful Guanyin Waterfall and reached Jane's early in the afternoon. After grabbing lunch, we hiked 2 km down to the bottom of the gorge. We clambered onto the Tiger Stone, where we enjoyed the amazing vista that surrounded us. Then we made the grueling 2 km hike back up to the low road. I was completely beat by the end. We got into a car which made the treacherous drive in pouring rain back to Lijiang. The roads were covered in loose rocks and flooded in many sections. I was so glad when we got back to Mama Naxi's.
The weather predicted rain for the next 3 days. So we scrapped plans to go to Lugu Hu and instead, decided to stick closer to Lijiang. A plan to go to Baisha villaged morphed into a full-day horseriding trip up to Jade Dragon Snow Mountains. Horseback riding - so much easier than hiking. Our amazing guides hiked the whole way, and did not even seem the least bit winded. We went through a forest of moss-covered and cloud enshrouded trees. At 4,000 meters, we learned that we picked the wrong path to go up. Instead of going up the left path and coming down the right, we had asked to go up the right path which is too steep at the top to go up to 4,900 meters on horses. So we ended up having to hike 2 kms up to the meadow at the top. As Alice said, we were like little mountain goats. The hike was hard, but nothing compared to the gorge. And the views at the top, even more incredible than the ones at Tiger Leaping Gorge, were worth the hard work. We were surrounded by green mountains on top of this meadow covered by grass and flowers. On the way down, we got amazing views of the valley. The trip took us 7-hours, not the 2 our original tour guide told us it would. But the weather held up, with only moments of slight drizzles, so we have absolutely no complaints!
Today, it is nice and sunny. We definitely plan to take advantage of the amazing weather.
I left on Friday the 13th and the trip did not get off to a good start. My flight sat on the runway forever due to poor weather in Beijing. We did not land in Kunming until 4am in the morning, at which point it did not even make sense to leave the airport. My flight to Lijiang with Alice left at 7:15am, so we had to spend a few hours at the airport waiting for our flight. We found Julia and Lauren, who were traveling with us as well. Their flight to Kunming did not take off until 2:30am and they made it to Kunming just in time for our flight to Lijiang. Luckily, our flight to Lijiang took off without any problems, but at gate 13... and Alice and I were in the 13th row. Lijiang was rainy when we arrived. We went directly to Mama Naxi's Guesthouse, a charming place run by Mama Naxi, who seriously treats every traveller like her child. We spent the morning recovering from our flight, grabbed some lunch, then spent the afternoon exploring Lijiang's Old Town while waiting for the last 2 people in our group, Fred and Xiao Yu to arrive from Shanghai. But the continuous rain put in doubt our plans to hike Tiger Leaping Gorge the next day.
The next day, the weather looked okay, so we headed off to Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest in the world, as planned. Although it was sunny when we started the hike, we were lucky we bought rain ponchos. It was a grueling 2 hour uphill hike in the hot sun to our first stop - Naxi Guesthouse, 6 km into the hike. We had lunch there and then left, prepared to hike the infamous 28-bends, an even more grueling 1+ hour uphill hike to the highest peak. However, less than half an hour later, it started to rain. We found a small shack, which we reached just in time before it started to pour. When the rain let up, we took horses up the 28-bends, the roads too slippery for a bunch of novice hikers to go up. At the peak, we got off the horses and hiked another 2 hours before we reached our second stop, the Tea Horse Guesthouse, were we had amazing Naxi Sandwiches - layers of pita-like bread with cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce and egg. After we finished eating, we quickly left for our last stop of the night, Halfway Guesthouse. The name is pretty self-explanatory. It's the half-way point of the gorge hike. About 2 hours later, with just a bit of sunlight to spare, the 6 of us rolled into the guesthouse and collapsed on the terrace to enjoy the amazing few of the mountains enshrouded by misty clouds, and the gushing gorge far below. As the sun set, the moon and the stars appeared, casting a silvery light over the mountains - it was simply ethereal.
It rained all throughout the night, and most of the morning. We hunkered down at Halfway, hoping the rain would let up. Even the guides were predicting tough hiking conditions. It was still 2-3 hours to our final stop, Jane's Guest House at Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge. We hung out with a group of 3 Belgian guys doing the hike, and a couple of other Europeans. When the rain slowed to a drizzle, we started out again. We passed the beautiful Guanyin Waterfall and reached Jane's early in the afternoon. After grabbing lunch, we hiked 2 km down to the bottom of the gorge. We clambered onto the Tiger Stone, where we enjoyed the amazing vista that surrounded us. Then we made the grueling 2 km hike back up to the low road. I was completely beat by the end. We got into a car which made the treacherous drive in pouring rain back to Lijiang. The roads were covered in loose rocks and flooded in many sections. I was so glad when we got back to Mama Naxi's.
The weather predicted rain for the next 3 days. So we scrapped plans to go to Lugu Hu and instead, decided to stick closer to Lijiang. A plan to go to Baisha villaged morphed into a full-day horseriding trip up to Jade Dragon Snow Mountains. Horseback riding - so much easier than hiking. Our amazing guides hiked the whole way, and did not even seem the least bit winded. We went through a forest of moss-covered and cloud enshrouded trees. At 4,000 meters, we learned that we picked the wrong path to go up. Instead of going up the left path and coming down the right, we had asked to go up the right path which is too steep at the top to go up to 4,900 meters on horses. So we ended up having to hike 2 kms up to the meadow at the top. As Alice said, we were like little mountain goats. The hike was hard, but nothing compared to the gorge. And the views at the top, even more incredible than the ones at Tiger Leaping Gorge, were worth the hard work. We were surrounded by green mountains on top of this meadow covered by grass and flowers. On the way down, we got amazing views of the valley. The trip took us 7-hours, not the 2 our original tour guide told us it would. But the weather held up, with only moments of slight drizzles, so we have absolutely no complaints!
Today, it is nice and sunny. We definitely plan to take advantage of the amazing weather.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Tokyo
Day 1: Tsukiji, Ginza, Edo Castle, Tokyo Station and Shinjuku
We got up at the crack of dawn to hit Tsukiji Fish Market. Apparently we did not get up early enough. We missed the tuna auction but still made it in time to see the hustle and bustle of the fish market which supplies fresh fish and seafood to Tokyo and a significant portion of Japan. We saw all sorts of sea creatures - some of them were truly grotesque looking - and huge tuna fish with heads as big as my own. Then we grab breakfast. Ankur got some sandwiches and ate it outside the restaurant that Kumi and I picked to have sashimi don buri. He reminded me of a sad puppy who couldn't go in with his owner to a store - those who did not eat could not sit inside the restaurant, a tiny place with only about 10 seats along a bar. It was definitely the earliest I've ever had raw fish - 8:30am! I guess it was dinner time at home in NYC. I feasted on sake (salmon), scallops, crab and maguro (tuna) while Kumi feasted on uni (sea urchin) and toro (fatty tuna).
We walked through Ginza, Tokyo's answer to Fifth Avenue, but it was still early and the stores were not open. Thus, we made our way to Edo (Tokyo) Castle, the Imperial Palace, but the palace gardens just so happened to have been closed. It was Friday and we did not read the guide book closely enough to realize it was open Mondays and Fridays. Nonetheless, from the outer garden, we still caught a fantastic view of Edo Castle.
We walked through Marunochi and passed by the Tokyo Interational Forum, an impressive glass and steel structure with a busy outdoor arcade area with food trucks serving foods from around the world. We had lunch at Tokyo Station with Kumi's friend Kaki, but not before walking through the entire station looking for his office building, Sepia Tower. The station was massive and undergoind construction.
After lunch, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, where we saw an exhibit by Japanese-Brazilian artist Oscar Oiwa. The main attractions of the exhibit, Dreams of a Sleeping World, were several paintings with brightly-colored flowers painted over a depressingly chaotic world full of war and destruction, inspired by the atrocities of 9/11, Iraq, among other current events.
After grabbing dessert at the cutest Japanese bakery, we headed to Shinjuku. Shinjuku was loud, busy and chaotic. It's streets were brightly light with neon lights everywhere, putting the lights in Times Square to shame. I discovered that Japan had Gap too, as well as Banana Republic. But it was Japanese stores like Beams that attracted us the most. Kumi and I sat inside Beams while Ankur shopped, liked tired husbands. It's been a long day (we started at 6am). We met with another one of Kumi's friends for dinner. We made Japanese pancakes of cabbage, egg and other fillings. It was yummy and fun. I also tried some bubbly Japanese liquor that was light but potent. It was mixed with juice and tasted more like soda than cocktail. Delicious but dangerous.
Day 2: Mister Donut, Asakasa, Asakajuban, Roppongji Hill and Shibuya
Since having my first Mister Donut experience in Taipei last summer, I've been craving another Mister Donut donut. Their original donuts are light, delicate and chewy - simply incredible. Ankur did not believe me until we had some for breakfast. Kumi and I also had taka balls - little balls filled with octopus which I absolutely love. Also something I became addicted to after my trip to Taipei last summer. It was a good morning.
It was a rainy and dreary day, but nonetheless, we braved the weather and went out to Asakasa to visit Senso-ji, one of Tokyo's temples. The temple had a lively market selling all sorts of snacks and crafts. The rain did not deter the hoards of worshippers and visitors. We had to weave through the heavy crowds (many of them locals enjoying Golden Week, a Japanese holiday), we made it to the temple. Senso-ji was a beautiful red and gold-colored temple, with a 5-story pagoda. After paying our respects, we snacked on noodles and chocolate covered bananas.
We wanted to shop for some trendy Japanese fashion in the tiny boutiques of Asakajuban but once we got there, we never found where the stores were located. Thus, we gave up and walked to Roppongi Hill where we were impressed by the Mori Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo. We went up to the 52nd floor to the Mori Art Museum where we also got amazing 360 degree views of the whole city. The Mori had an exhibit on the artwork of the finalists of the Turner Prize for promising, young British artists, hosted by the Tate in London. The artwork was edgy and innovative. We saw a mother and baby cow cut in half and preserved in formaldehyde (from Damien Hirst, who preserved a Great White Shark for the Sensation exhibit that caused a stir at the Brooklyn Art Museum when I was in high school) as well as paintings that incorporated elephant dung by Chris Ofili.
We went to Shibuya for dinner with another of Kumi's friends. We exited the Shibuya station to the craziness that is the 6-way intersection at Shibuya. Thousands of people were out and about. Even Timese Square at night can't quite compare. That night, we went to an izakaya where we tried a range of small Japanese dishes including sashimi, crab salad, zaru soba, tamago and more. It was a delicious meal like everything else we've tried in Japan.
Day 3: Harajuku and Yoyogi
Ankur and I survived my last day in Tokyo without Kumi somehow but it was definitely confusing without a Japanese-speaker as our awesome guide. Who would have guessed that Yoyogi Goen would be by Harajuku instead of Yoyogi? We literally wandered around Meiji Jingu Goen forever looking for Yoyogi Goen - twice in fact, and then only found it quite accidently. We wanted to see Yoyogi Goen for the "free entertainment" promised by Lonely Planet. Aspiring bands set up and perform for free here on Sundays. While Ankur was not impressed by the bands at Yoyogi, he really appreciated the spirit of things. It really did feel like all of Tokyo had decended upon Harajuku yesterday and lots of cute couples and families were in the park picnicking with their beautiful bento boxes. I guess Sundays must be a big day there. Oh, and we even witnessed two weddings at Meiji Jingu temple, inside the park!! The kimonos were so lovely. But we are not quite sure why the costume gang in Harajuku ranked #2 in the Tokyo Encounters book. There were some on Jingu Bashi but not that many. I took a picture with one gang and Ank did too with another. So I ended up with a lot of yen left and thus, was a total sucker for all the mochi being sold at Narita airport. I got to Narita with only an hour and 20 minutes before my flight and the check-in line was super long so I thought I would not have time buy any, but the Japanese were just too efficient and I ended up with enough time to hit not just one, but two mochi stores. Yes, needless to say, I will be quite well stocked for a while. I miss Japan already. And my Air Nippon flight might have been the best flight I've ever taken. I am not sure I can go back to flying American airlines. I had my own little tv even for the short 3.5 hour flight to Beijing. I didn't have any entertainment to help me get through my 13 hour flight to SF from Beijing, nor on my flights to Tokyo from NYC. I watched 27 Dresses and was in the middle of this Hong Kong gangster movie when they turned off the entertainment so we could land. I seriously wished the flight had been longer. Sadness. Oh, and even my airplane dinner was amazing. It looked like a bento box and tasted delicious. Who would have guessed that airplane food can actually be gourmet and tasty. I had teriyaki fish and zaru soba. I am totally flying them back to the US from Taiwan this summer.
Beijing is the exact opposite of Japan. Time to get back to shoving people around. Being polite here gets you nowhere.
We got up at the crack of dawn to hit Tsukiji Fish Market. Apparently we did not get up early enough. We missed the tuna auction but still made it in time to see the hustle and bustle of the fish market which supplies fresh fish and seafood to Tokyo and a significant portion of Japan. We saw all sorts of sea creatures - some of them were truly grotesque looking - and huge tuna fish with heads as big as my own. Then we grab breakfast. Ankur got some sandwiches and ate it outside the restaurant that Kumi and I picked to have sashimi don buri. He reminded me of a sad puppy who couldn't go in with his owner to a store - those who did not eat could not sit inside the restaurant, a tiny place with only about 10 seats along a bar. It was definitely the earliest I've ever had raw fish - 8:30am! I guess it was dinner time at home in NYC. I feasted on sake (salmon), scallops, crab and maguro (tuna) while Kumi feasted on uni (sea urchin) and toro (fatty tuna).
We walked through Ginza, Tokyo's answer to Fifth Avenue, but it was still early and the stores were not open. Thus, we made our way to Edo (Tokyo) Castle, the Imperial Palace, but the palace gardens just so happened to have been closed. It was Friday and we did not read the guide book closely enough to realize it was open Mondays and Fridays. Nonetheless, from the outer garden, we still caught a fantastic view of Edo Castle.
We walked through Marunochi and passed by the Tokyo Interational Forum, an impressive glass and steel structure with a busy outdoor arcade area with food trucks serving foods from around the world. We had lunch at Tokyo Station with Kumi's friend Kaki, but not before walking through the entire station looking for his office building, Sepia Tower. The station was massive and undergoind construction.
After lunch, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, where we saw an exhibit by Japanese-Brazilian artist Oscar Oiwa. The main attractions of the exhibit, Dreams of a Sleeping World, were several paintings with brightly-colored flowers painted over a depressingly chaotic world full of war and destruction, inspired by the atrocities of 9/11, Iraq, among other current events.
After grabbing dessert at the cutest Japanese bakery, we headed to Shinjuku. Shinjuku was loud, busy and chaotic. It's streets were brightly light with neon lights everywhere, putting the lights in Times Square to shame. I discovered that Japan had Gap too, as well as Banana Republic. But it was Japanese stores like Beams that attracted us the most. Kumi and I sat inside Beams while Ankur shopped, liked tired husbands. It's been a long day (we started at 6am). We met with another one of Kumi's friends for dinner. We made Japanese pancakes of cabbage, egg and other fillings. It was yummy and fun. I also tried some bubbly Japanese liquor that was light but potent. It was mixed with juice and tasted more like soda than cocktail. Delicious but dangerous.
Day 2: Mister Donut, Asakasa, Asakajuban, Roppongji Hill and Shibuya
Since having my first Mister Donut experience in Taipei last summer, I've been craving another Mister Donut donut. Their original donuts are light, delicate and chewy - simply incredible. Ankur did not believe me until we had some for breakfast. Kumi and I also had taka balls - little balls filled with octopus which I absolutely love. Also something I became addicted to after my trip to Taipei last summer. It was a good morning.
It was a rainy and dreary day, but nonetheless, we braved the weather and went out to Asakasa to visit Senso-ji, one of Tokyo's temples. The temple had a lively market selling all sorts of snacks and crafts. The rain did not deter the hoards of worshippers and visitors. We had to weave through the heavy crowds (many of them locals enjoying Golden Week, a Japanese holiday), we made it to the temple. Senso-ji was a beautiful red and gold-colored temple, with a 5-story pagoda. After paying our respects, we snacked on noodles and chocolate covered bananas.
We wanted to shop for some trendy Japanese fashion in the tiny boutiques of Asakajuban but once we got there, we never found where the stores were located. Thus, we gave up and walked to Roppongi Hill where we were impressed by the Mori Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo. We went up to the 52nd floor to the Mori Art Museum where we also got amazing 360 degree views of the whole city. The Mori had an exhibit on the artwork of the finalists of the Turner Prize for promising, young British artists, hosted by the Tate in London. The artwork was edgy and innovative. We saw a mother and baby cow cut in half and preserved in formaldehyde (from Damien Hirst, who preserved a Great White Shark for the Sensation exhibit that caused a stir at the Brooklyn Art Museum when I was in high school) as well as paintings that incorporated elephant dung by Chris Ofili.
We went to Shibuya for dinner with another of Kumi's friends. We exited the Shibuya station to the craziness that is the 6-way intersection at Shibuya. Thousands of people were out and about. Even Timese Square at night can't quite compare. That night, we went to an izakaya where we tried a range of small Japanese dishes including sashimi, crab salad, zaru soba, tamago and more. It was a delicious meal like everything else we've tried in Japan.
Day 3: Harajuku and Yoyogi
Ankur and I survived my last day in Tokyo without Kumi somehow but it was definitely confusing without a Japanese-speaker as our awesome guide. Who would have guessed that Yoyogi Goen would be by Harajuku instead of Yoyogi? We literally wandered around Meiji Jingu Goen forever looking for Yoyogi Goen - twice in fact, and then only found it quite accidently. We wanted to see Yoyogi Goen for the "free entertainment" promised by Lonely Planet. Aspiring bands set up and perform for free here on Sundays. While Ankur was not impressed by the bands at Yoyogi, he really appreciated the spirit of things. It really did feel like all of Tokyo had decended upon Harajuku yesterday and lots of cute couples and families were in the park picnicking with their beautiful bento boxes. I guess Sundays must be a big day there. Oh, and we even witnessed two weddings at Meiji Jingu temple, inside the park!! The kimonos were so lovely. But we are not quite sure why the costume gang in Harajuku ranked #2 in the Tokyo Encounters book. There were some on Jingu Bashi but not that many. I took a picture with one gang and Ank did too with another. So I ended up with a lot of yen left and thus, was a total sucker for all the mochi being sold at Narita airport. I got to Narita with only an hour and 20 minutes before my flight and the check-in line was super long so I thought I would not have time buy any, but the Japanese were just too efficient and I ended up with enough time to hit not just one, but two mochi stores. Yes, needless to say, I will be quite well stocked for a while. I miss Japan already. And my Air Nippon flight might have been the best flight I've ever taken. I am not sure I can go back to flying American airlines. I had my own little tv even for the short 3.5 hour flight to Beijing. I didn't have any entertainment to help me get through my 13 hour flight to SF from Beijing, nor on my flights to Tokyo from NYC. I watched 27 Dresses and was in the middle of this Hong Kong gangster movie when they turned off the entertainment so we could land. I seriously wished the flight had been longer. Sadness. Oh, and even my airplane dinner was amazing. It looked like a bento box and tasted delicious. Who would have guessed that airplane food can actually be gourmet and tasty. I had teriyaki fish and zaru soba. I am totally flying them back to the US from Taiwan this summer.
Beijing is the exact opposite of Japan. Time to get back to shoving people around. Being polite here gets you nowhere.
Kyoto, Takayama & Shirakawa-go
Japan is a country of contradictions - a mix of traditional and modern that often seem at odds but makes this place fascinating. I arrived for my trip with Kumi and Ankur in Narita on April 28th, somehow managed to navigate my way around the JR and traveled by Shinkansen to Kyoto on my own.
Kyoto
After a simple dinner of tonkatsu and other homemade Japanese dishes, Kumi took Ankur and me through the main street of Gion and down Pontocho, a traditional street, so narrow it was more alley than street, lit up with red lanterns right along the river. The city, which looked so modern during the cab ride to Kumi's place, literally melted away. It was as if we had stepped into another world. No sightings of geishas unfortunately, but already, I was enchanted by Kyoto's charming, traditional side. Kumi's parent's home was also charming - a lovely, old traditional wooden Japanese house covered with tatami mats. We slept on Japanese futons right on the tatami mats.
The next day, our only full day in Kyoto, was filled with sight-seeing. After walking through a well-preserved, old section of Kyoto, Chawan-zaka (where we sighted many fake geishas who dressed up and preened for tourists), that was lined with little shops selling local arts and crafts and delicious local snacks, we made our way up to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, one of Kyoto's most splendid. Perched on a wooded cliff overlooking Kyoto and offering spectacular views of the city, it was crowded with tourists and worshippers alike. We learned to properly pray and make an offering from Kumi. First, you ring the bell to grab God's attention, throw your money into the donation box, pray, clap twice and then back up. We also drank sacred water from the waterfall Otowa-no-taki. The Japanese are a germ-fearing bunch and the ladles we drank from were purified in UV radiation boxes.
On the way down, we grabbed some cream puffs and soft cream, then passed through Maruyama-Koen, a lovely park with cherry blossom trees before stopping at Kodai-ji, another shrine. Only a few trees still had flowers clinging onto its branches unfortunately - they would have been magnificent if we had made it for the hanami festival in early April just a few weeks back. As Kumi and Ankur can attest, I was rather obsessed with cherry blossom trees during the entire trip.
After a meal of soba and udon, we hit Fushimi-inari-taisha, a shrine dedicated to the God of Grain. The shrine was located up in the hills, and the path was lined with orange-colored tori (gates) that were reminiscent of the orange gates put up briefly in Central Park. Figures of foxes, messengers of Inari, the God of Grain, often guarded the gates, with a key to the grainery in their mouth. The quiet, heavily wooded area (you can't even tell you're in a city anymore) had a mysterious air. Some of the sections of the paths we took were completely deserted and led to small graveyards/shrines.
We ate with Kumi's parents that night in a small local restaurant. The sashimi was amazing. We went in search of jazz bars afterwards but ended up at a small basement bar with a Spanish theme. We ended the night early in preparation for our trip to Takayama in the morning.
Takayama
Ankur's obsession with onsens (hot springs) matched my obsession with sakura. Thus, we made the trip to Takayama, a charming town high up in the mountains by the Japanese alps in search of onsens. The long train ride to Takayama passed through amazing vistas. Since it was up in the mountains, the sakura here were still blooming. Sakura trees dotted the landscape - decorating it with beautiful white and pink blossoms. I could not have been happier. In Takayama, we walked around the old section of town, Sanmachi, and visited one of their morning markets, were arts and crafts and pickled vegetables were being sold. That afternoon, after visiting a brewery and grabbing a quick lunch of ramen, we made our way to Hida-no-Sato, an open-air museum that consisted of a dozen or so old Japanese farmhouses in different styles. These old farmhouses had been removed from their original locations and planted here, by a small lake, to create the most idyllic and peaceful-looking little place. It looked right out of a picture-book or a fairytale. After we made it back to Takayama, we visited Takayama-Jinya, a Tokugawa-era government office. It was a massive, traditional Japanese building, with dozens of tatami-covered rooms. Lastly, we visited the Takayama Yatai Kaikan Museum. We missed the massive matsuri (Festival) in Takayama by just a couple of weeks, but got to see 4 of the floats used in the festival at the museum. The festival is supposed to be one of the best in Japan, attracting hundreds of thousands of people, and the floats, with are over 100 years old, are intricate and beautifully decorated with golden phoenixes and dragons.
Unfortunately, Ankur's onsen dreams were temporarily dashed. We misread the bus schedule and realized there was no way we could make it there and back as we had anticipated. Thus, we made do with a quick but relaxing bath in the public bath in our ryokan (Japanese inn) before venturing out for dinner. We tried the famed Hida beef in the form of a beef cutlet with a homemade barbeque-like sauce that was delicious.
Shirakawa-go
The next morning, after eating the most elaborate breakfast of my life, a traditional Japanese breakfast with tamago, nori, hoda miso (a special Hida-region sauce made by cooking a sweet, miso paste on a leaf), rice and miso soup, we took the bus to Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site located deep in the Japanese alps. Shirakawa-go is famed for its gassho-zukuri, a straw-covered farmhouse. Like Hida-no-Sato, the gassho houses here (dozens of them!) were taken from its original location and placed here, in a valley surround by mountains, including the still-snow capped Japanese alps. The resulting village was so idyllic, charming and picture-perfect, that it conjured up images of the shire from Lord of the Rings. An International Herald Tribune article even noted this, and Ankur decided to call this place "Shire-kawa" instead. After walking around the town where we sampled grilled rice cake, soft cream and ice cream, and visited one of the largest Gassho houses, Nagase-ke, we hiked up to the site of the former Shirakawa-go castle for a lovely view of the entire valley. After making it back to the town, we had hida beef with hoda miso sauce. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the village. Post-lunch, we made our way back to Takayama to catch the train to Tokyo. We bought bento boxes for dinner. Even these beautifully displayed with the food laid out in the box nicely. Best of all, it was delicious. Wish we had fast food like this back at home!
Kyoto
After a simple dinner of tonkatsu and other homemade Japanese dishes, Kumi took Ankur and me through the main street of Gion and down Pontocho, a traditional street, so narrow it was more alley than street, lit up with red lanterns right along the river. The city, which looked so modern during the cab ride to Kumi's place, literally melted away. It was as if we had stepped into another world. No sightings of geishas unfortunately, but already, I was enchanted by Kyoto's charming, traditional side. Kumi's parent's home was also charming - a lovely, old traditional wooden Japanese house covered with tatami mats. We slept on Japanese futons right on the tatami mats.
The next day, our only full day in Kyoto, was filled with sight-seeing. After walking through a well-preserved, old section of Kyoto, Chawan-zaka (where we sighted many fake geishas who dressed up and preened for tourists), that was lined with little shops selling local arts and crafts and delicious local snacks, we made our way up to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, one of Kyoto's most splendid. Perched on a wooded cliff overlooking Kyoto and offering spectacular views of the city, it was crowded with tourists and worshippers alike. We learned to properly pray and make an offering from Kumi. First, you ring the bell to grab God's attention, throw your money into the donation box, pray, clap twice and then back up. We also drank sacred water from the waterfall Otowa-no-taki. The Japanese are a germ-fearing bunch and the ladles we drank from were purified in UV radiation boxes.
On the way down, we grabbed some cream puffs and soft cream, then passed through Maruyama-Koen, a lovely park with cherry blossom trees before stopping at Kodai-ji, another shrine. Only a few trees still had flowers clinging onto its branches unfortunately - they would have been magnificent if we had made it for the hanami festival in early April just a few weeks back. As Kumi and Ankur can attest, I was rather obsessed with cherry blossom trees during the entire trip.
After a meal of soba and udon, we hit Fushimi-inari-taisha, a shrine dedicated to the God of Grain. The shrine was located up in the hills, and the path was lined with orange-colored tori (gates) that were reminiscent of the orange gates put up briefly in Central Park. Figures of foxes, messengers of Inari, the God of Grain, often guarded the gates, with a key to the grainery in their mouth. The quiet, heavily wooded area (you can't even tell you're in a city anymore) had a mysterious air. Some of the sections of the paths we took were completely deserted and led to small graveyards/shrines.
We ate with Kumi's parents that night in a small local restaurant. The sashimi was amazing. We went in search of jazz bars afterwards but ended up at a small basement bar with a Spanish theme. We ended the night early in preparation for our trip to Takayama in the morning.
Takayama
Ankur's obsession with onsens (hot springs) matched my obsession with sakura. Thus, we made the trip to Takayama, a charming town high up in the mountains by the Japanese alps in search of onsens. The long train ride to Takayama passed through amazing vistas. Since it was up in the mountains, the sakura here were still blooming. Sakura trees dotted the landscape - decorating it with beautiful white and pink blossoms. I could not have been happier. In Takayama, we walked around the old section of town, Sanmachi, and visited one of their morning markets, were arts and crafts and pickled vegetables were being sold. That afternoon, after visiting a brewery and grabbing a quick lunch of ramen, we made our way to Hida-no-Sato, an open-air museum that consisted of a dozen or so old Japanese farmhouses in different styles. These old farmhouses had been removed from their original locations and planted here, by a small lake, to create the most idyllic and peaceful-looking little place. It looked right out of a picture-book or a fairytale. After we made it back to Takayama, we visited Takayama-Jinya, a Tokugawa-era government office. It was a massive, traditional Japanese building, with dozens of tatami-covered rooms. Lastly, we visited the Takayama Yatai Kaikan Museum. We missed the massive matsuri (Festival) in Takayama by just a couple of weeks, but got to see 4 of the floats used in the festival at the museum. The festival is supposed to be one of the best in Japan, attracting hundreds of thousands of people, and the floats, with are over 100 years old, are intricate and beautifully decorated with golden phoenixes and dragons.
Unfortunately, Ankur's onsen dreams were temporarily dashed. We misread the bus schedule and realized there was no way we could make it there and back as we had anticipated. Thus, we made do with a quick but relaxing bath in the public bath in our ryokan (Japanese inn) before venturing out for dinner. We tried the famed Hida beef in the form of a beef cutlet with a homemade barbeque-like sauce that was delicious.
Shirakawa-go
The next morning, after eating the most elaborate breakfast of my life, a traditional Japanese breakfast with tamago, nori, hoda miso (a special Hida-region sauce made by cooking a sweet, miso paste on a leaf), rice and miso soup, we took the bus to Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site located deep in the Japanese alps. Shirakawa-go is famed for its gassho-zukuri, a straw-covered farmhouse. Like Hida-no-Sato, the gassho houses here (dozens of them!) were taken from its original location and placed here, in a valley surround by mountains, including the still-snow capped Japanese alps. The resulting village was so idyllic, charming and picture-perfect, that it conjured up images of the shire from Lord of the Rings. An International Herald Tribune article even noted this, and Ankur decided to call this place "Shire-kawa" instead. After walking around the town where we sampled grilled rice cake, soft cream and ice cream, and visited one of the largest Gassho houses, Nagase-ke, we hiked up to the site of the former Shirakawa-go castle for a lovely view of the entire valley. After making it back to the town, we had hida beef with hoda miso sauce. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the village. Post-lunch, we made our way back to Takayama to catch the train to Tokyo. We bought bento boxes for dinner. Even these beautifully displayed with the food laid out in the box nicely. Best of all, it was delicious. Wish we had fast food like this back at home!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Visit Home
My first trip home in 10 months. I left last July and chose to dart from one country to another instead of going home during my many vacations. Would I suffer the reverse culture shock everyone is predicting after being away for all this time?
My first stop was San Francisco. Time was of the essence – I only had two days here, so Maria picked me up and we went straight to Napa after eating a huge American breakfast of omelet and waffles. During breakfast, I slipped up a few time and reverted to Chinglish even though I was no longer in China and it became increasingly obvious that my English has deteriorated quite a bit. The prices were quite a shock compared to Beijing, but I took it all in stride.
Napa was beautiful – hill after hill covered with grape vineyards in neat rows complete with dark green trees dotting the landscape. The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, a color that is highly coveted in Beijing, but rarely delivered due to the pollution. Fresh air was a real treat. We stopped by 3 wineries in all, starting with bubbly champagnes (including my first rose-colored one) at the Frank Family Vineyards. We moved on to magnificent views atop the Sterling Winery, a veritable grown-up playground complete with a tram to carry you to the top of the hill that offered stunning vistas of Napa, where we slowly sipped our whites and reds while soaking in the lovely weather.
That night, we had dinner at La Strada in Palo Alto. Julie met us there along with Maria’s boyfriend Cem. Brian and Jaime, both GSB students who I traveled with last summer, joined us for drinks at the end. Julie and I drove into San Francisco afterwards and I stayed with her in her adorable new apartment.
We spent the following day in San Francisco, sampling the gourmet goodies at the Ferry Building. We had a delicious lunch of oysters and a divine grilled cheese sandwich made with cheese from Cow Girl Creamery. We even bought some cheese to give to Lisa. We met up with Grace post lunch, ate gelato and took a walk around one of San Fran’s neighborhoods. Still stuffed, we went to Bar Tartine for dinner where I tried sweetbread for the first time. The beet salad, shrimp and sashimi dishes were all delicious but the cheese plate was the real winner. I really missed good cheese in China. Julie dropped me off at the airport and then I was off to New York City.
I arrived home home and it felt fabulous. I really missed my friends and family. I visited friends and ate – a ton. It’s hard not to go crazy over all the amazing foods that I can’t get back in Beijing in the culinary Mecca that is NYC. Mom cooked a couple of amazing home-cooked meals for me that day. The next day, I met Karen’s boyfriend who checked my eyes (they were fine despite the fact I cracked one of my contacts), met my mom for dim sum in Flushing, and then headed to midtown for drinks at the Monkey Bar with Hillary and dinner with friends at Fig & Olive. The small plates we shared – figs, olives, olive oil, more olive oil, jamon, cheese, bite-sized crostinis with salmon, sundried tomatoes and more – were all yummy.
I had lunch with Joan at a Japanese restaurant the following day where I chowed down sushi without worries. Drinks at Volstead later that evening was followed by an amazing meal at Adour Alain Ducasse with Lisa and Melissa. We sampled scallops, beef and lamb as well as a variety of interesting vegetables, and of course, cheese and dessert. The macaroons in particular were spectacular and they gave me some to take home. My last day in New York comprised lunch with Bob at a homey midtown Italian place, and dinner at home with Mom.
I left for Boston the next morning and arrived just in time for pad thai at 9 Tastes with Kelly and Huang Laoshi. It was as good as I remembered. I attended some HBS events before dinner with Kelly and Ming. Burgers was followed by divine dessert at Finale for the HBS healthcare club’s event. But my 3 days in Boston were specifically for visiting HBS, and thus, did not center around eating. It consisted of the expected awkward introductions and conversations with future classmates but the big surprise was the faculty. They were hysterical and I think classes will be entertaining come this Fall.
I rushed back to NYC afterwards to pack and eat one last meal with Mom, who made my favorite sticky rice dish for the occasion. The next morning, I was off to Japan. It was a whirlwind 9 days.
My first stop was San Francisco. Time was of the essence – I only had two days here, so Maria picked me up and we went straight to Napa after eating a huge American breakfast of omelet and waffles. During breakfast, I slipped up a few time and reverted to Chinglish even though I was no longer in China and it became increasingly obvious that my English has deteriorated quite a bit. The prices were quite a shock compared to Beijing, but I took it all in stride.
Napa was beautiful – hill after hill covered with grape vineyards in neat rows complete with dark green trees dotting the landscape. The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, a color that is highly coveted in Beijing, but rarely delivered due to the pollution. Fresh air was a real treat. We stopped by 3 wineries in all, starting with bubbly champagnes (including my first rose-colored one) at the Frank Family Vineyards. We moved on to magnificent views atop the Sterling Winery, a veritable grown-up playground complete with a tram to carry you to the top of the hill that offered stunning vistas of Napa, where we slowly sipped our whites and reds while soaking in the lovely weather.
That night, we had dinner at La Strada in Palo Alto. Julie met us there along with Maria’s boyfriend Cem. Brian and Jaime, both GSB students who I traveled with last summer, joined us for drinks at the end. Julie and I drove into San Francisco afterwards and I stayed with her in her adorable new apartment.
We spent the following day in San Francisco, sampling the gourmet goodies at the Ferry Building. We had a delicious lunch of oysters and a divine grilled cheese sandwich made with cheese from Cow Girl Creamery. We even bought some cheese to give to Lisa. We met up with Grace post lunch, ate gelato and took a walk around one of San Fran’s neighborhoods. Still stuffed, we went to Bar Tartine for dinner where I tried sweetbread for the first time. The beet salad, shrimp and sashimi dishes were all delicious but the cheese plate was the real winner. I really missed good cheese in China. Julie dropped me off at the airport and then I was off to New York City.
I arrived home home and it felt fabulous. I really missed my friends and family. I visited friends and ate – a ton. It’s hard not to go crazy over all the amazing foods that I can’t get back in Beijing in the culinary Mecca that is NYC. Mom cooked a couple of amazing home-cooked meals for me that day. The next day, I met Karen’s boyfriend who checked my eyes (they were fine despite the fact I cracked one of my contacts), met my mom for dim sum in Flushing, and then headed to midtown for drinks at the Monkey Bar with Hillary and dinner with friends at Fig & Olive. The small plates we shared – figs, olives, olive oil, more olive oil, jamon, cheese, bite-sized crostinis with salmon, sundried tomatoes and more – were all yummy.
I had lunch with Joan at a Japanese restaurant the following day where I chowed down sushi without worries. Drinks at Volstead later that evening was followed by an amazing meal at Adour Alain Ducasse with Lisa and Melissa. We sampled scallops, beef and lamb as well as a variety of interesting vegetables, and of course, cheese and dessert. The macaroons in particular were spectacular and they gave me some to take home. My last day in New York comprised lunch with Bob at a homey midtown Italian place, and dinner at home with Mom.
I left for Boston the next morning and arrived just in time for pad thai at 9 Tastes with Kelly and Huang Laoshi. It was as good as I remembered. I attended some HBS events before dinner with Kelly and Ming. Burgers was followed by divine dessert at Finale for the HBS healthcare club’s event. But my 3 days in Boston were specifically for visiting HBS, and thus, did not center around eating. It consisted of the expected awkward introductions and conversations with future classmates but the big surprise was the faculty. They were hysterical and I think classes will be entertaining come this Fall.
I rushed back to NYC afterwards to pack and eat one last meal with Mom, who made my favorite sticky rice dish for the occasion. The next morning, I was off to Japan. It was a whirlwind 9 days.
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