6/29
At this very moment, I'm on the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to Ulan Bator, a branch of the most famous railroad in the world, the Trans-Siberian. We left Beijing, a long flat city with wide streets and wound our way through mountains and gorges, similar to what you'd expect China to look like, emerging suddenly from the bottom waste into the sky, looming over you unexpectedly. Some of the cliffs were so high that craning your neck still didn't mean you'd see the top and they were covered in a blend of the dirt, granite and dark green vegetation.
The dirt morphed several times within five minute and we saw it as sand, slate, the pinkish-mauve of dried blood, orange and browned crap. Our pine green train, decorated with a red star and Russian letters, passed rice paddies and other agriculture, industrial cities, small towns with predominately roofless sandy-pink brick houses, long flat plains, some marred by large, deep scars, and rolling hills.
Just now, as the dirty flat earth and bland water-retaining green reflected bits of the rusty dregs of sunset, we passed into desert. It was an okay sunset, not great- not like a California sunset or a Swiss one, but pretty enough with primary colored striations in the sky. I love watching that moment when the very last bit of the sun disappears and it's the witching hour.
Some call that dusk or twilight or l'heure bleu, but there's something special about it that's missing at all other times. It's a time of suspended possibilities. The only other time I like as much is at around 3 a.m. when everyone's asleep and for a while, the world is yours.
Unfortunately, my cabinmate, who I think is really odd anyway, since she just stares at me for fairly long periods of time for no reason LIKE SHE IS RIGHT NOW, tried to interrupt. It was also really annoying because I was obviously busy and annoyed at the two stupid, loud Australians who were standing directly in front of our door so we couldn't just watch from our compartment (and note here that all compartments have the same view so they had no reason to be in our way, they just were).
Said cabinmate is also completely pathetic, and a bitch. There were problems with me sitting in another cabin (when it was totally legal and legitimate) and she called me slow or said I was just wrong. Now, she's complaining about having the fan on (and it's hot) because it's too loud for her to sleep (supposedly) and hurts her eyes because apparently she's some little princess. I told her she should have earplugs and an eyemask or take a plane. I have no pity for pathetic losers who wallow in their own crap, nor for weakness. Man up. I've had to and I know it's not easy, but if you can't eventually, then you're not worth my time.
Since leaving the gorges, the scenery's been quite boring. Currently, we're at Erlian, the Chinese/Mongolian border and we'll be waiting here for three hours while they change the wheels, since Russian trains (and Mongolian trains which were built under the Russian system) were built six inches farther apart than most other train lines in the world. We can't get off during that time.
Except, of course, that soon after I wrote that, we were all forced off, despite what I'd been told earlier. We've now been here for nearly four hours (I was originally told six, then three, then two- it ended up being almost exactly four in the end) with no signs of moving and not allowed to use the bathroom for the last hour because the workers are a bunch of lazy assholes. So I had to pee in between the cars, you know, in one of those connecting points in between, the compartments that look like accordians, while a girl watched for me. I'd considered actually peeing on the carpet in front of the jerks who refused to unlock the bathroom for me (for absolutely no reason) but then I would've had to pee on myself and who knows what kind of trouble I could've gotten into. It wasn't worth the risk, but damn it would've been good.
The train itself is okay and though a bit old, it's in decent shape and has Western-style toilets. Our cabin is fine- it helps that they are enclosed and that in mine, only two of the four beds are occupied. Unfortunately, the restaurant car has terrible food. Not just bad, like in most of China, but I'd-almost-rather-starve-than-eat-it awful. It's greasy, gross, oversalted (and I normally like a lot of salt) and overpriced. On all the other trains I've been on, people have come through with carts offering different options, but on this train, they don't. Usually, there are also carts outside of trains at the station stops with prepackaged takeaway snack food but of all our stops so far, only one has had these and the only edible thing they had was bowls of noodles- nothing resembling chips, crackers, peanuts or candy, which they almost always have.
I'm very glad I'm traveling with Steph on this journey so I have someone to talk to and play cards with, though I also brought five books to keep me occupied. Her cabinmates, luckily, are two very decent (though one is extremely chauvinistic) Australian girls who I've enjoyed talking to.
I always think that I need a man like a turtle needs a fork, but I just now realized that I actually do. Without a man, I have no one to open my beer for me when a bottle opener is unavailable. I mean, I guess I'd keep the guy around for other reasons as well, but his primary purpose would be to open my beer bottles (currently 600 mL Tsing tao). Of course, I could just get a bottle opener. It wouldn't whine, though I suppose it does just lie around a lot. It would never be selfish, or in fact, expect anything from me save that I continue drinking. And it would never say or do anything unimaginably idiotic or disappoint or leave me.
But, it probably wouldn't smell nice. It definitely couldn't kiss me. A bottle opener, no matter how pretty, would never be as attractive as expressive eyes or strong arms and it could never surprise me and say the right thing either.
6/30
Arrived in Mongolia after waking up to discover they'd somehow changed the Chinese cafeteria-like dining car into this gorgeous wood-carved Mongolian style one. Rather bizarrely, the landscape and weather here remind me more of the area I grew up in than anywhere else I've ever traveled. Obviously the streets are dirtier, there are homeless people and street kids, fewer traffic lights, and gers instead of houses but otherwise, based on the way it looks, combined with the fauna and rolling hills, I could easily be in Paso Robles. It's rather strange and keeps surprising me.
Steffi and I got off the train and said goodbye to the Aussie girls and found the sign with my name on it from a man from the guesthouse since I'd emailed and booked us in ahead and checked into UB Guesthouse.
I got money out, but Steffi couldn't since her card wasn't working so we spent the rest of the day trying to get that fixed and trying to find a hostel we could stay in during Naadam, the largest festival in Mongolia which runs from July 11-13 (though apparently all the activities- wrestling, archery and horse racing- finish within the first two days and the third is reserved for celebrating by drinking vodka and beer) so there's no way I'm going to miss that. Every one we tried was booked out which was frustrating, but we stopped in a cheap bar-restaurant for dinner and had some beef goulash served with rice for dinner. It was quite good and the meat was very tender but not super-flavorful, though I was so happy to be eating meat again, I didn't mind as much as Steffi (who's German), who told me her Dad's was better.
7/1
Steffi got her money worked out and we went to check her in for her tour. I wasn't going on it with her since her tour sounded a little bit too hard-core for me and didn't go to the places I wanted to go. While she did her introduction class, I shopped around for tours and had difficulty finding one that left at the right time, went the right places and cost the right amount. I Skyped my Mom for a while but she was busy as she and my stepdad were moving out of their apartment to go live on their boat at that very moment (they left soon after I called) so we didn't talk for long. Steffi came back and we went out for lunch, where I had something that was called barbeque but was basically goulash. It was good though, and very cheap at 3800 turgish (about $2.65 USD).
She went to sort out her money and I went to look for more tours. I found a notice from a British couple at a guest house looking for more people to go on the tour with them. They wanted to go on exactly the same tour I wanted to go on, leave ASAP, as I did, and it was the right price. I left a note with my email that the hostel owner promised to give to them and hoped it would work. I did laundry and then checked my emailed and they'd emailed me telling me they were going to meet at 7 p.m. to book it and to meet them there. Steffi had sorted her money out thanks to her cute, smart brother (who I'm going to meet when I eventually visit her in Germany) so she paid me back what I'd loaned her and we went to check out another hostel for Naadam. We finally found one, even though some things seemed odd about it, and paid for the first two nights. I went to the meeting and we were able to organize and book the tour with six people, a guide and a driver at a rate of $32 USD per day including everything.
So tomorrow I leave on a nine day/eight night tour around Southern Mongolia, during which time I'll see the Gobi Desert, ruined temples, a waterfall, and hot springs. We'll all sleep in gers (traditional nomadic Mongolian houses/tents), eat Mongolian food, ride camels and horses, drive for hours and hours, and get to take two showers.
Tonight, our whole group went out for Italian food at Veranda, a restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet, which Vicky and Craig (the Brits) seem to regard as holy and virtually infallible. The restaurant was actually very nice and my dish, penne in a gorgonzola sauce with crispy bacon bits and shredded parmesean cheese, was very good and only cost 10,000 turgish (around $7 USD).
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Peking Duck, Take #2
6/26
Got into Beijing and got the bus to the hostel (the one around the corner from the one I'd stayed at previously) I'd wanted to stay at without too much trouble for 1RMB instead of taking the easy way out and getting at 17 kwai cab. Unfortunately that hostel was full, so I was back at my other one, though I don't mind too much- they're the same price and the other one was only marginally better. I got breakfast and wrote for quite a while, got cash out, then walked over to the International Hotel where I bought my ticket to Ulan Bator ($172 USD- but it's a LONG distance and a 30 hour train ride). I'd considered buying it online previously but had heard it was much cheaper to buy in Beijing and it was. By getting it here (which was surprisingly simple and straightforward and took all of about five minutes,) I saved about $200- and keep in mind that's $200 U.S. dollars. I walked back, making it a 5km walk for the morning, checked my facebook and Skyped my Mom and Grandma again- all before noon.
I felt quite smug by the time I got lunch at a place nearby that I knew was at least decent. Most of the things listed above sound so easy, but in China I've had days where getting cash out and going one place took me hours and was incredibly frustrating, so I have to appreciate the things that do go well, even if they're only simple errands. And since it's so rare for me to feel self-satisfied and proud, I'm enjoying it immensely. I even managed to read a few pages of the Motorcycle Diaries (which I'm STILL slugging through), talked to two people in my room, organized my photos and renewed my medical insurance. It's 5 p.m. right now and I'm even considering going for a run, taking a shower and a nap before watching the U.S.- Ghana World Cup game at 2:30 a.m. That, or anything else I could possibly do today, will just be whipped cream on top.
In my room, that night, I met Steffi, a cool German girl, and two very petite girls (one Chinese, one Australian) who lived near Urumqi, in Northwestern China. They invited us to come to dinner with them at a place that served traditional food from that area so we went. The kebabs were good, but everything else was average to disappointing.
6/27
After my super-effective day, I didn't do that much really but I met two girls in my room who I really, really liked and felt like I could actually talk to and really connect with. It was also exciting because one of them was the solo American female traveler I've been searching for! She actually isn't traveling in the same way right now (she's a teacher in Korea) but had previously and was planning to again in the future. The other was a German girl, Steffi, who's also traveling alone and is going on the train the same day I am so I'm going to hang out with her. It just always feels so refreshing to have real conversations because so often it's little more than "whereareyoufrom, whatareyourplans, blah, blah, same old, same old," and it's like you're spending a lot of time talking to people and saying absolutely nothing.
I went with the American (I can't remember her name now and she never emailed like she said she would) to the Donghuamen market (tourist place with weird food) though the only thing I got was some semi-dried shark (at least that's what they said) that I shared with her that was better than expected.
At night, the three of us went out, drank a lot of cheap beer and played a great game of Kings. It was a really wonderful, but still somewhat low-key (though late), evening. It was also nice because the two of them brought out some of the best in me, and I love that person I am at my best- she's fun and interesting and just that girl in the room that everyone adores. Most of the time I'm not that girl, and I don't even always aspire to be her because the calmer, quieter me has her own merits as well, but when I am that higher me it's fun and I'm happy and I love it/life/her.
6/28
All three of us woke up quite late and went for lunch at the decent place I knew nearby. None of us felt compelled to do anything adventurous so we wandered for a while, looking through the nearby hutong tourist market until the American girl decided she wanted to dye her hair blue. So, since I would've otherwise just screwed along online I, and Steffi, went with her. The search took us all afternoon, to several different stores, and two hair salons, but no one had blue hair dye that you could just buy and do yourself. We even saw a group of Chinese girls with bright (and incredibly well-done) blue hair and asked them, but they were cosmetology students and had mixed it and done it themselves. They took a picture with us and we continued our quest, but eventually we gave up and found a place with very cheap peking duck for dinner so they could try it. It was okay, marginally better than my first try, but still not great or remotely impressive. Neither of them had ever tried it though and they both liked it so that made me happy. The American girl left that evening on a train to Xi'an and Steffi and I went to bed early, planning to get up at 5:30.
At 4:20 a.m. I was woken up by feverish whispering from the two petite girls in my room. Apparently the 35 year old English woman who had just moved in that day had gotten drunk, stripped off all her clothes and climbed, naked, into the Australian girl's bed. The Australian girl had freaked out and the English girl had managed to get into her own bed, but not before peeing on the floor. The petite Australian girl and the petite Chinese girl had then decided it was necessary to loudly whisper about it for nearly an hour so I couldn't get back to sleep before it was time to get up for the train anyway.
Got into Beijing and got the bus to the hostel (the one around the corner from the one I'd stayed at previously) I'd wanted to stay at without too much trouble for 1RMB instead of taking the easy way out and getting at 17 kwai cab. Unfortunately that hostel was full, so I was back at my other one, though I don't mind too much- they're the same price and the other one was only marginally better. I got breakfast and wrote for quite a while, got cash out, then walked over to the International Hotel where I bought my ticket to Ulan Bator ($172 USD- but it's a LONG distance and a 30 hour train ride). I'd considered buying it online previously but had heard it was much cheaper to buy in Beijing and it was. By getting it here (which was surprisingly simple and straightforward and took all of about five minutes,) I saved about $200- and keep in mind that's $200 U.S. dollars. I walked back, making it a 5km walk for the morning, checked my facebook and Skyped my Mom and Grandma again- all before noon.
I felt quite smug by the time I got lunch at a place nearby that I knew was at least decent. Most of the things listed above sound so easy, but in China I've had days where getting cash out and going one place took me hours and was incredibly frustrating, so I have to appreciate the things that do go well, even if they're only simple errands. And since it's so rare for me to feel self-satisfied and proud, I'm enjoying it immensely. I even managed to read a few pages of the Motorcycle Diaries (which I'm STILL slugging through), talked to two people in my room, organized my photos and renewed my medical insurance. It's 5 p.m. right now and I'm even considering going for a run, taking a shower and a nap before watching the U.S.- Ghana World Cup game at 2:30 a.m. That, or anything else I could possibly do today, will just be whipped cream on top.
In my room, that night, I met Steffi, a cool German girl, and two very petite girls (one Chinese, one Australian) who lived near Urumqi, in Northwestern China. They invited us to come to dinner with them at a place that served traditional food from that area so we went. The kebabs were good, but everything else was average to disappointing.
6/27
After my super-effective day, I didn't do that much really but I met two girls in my room who I really, really liked and felt like I could actually talk to and really connect with. It was also exciting because one of them was the solo American female traveler I've been searching for! She actually isn't traveling in the same way right now (she's a teacher in Korea) but had previously and was planning to again in the future. The other was a German girl, Steffi, who's also traveling alone and is going on the train the same day I am so I'm going to hang out with her. It just always feels so refreshing to have real conversations because so often it's little more than "whereareyoufrom, whatareyourplans, blah, blah, same old, same old," and it's like you're spending a lot of time talking to people and saying absolutely nothing.
I went with the American (I can't remember her name now and she never emailed like she said she would) to the Donghuamen market (tourist place with weird food) though the only thing I got was some semi-dried shark (at least that's what they said) that I shared with her that was better than expected.
At night, the three of us went out, drank a lot of cheap beer and played a great game of Kings. It was a really wonderful, but still somewhat low-key (though late), evening. It was also nice because the two of them brought out some of the best in me, and I love that person I am at my best- she's fun and interesting and just that girl in the room that everyone adores. Most of the time I'm not that girl, and I don't even always aspire to be her because the calmer, quieter me has her own merits as well, but when I am that higher me it's fun and I'm happy and I love it/life/her.
6/28
All three of us woke up quite late and went for lunch at the decent place I knew nearby. None of us felt compelled to do anything adventurous so we wandered for a while, looking through the nearby hutong tourist market until the American girl decided she wanted to dye her hair blue. So, since I would've otherwise just screwed along online I, and Steffi, went with her. The search took us all afternoon, to several different stores, and two hair salons, but no one had blue hair dye that you could just buy and do yourself. We even saw a group of Chinese girls with bright (and incredibly well-done) blue hair and asked them, but they were cosmetology students and had mixed it and done it themselves. They took a picture with us and we continued our quest, but eventually we gave up and found a place with very cheap peking duck for dinner so they could try it. It was okay, marginally better than my first try, but still not great or remotely impressive. Neither of them had ever tried it though and they both liked it so that made me happy. The American girl left that evening on a train to Xi'an and Steffi and I went to bed early, planning to get up at 5:30.
At 4:20 a.m. I was woken up by feverish whispering from the two petite girls in my room. Apparently the 35 year old English woman who had just moved in that day had gotten drunk, stripped off all her clothes and climbed, naked, into the Australian girl's bed. The Australian girl had freaked out and the English girl had managed to get into her own bed, but not before peeing on the floor. The petite Australian girl and the petite Chinese girl had then decided it was necessary to loudly whisper about it for nearly an hour so I couldn't get back to sleep before it was time to get up for the train anyway.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Peking Duck in Peking, Round #1
6/18
I took another rest day today (though without a hangover) and went to the English floor of a large bookstore. I sat there for hours reading "Dead Until Dark," the third or fourth book in the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series. I chose this one because it featured a lot of Eric, who I love. It was good and made me happy, though there were too many silly plot points about random things that didn't matter when it should have been all about Sookie and Eric.
While I was reading, I had two Chinese people separately ask me for help understanding English phrases. Both must've been quite proficient since the phrases weren't logical ones. One was something about a guy who "winds up" doing something, and the guy didn't understand because he only knew winds used as a verb to wind something up (like a music box). The other phrase was even stranger and was something like "there're" so I just told the person it was bizarre and meant there are. Anyway, it was cute that they asked me.
At night, I found a place offering Peking Duck (Peking is the original name for Beijing, and thus, where the dish originated) for a somewhat reasonable price (99 yuan with a Diet Coke, $15 USD) but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. Really good peking duck is one of the greatest foods in the world, and this was just kind of blah and a bit too oily. Don't worry though, I'll try again.
I took another rest day today (though without a hangover) and went to the English floor of a large bookstore. I sat there for hours reading "Dead Until Dark," the third or fourth book in the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series. I chose this one because it featured a lot of Eric, who I love. It was good and made me happy, though there were too many silly plot points about random things that didn't matter when it should have been all about Sookie and Eric.
While I was reading, I had two Chinese people separately ask me for help understanding English phrases. Both must've been quite proficient since the phrases weren't logical ones. One was something about a guy who "winds up" doing something, and the guy didn't understand because he only knew winds used as a verb to wind something up (like a music box). The other phrase was even stranger and was something like "there're" so I just told the person it was bizarre and meant there are. Anyway, it was cute that they asked me.
At night, I found a place offering Peking Duck (Peking is the original name for Beijing, and thus, where the dish originated) for a somewhat reasonable price (99 yuan with a Diet Coke, $15 USD) but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. Really good peking duck is one of the greatest foods in the world, and this was just kind of blah and a bit too oily. Don't worry though, I'll try again.
Bitter Chinese Medicine
6/14
Beijing! I slept somewhat okay, probably would've been fine overall if I'd just gone to bed earlier. I went to my hostel and they said I couldn't check in until 2 so I spent a long time in their common room. For whatever reason, or maybe because I kept asking them, I'd thought they'd let me into the room earlier, since check-out was at 12. They didn't. At 2, I tried my key and it didn't work so I checked with the front desk. The man said it wasn't ready- it still hadn't been cleaned. I had to literally force him to get housecleaners to do it, and then while I tried to nap, they took three hours (not exaggerating here- I seriously checked the time on my phone) to clean the room. Admittedly, it had been quite messy, but not that bad- they were just being really slow and lazy. I was not happy and ended up just getting some random street food for dinner and spending a lot of time reading that night.
I really do have to find less depressing books. Here's the body count from the one I just finished (of main or important characters): 1 dead wife, 2 dead husbands, two dead sons and one dead daughter. And that's just from the main characters, not including all the tons of peripheral deaths.
6/15
Besides my general annoyance with it, that hostel was way overpriced, so today I moved to a new one; Forbidden City Youth Hostel, for almost half the price, though in a room without windows (though it does have an ensuite bathroom, hmm).
I also decided to go to a doctor for my headaches/presumed sinusitus. I looked online and in my guidebook and apparently the best place to go was a hospital. Beijing hospital was near me, so I went there (though I had a hell of a time finding it, same with a CCB Bank- Bank of America's (WORST BANK EVER) partner).
For about $15 USD, I received consultations with a general doctor and a neurologist, basic physical neurological testing, blood testing, Tylenol (supposedly special but it didn't have much effect on me), and twelve doses of Chinese medicine, which came in the form of 10 mL bottles that I had to use straws for and tasted horrible, like bitter death and mushrooms mixed together by the trio of Macbeth witches. I drank them as quickly as I could and chased them with soda.
Gross as they were, the combination of those and lots of sleep and rest seemed to put my body mostly back to normal so I felt I'd made the right decision. Otherwise, those headaches could've incapacitated me like they did in Cambodia and Korea and I would've lost valuable time.
That evening, feeling a bit better, I visited the Doghuamen night market, which is completely set up for tourists, but still kind of interesting. Nothing I tasted was particularly interesting and while I considered tasting the starfish (mostly because who knew you could even eat starfish?), I ended up just munching on some pretty normal food. I've gotten to the point that I'll no longer try something to eat just for the novelty of it, but only if I think there's a chance I'll actually enjoy it. Life is too short to eat crap.
Beijing! I slept somewhat okay, probably would've been fine overall if I'd just gone to bed earlier. I went to my hostel and they said I couldn't check in until 2 so I spent a long time in their common room. For whatever reason, or maybe because I kept asking them, I'd thought they'd let me into the room earlier, since check-out was at 12. They didn't. At 2, I tried my key and it didn't work so I checked with the front desk. The man said it wasn't ready- it still hadn't been cleaned. I had to literally force him to get housecleaners to do it, and then while I tried to nap, they took three hours (not exaggerating here- I seriously checked the time on my phone) to clean the room. Admittedly, it had been quite messy, but not that bad- they were just being really slow and lazy. I was not happy and ended up just getting some random street food for dinner and spending a lot of time reading that night.
I really do have to find less depressing books. Here's the body count from the one I just finished (of main or important characters): 1 dead wife, 2 dead husbands, two dead sons and one dead daughter. And that's just from the main characters, not including all the tons of peripheral deaths.
6/15
Besides my general annoyance with it, that hostel was way overpriced, so today I moved to a new one; Forbidden City Youth Hostel, for almost half the price, though in a room without windows (though it does have an ensuite bathroom, hmm).
I also decided to go to a doctor for my headaches/presumed sinusitus. I looked online and in my guidebook and apparently the best place to go was a hospital. Beijing hospital was near me, so I went there (though I had a hell of a time finding it, same with a CCB Bank- Bank of America's (WORST BANK EVER) partner).
For about $15 USD, I received consultations with a general doctor and a neurologist, basic physical neurological testing, blood testing, Tylenol (supposedly special but it didn't have much effect on me), and twelve doses of Chinese medicine, which came in the form of 10 mL bottles that I had to use straws for and tasted horrible, like bitter death and mushrooms mixed together by the trio of Macbeth witches. I drank them as quickly as I could and chased them with soda.
Gross as they were, the combination of those and lots of sleep and rest seemed to put my body mostly back to normal so I felt I'd made the right decision. Otherwise, those headaches could've incapacitated me like they did in Cambodia and Korea and I would've lost valuable time.
That evening, feeling a bit better, I visited the Doghuamen night market, which is completely set up for tourists, but still kind of interesting. Nothing I tasted was particularly interesting and while I considered tasting the starfish (mostly because who knew you could even eat starfish?), I ended up just munching on some pretty normal food. I've gotten to the point that I'll no longer try something to eat just for the novelty of it, but only if I think there's a chance I'll actually enjoy it. Life is too short to eat crap.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Entire Day After
6/10
Hangover day. I could've done more than I did since it wasn't that bad, but I chose not to. I did have some awesome dumplings, the first really good food I've had since I've been in China proper. They were the xiao long bao variety (a Shanghai specialty which basically just means they have broth inside) and contained what I believe was a pork blend. The dumplings were made in a glass production area inside the seating area by spreading the meat mixture on the dumpling dough, tying them up, boiling them, then essentially grilling them which causes the meat mixture to release oils and broth inside the dumpling, then sprinkling them with sesame seeds and spring onions. Delicious, though so hot I always had to let them cool for an irritatingly long time- irritating because I wanted to eat them right away. 5 yuan (under $1) for four.
Hangover day. I could've done more than I did since it wasn't that bad, but I chose not to. I did have some awesome dumplings, the first really good food I've had since I've been in China proper. They were the xiao long bao variety (a Shanghai specialty which basically just means they have broth inside) and contained what I believe was a pork blend. The dumplings were made in a glass production area inside the seating area by spreading the meat mixture on the dumpling dough, tying them up, boiling them, then essentially grilling them which causes the meat mixture to release oils and broth inside the dumpling, then sprinkling them with sesame seeds and spring onions. Delicious, though so hot I always had to let them cool for an irritatingly long time- irritating because I wanted to eat them right away. 5 yuan (under $1) for four.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Eating, Drinking and Waking Up in Falsificaso Vegas (Redundant)
5/27 - 6/1
Yves and I did very, very little this week. We ate, drank, watched a lot of movies, picked up our visas and slept. However, we have done a few important things: eating very well and finding great bars. You may know that I have a particularly amazing skill: finding awesome places to eat and drink. Yves did his part in finding Fat Angelo's, an Italian restaurant that made their own fresh Italian dressing that was so good that I even liked it, and I hate all salad dressings (except Blue Cheese). Otherwise, he was very good at following me and indulging my whimsical quests when it seemed like a bar or restaurant didn't exist. Actually, one thing I especially liked about him in general was that he would indulge my crazy (and sometimes they get really random) whims and follow me anywhere. It made him very easy to be with.
Anyway, I don't remember exactly how I found the first place, but it was a place that specialized in Peking Duck, called...Peking Restaurant. He'd never had Peking duck before, which appalled me, and liked it. We were seated at the table with the other two foreigners (an older British couple) who took this picture for us. The duck, hoison sauce and pancakes were very good and I showed Yves how you put the sauce on a pancake then add duck, spring onion and cucumber. It would've been better if the pancakes and duck were hot, but it was still great.
We also went to a place recommended to me by my grandlittle sister, Tiffany, (from my sorority, Delta Delta Delta) whose family is from Hong Kong originally, though she's a native Californian (I know what you're thinking, and no, she couldn't get any more awesome if she tried). She recommended a dim sum restaurant, Din Tai Fung. We actually went to a different branch than the one she recommended (since it was three blocks from our place) and it was fabulous. It also had a plaque outside saying that the N.Y. Times had rated it one of the ten best restaurants in the world. Admittedly, the bronzed article was from 1993, but I was still excited. Dim sum is better with more people, but we were still able to try several fantastic plates.
We started with a plate of steamed spinach and garlic, which was very good (and surprising, since I normally dislike spinach), Spicy Shrimp Wontons (which was recommended by our waitress and was Yves' favorite and one of my favorites) which had an incredibly complex, developed flavor (do you ever wonder if I just make this tuff up by using buzzwords? Because sometimes I do.) but anyway, was really good and spicy without being grossly hot-spicy. Our third starting choice was the Steamed Pork Dumplings, their specialty (and my other favorite) which had a complicated method for eating, which always excites me. You started by picking it up with your chopsticks, then you dipped it in your sauce dish (a combination of fresh ginger threads and as much soy sauce as you wished to add) and then you transferred it to a small bowl where you put it down and poked it, releasing the broth inside which mixed with the sauce. Finally, you used a spoon to gather the dumpling, sauce and broth in a spoon and eat it. I think it probably would've been just as good without that process, but it was fun to poke it and sometimes I just like to over-complicate things unnecessarily.
Once we finished those, we ordered Special Sauce Dumplings (made with shrimp and pork) and Shrimp Fried Rice. Both were very good, but not amazing, as our first picks had been. For dessert, we decided on taro dumplings, which were just slightly sweet but, as Yves noticed as he finished his third and eyed mine, got better the more you ate. We each had tea and a Tsingtao beer with our meal and it came out to $359 HKD (about $47) for both of us, which I thought was a great deal.
At another point, we randomly walked into a sushi place and ended up with excellent salmon sashimi, which I mention because it means that we had great: Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Dim Sum and Peking Duck all in Hong Kong. Of course, we spent a bit more for this than I usually do, and in general the street food was unimpressive, but overall I mean to say that Hong Kong has wonderful food.
But, enough about the food. I want to tell you about the bars! I preferred Soho over the LKF or Wan Chi Red Light District (though a clean, fairly nice one) areas and Yves looked in his guidebook, which recommended V13. He had only to say the words "vodka bar" to describe it and and I was in. It also was on the edge of Soho, not quite in the middle, so it was a bit better, but when we got there the bartender told us it was no longer a vodka bar. They used to be, but had changed about six months ago. We decided to stay there for a drink anyway and I had a vodka-diet, while he opted for a (very good) White Russian). I had read somewhere that Thursday night was Ladies Night, so my goal for the evening was to get one free drink. The bartender told me that it was generally Wednesday night that was Ladies Night, but (I believe because he was bored as the bar was empty except for ourselves and one regular) he gave us all free tequila shots so we stayed there for most of the rest of that night and had a great time just talking to the bartender and the regular. Yves wanted a new lighter, so the bartender showed us the bars collection:
Somehow, that night, I was given a magazine for expats called Brouhaha (with NaNa from Ghana's number written on the back). I obviously ignored the number but read the magazine the next day and it recommended a secret bar (just the idea of which gets me nearly drunk with excitement) called Sense 99, which we went to that night. You went to 99 Wellington, which, due to some odd street signs is hard to find, then looked for the little buzzer button which had Sense 99 written next to it. On our way out, I noticed the unlit sign above, but you'd never know it was there or a bar otherwise. From outside, you couldn't hear any music or see any lights, but after you were buzzed in (by someone who checked that you knew what you were looking for) and went up a flight of stairs, you walked into a great little bar. The first floor had a bar which consisted of a cooler full of beers, another cooler of Coke bottles and a few scattered liquor bottles. The second floor had an outside balcony and a mini stage set up with a piano, bass, drums, guitars, rain stick, bongos, accordian and a few other instruments that were available for anyone to play. I might have tested my skills as a rock star, but while we were there, someone else was always playing, including an actual band that seemed to just coalesce out of thin air. The band was especially fun to watch because it was obvious that they were just jamming out and weren't getting paid. Each one of them just looked like they absolutely loved what they were doing and it's always nice to watch people do what they love, even if it doesn't really mean anything to you.
Yves had really liked his White Russian, so we went back to V13, which had some big party going on with a DJ, though by the time we got there, it was dying down. We went with a few people to some other club after that and called it a night (though way later).
On Tuesday, June 1st, I went alone to Macau. The weather sucked and many of the areas I saw were empty and closed. I was feeling fairly depressed about that and rather unimpressed because so much of the "Portuguese" waterfront area was refurbished, partially by casinos and partially by faux old Portuguese style so it was difficult to tell which parts were authentic and which parts had been built within the past ten years.
Macau itself was strange. It felt like Vegas in complete decline. The casinos were beautiful and glitzy but there just weren't enough people there. I went over to the more historic area: the Monte Fort and the front remains of St. Paul's Cathedral, of which just the facade and base structure was left. On my way through Senado Square I sat down and was quickly approached by a group of Hong Kong Middle School students. The group wanted to give me a brief presentation on the history of Macau and practice their English. Of course, I obliged and they were all very sweet. At the end, I filled out a survey about how well they'd done and gave them highest marks. They were so happy and excited and took pictures with me. I asked them to take a picture and here it is below. Oddly, this was the least happy they ever looked- at every other second they had these giant smiles filling their faces. After their presentation, they gave me a present. I opened it later and it was a bunch of Macau pastries. I actually didn't like them, but it was very sweet and none of the other white people accosted by the several groups of students got a present- it was just my awesome group.
I went to the cathedral remains and the fort. It was a weird feeling because it seemed so much like the areas and places in Mexico, the Caribbean and even parts of the U.S.- the forts in Florida and Puerto Rico (can we call that the U.S. yet?) and the feeling, though not the architecture, of so many of the missions in California. So Macau was very interesting, though felt quite strange.
Spending so much time on the road like this, it sometimes feels like I'm living several lives and the way people move through my life is so much faster that it feels like it just takes the core essence of relationships and misses the rest (good and bad). So, even though I know this sounds stupid and pretentious, in my opinion of myself, I can become a local in two weeks, or go through an entire relationship in that time period and have it actually matter (from the getting to know each other stage, to "dating," through the arguments, to the repetition, to the realization that you're not right for each other, all the way up to the break-up and leaving peacefully, hoping only good things for the other person and thinking they're alright, just not for you.)
More on Yves:
Yves and I moved into a single room together after two days and it's pretty hard to avoid someone you're sleeping in the same bed with. He's a good guy, though very...German. Just in general, he won't compliment me at all, even when I try to prod him by complimenting him. It took me a few days of feeling slightly ugly to get used to that but then I really realized that was just his issue, not mine and that was just the way he was. He's fairly smart and pretty funny, mostly interesting. He's also just easy to be with since this obviously isn't going anywhere and there's no pressure, and he lets me lead him anywhere I feel like (to the History Museum, the Big Buddha, two different restaurants and a bar).
Also, and don't tell anyone I admitted to this, but even though I'm obviously the person in charge when we go out to restaurants or try to figure out where we're going on the MTR (subway), it's nice to feel safe with someone. Walking with him, I can cross odd alleyways and streets, stay out later or even just leave my purse on the barstool with him when I go to the bathroom. It's simply comforting and sometimes I feel like I need a bit of stability, moving like I do.
Lastly, he spends more freely than I generally do and being a guy, eats quite a bit more and I've been somewhat imitating his habits. Terrible for my budget and thighs, but great for my happiness level.
And it sounds weird, but it felt like a real (albeit short and not super-serious) relationship to me. Neither of us was in love with each other, but enjoyed each others company and parted on great terms, like a textbook end to a relationship and I think that's the aspect I'm stuck on. Even though technically, we "broke up" (though I think he'd think it strange that I'd call him an ex-boyfriend) because I left the country (again), it was really because we just weren't right for each other, but still saw value in the other person. It was a very peaceful, mature break-up. Furthermore, I think I can call it a relationship simply because I say it is, since I'm the one considering it, and I say it is; it is, because of my saying so most of all, see?
Yves and I did very, very little this week. We ate, drank, watched a lot of movies, picked up our visas and slept. However, we have done a few important things: eating very well and finding great bars. You may know that I have a particularly amazing skill: finding awesome places to eat and drink. Yves did his part in finding Fat Angelo's, an Italian restaurant that made their own fresh Italian dressing that was so good that I even liked it, and I hate all salad dressings (except Blue Cheese). Otherwise, he was very good at following me and indulging my whimsical quests when it seemed like a bar or restaurant didn't exist. Actually, one thing I especially liked about him in general was that he would indulge my crazy (and sometimes they get really random) whims and follow me anywhere. It made him very easy to be with.
Anyway, I don't remember exactly how I found the first place, but it was a place that specialized in Peking Duck, called...Peking Restaurant. He'd never had Peking duck before, which appalled me, and liked it. We were seated at the table with the other two foreigners (an older British couple) who took this picture for us. The duck, hoison sauce and pancakes were very good and I showed Yves how you put the sauce on a pancake then add duck, spring onion and cucumber. It would've been better if the pancakes and duck were hot, but it was still great.
We also went to a place recommended to me by my grandlittle sister, Tiffany, (from my sorority, Delta Delta Delta) whose family is from Hong Kong originally, though she's a native Californian (I know what you're thinking, and no, she couldn't get any more awesome if she tried). She recommended a dim sum restaurant, Din Tai Fung. We actually went to a different branch than the one she recommended (since it was three blocks from our place) and it was fabulous. It also had a plaque outside saying that the N.Y. Times had rated it one of the ten best restaurants in the world. Admittedly, the bronzed article was from 1993, but I was still excited. Dim sum is better with more people, but we were still able to try several fantastic plates.
We started with a plate of steamed spinach and garlic, which was very good (and surprising, since I normally dislike spinach), Spicy Shrimp Wontons (which was recommended by our waitress and was Yves' favorite and one of my favorites) which had an incredibly complex, developed flavor (do you ever wonder if I just make this tuff up by using buzzwords? Because sometimes I do.) but anyway, was really good and spicy without being grossly hot-spicy. Our third starting choice was the Steamed Pork Dumplings, their specialty (and my other favorite) which had a complicated method for eating, which always excites me. You started by picking it up with your chopsticks, then you dipped it in your sauce dish (a combination of fresh ginger threads and as much soy sauce as you wished to add) and then you transferred it to a small bowl where you put it down and poked it, releasing the broth inside which mixed with the sauce. Finally, you used a spoon to gather the dumpling, sauce and broth in a spoon and eat it. I think it probably would've been just as good without that process, but it was fun to poke it and sometimes I just like to over-complicate things unnecessarily.
Once we finished those, we ordered Special Sauce Dumplings (made with shrimp and pork) and Shrimp Fried Rice. Both were very good, but not amazing, as our first picks had been. For dessert, we decided on taro dumplings, which were just slightly sweet but, as Yves noticed as he finished his third and eyed mine, got better the more you ate. We each had tea and a Tsingtao beer with our meal and it came out to $359 HKD (about $47) for both of us, which I thought was a great deal.
At another point, we randomly walked into a sushi place and ended up with excellent salmon sashimi, which I mention because it means that we had great: Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Dim Sum and Peking Duck all in Hong Kong. Of course, we spent a bit more for this than I usually do, and in general the street food was unimpressive, but overall I mean to say that Hong Kong has wonderful food.
But, enough about the food. I want to tell you about the bars! I preferred Soho over the LKF or Wan Chi Red Light District (though a clean, fairly nice one) areas and Yves looked in his guidebook, which recommended V13. He had only to say the words "vodka bar" to describe it and and I was in. It also was on the edge of Soho, not quite in the middle, so it was a bit better, but when we got there the bartender told us it was no longer a vodka bar. They used to be, but had changed about six months ago. We decided to stay there for a drink anyway and I had a vodka-diet, while he opted for a (very good) White Russian). I had read somewhere that Thursday night was Ladies Night, so my goal for the evening was to get one free drink. The bartender told me that it was generally Wednesday night that was Ladies Night, but (I believe because he was bored as the bar was empty except for ourselves and one regular) he gave us all free tequila shots so we stayed there for most of the rest of that night and had a great time just talking to the bartender and the regular. Yves wanted a new lighter, so the bartender showed us the bars collection:
Somehow, that night, I was given a magazine for expats called Brouhaha (with NaNa from Ghana's number written on the back). I obviously ignored the number but read the magazine the next day and it recommended a secret bar (just the idea of which gets me nearly drunk with excitement) called Sense 99, which we went to that night. You went to 99 Wellington, which, due to some odd street signs is hard to find, then looked for the little buzzer button which had Sense 99 written next to it. On our way out, I noticed the unlit sign above, but you'd never know it was there or a bar otherwise. From outside, you couldn't hear any music or see any lights, but after you were buzzed in (by someone who checked that you knew what you were looking for) and went up a flight of stairs, you walked into a great little bar. The first floor had a bar which consisted of a cooler full of beers, another cooler of Coke bottles and a few scattered liquor bottles. The second floor had an outside balcony and a mini stage set up with a piano, bass, drums, guitars, rain stick, bongos, accordian and a few other instruments that were available for anyone to play. I might have tested my skills as a rock star, but while we were there, someone else was always playing, including an actual band that seemed to just coalesce out of thin air. The band was especially fun to watch because it was obvious that they were just jamming out and weren't getting paid. Each one of them just looked like they absolutely loved what they were doing and it's always nice to watch people do what they love, even if it doesn't really mean anything to you.
Yves had really liked his White Russian, so we went back to V13, which had some big party going on with a DJ, though by the time we got there, it was dying down. We went with a few people to some other club after that and called it a night (though way later).
On Tuesday, June 1st, I went alone to Macau. The weather sucked and many of the areas I saw were empty and closed. I was feeling fairly depressed about that and rather unimpressed because so much of the "Portuguese" waterfront area was refurbished, partially by casinos and partially by faux old Portuguese style so it was difficult to tell which parts were authentic and which parts had been built within the past ten years.
Macau itself was strange. It felt like Vegas in complete decline. The casinos were beautiful and glitzy but there just weren't enough people there. I went over to the more historic area: the Monte Fort and the front remains of St. Paul's Cathedral, of which just the facade and base structure was left. On my way through Senado Square I sat down and was quickly approached by a group of Hong Kong Middle School students. The group wanted to give me a brief presentation on the history of Macau and practice their English. Of course, I obliged and they were all very sweet. At the end, I filled out a survey about how well they'd done and gave them highest marks. They were so happy and excited and took pictures with me. I asked them to take a picture and here it is below. Oddly, this was the least happy they ever looked- at every other second they had these giant smiles filling their faces. After their presentation, they gave me a present. I opened it later and it was a bunch of Macau pastries. I actually didn't like them, but it was very sweet and none of the other white people accosted by the several groups of students got a present- it was just my awesome group.
I went to the cathedral remains and the fort. It was a weird feeling because it seemed so much like the areas and places in Mexico, the Caribbean and even parts of the U.S.- the forts in Florida and Puerto Rico (can we call that the U.S. yet?) and the feeling, though not the architecture, of so many of the missions in California. So Macau was very interesting, though felt quite strange.
Spending so much time on the road like this, it sometimes feels like I'm living several lives and the way people move through my life is so much faster that it feels like it just takes the core essence of relationships and misses the rest (good and bad). So, even though I know this sounds stupid and pretentious, in my opinion of myself, I can become a local in two weeks, or go through an entire relationship in that time period and have it actually matter (from the getting to know each other stage, to "dating," through the arguments, to the repetition, to the realization that you're not right for each other, all the way up to the break-up and leaving peacefully, hoping only good things for the other person and thinking they're alright, just not for you.)
More on Yves:
Yves and I moved into a single room together after two days and it's pretty hard to avoid someone you're sleeping in the same bed with. He's a good guy, though very...German. Just in general, he won't compliment me at all, even when I try to prod him by complimenting him. It took me a few days of feeling slightly ugly to get used to that but then I really realized that was just his issue, not mine and that was just the way he was. He's fairly smart and pretty funny, mostly interesting. He's also just easy to be with since this obviously isn't going anywhere and there's no pressure, and he lets me lead him anywhere I feel like (to the History Museum, the Big Buddha, two different restaurants and a bar).
Also, and don't tell anyone I admitted to this, but even though I'm obviously the person in charge when we go out to restaurants or try to figure out where we're going on the MTR (subway), it's nice to feel safe with someone. Walking with him, I can cross odd alleyways and streets, stay out later or even just leave my purse on the barstool with him when I go to the bathroom. It's simply comforting and sometimes I feel like I need a bit of stability, moving like I do.
Lastly, he spends more freely than I generally do and being a guy, eats quite a bit more and I've been somewhat imitating his habits. Terrible for my budget and thighs, but great for my happiness level.
And it sounds weird, but it felt like a real (albeit short and not super-serious) relationship to me. Neither of us was in love with each other, but enjoyed each others company and parted on great terms, like a textbook end to a relationship and I think that's the aspect I'm stuck on. Even though technically, we "broke up" (though I think he'd think it strange that I'd call him an ex-boyfriend) because I left the country (again), it was really because we just weren't right for each other, but still saw value in the other person. It was a very peaceful, mature break-up. Furthermore, I think I can call it a relationship simply because I say it is, since I'm the one considering it, and I say it is; it is, because of my saying so most of all, see?
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tea-riffic Day (I'm sorry, I really am and slightly hate myself right now for that)
5/15-
Today really was a great day. Judy met me at the subway station to take me to the Lin Family Mansion and Garden, one of the few truly traditional Chinese houses left in Taiwan. It was nice and a very kind guide helped explain some of the symbolism for me through Judy's interpretation. Afterwards, we met Judy's Mother, Sister and 3 year old Niece. We went over to see the Taipei 101 building but I didn't go up it since I didn't want to spend the money when it was so foggy (and I'd been waiting all week for it to clear up but it never did). From there, we went over to a Barracks Museum showing the barracks that housed the Chinese soldiers and their families after the split. The soldiers had their immediate families with them but were never allowed to return to the Mainland to see the rest of their families. I'm doing a poor job of explaining this, but they weren't prisoners, just couldn't go back to China, so the families banded together and created an enclave. It was somewhat interesting, more so because Judy's grandparents had been a part of the original settlement.
Next we went for a ride on the Maokong Gondola (cable car) which was really nice, even though it was getting very dark and our visibility was limited. The top town had small hills of tea leaves. I couldn't smell them as tea, but could smell the strong scent. It's known for its tea and Judy said it was one of the few places in Taipei where they still grow it.
For dinner, we went to a tea restaurant with a lovely view out over the valley. Everything we ate had tea in it so we had: vermicelli with tea leaves, fried tea leaves, chopped or crushed tea leaves in fried rice, chicken and seafood soup with tea leaves, pork and shrimp sauce with tea leaves and baby bamboo. Most of it was delicious- I especially liked the fried tea leaves, the noodles with tea leaves and the bamboo. The bamboo didn't have much flavor, but basically absorbed whatever you ate it with (like tofu, but better tasting) so I just dipped it in a yummy chili sauce. It also had a really nice texture, sort of like asparagus (only texture wise, not taste) and was just so much more satisfying than tofu. I hadn't even realized that you could eat bamboo, though only when it's young and basically still a cone, but I wish it were more easily available- I could see myself eating it frequently.
After the tea dinner, which Judy very generously paid for, we took the gondola back down. Judy said there were fireflies out but I didn't see any. I played a bit with her niece, though it was difficult since she didn't speak any English, but was cute and well-behaved. She also had a rather insane amount of energy at 10 p.m. so when we got off we danced around a little bit.
Right next door to the gondola base was Dancing Waters, a large fountain that had free water/music/light shows every hour or half hour so we waited and watched one, which was really pretty. We all took the train back together, though I had to say my goodbyes when I got off at my stop first. Even though I'd started out in Taipei very unhappy with the local who was supposed to show me around, Judy had more than made up for it in the past two days and had really made me feel special and like some weird, half-related crazy cousin (to use sitcom characterization) in a good way.
Today really was a great day. Judy met me at the subway station to take me to the Lin Family Mansion and Garden, one of the few truly traditional Chinese houses left in Taiwan. It was nice and a very kind guide helped explain some of the symbolism for me through Judy's interpretation. Afterwards, we met Judy's Mother, Sister and 3 year old Niece. We went over to see the Taipei 101 building but I didn't go up it since I didn't want to spend the money when it was so foggy (and I'd been waiting all week for it to clear up but it never did). From there, we went over to a Barracks Museum showing the barracks that housed the Chinese soldiers and their families after the split. The soldiers had their immediate families with them but were never allowed to return to the Mainland to see the rest of their families. I'm doing a poor job of explaining this, but they weren't prisoners, just couldn't go back to China, so the families banded together and created an enclave. It was somewhat interesting, more so because Judy's grandparents had been a part of the original settlement.
Next we went for a ride on the Maokong Gondola (cable car) which was really nice, even though it was getting very dark and our visibility was limited. The top town had small hills of tea leaves. I couldn't smell them as tea, but could smell the strong scent. It's known for its tea and Judy said it was one of the few places in Taipei where they still grow it.
For dinner, we went to a tea restaurant with a lovely view out over the valley. Everything we ate had tea in it so we had: vermicelli with tea leaves, fried tea leaves, chopped or crushed tea leaves in fried rice, chicken and seafood soup with tea leaves, pork and shrimp sauce with tea leaves and baby bamboo. Most of it was delicious- I especially liked the fried tea leaves, the noodles with tea leaves and the bamboo. The bamboo didn't have much flavor, but basically absorbed whatever you ate it with (like tofu, but better tasting) so I just dipped it in a yummy chili sauce. It also had a really nice texture, sort of like asparagus (only texture wise, not taste) and was just so much more satisfying than tofu. I hadn't even realized that you could eat bamboo, though only when it's young and basically still a cone, but I wish it were more easily available- I could see myself eating it frequently.
After the tea dinner, which Judy very generously paid for, we took the gondola back down. Judy said there were fireflies out but I didn't see any. I played a bit with her niece, though it was difficult since she didn't speak any English, but was cute and well-behaved. She also had a rather insane amount of energy at 10 p.m. so when we got off we danced around a little bit.
Right next door to the gondola base was Dancing Waters, a large fountain that had free water/music/light shows every hour or half hour so we waited and watched one, which was really pretty. We all took the train back together, though I had to say my goodbyes when I got off at my stop first. Even though I'd started out in Taipei very unhappy with the local who was supposed to show me around, Judy had more than made up for it in the past two days and had really made me feel special and like some weird, half-related crazy cousin (to use sitcom characterization) in a good way.
The Most Disgusting Sounding Thing I've Eaten...So Far
5/14
Didn't do too much today but. I've been trying to get caught up on this blog still, and it gets a bit frustrating- it's starting to feel like a chore that I'm doing for only my Mom to read. Okay, I'm done being a baby now. So, did little during the day, emailed Mei and at night Judy came over. She still seemed horribly rushed and anxious, but at least this time she randomly brought a bunch of food for me. She gave me two different types of pies; pineapple and another one that were pretty good. She also brought some wonderful tea and some pastry sort of snacks. I told her my general plans but wouldn't definitively agree to anything and gave her Mei's phone back.
She said we should go to Longshan temple and the Tourist Night Market right then, and since I had energy from sitting on my ass all day, I agreed. Once we were on the move, I made a serious effort to get her to calm down by asking her questions and talking slowly. Though she never calmed down completely, she improved quite a bit, at which point I could actually enjoy talking to her.
Judy does incentive travel, for companies and so had traveled a good deal and so we talked about that for quite a while. When she wasn't so anxious and didn't have people making crazy demands on her, she was really very cool.
After getting off the MRT we were in between the night market and the temple so she stopped to make me try pig's blood cake, one of her favorite foods. She also made absolutely sure that I knew exactly what I was eating by typing out the word blood on her phone for me to see as I hadn't understood her accent on that word. The taste itself wasn't really bad, it was just such a terrible idea that I couldn't help the name from entering my judgment of the food itself so it was really the idea that actually churned my stomach. It looked like a long, rectangular piece of chocolate cake covered in a ground sweet, peanut mixture. I tasted the peanut mix more than any other flavor, but mostly I just tasted the name: pig's blood cake. Ugh!
Next, we walked over to Longshan Temple, which was incredible. This was yet another point when I really, really wished I had my camera. It was detailed and every surface was totally covered in decoration. Besides dragons and tigers and different buddhas, I saw what looked like a phoenix and asked Judy about it. She told me it was, you know, the thing...Harry Potter and the thing. So it was a phoenix which I just thought was interesting because I didn't know that there were phoenixes in Chinese mythology and I really like phoenixes. One or two people have told me I was like a phoenix and I thought that was just about the greatest compliment ever.
The temple closed and we walked over to the Huaxi Street Tourist Night Market. She had me try several different traditional foods, most were edible but not great. One interesting thing that was available at this market- though I didn't get to try it- was python. They ate regular ones, but most of the live ones displayed were albino, presumably because they look better.
Didn't do too much today but. I've been trying to get caught up on this blog still, and it gets a bit frustrating- it's starting to feel like a chore that I'm doing for only my Mom to read. Okay, I'm done being a baby now. So, did little during the day, emailed Mei and at night Judy came over. She still seemed horribly rushed and anxious, but at least this time she randomly brought a bunch of food for me. She gave me two different types of pies; pineapple and another one that were pretty good. She also brought some wonderful tea and some pastry sort of snacks. I told her my general plans but wouldn't definitively agree to anything and gave her Mei's phone back.
She said we should go to Longshan temple and the Tourist Night Market right then, and since I had energy from sitting on my ass all day, I agreed. Once we were on the move, I made a serious effort to get her to calm down by asking her questions and talking slowly. Though she never calmed down completely, she improved quite a bit, at which point I could actually enjoy talking to her.
Judy does incentive travel, for companies and so had traveled a good deal and so we talked about that for quite a while. When she wasn't so anxious and didn't have people making crazy demands on her, she was really very cool.
After getting off the MRT we were in between the night market and the temple so she stopped to make me try pig's blood cake, one of her favorite foods. She also made absolutely sure that I knew exactly what I was eating by typing out the word blood on her phone for me to see as I hadn't understood her accent on that word. The taste itself wasn't really bad, it was just such a terrible idea that I couldn't help the name from entering my judgment of the food itself so it was really the idea that actually churned my stomach. It looked like a long, rectangular piece of chocolate cake covered in a ground sweet, peanut mixture. I tasted the peanut mix more than any other flavor, but mostly I just tasted the name: pig's blood cake. Ugh!
Next, we walked over to Longshan Temple, which was incredible. This was yet another point when I really, really wished I had my camera. It was detailed and every surface was totally covered in decoration. Besides dragons and tigers and different buddhas, I saw what looked like a phoenix and asked Judy about it. She told me it was, you know, the thing...Harry Potter and the thing. So it was a phoenix which I just thought was interesting because I didn't know that there were phoenixes in Chinese mythology and I really like phoenixes. One or two people have told me I was like a phoenix and I thought that was just about the greatest compliment ever.
The temple closed and we walked over to the Huaxi Street Tourist Night Market. She had me try several different traditional foods, most were edible but not great. One interesting thing that was available at this market- though I didn't get to try it- was python. They ate regular ones, but most of the live ones displayed were albino, presumably because they look better.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
National Palace Museum
5/11
Got up at a reasonable time, but didn't get out until about 1 p.m. because I had to do my laundry and go to the train station to get my discount youth pass (free and in the form of a cool luggage tag!) and buy a train ticket for tomorrow before leaving to go to Shilin, where the National Palace Museum was. I got to the right subway station, but couldn't find the bus I wanted for the life of me. I did however, see a place making something described as Chinese Pizza (though it was nothing at all like pizza), which were incredibly good. I still don't know what they're called, but it was basically a very airy bread with green onions, seemingly strings of wheat wound together, with an amazing lightness, then an egg, tons of basil (not sure if it was thai basil, but definitely not italian), pepper and a bit of soy sauce. It was about $1 and so good that later, on my way back, I got another one.
So I walked around, asked someone who gave me particularly heinous directions, but eventually found a sign that had the right number and color. I didn't actually arrive at the museum until about 3:20 so I didn't have tons of time, since they closed at 5. It's a very nice, clean museum and some of the collection was incredible. Unfortunately, so much of it was boring that I felt it really detracted and overwhelmed the worthwhile bits. I actually feel this way about museums often, that they just need to edit their collections better: charge the same price but show half the stuff. Perhaps you're thinking "But Laura, everyone has different tastes- you can't know what everyone will like." This is true, but if it looks like something I could buy at IKEA, I don't care how old it is, it should be kept for admiration by pottery scholars.
Like I said, though, some of it was very nice. They had interesting sections on border maps that were just declassified in 2007 (though for some reason these descriptions were only in Chinese), some of the pottery, some paintings and some truly incredible curio boxes and ivory and wood carvings. It was definitely worth my time, but maybe not more than the 1.4 or so hours I put in. Another interesting section was their calligraphy collection which started to explain the different meanings of particular brush strokes and why it's so much more important in Eastern culture. It's something I'd really like to learn more about and might take a class on in China.
I felt quite tired after catching the bus back to the station, so just did a brief tour around what I thought was the Shilin Night Market. As it turns out, it wasn't, but after enough time, most markets seem to look the same. Even after discovering that I hadn't been at the right place, I just didn't feel like going over to the other so I just went back to my hostel and chilled out for the rest of the night.
Got up at a reasonable time, but didn't get out until about 1 p.m. because I had to do my laundry and go to the train station to get my discount youth pass (free and in the form of a cool luggage tag!) and buy a train ticket for tomorrow before leaving to go to Shilin, where the National Palace Museum was. I got to the right subway station, but couldn't find the bus I wanted for the life of me. I did however, see a place making something described as Chinese Pizza (though it was nothing at all like pizza), which were incredibly good. I still don't know what they're called, but it was basically a very airy bread with green onions, seemingly strings of wheat wound together, with an amazing lightness, then an egg, tons of basil (not sure if it was thai basil, but definitely not italian), pepper and a bit of soy sauce. It was about $1 and so good that later, on my way back, I got another one.
So I walked around, asked someone who gave me particularly heinous directions, but eventually found a sign that had the right number and color. I didn't actually arrive at the museum until about 3:20 so I didn't have tons of time, since they closed at 5. It's a very nice, clean museum and some of the collection was incredible. Unfortunately, so much of it was boring that I felt it really detracted and overwhelmed the worthwhile bits. I actually feel this way about museums often, that they just need to edit their collections better: charge the same price but show half the stuff. Perhaps you're thinking "But Laura, everyone has different tastes- you can't know what everyone will like." This is true, but if it looks like something I could buy at IKEA, I don't care how old it is, it should be kept for admiration by pottery scholars.
Like I said, though, some of it was very nice. They had interesting sections on border maps that were just declassified in 2007 (though for some reason these descriptions were only in Chinese), some of the pottery, some paintings and some truly incredible curio boxes and ivory and wood carvings. It was definitely worth my time, but maybe not more than the 1.4 or so hours I put in. Another interesting section was their calligraphy collection which started to explain the different meanings of particular brush strokes and why it's so much more important in Eastern culture. It's something I'd really like to learn more about and might take a class on in China.
I felt quite tired after catching the bus back to the station, so just did a brief tour around what I thought was the Shilin Night Market. As it turns out, it wasn't, but after enough time, most markets seem to look the same. Even after discovering that I hadn't been at the right place, I just didn't feel like going over to the other so I just went back to my hostel and chilled out for the rest of the night.
Internal Monologue: To Run or Not to Run?
5/10-
Last night, I'd stayed up until about 4 a.m. working on this blog. That sounds like a terrible idea but it actually worked out very well- I woke up at about 12 today, feeling totally rested and energized. Since it's Mother's Day, I called my Mom and talked to her for a while, before attempting to take a shower, and failing since there was no hot water.
For lunch, I stopped at a little restaurant and pointed at a picture (with an English description underneath!) of shrimp won tons in soup. The soup was the same as you get anywhere; basic chicken stock with some spring onions and maybe some other green thing, seaweed or bok choy, but the dumplings were fantastic. The shrimp was chopped but not ground in with breading or other filler crap, and had lemongrass and ginger in it, which made it wonderful.
After lunch I walked over towards the Museum of Contemporary Art and passed an art installation on the way, which was interesting.
Sadly, the Museum itself was closed on Mondays. I wandered around the streets and through market alleyways before going into the D building, where I found a shop where I could "test" nail polish remover by removing the polish from all of my nails. I was trying to decide what to do then and realized that I still had a lot of energy and I didn't have any idea of what to do with it. It was too late to go to another museum, and they'd probably all be closed, and it was too cloudy to go see the Taipei 101 building.
As I was thinking about it, I noticed that the weather was actually perfect for running; slightly chilly and breezy but not really cold. Weather is one of my main excuses for not going running, the other two I use most frequently are: exhaustion and that my stomach isn't right (either too full or too hungry- it sounds strange, but it's actually very hard to find the exact hunger level to run on). I couldn't use any of these excuses as I was energized and my stomach, for once, was at that perfect point. The only problem was that I didn't want to. I tried rationalizing with myself;
"You slightly twisted your ankle a while ago and can still vaguely feel it- you don't want to injure yourself more."
"Yes, but you can only even feel it if you move your ankle in an awkward sideways manner that you wouldn't do when you run AND the pavement here is surprisingly even and good."
"Yeah, but I just really don't want to."
"Stop being so lazy and pathetic!"
"That's mean- you're a jerk."
"I'm sorry, that was out of line, it's just that you'll feel so much better if you do, and you'll sleep better, just put your running clothes on- you can do it!"
"Okay, I'll just change and go. Just change and go before I can change my mind."
So I did. And I was right. I went for a decent run (about 50 minutes run/walk) and it was okay and I did feel better afterwards, especially after a shower. I got some noodles and pork dumpling thing for dinner that looked pretty disgusting but actually tasted okay, and then went back to the hostel where I've been busy working on my blog and relaxing by: painting my nails with clear polish, enjoying another cup of homemade hot chocolate, reading "The Motorcycle Diaries" and using a face mask I bought in Tokyo at Muji, a cool minimalist store. I'd been proud of myself at the time because I only bought two things at Muji, a mini foundation pump for my makeup that I actually needed, and these face masks that came in a set of 5 for something like $1.50. The reason I couldn't resist them was because they came in a tiny bag, each one looking like a large, flat, round white pill. You saturate the "pill" with a face oil, which makes them unroll and then you put it on your face like a regular mask.
Last night, I'd stayed up until about 4 a.m. working on this blog. That sounds like a terrible idea but it actually worked out very well- I woke up at about 12 today, feeling totally rested and energized. Since it's Mother's Day, I called my Mom and talked to her for a while, before attempting to take a shower, and failing since there was no hot water.
For lunch, I stopped at a little restaurant and pointed at a picture (with an English description underneath!) of shrimp won tons in soup. The soup was the same as you get anywhere; basic chicken stock with some spring onions and maybe some other green thing, seaweed or bok choy, but the dumplings were fantastic. The shrimp was chopped but not ground in with breading or other filler crap, and had lemongrass and ginger in it, which made it wonderful.
After lunch I walked over towards the Museum of Contemporary Art and passed an art installation on the way, which was interesting.
Sadly, the Museum itself was closed on Mondays. I wandered around the streets and through market alleyways before going into the D building, where I found a shop where I could "test" nail polish remover by removing the polish from all of my nails. I was trying to decide what to do then and realized that I still had a lot of energy and I didn't have any idea of what to do with it. It was too late to go to another museum, and they'd probably all be closed, and it was too cloudy to go see the Taipei 101 building.
As I was thinking about it, I noticed that the weather was actually perfect for running; slightly chilly and breezy but not really cold. Weather is one of my main excuses for not going running, the other two I use most frequently are: exhaustion and that my stomach isn't right (either too full or too hungry- it sounds strange, but it's actually very hard to find the exact hunger level to run on). I couldn't use any of these excuses as I was energized and my stomach, for once, was at that perfect point. The only problem was that I didn't want to. I tried rationalizing with myself;
"You slightly twisted your ankle a while ago and can still vaguely feel it- you don't want to injure yourself more."
"Yes, but you can only even feel it if you move your ankle in an awkward sideways manner that you wouldn't do when you run AND the pavement here is surprisingly even and good."
"Yeah, but I just really don't want to."
"Stop being so lazy and pathetic!"
"That's mean- you're a jerk."
"I'm sorry, that was out of line, it's just that you'll feel so much better if you do, and you'll sleep better, just put your running clothes on- you can do it!"
"Okay, I'll just change and go. Just change and go before I can change my mind."
So I did. And I was right. I went for a decent run (about 50 minutes run/walk) and it was okay and I did feel better afterwards, especially after a shower. I got some noodles and pork dumpling thing for dinner that looked pretty disgusting but actually tasted okay, and then went back to the hostel where I've been busy working on my blog and relaxing by: painting my nails with clear polish, enjoying another cup of homemade hot chocolate, reading "The Motorcycle Diaries" and using a face mask I bought in Tokyo at Muji, a cool minimalist store. I'd been proud of myself at the time because I only bought two things at Muji, a mini foundation pump for my makeup that I actually needed, and these face masks that came in a set of 5 for something like $1.50. The reason I couldn't resist them was because they came in a tiny bag, each one looking like a large, flat, round white pill. You saturate the "pill" with a face oil, which makes them unroll and then you put it on your face like a regular mask.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Annoying Alliterative Appetite
5/2-
The idea of doing anything seriously touristy or requiring much effort never even entered my mind today, so I looked at a map and saw that the East Imperial Palace Garden was nearby. My guidebook confirmed that I wouldn't have to do much besides walk around and told me that it was free, so I set off. They were very nice and it was a lovely bit of green. I planned on reading The Shadow of the Wind , which I'd brought with me, but after reading the prologue- or was it actually the first chapter? Who knows? Oh well- I realized that this was going to be a really good book that should be savored and that I didn't really feel like reading right then anyway. I'd save it for the flight to Taipei.
I walked over to Marunouchi Brick Square, the food area Saveur had recommended, and immediately was pulled into the La Boutique de Joel Robuchon. I bought a gorgeous "Religeuse Chocolat" a large cream puff topped with a profiterole with a very thick chocolate cream/pudding inside the cream puffs, covered in a dark chocolate ganache, topped with two discs of carmelized chopped nuts I couldn't quite identify; walnuts or pecans, and a sprinkling of gold leaf. It was a wonderful treat and quite reasonable for how good it was- around $5. I wandered around the corner and saw a long line outside one store, Echire. The plaza had a very strong Parisian influence so the name didn't surprise me, but the product did: butter.
Completely random sidenote- the square also had a strong Boston influence in the form of its fauna and masses of red brick/ architectural type. I thought this was quite strange as the Japanese have an obvious (and one sided) love affair with French culture, but nowhere else did I see a strong, particular American region/city influence.
But I'd better get back to the bountiful bevy of brunettes bartering for butter. Sorry, that was a bit much, but I couldn't stop myself. Alliteration: I am an absolute addict. There really were quite a few people waiting to go into the roped off butter store, and since I'm in Japan, they did all have dark hair. Like in Singapore when I waited because I had the time and wanted to know if it was really worth waiting for, I got in line here.
Besides selling butter, they also had a small bakery inside. Unfortunately they were all out of croissants for the day, so I got a rectangular Madeleine and a large pat (30 grams) of demi-sel butter. You may be wondering why I bought butter and what the fresh hell I thought I was going to do with it, but here's the thing: I really like butter. I don't know as much about it as I'd really like to, but I do like tasting it, using it in unholy amounts, and I've even made my own (which was good, better than the regular kind you'd get at the grocery store, but not as good as I'd expected).
So I bought it just to taste it, basically, with bread. But now I want to start alliterating again and you don't deserve that. I didn't know where I'd get the bread, but I knew I wanted good bread, not packaged white crap. And I was still sitting right next to the Robuchon cafe which had just put out a bunch more bread products, so I bought a croissant to eat my butter with. Croissants, of course, already have a devilish amount of butter layered into their soft sheets, but I always like it better with butter (stop me! It's a disease!) especially when cut open lengthwise, toasted and then with butter on top, which somehow never seems too buttery, but just buttery enough.
This croissant however, was already too buttery to put anymore on, so I just had to eat it plain. It was great, but this meant that I was just randomly carrying around a bunch of butter since I was now full, and had to bread (to butter it on, upside down or right side up).
Butter in bag, bag in hand, croissant in mouth, I got on the loop line which circles Tokyo. My guide book had suggested it as a good way to get a feel of the city as it was cheap and mostly above-ground. Part of it was quite interesting, but much of it just snaked past gray buildings. However, it also went to the station I'd decided I had the energy to go to; Harajuku, to go to Baird Brewing Co., the microbrewery bar Food & Wind recommended, as today was obviously a fine food and drink day. To see the whole city, I ended up doing a 1.5 loop around the city which took about 1.5 hours but again, why not, I had the time.
Wandering through this part of Harajuku was a bit more interesting, but still uninspiring, as most of it was the fleetingly trendy childish, typical "Japan-Harajuku" look, with lots of cartoon/ manga images. I found the bar easily, thanks to their websites excellent directions, and entered.
They didn't have a sampler (which I LOVE for drink tasting) but you could buy their beer in very small (I think less than half-pint) glasses so I could try several different beers without getting sloshed. They also had overpriced, overthought and underwhelming bar snacks, one of which I ordered (chicken and blue cheese deep friend egg rolls) since I hadn't had a proper dinner, just good food previously. They also had great T-shirts, one of which I almost bought for my Stepdad, but they were expensive for what they were, so I refrained.
I wish I could describe the beer as well as I would like to, or even tell you the names of all the different ones I tried, but I can't remember them. In anticipation of this, I had cleverly taken a photograph of the menu with all the beer descriptions. Stupidly, I hadn't written this or downloaded those pictures before I lost my camera.
What I do remember is that the beers were all excellently made and more bitter than I really like (as many well-crafted beers are). I also tried one beer that was memorably called Black Sails. While drinking, I remembered how just how much I enjoy beer and that I really do love beer tasting and microbreweries. I'd really like to learn more about them. To this goal, I flipped through a book they had at the bar, showing and describing the World's Greatest Beers. Neither Oranjeboom, one of my favorite mass produced beers, nor McMenamins Raspberry Ruby, my favorite microbrew, were listed, but I did write down the names of a few other raspberry beers that I wanted to try in the future (as much as I like beer, I like it in a very girly way, preferring very light, slightly sweet beers with fruit flavors). They also had a free magazine aptly called The Japan Beer Times, the first edition, which was all about beer, especially microbreweries, though they don't seem to like to use that term, in Japan. Obviously there's a microbrewery revolution in the U.S. but I had no idea they were also having a quiet one in Japan, so it was very interesting to read.
Slurring my way back to the hostel, I got out my netbook and started writing, as I seem most inclined to write when drunk (I also think that the readable bits are some of the most interesting and creative writings I do). I sat on the Cafe porch and started talking to the group of three French guys at another table. This turned into a very long conversation in French and I didn't do as badly as I might've expected, given my distaste for Frenchness and how long it has been since I last spoke it. One of the guys told me he wished his English was as good as my French, which I thought was quite a nice compliment.
I was working on a Cherry Blossom Suntory beer I'd bought at 7-11 (I'd bought some special pack of two beers for cheap, and very oddly, they'd given me a free orange juice with it,) when Marybeth came back. I asked her if she wanted to go out and she said no but that we should just hang out at the hostel. So we went and bought a flask of vodka and a Coke Light and just chatted with each other and two other English guys she'd met previously. It was nothing special, but a relaxing, enjoyable evening.
For the past two nights, I'd stayed at the Sakura Hotel in Jimbocho, which was were I was drinking. It was a decent place in a good area so I'd wanted to stay longer but they hadn't had any beds available that night, so I'd made up my mind to sleep in either a capsule hotel, a love motel or an internet cafe. Each of those options were very "Japanese" experiences I wanted to try and both the love motel and an internet cafe would be cheaper if I checked in after 11 at night which was why I was hanging out at the Cafe at the hostel. Marybeth went to bed at around 1 a.m. I stayed up for another hour writing and then decided that it would be dangerous and bothersome to walk around somewhere trying to find an internet cafe/love motel/capsule hotel that would take women (the large majority, like 95%+ don't).
At some point, I went downstairs where the dorm rooms and bathroom were. I had my purse and my backpack, everything I own (well, that I have on me) with me. I don't remember making this decision, but I decided to sleep in the shower. It locked from the inside and was a bit larger than a bathtub, split down the middle- half of it for the shower itself and half for a changing part outside it, separated by an accordian glass door. I locked myself inside with my belongings and slept for about seven hours. I think my body is just adapting to insane and horrible sleeping conditions because it didn't seem that bad, and, it was free.
The idea of doing anything seriously touristy or requiring much effort never even entered my mind today, so I looked at a map and saw that the East Imperial Palace Garden was nearby. My guidebook confirmed that I wouldn't have to do much besides walk around and told me that it was free, so I set off. They were very nice and it was a lovely bit of green. I planned on reading The Shadow of the Wind , which I'd brought with me, but after reading the prologue- or was it actually the first chapter? Who knows? Oh well- I realized that this was going to be a really good book that should be savored and that I didn't really feel like reading right then anyway. I'd save it for the flight to Taipei.
I walked over to Marunouchi Brick Square, the food area Saveur had recommended, and immediately was pulled into the La Boutique de Joel Robuchon. I bought a gorgeous "Religeuse Chocolat" a large cream puff topped with a profiterole with a very thick chocolate cream/pudding inside the cream puffs, covered in a dark chocolate ganache, topped with two discs of carmelized chopped nuts I couldn't quite identify; walnuts or pecans, and a sprinkling of gold leaf. It was a wonderful treat and quite reasonable for how good it was- around $5. I wandered around the corner and saw a long line outside one store, Echire. The plaza had a very strong Parisian influence so the name didn't surprise me, but the product did: butter.
Completely random sidenote- the square also had a strong Boston influence in the form of its fauna and masses of red brick/ architectural type. I thought this was quite strange as the Japanese have an obvious (and one sided) love affair with French culture, but nowhere else did I see a strong, particular American region/city influence.
But I'd better get back to the bountiful bevy of brunettes bartering for butter. Sorry, that was a bit much, but I couldn't stop myself. Alliteration: I am an absolute addict. There really were quite a few people waiting to go into the roped off butter store, and since I'm in Japan, they did all have dark hair. Like in Singapore when I waited because I had the time and wanted to know if it was really worth waiting for, I got in line here.
Besides selling butter, they also had a small bakery inside. Unfortunately they were all out of croissants for the day, so I got a rectangular Madeleine and a large pat (30 grams) of demi-sel butter. You may be wondering why I bought butter and what the fresh hell I thought I was going to do with it, but here's the thing: I really like butter. I don't know as much about it as I'd really like to, but I do like tasting it, using it in unholy amounts, and I've even made my own (which was good, better than the regular kind you'd get at the grocery store, but not as good as I'd expected).
So I bought it just to taste it, basically, with bread. But now I want to start alliterating again and you don't deserve that. I didn't know where I'd get the bread, but I knew I wanted good bread, not packaged white crap. And I was still sitting right next to the Robuchon cafe which had just put out a bunch more bread products, so I bought a croissant to eat my butter with. Croissants, of course, already have a devilish amount of butter layered into their soft sheets, but I always like it better with butter (stop me! It's a disease!) especially when cut open lengthwise, toasted and then with butter on top, which somehow never seems too buttery, but just buttery enough.
This croissant however, was already too buttery to put anymore on, so I just had to eat it plain. It was great, but this meant that I was just randomly carrying around a bunch of butter since I was now full, and had to bread (to butter it on, upside down or right side up).
Butter in bag, bag in hand, croissant in mouth, I got on the loop line which circles Tokyo. My guide book had suggested it as a good way to get a feel of the city as it was cheap and mostly above-ground. Part of it was quite interesting, but much of it just snaked past gray buildings. However, it also went to the station I'd decided I had the energy to go to; Harajuku, to go to Baird Brewing Co., the microbrewery bar Food & Wind recommended, as today was obviously a fine food and drink day. To see the whole city, I ended up doing a 1.5 loop around the city which took about 1.5 hours but again, why not, I had the time.
Wandering through this part of Harajuku was a bit more interesting, but still uninspiring, as most of it was the fleetingly trendy childish, typical "Japan-Harajuku" look, with lots of cartoon/ manga images. I found the bar easily, thanks to their websites excellent directions, and entered.
They didn't have a sampler (which I LOVE for drink tasting) but you could buy their beer in very small (I think less than half-pint) glasses so I could try several different beers without getting sloshed. They also had overpriced, overthought and underwhelming bar snacks, one of which I ordered (chicken and blue cheese deep friend egg rolls) since I hadn't had a proper dinner, just good food previously. They also had great T-shirts, one of which I almost bought for my Stepdad, but they were expensive for what they were, so I refrained.
I wish I could describe the beer as well as I would like to, or even tell you the names of all the different ones I tried, but I can't remember them. In anticipation of this, I had cleverly taken a photograph of the menu with all the beer descriptions. Stupidly, I hadn't written this or downloaded those pictures before I lost my camera.
What I do remember is that the beers were all excellently made and more bitter than I really like (as many well-crafted beers are). I also tried one beer that was memorably called Black Sails. While drinking, I remembered how just how much I enjoy beer and that I really do love beer tasting and microbreweries. I'd really like to learn more about them. To this goal, I flipped through a book they had at the bar, showing and describing the World's Greatest Beers. Neither Oranjeboom, one of my favorite mass produced beers, nor McMenamins Raspberry Ruby, my favorite microbrew, were listed, but I did write down the names of a few other raspberry beers that I wanted to try in the future (as much as I like beer, I like it in a very girly way, preferring very light, slightly sweet beers with fruit flavors). They also had a free magazine aptly called The Japan Beer Times, the first edition, which was all about beer, especially microbreweries, though they don't seem to like to use that term, in Japan. Obviously there's a microbrewery revolution in the U.S. but I had no idea they were also having a quiet one in Japan, so it was very interesting to read.
Slurring my way back to the hostel, I got out my netbook and started writing, as I seem most inclined to write when drunk (I also think that the readable bits are some of the most interesting and creative writings I do). I sat on the Cafe porch and started talking to the group of three French guys at another table. This turned into a very long conversation in French and I didn't do as badly as I might've expected, given my distaste for Frenchness and how long it has been since I last spoke it. One of the guys told me he wished his English was as good as my French, which I thought was quite a nice compliment.
I was working on a Cherry Blossom Suntory beer I'd bought at 7-11 (I'd bought some special pack of two beers for cheap, and very oddly, they'd given me a free orange juice with it,) when Marybeth came back. I asked her if she wanted to go out and she said no but that we should just hang out at the hostel. So we went and bought a flask of vodka and a Coke Light and just chatted with each other and two other English guys she'd met previously. It was nothing special, but a relaxing, enjoyable evening.
For the past two nights, I'd stayed at the Sakura Hotel in Jimbocho, which was were I was drinking. It was a decent place in a good area so I'd wanted to stay longer but they hadn't had any beds available that night, so I'd made up my mind to sleep in either a capsule hotel, a love motel or an internet cafe. Each of those options were very "Japanese" experiences I wanted to try and both the love motel and an internet cafe would be cheaper if I checked in after 11 at night which was why I was hanging out at the Cafe at the hostel. Marybeth went to bed at around 1 a.m. I stayed up for another hour writing and then decided that it would be dangerous and bothersome to walk around somewhere trying to find an internet cafe/love motel/capsule hotel that would take women (the large majority, like 95%+ don't).
At some point, I went downstairs where the dorm rooms and bathroom were. I had my purse and my backpack, everything I own (well, that I have on me) with me. I don't remember making this decision, but I decided to sleep in the shower. It locked from the inside and was a bit larger than a bathtub, split down the middle- half of it for the shower itself and half for a changing part outside it, separated by an accordian glass door. I locked myself inside with my belongings and slept for about seven hours. I think my body is just adapting to insane and horrible sleeping conditions because it didn't seem that bad, and, it was free.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Samurai Culture at a Great Sight
4/30
There was absolutely nothing I wanted to see in Sendai and since the cherry blossoms in Kitakami still hadn't bloomed (I'd checked on my way down yesterday), I found a random daytrip in my guidebook.
On my way to the station, I saw these cherry blossom trees, perfectly in bloom, but not a whole orchard of them, the dream I'd pretty much given up on. They were inside a school yard and the two little girls you can sort of make out were running around trying to catch the petals as they wafted to the ground. It was really cute, but I didn't want to be creepy so I just took one picture.
Matsushima is another of the "Three Great Sights" in Japan (remember, I visited Miyajima, one of the other two, near Hiroshima?) and it's another place that's extremely popular with Japanese tourists but not really with foreigners (which was why it was so amazing that even though it was the Friday before Golden Week, it wasn't too crowded). It's basically a town surrounded by tons (about 250) of little islands that dot the ocean like large stepping stones. One of the islands, Fukuura-jima, has a botanic garden on it while others are renowned for their rock formations.
From Sendai, it was about 30 minutes on the train to Matsushimakaigan Station (confusingly, that's the stop, not Matsushima Station) and as I walked out there was a Visitor kiosk, manned with people beckoning me over and smiling. A very helpful woman gave me an English map with descriptions of the different places to visit.
First I went to Godai-do, an old wooden temple that is only opened once every 33 years, last in 2006. It provided a nice view and I got to walk over a funny bridge that didn't actually pose any threat of falling down, but was very awkward as the slats were too far apart. Besides that though, it wasn't too exciting. The botanic garden island was pretty much the same- nice but boring. The views were lovely, but as with almost anywhere, I think it would have been much more impressive had the sun been shining.
Matsushima really is still a small fishing town and locals were collecting oysters in a very dark, stinky black mud. I walked on the beach and saw that this island was actually connected by said mud to another of the little islands. I decided that I really wanted to go to this island, just because. Very gently, I stepped on the dried or stronger parts of the mud and oyster shells so I didn't fall through the mud and get wet and dirty.
For a while, I did very well, accumulating only a tiny bit of mud. But then, that's how life is, isn't it? It's going well, going well, going well, and then you take a wrong step and BAM! you're up to one ankle in muck and you're getting the other foot filthy in an attempt to get the first one out. One of the shell collectors laughed at me and started talking to me, fairly extensively, in Japanese. I didn't mind the laughing and laughed back a bit. I'd known I was taking that risk and it was just kind of fun. Maybe I was just in a good mood, but I felt happy.
I made it over to the island, only to discover that I could only get about four feet onto the island unless I wanted to swim. The return to the larger island went much the same way- very good until it wasn't. It was at about this point, when both shoes were soaked and covered in grime, that I stated to think it hadn't been my best idea ever. I had to wash my shoes off in the public bathroom sink and then try to wait for them to dry while I played my cell phone game I'd just discovered. Since it was going to take forever, I knew I had to put them at some point and just deal with the uncomfortableness. My socks had somehow stayed relatively dry, so I tried to cover them to keep my feet warm. I covered one with the plastic tissue holder, taking out the tissues, and the other with my sunglasses case which is made of some cloth/ not really but sort of waterproofy stuff. It wasn't great, but it worked, kind of.
Hoping to buy some indoor slippers, which I'd seen at 100 yen stores (about $1 USD) I went back to the town. I didn't see a 100 yen store so I tried some tourist shops but all they had was the traditional wooden flip-flops which were too expensive for something I'd only use for a few hours. Oh well. I passed by the Zuigan-ji temple but decided to skip it since I wanted to get back sooner rather than later. The one thing at the temple that sounded interesting was closer so I just looked at these Buddhist rock carvings. They're tablets or whatever carved directly into the cave walls. It was okay, but not quite as cool as I'd imagined.
Next I went to the Kanrantei tea house, which means "a place to view ripples on the water" which was beautiful and had a spectacular view of the bay. In the late 16th century, it was given to Date Masamune, a famous samurai Lord who nearly became the shogunate to control the whole of Japan. He was known as the One-Eyed Dragon as he was blind in one eye from a childhood bout of smallpox. Due to his influence, this area seemed to display more samurai culture than any other place I went in Japan.
The walls and sliding doors of the teahouse were decorated with gorgeous gold paintings by Kano Sakyo, a famous painter of the period.
Inside the back part of the teahouse building was a samurai history museum. The museum was small, but fantastic. They had a lot of samurai stuff used in daily life, including suits of armor, makeup brushes and a case, clothes, an old painted map of Matsushima and a golden shell game (all shown below in order), which was all really interesting and even better, they had information in English!
I bought a bit of squid on a stick, and some large scallops on a stick from two different food windows on the main street and headed back to Sendai, to pick up my backpack, which I'd left in a locker at the station, and to try gyutan (cow tongue).
My Mother makes tongue sometimes and I love it. She prepares it by boiling it for a very long time with cabbage, potatoes and carrots and then slicing it. I usually put butter on top of the slices and eat them like that. Every once in a very rare while, I'll also enjoy a tongue taco at Papis, my favorite taqueria. So the idea of cow tongue, far from appalling me, appealed to me and I was looking forward to seeing how they cooked it here.
It's a specialty in Sendai that was first cooked during one of their many "hard times" and I'd been told there were several good places to get it in the station. I chose one that had a somewhat decent price (since it's a specialty now, it's fairly expensive, though still, not really, I'm just cheap) and went in. I sat at the counter and watched them prepare it. They grabbed raw slices and just threw them on the grill and cut them in half and served them on a bed of rice, with some other accoutrements, including tongue soup, in which the tongue tasted more like I'm used to. It was very good though. I had it with a large beer and a bit of sake that a man sitting near me shared.
From there, I caught my last shinkansen to Tokyo, found a hostel and relaxed a bit. I found two books that looked good on the communal shelf; Lucy In the Sky and The Shadow of the Wind. Lucy was a chick-lit book that was reasonably well written, though with mostly dislikable characters, and since I didn't feel like thinking, I went with that, though I took The Shadow of the Wind with me as well. After reading in bed for a while, I fell off to sleep on my granite bed.
There was absolutely nothing I wanted to see in Sendai and since the cherry blossoms in Kitakami still hadn't bloomed (I'd checked on my way down yesterday), I found a random daytrip in my guidebook.
On my way to the station, I saw these cherry blossom trees, perfectly in bloom, but not a whole orchard of them, the dream I'd pretty much given up on. They were inside a school yard and the two little girls you can sort of make out were running around trying to catch the petals as they wafted to the ground. It was really cute, but I didn't want to be creepy so I just took one picture.
Matsushima is another of the "Three Great Sights" in Japan (remember, I visited Miyajima, one of the other two, near Hiroshima?) and it's another place that's extremely popular with Japanese tourists but not really with foreigners (which was why it was so amazing that even though it was the Friday before Golden Week, it wasn't too crowded). It's basically a town surrounded by tons (about 250) of little islands that dot the ocean like large stepping stones. One of the islands, Fukuura-jima, has a botanic garden on it while others are renowned for their rock formations.
From Sendai, it was about 30 minutes on the train to Matsushimakaigan Station (confusingly, that's the stop, not Matsushima Station) and as I walked out there was a Visitor kiosk, manned with people beckoning me over and smiling. A very helpful woman gave me an English map with descriptions of the different places to visit.
First I went to Godai-do, an old wooden temple that is only opened once every 33 years, last in 2006. It provided a nice view and I got to walk over a funny bridge that didn't actually pose any threat of falling down, but was very awkward as the slats were too far apart. Besides that though, it wasn't too exciting. The botanic garden island was pretty much the same- nice but boring. The views were lovely, but as with almost anywhere, I think it would have been much more impressive had the sun been shining.
Matsushima really is still a small fishing town and locals were collecting oysters in a very dark, stinky black mud. I walked on the beach and saw that this island was actually connected by said mud to another of the little islands. I decided that I really wanted to go to this island, just because. Very gently, I stepped on the dried or stronger parts of the mud and oyster shells so I didn't fall through the mud and get wet and dirty.
For a while, I did very well, accumulating only a tiny bit of mud. But then, that's how life is, isn't it? It's going well, going well, going well, and then you take a wrong step and BAM! you're up to one ankle in muck and you're getting the other foot filthy in an attempt to get the first one out. One of the shell collectors laughed at me and started talking to me, fairly extensively, in Japanese. I didn't mind the laughing and laughed back a bit. I'd known I was taking that risk and it was just kind of fun. Maybe I was just in a good mood, but I felt happy.
I made it over to the island, only to discover that I could only get about four feet onto the island unless I wanted to swim. The return to the larger island went much the same way- very good until it wasn't. It was at about this point, when both shoes were soaked and covered in grime, that I stated to think it hadn't been my best idea ever. I had to wash my shoes off in the public bathroom sink and then try to wait for them to dry while I played my cell phone game I'd just discovered. Since it was going to take forever, I knew I had to put them at some point and just deal with the uncomfortableness. My socks had somehow stayed relatively dry, so I tried to cover them to keep my feet warm. I covered one with the plastic tissue holder, taking out the tissues, and the other with my sunglasses case which is made of some cloth/ not really but sort of waterproofy stuff. It wasn't great, but it worked, kind of.
Hoping to buy some indoor slippers, which I'd seen at 100 yen stores (about $1 USD) I went back to the town. I didn't see a 100 yen store so I tried some tourist shops but all they had was the traditional wooden flip-flops which were too expensive for something I'd only use for a few hours. Oh well. I passed by the Zuigan-ji temple but decided to skip it since I wanted to get back sooner rather than later. The one thing at the temple that sounded interesting was closer so I just looked at these Buddhist rock carvings. They're tablets or whatever carved directly into the cave walls. It was okay, but not quite as cool as I'd imagined.
Next I went to the Kanrantei tea house, which means "a place to view ripples on the water" which was beautiful and had a spectacular view of the bay. In the late 16th century, it was given to Date Masamune, a famous samurai Lord who nearly became the shogunate to control the whole of Japan. He was known as the One-Eyed Dragon as he was blind in one eye from a childhood bout of smallpox. Due to his influence, this area seemed to display more samurai culture than any other place I went in Japan.
The walls and sliding doors of the teahouse were decorated with gorgeous gold paintings by Kano Sakyo, a famous painter of the period.
Inside the back part of the teahouse building was a samurai history museum. The museum was small, but fantastic. They had a lot of samurai stuff used in daily life, including suits of armor, makeup brushes and a case, clothes, an old painted map of Matsushima and a golden shell game (all shown below in order), which was all really interesting and even better, they had information in English!
I bought a bit of squid on a stick, and some large scallops on a stick from two different food windows on the main street and headed back to Sendai, to pick up my backpack, which I'd left in a locker at the station, and to try gyutan (cow tongue).
My Mother makes tongue sometimes and I love it. She prepares it by boiling it for a very long time with cabbage, potatoes and carrots and then slicing it. I usually put butter on top of the slices and eat them like that. Every once in a very rare while, I'll also enjoy a tongue taco at Papis, my favorite taqueria. So the idea of cow tongue, far from appalling me, appealed to me and I was looking forward to seeing how they cooked it here.
It's a specialty in Sendai that was first cooked during one of their many "hard times" and I'd been told there were several good places to get it in the station. I chose one that had a somewhat decent price (since it's a specialty now, it's fairly expensive, though still, not really, I'm just cheap) and went in. I sat at the counter and watched them prepare it. They grabbed raw slices and just threw them on the grill and cut them in half and served them on a bed of rice, with some other accoutrements, including tongue soup, in which the tongue tasted more like I'm used to. It was very good though. I had it with a large beer and a bit of sake that a man sitting near me shared.
From there, I caught my last shinkansen to Tokyo, found a hostel and relaxed a bit. I found two books that looked good on the communal shelf; Lucy In the Sky and The Shadow of the Wind. Lucy was a chick-lit book that was reasonably well written, though with mostly dislikable characters, and since I didn't feel like thinking, I went with that, though I took The Shadow of the Wind with me as well. After reading in bed for a while, I fell off to sleep on my granite bed.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Rained Out
4/22
Horrible rainy day. Got up and moved to the other hostel around 10 and tried to plan a worthwhile day. I'd wanted to either go out to Nara for the day or do my Kyoto sightseeing, but it was pouring rain, really pouring, so I just went to Higashi-Honganji temple, which was large and nice, but the most interesting thing there was the giant spool of rope made of human hair. From there, in the cold, fish-drowning rain, I walked to the Nishikikoji food market that merges with/into a regular market.
It was interesting and had a very cool Japanese knife shop, but nothing else I hadn't seen before, save this:
I wandered through a traditional area with interesting houses, a Japanese graveyard (where no one is buried, because they are all cremated, so the families just put up a marker in their memory) a small temple and this memorial plaque. It doesn't look particularly interesting, but I liked it because of this line about Gyokudo Urakami:
"Along with his clan duties, Gyokudo played the koto, recited poems, practiced brush calligraphy, painted when under the influence of alcohol, living free from worldly cares as a man of literary significance."
I thought it was great to finally find someone else who preferred to work (paint/write/whatever) while drunk!
Moving on, I bought a pair of thick tights to fight the cold, despite the fact that it is mid-freaking-April and there is nowhere in the entire world that it should be cold now, except Antarctica.
I headed back to the hostel to rest then went around the corner for yakitori (meat on sticks) for dinner. Some of it was actually quite different from anything I'd had so far. I tried a few, but the best ones were: quail egg wrapped in bacon, duck and leek, and chicken that was simply boiled, but served with the most interesting plum sauce that was somehow sweet and salty and sour all at the same time.
For a while, I tried hanging out in the hostel common room, but after writing the part below, decided it was time to go to bed.
The backpacking couple sitting across from me at the moment both look like they should be in middle school, but are obviously here, together, otherwise unaccompanied. It's really very weird, and I feel like I should accuse one of them of pedophila, but I don't know which one!
Horrible rainy day. Got up and moved to the other hostel around 10 and tried to plan a worthwhile day. I'd wanted to either go out to Nara for the day or do my Kyoto sightseeing, but it was pouring rain, really pouring, so I just went to Higashi-Honganji temple, which was large and nice, but the most interesting thing there was the giant spool of rope made of human hair. From there, in the cold, fish-drowning rain, I walked to the Nishikikoji food market that merges with/into a regular market.
It was interesting and had a very cool Japanese knife shop, but nothing else I hadn't seen before, save this:
I wandered through a traditional area with interesting houses, a Japanese graveyard (where no one is buried, because they are all cremated, so the families just put up a marker in their memory) a small temple and this memorial plaque. It doesn't look particularly interesting, but I liked it because of this line about Gyokudo Urakami:
"Along with his clan duties, Gyokudo played the koto, recited poems, practiced brush calligraphy, painted when under the influence of alcohol, living free from worldly cares as a man of literary significance."
I thought it was great to finally find someone else who preferred to work (paint/write/whatever) while drunk!
Moving on, I bought a pair of thick tights to fight the cold, despite the fact that it is mid-freaking-April and there is nowhere in the entire world that it should be cold now, except Antarctica.
I headed back to the hostel to rest then went around the corner for yakitori (meat on sticks) for dinner. Some of it was actually quite different from anything I'd had so far. I tried a few, but the best ones were: quail egg wrapped in bacon, duck and leek, and chicken that was simply boiled, but served with the most interesting plum sauce that was somehow sweet and salty and sour all at the same time.
For a while, I tried hanging out in the hostel common room, but after writing the part below, decided it was time to go to bed.
The backpacking couple sitting across from me at the moment both look like they should be in middle school, but are obviously here, together, otherwise unaccompanied. It's really very weird, and I feel like I should accuse one of them of pedophila, but I don't know which one!
From Shrines to Blade Runner in Under 3 Hours
4/18
Pretty much the only other things to see in or near Hiroshima were a castle, which had been decimated by the bomb and was a reconstruction, and the UNESCO shrine and floating torii gate on sacred Miyajima island, which is supposed to be one of Japan's "Three Great Sites." I decided to just go to the island, so I took a tram to the port, which took nearly an hour, and then a five minute ferry ride to the island.
It was a neat little island, but very touristy and somehow less impressive than I'd imagined. Deer roam free on the island because they're sacred in Shinto Buddhism, as they are messengers of the gods but they seem to just annoy and pester people. They were kind of cute and I wanted to feed one but then I remembered how I feel about tourists feeding seagulls in Morro Bay (disdainful) and imagined that the residents there probably felt the same about the deer, so I refrained. I have to admit though, that I did laugh at a man being followed mercilessly by a pack of deer because, for some strange reason, he had several loaves of bread in his backpack.
The Torii gate was kind of cool to see but it didn't particularly inspire me. It was supposed to be best at around 10 a.m. that day, due to the tide (when the bottom would be completely covered and it would appear to really float), but I still refuse to get up early unless something is actually unavailable at any other time, not just "better," so I was there around 12, when there was about a foot of grungy lichen at the base of the shrine but the rest was covered, and I felt totally comfortable with that. I don't think seeing it bobbing under one more foot of water would've been worth two extra hours.
I felt similarly impressed but uninspired at Itsukushima shrine, another UNESCO site but was lucky enough to catch part of a free Noh or Kyogen mask performance, which was actually a bit boring, but I was happy to see it anyways.
I wandered around for a bit, then went to Senjokaku, a wooden hall/shrine with some interesting paintings mounted on the beams and looked at the nearby five-storied pagoda, then walked back towards the port through the small village mostly populated by souvenir shops.
On the way, I passed the world's largest giant wooden spoon, as Miyajima is famous for this type of rice spoon, oddly enough. I also bought a warm, freshly made red bean paste momiji manju, a pastry in the shape of a maple leaf with various fillings. Red bean paste is the traditional filling, but after taking a bite of mine, and remembering that I don't really care for red bean paste, I threw that away and bought a custard filled one, which was delicious.
On my way back to the hostel to pick up my things before getting the train to Osaka, I stopped at the Memorial and dropped off a few paper cranes I'd made last night.
I decided that I didn't want to rush in my traveling so I left the hostel where I'd left my backpack at 4:30, hoping to catch a 5:15 train from the station, which I had to take the tram to. I got to the train station at about 5:10 and saw other tourists running. I didn't want to. I knew there was a good chance I'd miss it, but I'd checked previously and there was another train at 6:15 so I'd just catch that one. Walking calmly through the station, I saw that the train was still there but had trouble figuring out the gate, which I finally figured was platform 14. It was 5:14, so I gave in and ran about 50 feet but then waited calmly behind people on the escalator and walked quickly onto the train in the nearest car, after checking that the train was the one I wanted. The doors closed behind me about ten seconds later, as I was asking an attendant where the non reserved seats were. So I made it anyway, and didn't have to feel stressed. Laura: 1, Train: 0.
From the time I left my hostel in Hiroshima to the time I arrived at my hostel in Osaka, it took me just two hours and forty minutes, amazing considering they're 175 miles apart.
After settling in, I decided that, even though it was a Sunday night, I wanted to go out and have a couple of drinks. There was also a part of Osaka, Dotonbori, that was supposed to be especially cool and "Blade Runner" -esque at night so I decided I'd go there. I got ready and was at the door putting my shoes on when I heard some other people from the hostel mentioning going out. I asked them if they were going out drinking, if they were leaving soon and where they were going. "Yes, yes, we don't really know- Dotonbori," they said, so I joined them and we left. They were three other Americans; a sister, Renee, her brother, Darian, and his friend, whose name, I think, was Josh. That sounds right. They were all there for a three week vacation and said they were having a great time.
Anyway, so we got to Dotonbori and passed this building, which I really liked, and then went over to an Irish Pub.
I got an almost Snakebite; half Strongbow, half Fullers (but no blackcurrent) and fish and chips since I hadn't had any dinner. Afterwards, we walked past these, which I had to get a picture with,
and several "love hotels" (pay by the hour places that are very popular in Korea and Japan and often have themed and zany rooms, though I didn't get to see any). They really, really liked to take pictures, so I took this of Darian next to one.
We wandered through "American Village," passing a mini Statue of Liberty because we wanted to go to Absinthe Cafe (totally logical, right?). There, Josh and Darian tried absinthe fully, while Renee just had water, and I had an Absinthe Sour that was good, but a bit, well, too sour. We all split the cost of a ride back to the hostel so it came out to about $3-4 each and went to bed.
Pretty much the only other things to see in or near Hiroshima were a castle, which had been decimated by the bomb and was a reconstruction, and the UNESCO shrine and floating torii gate on sacred Miyajima island, which is supposed to be one of Japan's "Three Great Sites." I decided to just go to the island, so I took a tram to the port, which took nearly an hour, and then a five minute ferry ride to the island.
It was a neat little island, but very touristy and somehow less impressive than I'd imagined. Deer roam free on the island because they're sacred in Shinto Buddhism, as they are messengers of the gods but they seem to just annoy and pester people. They were kind of cute and I wanted to feed one but then I remembered how I feel about tourists feeding seagulls in Morro Bay (disdainful) and imagined that the residents there probably felt the same about the deer, so I refrained. I have to admit though, that I did laugh at a man being followed mercilessly by a pack of deer because, for some strange reason, he had several loaves of bread in his backpack.
The Torii gate was kind of cool to see but it didn't particularly inspire me. It was supposed to be best at around 10 a.m. that day, due to the tide (when the bottom would be completely covered and it would appear to really float), but I still refuse to get up early unless something is actually unavailable at any other time, not just "better," so I was there around 12, when there was about a foot of grungy lichen at the base of the shrine but the rest was covered, and I felt totally comfortable with that. I don't think seeing it bobbing under one more foot of water would've been worth two extra hours.
I felt similarly impressed but uninspired at Itsukushima shrine, another UNESCO site but was lucky enough to catch part of a free Noh or Kyogen mask performance, which was actually a bit boring, but I was happy to see it anyways.
I wandered around for a bit, then went to Senjokaku, a wooden hall/shrine with some interesting paintings mounted on the beams and looked at the nearby five-storied pagoda, then walked back towards the port through the small village mostly populated by souvenir shops.
On the way, I passed the world's largest giant wooden spoon, as Miyajima is famous for this type of rice spoon, oddly enough. I also bought a warm, freshly made red bean paste momiji manju, a pastry in the shape of a maple leaf with various fillings. Red bean paste is the traditional filling, but after taking a bite of mine, and remembering that I don't really care for red bean paste, I threw that away and bought a custard filled one, which was delicious.
On my way back to the hostel to pick up my things before getting the train to Osaka, I stopped at the Memorial and dropped off a few paper cranes I'd made last night.
I decided that I didn't want to rush in my traveling so I left the hostel where I'd left my backpack at 4:30, hoping to catch a 5:15 train from the station, which I had to take the tram to. I got to the train station at about 5:10 and saw other tourists running. I didn't want to. I knew there was a good chance I'd miss it, but I'd checked previously and there was another train at 6:15 so I'd just catch that one. Walking calmly through the station, I saw that the train was still there but had trouble figuring out the gate, which I finally figured was platform 14. It was 5:14, so I gave in and ran about 50 feet but then waited calmly behind people on the escalator and walked quickly onto the train in the nearest car, after checking that the train was the one I wanted. The doors closed behind me about ten seconds later, as I was asking an attendant where the non reserved seats were. So I made it anyway, and didn't have to feel stressed. Laura: 1, Train: 0.
From the time I left my hostel in Hiroshima to the time I arrived at my hostel in Osaka, it took me just two hours and forty minutes, amazing considering they're 175 miles apart.
After settling in, I decided that, even though it was a Sunday night, I wanted to go out and have a couple of drinks. There was also a part of Osaka, Dotonbori, that was supposed to be especially cool and "Blade Runner" -esque at night so I decided I'd go there. I got ready and was at the door putting my shoes on when I heard some other people from the hostel mentioning going out. I asked them if they were going out drinking, if they were leaving soon and where they were going. "Yes, yes, we don't really know- Dotonbori," they said, so I joined them and we left. They were three other Americans; a sister, Renee, her brother, Darian, and his friend, whose name, I think, was Josh. That sounds right. They were all there for a three week vacation and said they were having a great time.
Anyway, so we got to Dotonbori and passed this building, which I really liked, and then went over to an Irish Pub.
I got an almost Snakebite; half Strongbow, half Fullers (but no blackcurrent) and fish and chips since I hadn't had any dinner. Afterwards, we walked past these, which I had to get a picture with,
and several "love hotels" (pay by the hour places that are very popular in Korea and Japan and often have themed and zany rooms, though I didn't get to see any). They really, really liked to take pictures, so I took this of Darian next to one.
We wandered through "American Village," passing a mini Statue of Liberty because we wanted to go to Absinthe Cafe (totally logical, right?). There, Josh and Darian tried absinthe fully, while Renee just had water, and I had an Absinthe Sour that was good, but a bit, well, too sour. We all split the cost of a ride back to the hostel so it came out to about $3-4 each and went to bed.
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