Patan in Kathmandu

On November 21, 2014November 20, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

Patan, Kathmandu … was initially designed in the shape of the Buddhist Dharma-Chakra (Wheel of Righteousness). The four thurs or mounds on the perimeter of Patan are ascribed around, one at each corner of its cardinal points, which are popularly known as Asoka Stupas. Legend has it that Emperor Asoka (the legendary King of India) visited with his daughter Charumati to Kathmandu in 250 BC and erected five Asoka Stupas, four in the surrounding and one at the middle of the Patan. The size and shape of these stupas seem to breathe their antiquity in a real sense. There are more than 1,200 Buddhist monuments of various shapes and sizes scattered in and around the city.

The most important monument of the city is Patan Durbar Square …

I arrived at dusk, my favourite time of day. Ticket takers were happy to collect the $5 entry fee … then told me that the museum and some of the other attractions had just been locked up. 😦

Still, it was lovely watching the light fade over antiquity from my rooftop restaurant.

Patan

Bhaktapur is easily the best of the 3 major Kathmandu former capitals. Patan is a pale second best.

Vietnam – adventurous eating

On October 19, 2014October 19, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

Bun Bo Nam Bo

Finally, an eatery in Vietnam where I’d be proud to bring Anthony Bourdain.

street front

It’s a cheapo, yet ranked #11 of 943 Restaurants in Hanoi.

Always crowded, this hole in the wall in the old quarter pretty much sells one dish. Rice noodles with beef in broth.

Roasted peanuts, bean sprouts. A few other things.

ingredients

As I entered, I just held up one finger, meaning … ‘one bowl’.

cook

Mine wasn’t spicy. But you can add Soy and Chili to taste.

Vietnam – Pho

On October 18, 2014October 16, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travel1 Comment

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat. Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. It is primarily served with either beef or chicken. …

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese refugees brought pho to many countries. Restaurants specializing in pho appeared in numerous Asian enclaves and Little Saigons, such as in Paris and in major cities in Canada, the United States, and Australia …

Pho
my first Pho in Vietnam $2

Fresh. Tasty. Safe. 🙂

Though I’ve been to KFC (twice in Hanoi, once in China) I’ll make more of an effort to try the local staples.

Good Morning Vietnam

On October 16, 2014October 15, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

Rick in Vietnam

I arrived Hanoi very early morning, via the soft sleeper night train from Nanning, China. And slept well on the train, especially after drinking half a Coke Zero bottle of red wine chatting with a young Frenchman who’d traveled by train all the way from Europe. The trans-Siberian express was an excellent experience, he told.

Unfortunately we twice had to troop out of our sleeper cars hauling luggage for two inefficient border crossings.

Showing up at Little Hanoi Diamond hotel at 5:30an is normal. All kinds of tours arrive and depart the Old Quarter Hanoi early morning. I found this one hotel amongst hundreds of alternatives with Tripadvisor. Booked with Little Hanoi directly. $15 / night including a wonderful breakfast and all the Vietnamese (hot) coffee I can drink all day long.

vietnamese-coffee-1

Sweetened condensed milk is the dream ingredient.

omlette

After breakfast I headed over to Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Only 400km from modern Nanning, old Hanoi feels far different. A nice change.

I’m living large on this trip. Check my room.

room Hanoi

In 2014, Hanoi ranked #8 in TripAdvisor’s list of World Best Destinations (by Travellers’ Choice).

I’m going to have trouble leaving. 🙂

China – unadventurous eating

On October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 By Rick McIn food, gymnastics, travel2 Comments

I spent 18 days in Nanning, China. As in most subtropical climates, the local food is spicy.

First night Dvora and I headed for the famed night market.

P1300911

P1300897

P1300902

The fresher, the better. Some of the delicacies on offer were still wiggling.

P1300903

P1300904

P1300910

P1300905

I’m not very adventurous at the best of times. And most visitors in China find the taste of the seasonings used here odd. This was the last time I ate street food.

Most of my meals were provided at the World Gymnastics Championships cafeteria. The self-serve dishes had names like:

Bone Soup with White Gourd (Rib, Soybean, Mushrooms)

Purple Sweat Potato

Braised Beef in Wine (Beef Knuckle Meat, Carrots, Wine, Onion, Celery, Flour, kitchup and Vanilla)

Hakka Braised Pork (Soybeans, Streaky Pork)

Stir Fried White Fungus with Macadamia Nut and Celery

Catering to palates from all over the world, most were quite bland. All were overcooked as many foreigners fear getting sick from the food in China.

I tried a bite of most everything. Except for stews. Who knows what actually in this?

P1310116

Some offerings were interesting and colourful, thought I often could not identify what they were.

P1300909

Sadly, I have to report that my very favourite cafeteria food was European white bread with New Zealand Anchor butter.

P1310111

Watermelon and melon for desert as sweets in all of Asia are NOT to my liking.

After our first restaurant had a rat run between the tables, I ended up instead buying groceries at Wal-Mart (Coke Zero from Atlanta and Sultana biscuits from Singapore) and snacking in my room.

My go to meal in downtown Nanning was a delicious Chicken sandwich at … McDonalds.

CHI-Chicken

Hopefully I’ll be a bit more adventurous in Vietnam.

P1300899

more food photos

South Park Lake, Nanning

On September 28, 2014 By Rick McIn food, gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

My favourite section of this young, booming, green and tropical city (so far) is South Lake Park. (South Park is easier to remember. 🙂 )

P1300935

P1300924

P1300925

P1300929

P1300933

We splurged on a recommended tourist restaurant called Babel.

Not bad. Until a rat scampered across the floor between tables. 😦

I grew up in a city without rats and have not had many run-ins with them. But all those run-ins have been in China.

more photos

I’m in Nanning for 18 days at the World Gymnastics Championships.

Squamish to Birch Bay WA

On September 23, 2014September 22, 2014 By Rick McIn food, McCharles family, travelLeave a comment

Road trip. 🙂

We enjoyed the complementary breakfast at the Sandman hotel in Squamish, new built for the 2010 Olympics. Many of the other guests were cyclists.

Prices are still half or less in Squamish as compared with Whistler.

We opted not to ride the new Sea to Sky Gondola, $35 return. Next time.

After some debate, we decided to next get a hotel close to the ferry in Delta. By luck we found the Coast Tsawwassen Inn. The best of our hotels, so far. Attached is Brown’s Socialhouse, a favourite restaurant of Yvonne and my Mom.

The B.C. chain has now expanded to Saskatchewan and Alberta. 🙂

We dropped our bags and continued across the border to Birch Bay, Washington, a spot Yvonne and Rob enjoyed years ago.

Mom was impressed with the view from a rough (to be diplomatic) beachside cafe.

P1300862

P1300865

We rambled towards the Bellingham, Washington Costco. The parking lot was packed with Canadian vehicles.

Most were here loading up on cheap milk. $US 5.32 for 2 gallons, about half what it costs in the Great White North.

P1300869

P1300867

We loaded up on cheese, maxing our allowable for crossing back to Canada.

Seems the Canadian government props up the dairy industry. In America the free market keeps retail prices low.

Arriving back at our hotel at a reasonable hour (for a change) I had time for a run in Boundary Bay Regional Park.

Mom and Yvonne drank wine, both tipsy by the time we headed for dinner.

Next morning we were up at around 6am. Mom and I walked on to a morning ferry back to Nanaimo. Yvonne had a long driving day in front of her – Whitefish, Montana.

So … Our 4-day, 3-night loop went Comox (ferry) to Powell River to Lund (ferry) to Sechelt to Gibsons (ferry) to Horseshoe Bay to Whistler to Squamish to Twawwassen (ferry) to Nanaimo. With a sidetrip to the USA. 🙂

We’ve been talking about doing this loop for years. Mission accomplished.