Guangzhou Fo’ Sho Part 2

We explored a lot of Gunagzhou in the five days we were there, as each day we saw a different area. The best part was that they were so different, it was hard to believe they were parts of the same, huge city.

Our busiest day was our second full day there. We had a half-day tour in the afternoon and decided to make our way there early, planning to stop by a Buddhist temple and grab a snack before our 2:30pm meeting time.

The temple was busy, which we came to expect during the Chinese New Year holiday. Vendors selling flowers and fruits were set up outside of the temple for visitors to purchase offerings to the deities before going in. We decided to purchase a handful of flowers because why not. The gals we bought the flowers from spoke a bit of English and were thrilled to speak with us and, of course, sell us their flowers.

We entered the temple and a volunteer greeted us in English and asked if we would like a tour. She said it would take about an hour. We told her we had another tour to get to and she said she would make the tour a little shorter to accommodate us. Another couple joined us, too. Our tour guide, Mendi, provided so much information. We did not take many photos in the temple since we were busy trying to absorb the knowledge she shared.

Phil writes more about the temple’s history (and our other tour stops) here, and we learned that it is the oldest Buddhist temple in the region.

After the tour, we had just enough time to make it to the meeting point for our planned, afternoon tour. So much for grabbing a snack (I thought to myself, disappointingly).

We joined our tour guide, Tony, and two friends visiting from Serbia, one of whom brought his young son. We walked so dang much on this tour. It was a 20k+ steps day. I will highlight a few of my favorite moments below.

Tony explained that the beautiful trees with red flowers we’d seen around the city are the city’s official flower, the kapok. The kapok trees typically do not bloom until late March or early April, but because of the unseasonably warm weather, the flowers were in full bloom during our visit. In fact, the heavy blossoms would occasionally fall from the tree with an audible landing thud. The little Serbian boy excitedly picked up several and gifted me one.

Because we were visiting China during Chinese New Year, we learned a good bit about it, certainly more than we previously knew. Much of it is focused on luck and ensuring luck in the coming year and warding off bad luck. One of the many things that will bring one good luck is being gifted something red (thank you small, Serbian child!), money, or gold.

Luckily (wink) for me, this young fellow was dressed up for the new year and giving out “gold”(tasty chocolate, at least I got a little snack) coins when Tony took us to Comic city. I was improving my luck for 2026 already! Comic city is basically a big mall devoted to comic and animation culture. Many young people gather here on the weekends to dress up and have their makeup professionally done as their favorite characters. While the area was pretty busy, Tony told us it was nothing compared to the usual crowd. Many people were out of town visiting family for the holiday, he explained.

According to Chinese tradition, I need all the luck I can get this year. You see, 2026 is the year of the horse. I happened to have been born in a year of the horse. I thought surely this meant that my luck for the year is guaranteed. Apparently that is not the case. Because I was born in the year of the horse, I need to lay low as to not anger the Guardian God of the year. There are a few things I can do to help prevent bad luck, namely wearing red during the new year (preferably something gifted by a loved one) wearing a horse talisman, and building a shrine to the God in the southwest corner or my home. When we visited the Buddhist nunnery on our first day in Guangzhou, Phil bought me a small red bracelet, so hopefully that’ll do since I don’t have a home and really don’t have room in my bag to acquire any bulky new jewelry.

On the way to our next destination, we passed through a market and street vendors selling various food stuffs. Tony suggested we purchase some snacks, if we wanted to try some local specialties. I enthusiastically agreed, because I was very hungry and because I had so enjoyed the little New Year peanut pastries we’d had in Hong Kong.

The Kai Zai Paneng or “Little Chicken Biscuits” were very interesting indeed. Both sweet and savory, they do not contain any actual chicken or chicken flavoring…but, the first taste was a wild ride. They are a little greasy and have a sweet, sticky filling. They are also kind of funky and have a familiar savory taste that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, a bit like sweet soy sauce. I looked it up and they contain fermented bean curd. This is quite a common ingredient used in Cantonese cooking, hence the familiarity in flavor. I couldn’t decide if I really liked them or was just hungry. The taste they leave in the mouth is also quite long lasting, which I didn’t love. I ate a few more later during our time in Guangzhou, so obviously I didn’t hate them.

Our last stop for the day was at the Giant Buddha Temple, also known as the Dafo Temple, which was packed with people celebrating the New Year holiday. 

We learned that on the particular day we were visiting, it was a special day in the new year when people ask for blessings from the “Future Buddha” also sometimes called the laughing Buddha or Happy Buddha. This is the chubby Buddha statue you may be familiar with. Tony told us he is unique to China. Other Buddhist countries do not have the Buddha with the belly. He represents future joy and prosperity. Tony referred to him on this day as “The money Buddha”, which is why people seek his blessings for financial luck in the coming year and the line to see him was very long.

Notice the large earlobes on the future Buddha statue above. Tony told us that large, thick, fleshy earlobes symbolize food luck, wealth, and longevity in China and that often grandparents or parents will pull on their children’s earlobes when they are young in the hopes of making them larger.

Tired from our day of walking around the city, we grabbed a DiDi (China’s Uber) back to the hotel. We’d seen a dim sum restaurant next to the hotel and decided that would be an easy and tasty dinner. We headed up the stairs and were quickly seated.

Dim Sum menus work kind of like sushi menus in that they have the names of the items and next to it, you write how many orders of the item you’d like. It took us some time to figure it out since we have to translate the menu, which isn’t always exact and leads to some funny guessing “old pigeon milk soup” was one I wasn’t interested in gambling on. The menu is below.

After selecting a few items we felt confident in, we waited for our food to arrive and discovered that we once again ordered way too much food. They bring it out as it is ready, and, as the plates and baskets piled up, I looked at the waitress as if to say, “holy moly, how can we eat all this?” she gave a knowing look in response that seemed to say, “uh, yeah, that’s a lot”. We once again decided that we must ask next time, when ordering, if we were getting too much food for two people. However, the meal was delicious and we were very satisfied with our feast.

We enjoyed the same duck and pork dishes we had at the previous dim sum restaurant we enjoyed in Guangzhou (see part 1). In addition we had some cabbage, and boiled lettuce (not sure what we thought we’d be getting but it wasn’t that) and some ham and scallion pancakes that were super good.

Of course we washed it down with a beer. Funny thing about the beer in China, most of it in restaurants and stores is anywhere from 2.5-3.2% ABV, as opposed to common 5.0 ABV in the states (you can find higher ABV offerings in pubs or bars). It can still be quite refreshing, especially with spicy foods. The low ABV makes it relatively low calorie (so healthy) and I much prefer it to the warm water or tea that is often served with meals in China. Warm or hot water is served because according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it promotes digestion and balances the body’s yang energy.

We had a great day and saw so much of Guanzhou. Tony was a great guide and taught us a lot, not only about his city, but about Chinese culture and customers in general. The most interesting part of traveling to other countries is learning about the culture. What better way than to have a local teach you a bit?

More to come about our journey through China!

Guangzhou Fo’ Sho

Our first stop in mainland China was Guangzhou, China’s 3rd largest city, home to 18 million people. The three-hour train ride from Hong Kong was pretty uneventful. Getting through immigration and customs wasn’t too difficult but was time consuming, taking about an hour and half and required various forms and apps and showing our passports and bar codes to several officials. We were glad we arrived well in advance of our 1:15pm departure time.

It was a short ride to our hotel, the E-Charm (a Chinese hotel chain). It was located in a residential area and tucked away from the business of the city. The hotel staff did not speak English but with the help of a combination of translator apps (they have a funny way of deciding not to work when you need them), we checked in without issue and settled into our room, which was fine sized.

Traveling in a country where very few people speak English can be intense. It adds an extra sprinkle of anxiety to that which is already present simply because you are in a foreign country with new rules and customs and ways of doing things. We also can’t read the language and even when translated into the Roman alphabet, it is not easy to pronounce. Add sometimes glitch-y translator apps (Google doesn’t work here without a VPN) and it can be tiring on the brain. This isn’t to say poor us by any means. We chose to set forth on this adventure. No one is making us do this (something we like to tell each other when things are frustrating or don’t go as planned). It’s just the truth.

Once we were settled into the hotel room, Phil took mercy on me and went to the 7-Eleven and the McDonalds, which were both next door to the hotel, and got us food and a few supplies for the evening while I took a shower. He’s a good one. We would set out to see the city the next day.

Our hotel stay included breakfast, which was conveniently located on our floor. Our first morning we headed down, not sure of what to expect. The woman working the dining room was running a tight ship. She sternly directed us to scan our hotel room key on a plastic cube, then asked for our room number (“Room Number!” she said, in English) and motioned toward the dining room and buffet of food items.

Savory breakfasts are typical in China. I knew this going in. In fact they are common in much of Asia. At home in the U.S., when I am in a steady routine, I am not usually a breakfast person. I’m a several cups of black coffee person and good til lunch or a mid-morning snack. If I do eat breakfast, I usually prefer a sweet one; yogurt with honey, a sweet lil pastry treat, basically anything that pairs well with the aforementioned black coffee. But, when in Rome, or China, as it were, do as the locals do.

Since we are traveling on a budget, we wanted to take full advantage of the included breakfast. And what a breakfast it was. They had a window to the little kitchen where a woman was making steaming bowls of noodles to order (Phil is enjoying his below). This noodle soup with a little meat and veg is a very common Chinese breakfast. There were also dim sum baskets of various sweet and savory buns, plus a large buffet of vegetables, usually cooked with a little meat; hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, dumplings, congee (a hot, typically savory, rice porridge) and a few western-style sweet treats, bread, and toaster.

I was very pleased to find that they had an espresso maker as well. It is not very common for hotels to include an actual coffee/espresso maker (this is also true in Europe). Usually it is just a kettle, and while I will drink instant coffee if that’s all there is, I much prefer the real stuff.

During our stay, for breakfast I loaded up on the vegetable offerings, figuring that at least I could guarantee I’d get plenty of nutrition, even if the rest of the day we ate nothing but fried tasty treats (we did not usually do this, but it did happen). That, plus a couple of hard boiled eggs for protein, and a little custard-filled bun, you know, to pair with my coffee.

We set out to see a nearby museum, one we never actually found, but we did happen upon the historic old-town and a very cool opera museum. The museum had all kinds of costumes and information about the history of the opera, as well as a very nice courtyard and outdoor areas. Phil will write about the museum more in detail, but I have posted a few of my favorite pics.

At the museum and in the old town, we saw many women, dressed in traditional Chinese garb, having photo shoots. We think this was partially due to the Chinese New Year celebration still being in full swing. These two young ladies were kind enough to oblige my request for a photo.

The old town was quite busy, but very cute, with a little stream offshoot of the Pearl River and a lake we relaxed by and took refuge from the sun.

We spotted what looked to be a nice restaurant from one side of the little lake, and decided to head that way as our breakfast was wearing off a bit. We entered the restaurant from the busy pedestrian street, but seemed to be on the backside, or not the main entrance. A kind fellow who spoke a little English saw us standing, looking a bit confused, and directed us to another entrance. We followed his instructions and walked around the building and entered into a rather large hall, with a lot going on. It was a large foyer, leading to several different businesses. But I was determined and hungry, so after some looking around, I entered into a dining area (I am still not sure if it was the same restaurant we’d previously tried to enter as it was huge), and went up to a wait staff who directed us to a table. Success!

We ordered up several dim sum offerings. After all, Guanzhou is in the Canton region which is famous for their delicious dim sum. We did, however, order way too much dim sum.

We had a platter of meats: roast goose, pork belly, and roast pork, fried rice, bok choy, steamed buns with BBQ pork, and some other buns than were browned and crispy on each side and had some kind of savory filling. It didn’t matter what the filling was because the bun itself was insanely delicious. Buttery and soft with the crisped parts. They tasted a lot like the salt bread that we had in Korea.

Vowing we would know next time we ordered not to get too much, we agreed we would ask the waitstaff if we were getting too much food. Problem solved (or so we thought).

After eating so much, we needed to walk a bit, so we wandered around the streets of old town for a while. We noticed that all of the street utility boxes (and some of the walls) were often painted with some sort of pretty or silly scene.

Eventually, we happened upon a Buddhist nunnery. It was small and very relaxed and of course, festive for the New Year celebration, with offerings of flowers and fruits to the deities.

We decided to wrap up the day and take a leisurely walk back to the hotel. We wouldn’t need any dinner after our lunch feast. We passed the oddly placed astronaut below (not the only one we saw) on the walk back.

That was just day 1. We had a few more days to explore Guangzhou, including heading to the high rise filled downtown and basking at the Canton tower. Up next: Guangzhou part 2!

Food We Ate in Hong Kong Part 2

The second tour we took in Hong Kong was not a food tour but a cultural tour and while we did try little bites of different foods, the goal was to leave with a broader knowledge as opposed to a broader belly.

We had some time to kill before our tour was to begin and because we knew we weren’t going to leave full, we thought a little snack was in order. We discovered nearby the tour starting point was a bar/restaurant called the 2 Soon Cafe. Lo and behold, it was a Spanish Tapas place! We ordered the pimientos de padron (small, mild green peppers cooked in oil and salted), a favorite of ours when we lived in Spain, along with a meat and cheese platter and a couple of white sangria’s, which was the happy hour special. As you can see, I was very pleased with the snack.

Then we went on to the tour. Our guide, Michael, was wonderful and kept us moving through the markets and the streets of Mong-kok. Mong-kok market was hustling and bustling more than usual, in preparation for the Chinese New Year Holiday which was to begin in a few days.

During our time in Hong Kong we saw vendors selling delicious looking fresh fruit. We purchased several different kinds of apples from a vendor near our hotel during our time there, the biggest I have ever seen. Giant pomelos (a citrus fruit), some the size of my head in orange, yellow and green were everywhere as they are a traditional New Year purchase to bring luck. Michael explained that all of the fruit is imported and the markets purchase it fresh, each morning, at the port. It mostly comes from Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.

We also saw a lot of durian, the famous stinky fruit (the green spiky one in the photo above). Durian smells so bad that it is banned in many public spaces, hotels, airports, and public transportation. They say the smell is like a cross between rotten eggs, rotten onions, and gym socks, due to it’s sulfur compounds. I have smelled it and think it smells like sweet, rotten onions and feet. Many describe the texture like custard or cheesecake and the taste has been described as sweet custard, vanilla, almonds and even caramelized onions or garlic, depending on the ripeness. I was secretly hoping we might try durian on this tour, but also relieved when we didn’t.

We did, however, try something else a bit funky, visually so, anyway. Century Eggs, also known as alkalized or preserved eggs, are eggs that have been cured in a mix of salt, clay, quicklime, and rice hulls for several weeks to several months. The process causes the yolk to turn dark grey or brown and the egg white to appear jelly-like and black or brown.

The egg did not smell bad as Michael approached us with it. He said to stab a piece of the egg with a toothpick, then a piece of pickled ginger, pop it all into our mouths and it would taste like a regular, hard-boiled egg. Everyone was a bit hesitant, including me, but I thought, what the hell, we’re here to learn about food culture, right? I grabbed the toothpick, following Michael’s instructions and he was right. It basically tasted like a regular hard-boiled egg. There were some slight textural differences, but all in all, not bad.

We walked past other stalls and stands selling all manner of goods including fresh and dried meats and seafood that has been preserved with salt.

My favorite thing we tried on the tour was yau gok, a Cantonese, deep fried, little dumpling-like pastry stuffed with a mixture of roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut, and sugar. They were really really good and a treat only available around Chinese New Year.

We concluded the tour with some abalone with bitter orange and some traditional dried sausages (that must be cooked before consuming).

After the tour, we stopped for a beer at a nearby bar Michael had recommended to us called The Ale Project. It was a laid back little spot with local, craft beer.

After our beer, we decided to head over to the Harbor. We had dinner, and some more beer at The Dockyard. The Dockyard is attached to The Kerry Hotel and is kind of like a food court. There are multiple restaurants in the large room that also houses a karaoke stage complete with live band accompaniment. One simply scans the bar code on the table and is able to order from any and all of the restaurants and/or the bar. Because tipping isn’t a part of the culture, it works and you don’t have to worry about paying separately etc since it’s all in one simple click and pay app. We enjoyed some tandoori chicken thighs and chicken biryani from the Indian restaurant and washed it down with some Blue Girl beers, a Danish beer that’s very popular in Hong Kong.

The next day, we explored Victoria Park, a nice, large green space in the city with lovely Banyan trees. While walking around, enjoying the day, we happened upon a New Year market with all kinds of food and flowers for sale. Luckily, we were in need of a snack. I bought a banana, chocolate crepe-like treat and another treat that ended up basically being a sweet, corn, cheesy omelette. Both were pretty tasty. I also purchased some more of the New Year peanut pastry treats we’d had the day before. I didn’t like them as much as the ones on the tour, but they were still quite good.

The next day for dinner, we had one of my favorite meals we ate in Hong Kong. Soup dumplings! Din Tai Fung had amazing little pork soup dumplings. The mini pillows of heaven contain a delicious meat filling along with a burst of hot (not too hot) soup in each bite. They were so good we got two orders along with some other, pot sticker-like dumplings, scallion pancake, and some green beans, because you need a little veg.

The following day, we made an impromptu trip to Cheung Chau, one of the islands off of Hong Kong. Michael, our tour guide for the cultural tour, lives there and suggested that, because we had so many days in Hong Kong, we should explore the islands a bit so we decided to take an overnight trip. The 45-minute ferry ride was well worth the mild motion sickness to get away from the busyness of the city for a night and to fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves.

For dinner, we ate at a restaurant Michael had recommended called Wang Kitchen. He had a couple of specific dishes he recommended, one of them being the sizzling steak and the other the baked pork chop, which he was kind enough to provide us the names in Chinese, so all we had to do was show the names to the waitress and she brought us both.

The steak was delicious and served with some veg and mashed potatoes and smothered in a black pepper sauce. The baked pork chop was unique and very good as well, baked in a small cast iron over rice, with tomatoes, pineapple, and cheese. Phil and I agreed it tasted like a Hawaiian pizza.

The next day we slept in (waves crashing, remember?) and decided to go for a walk before checking out of the hotel, which was noon. We tried to eat at a couple of restaurants Michael had recommended, but they were closed, so we popped into a little (it felt like a dinner to me) spot that had an open table, but still full of people, so we know the food had to be decent. We enjoyed simple, but good meals. Phil had a noodle soup with a sidecar of pork cutlet and I had a chicken cutlet over rice with a gravy that I am pretty certain was just creamed corn. It was tasty, so no complaints. I quite like creamed corn.

We spent the afternoon walking around the island, stopping for a little treat before we needed to make our way back to the ferry. Michael had recommended the coffee and desert spot, Heima Heima, named after a song by the Icelandic band, Sigur Rós.

Phil enjoyed a lime tonic espresso (fizzy and limy and espresso-y) and I had a honey Americano (you guessed it, an Americano with honey). I ordered Phil the Japanese strawberry roll cake, but I apparently ordered it incorrectly because he got a citrus roll cake instead, but it was still super tasty. I ordered the matcha-yuzu cheesecake that I really enjoyed. Sometimes matcha can be overpowering for my taste, but the yuzu was the star and it was very good.

Welllll, I have covered most of what we ate in Hong Kong that’s worth mentioning. I do have a couple of more photos/places I want to briefly mention. Phil and I visited a smaller island, Peng Chau the day before the New Year holiday. Everything was closed or closing early and we happened upon the only place open, a cafe and coffee shop called The Edible Projects which supports and employs young adults with autism. We had a pineapple fizzy and a yuzu soda which were delicious along side a frittata, spring rolls, and dumplings. All were good and really hit the spot. Our visit was brief, but the island was beautiful.

Another honorable mention is Sourdough in the Wan Chai area of Hong Kong. We stopped in for a coffee and snack and enjoyed two amazing, croissant-like buttery, custard-filled pastries. Phil enjoyed the hazelnut chocolate and I had the pistachio. They were super good.

A huge part of why I loved to travel is eating. It’s a deeper way to connect to the culture and people you’re exploring. Even if it’s eating at KFC or McDonalds, because that does happen on occasion, especially travel days when we are exhausted and want something easy that doesn’t involve translator apps and pointing. Because even those are different in every country, based on the taste of the people. One need not eat durian or black eggs to be a bit adventurous with travel eating. Even departing slightly from what you’re used to can be very rewarding and open you up to flavors and foods you never would have otherwise known about.

Happy eating! Next stop, mainland China!

Food We Ate in Hong Kong Part 1: Dim Sum and Then Some

When we arrived in Hong Kong, we were very keen to try some of the local food. After an early morning wake up of 4am for our flight from Seoul, our eating schedule was way off and we were a bit discombobulated when we sat out in search of a local power converter and food.

Google maps does not work well in China or Hong Kong, so it took Phil, our navigator, a bit to get used to the local map app that kept readjusting our location. We walked in circles a couple of times and ended up eating at Mother of Pizzas which was located near to our hotel. We ordered a half pineapple and sausage (the house specialty) and half rocket (what many other English speaking countries call arugula) caprese which had arugula, tomato, and burrata with a balsamic glaze. While the pizza wasn’t bad (I mean, it’s pizza, even when it is bad, it’s still pretty good), it ended up being one of our most expensive meals in Hong Kong and was definitely overpriced for the experience.

One of my favorite things we did in Hong Kong was a street food tour with local guide, Steven. We were joined by several other travelers who all had good energy, which made it extra fun. There was the newly retired couple from Nashville, the mother and daughter from Northern California, a single gal from New York on a 14-hour layover, a British couple, retirees from San Diego, a Swiss Latina, and a German lady.

First spot: dim sum!

Steven lined us up single-file across from a dim sum stand and handed out chop sticks and napkins to us. You could tell he was a pro and had done it many times to maximize the enjoyment and minimize the blockage of the sidewalk for others as Hong Kong is a busy place.

Boo Dim Lui Lee has a couple of locations in Hong Kong and is known for offering authentic and affordable grab-and-go dim sum. We tried a few different offerings including pork shu mai and shrimp dumplings. Delicious!

We next stopped in front of the Sheung Wan Municipal Services building. Steven explained that Hong Kong had a long history of street vendors called “hawkers” and in the 60’s and 70’s the government began outlawing hawking. To promote hygiene standards and to help those vendors who could not afford to rent a store front, the government built many Municipal Services buildings. The first floor typically houses raw vegetable vendors, the second meat and seafood, and the third floor is referred to as a “Cooked Food Center” which is like a big food court. The whole building feels like a giant, multi-level farmers market. Phil and I had actually stumbled into one of the municipal services buildings the day before when we were looking for the power converter. It was cool to learn that there are many such spaces for vendors and consumers in Hong Kong.

We stopped briefly near one of the seafood vendors. Steven said that because people in Hong Kong want the freshest seafood possible, they usually buy it live, and kill it right before preparing it to ensure the purest flavor. We observed many tanks of all manner of live seafood. He said many times, people will purchase their seafood on the second floor, then walk up to the third and give it to a food stall who will prepare it for a fee, which ensures a very fresh and delicious meal.

We took the escalator to the 3rd floor where we first enjoyed Hong Kong-style French toast, which is basically a peanut butter sandwich that has been dipped in egg, fried, and covered in syrup. What’s not to love about that? Then we had sliced roast goose and pig! In walking around, we saw many restaurants with Cantonese-style roast goose hanging in the windows and I really, really wanted to try it. I am always down for pork, so of course I enjoyed that as well.

We left the municipal building and walked to a medicinal tea shop. We passed several in walking the city. They sell prepared tea you can drink there, take home, or tea you can take home and prepare. Additionally they sell something called turtle jelly which is apparently good for folks suffering from acne. Originally made from the bottom shell of the golden coin turtle, most modern day versions are entirely herbal. We did not try the jelly, but did try a brew called 24-flavors tea. It is good for “clearing heat from the body” caused by stress or unhealthy diets. It also fights the heat of inflammation in the body. It looked like black coffee and Steven told us it would be quite bitter, but to me, it tasted like liquid smoke (the cooking additive/flavoring). The majority of our tour companions chose not to finish their cups but Phil and I and a couple of other folks did. I did not particularly like any of the 24 flavors, but figured after all of the walking and eating of different foods over the last couple of weeks, I was inflamed, so might as well take the free medicine.

After the tea, we walked to a pastry shop selling traditional egg custard tarts. I was very excited as I really like Portuguese egg tarts and the ones in Hong Kong looked very similar. The Hong Kong tarts have a more cookie-like crust whereas the Portuguese ones have a traditional, pastry/pie crust. The Portuguese tarts are also sweeter and have a caramelized, almost bruleed, crispy top to the tart. The Hong Kong tart is very egg-y, less sweet, and no crusty top.

After our tart time, we stopped by a tea shop, this one selling only dried, loose leaf tea at all manner of price points. The little pressed discs of tea in the shop were very impressive. Like wine, some are quite old and valuable, like tens of thousands of dollars or more. I had no idea there was such expensive tea!

We tasted a bit of green tea the shop owner had prepared for us. If we were going home after Hong Kong, we probably would have purchased some (not the thousands of dollars one), but as our type of travel doesn’t really allow for souvenirs, we did not.

We walked on to enjoy more dumplings. This time in soup broth. We each had three shrimp and pork dumplings in a tasty broth. A little pot of potent chili oil was on the table so one could customize their preferred level of spice.

We walked on to our last stop, a Hong Kong bubble waffle (or pancake) stand located in Central Market, a small, modern mall. I’d read about the waffles as well and was keen to try them. As a group, we voted on the flavors we wanted to try. We went with 1 traditional, which has a mild, vanilla custard flavor,and 3 other flavors: chocolate banana, matcha with red bean, and earl grey. Traditional was darn tasty with mild sweetness. The chocolate banana (Phil’s choice) was very good and not too sweet, the matcha red bean was very matcha-y, and the Earl Grey was actually quite nice. Not quite as strong as the matcha, with a complimenting, subtle sweetness.

We thanked Steven and bid farewell to our companions who were off to all sorts of destinations and ports of call. We explored a bit more of the city before heading back to our hotel, including taking the longest escalator in the world (it was more gradual than you’d think), which ended at the former colonial jail turned into a museum and art space.

Be on the look out for part 2, coming soon!

A Journey Through Greece…In Hong Kong

We were in Hong Kong for a week and half. This post is not about Hong Kong specifically, rather about the magic of putting yourself out there during travel.

Our final days in Hong Kong were the start of the Chinese New Year celebration which began on February 17th. Many businesses are closed for 3-5 days during the holiday (which lasts for 15). One of those businesses that was going to close for the week was a laundry we’d been using, which was a real bummer. We used it twice during our stay and it was great and a simple drop off/pick up situation. They charged by the pound, which was a heck of a lot better deal than our hotel, plus the had a super cute Korean jindo dog who lazily greeted customers through his own little window as folks dropped off or picked up at the counter. We needed to wash our laundry once more before our next stop, mainland China.

We are big believers in the “when they zig, you zag” philosophy when traveling, and, as many people made their way to the New Year parade and other various celebrations around the bustling city, we made our way to the laundromat. We’d scoped it out earlier while out and about and decided the teeny, tiny, self-service spot would work just fine for our needs.

We were somewhat surprised that there were three people there when we arrived, sitting on the little fold-down seats waiting on their own laundry. We asked if there were any machines open, and a nice fellow told us, yes, number three was available. Everyone waiting kindly filed out so we could shimmy in to start our machine.

The nice fellow was enjoying a beer while waiting for his own laundry. We felt he had the right idea, so we walked down to the 7-Eleven at the end of the block, purchased our own beers, and then went back to wait. When we returned, the other people waiting had dispersed and it was just us and the nice, beer drinking man. I asked him where he was from. My guess was Spain or Italy, from our brief, previous interaction, but it turns out that Panos is originally from Greece, having lived in China and Hong Kong for the last twenty something years.

A chef, he’d been working in the hospitality and food industry which took him around the world. We found out he’d worked for Morton’s Steakhouse, a famous steakhouse chain which originated in Chicago, so of course, Phil was familiar with it. After the pandemic grounded him in China, he decided to open a restaurant (actually two), one of which was very near to the laundromat and the other in mainland China.

We talked of travel and food and laughed with Panos during the hour we waited on our clothes. He asked if we’d ever been to Greece and told him only Athens, but we wanted to return to see more. He recommended a road trip through Greece as it’s the best way to see the country (I am 100% sold on the idea). We asked if his restaurant was closed for the next few days due to the Chinese New Year holiday. He told us they were only closed that day because, he joked, he needed to do his laundry, but that they would be open the following night. He invited us to come by and we told him we’d be there at seven o’clock. He said he would take us on “a journey through Greece”.

Our hotel was near the harbor where the annual New Year’s fireworks display happens. We had already experienced some of the increased activity and people in the city during our time there as they geared up for the holiday, visiting some of the markets and partaking in special food treats reserved for that time of year. It was pretty cool but also very crowded and intense. We understand that by traveling around Asia, we are going to encounter really big crowds and crowded situations. We do, however, like to get away from it when possible and while we had considered watching the fireworks display, how often do you get invited by a chef to visit his restaurant?

So, we zagged upstream, against the throngs of people making their way to the Harbor and arrived a little after 7 the following night to the lovely Santorini Steakhouse by Panos. Panos greeted us and offered our choice of seating. We chose a table outside, the coolish night air being a welcome change from the hot, humid day. Panos brought us out a glass of crisp white wine that we sipped while perusing the menu.

Screenshot

Santorini Steakhouse, is, well, a steak house, but it also offers classic Greek dishes. Phil and I were both tempted by the delicious sounding cuts of meat on offer, but decided to keep it Greek. We figured that during our 60 days of travel in mainland China (that we would leave for the next day), we would probably be able to get a steak if we wanted one, but it would be much less likely that we would be able to find Greek food.

We started with meze plates of taramasalata (white cod fish roe whipped with lemon) served with warm pita bread and kolokithokeftedes (pumpkin fritters made with feta and herbs) served with tzatziki. It was all delicious and Panos brought us another white wine to try. The second white tasted a bit more like a chardonnay (though it was a Greek wine) and the first a bit lighter and crisper. Both were quite nice.

It turns out that the fellow who took our order, who we later discovered was the front of house/GM for the restaurant, Alfonso, is Gallego (from Galicia, Spain). Phil and I visited Galicia during our time living in Asturias and in fact, Galicia is the neighboring autonomous community to the west of Asturias. Gallegos generally tend to be outgoing and fun people, from our experience and according to our friend, Diana, who is Asturiana. Alfonso was no exception.

Alfonso has lived in many different places around the world, including the U.S. When we told him we’d lived in Asturias, he asked, “Why Asturias? That’s like moving to the U.S. and living in Wisconsin”. He was a real character and we enjoyed chatting with him a bit between courses. When we were ready to order our entrees, we told him we wanted to ask Panos some questions about the menu. He seemed offended and told us, “This is my menu, ask me anything”, and so we told him we wanted the moussaka, a favorite of Phil’s, and I was considering the braised beef cheeks. He told us the beef cheeks were not very Greek, more Mediterranean and if we wanted traditionally Greek food, better to go with the pork chop and lentils. I love a good pork chop and am neutral on lentils, so we took his recommendation and ordered one of each.

Panos brought us out a merlot as the moussaka arrived. I’m not usually a huge merlot person due to high tannins, but this one was very smooth and I liked it a lot. Next, with the pork chop, came a chilled, red Moscato. I have only ever had white moscato which is typically rather sweet and I don’t love. The red one, while certainly sweeter than the merlot, wasn’t overly so and I liked it quite a bit. The lentils were the star of the show in my opinion. It sounds crazy but they were freaking amazing! The best lentils I have ever had, so creamy and herbaceous and just wonderful. The pork chop was also quite good.

And the wine kept flowing! While we were finishing up our Moscato, Panos brought out another bottle, with three glasses. He opened the bottle and told us not to hurry. The wine needed to breathe a bit. We were happy that he’d brought three glasses, hoping that meant he was going to join us as we so enjoyed visiting with him the night before.

We finished our Moscato and Panos pulled up a chair and joined us, pouring us all a glass of Xinomavro, a dry red wine from Greece’s Amyndeon region. We laughed and talked, with Alfonso popping in and out, joining us in conversation as well.

To end the meal, Panos brought out a port after the Xinomavro. The desert wine was a real treat and very lovely. We floated our way to the exit just before 11pm and grabbed a couple of photos with Panos (next to Phil in the photo below) and Alfonso before heading back to the hotel.

One of our favorite parts of traveling, is having chance encounters like this one, with others; locals or other travelers (a couple of other examples are during our trip to Tokyo and our time in Turkey). Phil and I are both introverts and while we try to be friendly, it may not always be our first instinct to strike up a conversation with a stranger, but that’s where the magic happens, getting out of your comfort zone. Oftentimes, it is, in fact, uncomfortable, but every time you do it, it reinforces the behavior and sometimes it can be magical.

Seoul Food

For my second post about our time in Seoul, I want to focus [mostly] on some of the delicious meals and tasty treats we had. Be sure to check out Phil’s blog about the other fun stuff we did!

Our second full day in Seoul, we had a 1:30 tour scheduled; we slept in a little, especially compared with our early rise the day before. Did I mentioned it was cold in Seoul? It was. It even snowed a little bit overnight. We carefully made our way to a nearby lunch spot, avoiding ice and slush as much as we could, that we’d saved on our maps app to have a bite before the tour.

The place was booming, with a line leading in from the outside. They sure know how to shuffle people through, so we were quickly asked how many in our party and told to go upstairs. Once up, we were handed a menu to make our selections and pay before being directed to a small, two person table. The tables come ready with water pitchers and a pot of kimchee. The restaurants in Seoul (like every one we visited) have a handy drawer or drawers built under the table which houses chopsticks, spoons, napkins, and a bottle opener. Genius. It is also common to have a small waste basket next to the table to throw used napkins, as this one did. This was very useful as the tables are quite small and can quickly fill with trash. They are also serving soup and spicy foods which are not only potentially messy but also make the ol’ nose run.

We ordered a soup and some dumplings to share. The food was delivered by a robot waiter. I made a little song up in my head about a robot bringing me soup. It goes a little something like this ” 🎶 There’s a little robot and he’s bringing me soup, he’s bringing me soup, he’s bringing me soup. A silly little robot man is bringing me soup. Sloppy slurpy soup for me  🎶 ” I never said I was a lyrical genius.

The sloppy part of the song really rang true. I thought I was decent with chopsticks, never having too much trouble in eating sushi or ramen or anything else that requires chopsticks. I think that’s because 99% of the chopsticks I’ve used are wooden and round. The majority of the chopsticks we encountered in Seoul were not only metal, but also flat or squarish. This really tested my skills. At least with the soup, we also had a spoon so what food I wasn’t able to grasp with the sticks, I could kind of shovel into my mouth.

We enjoyed our afternoon tour during which our guide, Shin, gave us some recommendations of places to eat and things to try at the famous Gyeongdong Market, where the tour was to conclude. The market consists of many different food stalls and stands offering sweet and savory treats, some offering the option of seating while others are strictly grab and go.

We made a beeline for the place Shin said had the best fried mung bean cakes. I remember seeing the cakes in several videos we watched while planning our trip. Luckily this place had seating, cool and functional seating at that. We found that often seating in restaurants in Seoul was crowded for western standards with tables pushed very close together or shared, with small seats or stools. Add to this the fact that we were trying to shimmy out of winter coats and stash gloves and hats, plus dealing with a backpack. At this particular spot, I saw a gentleman come in and when he sat down, he opened his stool,which had a little bucket/reservoir area under the seat and stash his coat. Genius! What a great use of space! We quickly followed suit and stashed our items so we could enjoy our dinner unencumbered.

We ordered a trio of fried mung bean cakes, called bindaetteok or nokdujeon. I am not entirely sure what the difference in the three was other than one had scallions in it and one had bean sprouts. Each was a slightly different shade of brown/golden and while all were quite crispy, one was especially so. They were all good and the only thing I can compare it to is a latke, though they were thicker and larger. They did not have a strong taste but were salty, starchy, and crispy, which is always good. The dumplings were dumplings (therefore good), with some kind of green veg inside and sesame seeds outside. We paired the meal with a Cass, Korea’s number one selling beer and kimchee, of course.

I later discovered that mung beans are a real super-food, being low calorie and high in both fiber and protein, rich in antioxidants and heart healthy. The frying part of this particular dish adds to the calories and detracts from the heart health a bit, I suppose, but hey, it was better for me than other fried foods I could have consumed, so that’s a plus.

After we’d had our fill, we headed out to find the other treat (ok, maybe we hadn’t had our “fill”) at the market I wanted to try, the twisted donut. The donuts, or kkwabaegi, is another treat we’d seen when researching Seoul. It’s a twisted bread made with glutenous rice flour, then fried and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. The consistency is crispy and chewy, kind of like a deep friend mochi. Yum. Sadly, not a super-food.

Not my hand-photo borrowed from Instagram
The twisted donut stand
Yum
In line for the twisted donut on the right, the mung bean spot is the one with the red sign, down on the left

The next day, we didn’t have anything planned, so ended up exploring and wandering, eventually ending at the War Memorial of Korea. It is really something. I am not a huge history buff but they have all sorts of interesting information from all of the wars of the Korean people dating back hundreds of years. The most items are from the Korean War that we think about that the U.S. was involved in during the early 1950’s. Some of my favorite pics are below.

After our visit to the memorial, we headed to the nearby train station. Our feet were tired from a day of walking, so we decided to wait for the elevator down to the subway as opposed to taking the stairs. While we were waiting, we happened to look over, into a small restaurant, K Pub Hanryang, where two gentlemen were drinking beer. We agreed that we too should head in to have a beer before carrying on. Boy am I glad we did.

The guys we’d seen drinking also ordered some food that was brought sizzling to their table that smelled very good. We perused the menu and ordered up a couple of dishes in addition to our couple of Cass beers. While we waited, we munched on these little, odd shaped corn puffs (think crunchy Cheeto texture). I realized after a few of the tasty crunchies that they tasted like chicken, and in fact, were not odd shaped, but shaped like chicken legs. They were really good.

Soon our main course of pork shoulder and house-made spam and assorted veggies was brought out on a sizzling cast iron platter followed shortly by the spiced pork with soybean paste noodles. It was all so good! The cast iron meats were brought out with a BBQ-like sauce and a small bowl of bread crumbs. Our waiter instructed us to dip the pork shoulder in the sauce then the crumbs. It was super good with or without the sauce/crumbs and particularly good with the onions sizzled down in the pork fat. The noodles were a little spicy and also sweet. Always a great combo in my opinion.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. We had an early morning (9am is early for us) tour scheduled for the next morning.

The next day we had a fabulous tour. Phil writes more about it here (along with info on the war memorial and other stops we made). We thought it would be a bus tour with maybe 30 other people. Turns out that because it is slow season (did I mention it was cold?), us and one other person has signed up for the tour. Our guide, Johnathan, told me that some of the other tour companies cancel when so few sign up, but his did not and that was just fine with him. So, Phil and I hopped into the back of Johnathan’s sedan and said hello to Chandler, our fellow tourist and young woman from the Bay area of Northern California, and headed off for our day tour.

Our first stop was the Korean Folk Village (a recreated historical village-a bit like Korean Williamsburg) and the next was the world heritage site Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. Phil writes extensively about these, and we had a fine, but unremarkable lunch at the village, so I am just going to post a few of my favorite pics below.

Unfortunately the mozzarella cheese fish cake bar stand was closed, but it deserved a photo dammit because what? and also yes, please.

The last stop on our trip was Suwon Nanmun Market. It was a real twofer since Johnathan’s wife had instructed him to pick up dinner from the market and it gave us a chance to peruse while he did. It was bustling and had all kinds of meat, seafood, fruit, veg, and prepared goodies for sale.

We started with a pancake that housed syrup and a few crunchy sunflower seeds inside followed by what Johnathan called a fish cake (known as eomuk or odeng). I was glad Johnathan suggested we try it. I’d seen them before on the street and in markets, but it looked like wet tripe which did not appeal to me. The fish itself was firm even thought it rests in a broth until sold. He urged us to try an additional cup of the broth as well, which we did. It was fishy and salty and brothy and nice on the cold day.

We also had a deeeeelicious donut-like fried pastry with crunchy bits on top, stuffed with red bean paste. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, I was too excited and ate it before I could take a photo. I had been very neutral on red bean paste, kind of a take it or leave it attitude, but this donut may have changed my mind. It was pretty fantastic. Phil had a corn dog that was so tasty. It looked like a corn dog but weren’t entirely sure what was going to be inside. It was, in fact, a corn dog and really good with a slightly sweet, funnel cake like, crunchy batter. I love the photo of him grinning ear to ear with it.

Johnathan dropped us off near the Myeongdong train station and as we walked back, we encountered more street food. I bought another corn dog with potato flakes on the outside and enjoyed a custard and cheese filled coin cake. The batter tasted like taiyaki, the Japanese fish-shaped treat often filled with custard.

The next day, we headed to the Gangnam area of Seoul, made famous by K-pop singer, Psy, in 2012. Gang means river and nam means south. You guessed it, Gangnam is south of the Han river. The area was farm land until the 1970’s when the government started to develop the area and it became a posh neighborhood of the city in which to live, considered to be the Beverly Hills of South Korea.

When we arrived off the train we went searching for a restaurant I’d saved known for it’s gamjatang, or pork neck stew. I’d seen several vloggers eat it and it looked delicious. Phil navigated us through the busy, lunch hour streets to a small, indoor shopping building (not really a mall, but kind of) and we walked past many lunch spots filled with workers on their lunch breaks. Unfortunately, the gamjatang restaurant did not have one soul it in. Bad sign. My guess is that maybe the stew is a little too hearty for a work lunch and that is why folks opted for other options? Either way, we decided to check out another spot instead.

After making another lap, we queued up for a ramen spot that had a longish line, but was moving through folks with a quickness. We were quickly waved in by the old woman working the front of the house. She showed us the machine to order on, took our ticket, and motioned toward the self-service condiment bar that offered kimchee, the best pickled ginger I have ever had, hot peppers, and scallions. The restaurant also offered little aprons, which I took advantage of because ramen be splashin. The soup was delicious and served with love. We also had some tasty little fried chicken chunks because why not?

No longer hangry, we walked on, through a cute, city park. I wanted coffee. Koreans love coffee, like a lot, which I am here for because, me too, Koreans, me too. There are coffee spots everywhere. So, we stopped into Coffeenine and I had one of the best coffee drinks I have ever had. I’d ordered an Americano and Phil ordered their special called a creampresso. There was some confusion as the barista rang my Americano up as iced and I wanted hot. In explaining that I also wanted a hot coffee, he apparently thought I said I wanted the same order as Phil. What a happy little accident. The creampresso took about 10 minutes for them to make, but boy oh boy. It was rich with espresso flavor and had a thick, coconut flavored whipped cream on top that we stirred into the coffee. Holy moly. What a treat.

We walked through Gangnam and it’s many posh shops, in search of salt bread. Not just any salt bread, THE best saltbread in Seoul. What the heck is saltbread, Jess? Well, we weren’t really sure, but we knew it was tasty. Several vloggers mention it and the fact that it is all over the city. One particular gal we liked is a Seoul local, recommended Jayeondo Sogeumppang. Some described the bread as a cross between a croissant and a bagel. They were wrong. It tastes like a butter angel’s bread kisses.

Jayeondo Sogeumppang is unmarked, but we knew we were in the right spot by the long line. It moved fast and soon we had our small, paper bag containing four of the delicious delights. We ate one right then and there, then one on the way to find coffee, and then two as we had coffee. They taste like if someone pan toasted, in butter, the most buttery roll you’ve ever had (mom and anyone who ever ate at my grandma Tankersley’s, they taste like a lightly toasted Mee-Mee roll with way more butter). not surprisingly, I did not get a photo, but took one from the internet where there are plenty. It is, legit, one of the best things I have ever eaten.

The next day, we headed to the Coex mall, also located in Gangnam. It was around 20 degrees and we were not in the mood for outdoor activities, but heard the mall was something to see. We did fit in a little outdoor time as the Bongeunsa Buddhist Temple is right a crossed from the mall and something to behold.

The highlight of our mall time was the impressive library and the coffee I had at Berce coffee, located right next to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, of course. Phil enjoyed a blueberry gelato and I, a pistachio cream cold brew.

We had a great time in Seoul and ate very well. Even with the cold, we both agreed it was a wonderful city to visit and definitely want to return to South Korea one day to explore more.

Next stop, Hong Kong!

Be still my Seoul

Hi! As promised, we’re back for another adventure. This time, we will be traveling throughout Asia for an extended period. First stop, Seoul!

We had originally planned to start our trip in early January with a month in India, visiting our good friend, Utkarsh, and traveling around the state of Rajasthan. My father was hospitalized in mid-December and passed away January 2nd, which led to an itinerary change.

My dad supported our love of travel and had even been to several of our intended destinations during his time serving in Vietnam, both during his active service and while on R&R. We talked about his travels several times before his passing and I can’t help but feel he will be with us along the way.

We were scheduled to leave India and fly to Hong Kong on February 8th. So, we needed to find another destination to spend a week or so prior to resuming our original itinerary in Hong Kong. In looking at our options, Seoul seemed like a good one. South Korea is a country we’d planned to visit during our travels, but did not want to spend an extended period of time due to it being one of the more expensive countries in Asia.

We were able to use our travel credit from the original, booked flights to India and apply it towards our tickets to Seoul, even being able to upgrade to comfort economy for only around $20 each. We also used our IHG Hotel credit card points to cover our entire 8-day stay in Seoul! Score!

We flew 6 hours from Raleigh to Seattle, landing 10 minutes after our flight to Seoul started boarding. We ran as fast as 40-somethings with heavy-ass bags on our backs could to the gate and luckily made it, 3 minutes before they closed the door. We were not so sure, however, that our one checked bag would also make it in time. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best as we took off on our 12 hour flight to Seoul’s Icheon airport.

We (and our bag!) made it to Seoul and we quickly made our way through passport control to meet our driver who Phil arranged through booking.com. We are traveling on a budget, but feel it’s often worth it to pay for a private car, Uber, or taxi following a flight to our accommodations. While a bus or train is certainly less expensive, schlepping the aforementioned heavy-ass bags plus an additional roller bag around on crowded, public transportation, especially after a long flight, is not an inconvenience we want to deal with and wish to avoid when possible.

We were pleasantly surprised by the swanky Voco Myeongdong hotel upon our arrival, and were thankful for the relatively spacious room and 24 hour convenience store located in the hotel lobby. We grabbed a couple of snacks and called it an early night.

The next morning, we awoke early due to the time difference. Seoul is 14 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time and we didn’t sleep on our flight over. We spent the morning lounging around in our robes, drinking Nespresso ( I told you it was swanky!) before heading out to explore the city.

View from our hotel room

Did I mention it was cold in Seoul? It was. Luckily (luckily?) we were somewhat used to cold, winter temps having spent an extended amount of time in Missouri and even North Carolina had an unusual cold snap before we left. It was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit as we left the hotel. The city has a good public transportation system, but we decided to explore on foot that first day, heading toward the Buchon Hanok Village, an old-town area of the city with restored, traditional Korean houses called Hanok.

On our way to the village, we passed by a restaurant we’d saved on our maps app called Keunkiwajip that was awarded a Michelin star in 2018. They are known for their raw, soy marinated crab. Luckily, while busy, there was no line and we got a table right away.

The table had a call button so when ready to order or in need of something, one simply presses it to summon the wait staff. We ordered two different dishes featuring the crab. One, a bright red dish that the waitress warned us was spicy. We have a pretty high spice tolerance, so ordered it anyway. We have a basic understanding about spice levels in the countries we plan to explore. If in Thailand, for example, the waitstaff warns us about spice, we will be more conservative. We felt that the spicy crab would be doable, and it was. That being said, it was quite spicy, and we needed plastic gloves to handle it (the very red dish below).

The meal was served with various dishes of pickled delights including kimchi. One of the dishes contained little, brown, gelatinous cubes that oddly enough tasted like an Italian beef (for those who’ve experienced the Chicago staple sandwich).

After our meal, we walked onto the village. It was hilly and a very popular tourist area, with shops selling various tchotchkes and renting hanboks (traditional Korean outfits).

On our walk back to the hotel, we passed a park with a cool art installation of 24 different walls, each commissioned and completed by different artists and design teams.

After a couple of other stops along the way, we called it an early night. We had a wonderful first day exploring Seoul. Stay tuned for more posts on our Seoul travels!

Here We Go Again

Hey there…it’s been a while, I know, inconsistent. Honestly, it is difficult to write about traveling when you aren’t traveling regularly….Good news! that is getting ready to change.

When Phil and I settled in North Carolina after returning from Spain, we knew it wouldn’t be our forever home. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine place to live, but we knew a couple things: 1. We wanted to save and take another period of extended travel and 2. When we settle down more permanently, we want to do it in California. We loved our time living in California and it felt like home (and still feels like home).

Well, upon our arrival we started saving for another period of extended travel almost immediately. The decision on where we would go has changed a couple of times, but it was never a question of if, always of when. We had a certain dollar amount in mind that we wanted to save before leaving and we saved it, a little earlier than we’d anticipated. So, when? Now!

I quit my job and we’ll be leaving North Carolina at the end of September (only a couple weeks away!) and will be traveling around the U.S. visiting family over the next few months. Since Phil works remotely, he will continue to work during this time.

Are you ready for the plan? As excited as we have been to plan? Here we go!

In early January 2026, we’ll leave the U.S. for the first stop, India! India has been on our list of countries to visit since we met our dear friend, Utkarsh, in Spain. Utkarsh is from the north of India and had been living in Delhi for several years. Prior to spending time with Utkarsh and learning a bit about India and seeing the photos of his own travels throughout the country, Phil and I had not had a great desire to visit. Now we are excited that it will be the first stop on our trip.

Following India, we will travel to Hong Kong and China, then spend time in Southeast Asia for several months. We plan to return to Japan, visit Korea, and while we are nearer than we’ve ever been, see New Zealand and Australia too.

Unlike our time living in Spain, we won’t have a home base this time. We will stay in some countries longer than others (30-90 days depending on the Visa stipulations), but will be living out of our suitcases.

During our last six months in Europe, after we left Gijón, we lived out of our suitcases. It was fun and tough at the same time. I remember Phil and I singing the old show, WKRP In Cincinnati, theme song to one another as we’d pack up, preparing to get on the road again (seems like a missed opportunity to sing On the Road Again, if you ask me).

To put it very simply, I know this trip will be fun…and tough, full of challenges and beauty and with moments of feeling uncomfortable and others of being happy, knowing all is right with the world. When we were in the early stages of planning, we seriously considered returning to Spain to live in another Autonomous Community for a year or so. We like Spain, and, we are comfortable in Spain.

The older Phil and I get, the less we are willing to deal with being uncomfortable, as that seems to be the way of humans. In a few years, we may not be as willing or able to embrace the discomfort. Our upcoming trip is going to be uncomfortable in many ways but it is also going to be awesome and full of adventure (and so much good food!). We decided on the more uncomfortable travel option because if you put off something for too long, sometimes fate makes the choice for you, good or bad.

Stay tuned as we prepare for and embark on our next chapter!

Lijiang in Yunnan, China. One of the many places we intend to explore

Tokyo: The Food!

Now, let’s get to my favorite part of our trip. You know I love food and trying new foods. It’s one of the wonderful things about travel. Sure, it’s tasty and pleasurable, but it’s also exciting to try new flavors and textures that aren’t the norm in your region of the globe.

If you read my first Tokyo post, you’ve seen these photos already. This meal was such a stellar experience, it was worth posting them again. We struck up a conversation on our first day in Tokyo with a local man named Wilson who ended up taking us to a neighborhood restaurant for an unforgettable meal.

In Japan, you can’t really go wrong with food. You’re going to find good food most places you look, even in the convenience stores. We knew this going in, particularly the famous 7-Eleven egg salad sandwiches.

Egg Salad! I am very neutral on egg salad. It is not something I ever crave, make, or order at a restaurant, but if someone made me an egg salad sandwich, I would happily eat it. That did not stop me from being very excited about trying all manner of Tokyo convenience store egg salad sandwiches. I found the Family Mart egg salad to be my favorite; creamy without being too mayo-y, yolk heavy on fluffy white bread. Phil has absolutely no interest in egg salad and was borderline grossed out at my enthusiastic search for it.

The convenience stores have so many delicious things to try; sandwiches, noodles, a hot bar with all kinds of yum yums plus sweet treats, salty crunchies, and many alcoholic and non alcoholic beverage offerings. Everything is also very fresh tasting. Below is a photo from one of our hauls.

The soy sauce and may potato chips were, surprisingly, my favorite. The sweet potato and salty butter (chips? I guess they were chips. They weren’t crackers. They were delicious.) were another standout. I must have eaten at least 3 bags.

A lot, and I mean a lot, of the pre-made convenience store sandwiches have wasabi in them. The problem is, this is not often mentioned on the label. I do not like wasabi or its cousin, horseradish. It’s not the spice, it is the flavor. This does bring me shame since, as an adventurous eater and food lover, I really want to like it. All this to say, if you are visiting Japan and also do not like wasabi: heads up, it is in many sandwiches and dishes.

Ramen! You kind find ramen all over Tokyo. We enjoyed some at a small little restaurant when we were exploring the Kawagoe area of Tokyo. It was the best ramen I have ever had in my life. We weren’t specifically seeking out ramen at the time, we just passed the spot and decided to go in. If you were on a search for well-known or “best” ramen spots in Tokyo, don’t fret if you don’t find it, most any that look decent, I am sure, will be mind blowing.

Sushi! We had sushi a couple of times and the most memorable was here.  Sushi-no-darihan was a spot that Phil had saved on our map (likely from a Tik-Tok recommendation). It was fairly close to our hotel, so we walked there hoping to get a table. We’d read that there was often a line. There were also a mixed bag of reviews regarding service to non-Japanese patrons, but we had a great experience. We were there relatively early and snagged one of their last tables. The menu was entirely hand-written on paper, so Google translate could not help. Luckily, they had a small, English language menu, with pictures, that we happily ordered from.

French (Japanese inspired)! meal #1 at Maison Cinquante Cinq. Phil and I happened upon this restaurant on our way to visit the Tokyo Mosque (Phil writes about that travel day here). We were hungry and had planned to find a place to eat before our visit. We exited the train station and crossed the street when we saw a woman waiting outside of the cute looking little spot. They had a prefix multi course lunch for only $25 a person. It was 11:55, so we waited with the woman for five minutes until they opened the doors and we were seated. It was all delicious. The small plate of a variety of appetizers was my favorite.

French meal #2 Hill House 33: For my birthday, we’d made lunch reservations at the posh Hill House 33 restaurant in the high-end Roppongi neighborhood; the restaurant was on the 33rd floor. Going in, I didn’t realize that it, too, was a French restaurant. I knew it had awesome views of Tokyo Tower and that it had really great reviews of the food.

While we did not travel to Tokyo to eat French food, both restaurants incorporated traditional, Japanese ingredients into traditional, French cooking style and dishes to create unique plates of delicious food.

Tonkatsu! We ate at a delicious Tonkastu restaurant in Shibuya. Traditional tonkatsu are pork cutlets, breaded in airy and fluffy Japanese panko and deep-fried until juicy, crisp, and golden. We had a plate of all kinds of delicious meats and seafood breaded and fried to perfection paired with a refreshing cabbage salad that helped cut the richness of the fried delights. It was absolutely dee-licious. It may have been my favorite meal, food-wise, that we had. I am still thinking about it.

This is certainly not an exhaustive account of all we ate in Tokyo, but highlights and favs. If you travel to Tokyo, you can’t go wrong with wherever you eat. It is all amazing and delicious and delightful. I can’t wait to go back and eat more! …and see more of the beautiful and interesting country, of course!

Tokyo Part 2: The Highlights

Well, here we are. Two months after my first Tokyo post and four months after our trip. What can I say? Stupid work. It gets in the way of living our dang lives. But also it funds our trips, so WhatYaGonnaDo? Knowing myself, and not wanting to delay posting about this trip, this post is dedicated to the highlights. All of the trip was awesome but these are the days/things/experiences that really made it special.

  1. Mario Kart!

I mentioned in my first Tokyo post that Phil’s coworker planted the seed for us to consider planning another trip in 2024. One of the highlights of her trip was Mario Kart (or “street cart”, but they’re not fooling anyone). There are a few companies that offer these street legal, go-cart trips around around Shibuya Crossing, aka the Shibuya Scramble, aka the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world.

When Phil told me that he wanted to do one of the go-cart trips, I was hesitant, to say the least. My mind flashed to one summer, go-carting with my friend Heidi and her family, when I ran off the track and an employee had to come and rescue me. Granted, I was 12-years-old at the time, but still. That memory coupled with the fact that they drive on the other side of the road really had me nervous-sweating at the idea.

We watched a few YouTube videos others had posted about their experience and while it did look like they were having fun, I was still not into it. Phil, however, was SO excited about it. So much so that against my better judgement, I agreed. In fact, I arranged everything with the company via Facebook messenger. *It is important to note that one must have their international drivers license in order to join a go-carting trip. We opted for a nighttime go-cart drive, when all of the lights of Shibuya would be in full effect.

We (well, Phil) woke up excited in anticipation. Have I said I was still a bit nervous about it? A lot nervous about it. An important thing I have learned to keep in mind while traveling, or really just during life in general, is that time will pass, regardless of our consternation. So, even if you are going to an event or gathering you aren’t particularly jazzed about, and/or are nervous bellied over, just remember that it will eventually be over and you will look back on it. In fact, it might be a super fun experience that you look back on with fond memories. Regardless, it is an experience. They can’t all be winners, but if you sit them all out, you’ll never get the good ones either.

With that idea in mind, we started a day with a walking, food-tasting tour, led by a young American man named Max. His love of anime inspired him to start learning Japanese in his early teens and now, some ten years later, he was fluent. The group was made up of other folks from the U.S. and one Australian woman. We met in the Asakusa part of Tokyo and after exchanging pleasantries and names we would almost immediately forget, started with a sushi tasting, followed by soba, mochi, and tea ice cream.

Sushi sampling
Heading in for soba

After the tour, we took a rest at our hotel before heading out for the day’s main event: Mario Kart! We’d apparently gotten a little too confident in our train navigation abilities. We thought we’d left in plenty of time for our 7pm reservation, but after taking the wrong train, then having to hoof it for about 20 minutes, we were starting to [quite literally] sweat it.

We went to the wrong location first (not realizing the company had two), but finally made it just in time. In fact, we were the first ones there. After cooling off a bit, we each picked our [very generic and not at all mario-cart-y ; ) ] costumes that we’d don during our drive.

Two ladies from Britain joined us. They would be the only others in our group, which I was glad about. Stan, the young American who was to be our guide, asked everyone, after watching the safety video, if anyone was nervous about driving. I quickly said I was on the two British gals did as well. This also made me feel a bit more comfortable. Stan said we would go slow and if we all wanted to, at the very end, there would be a spot where we could speed if everyone voted to. That seemed fair.

We headed out of the office and down to the garage where the carts were. We familiarized ourselves with where the blinkers, breaks, etc were. I was still feeling very uneasy, but Phil’s ear-to-ear perma-grin helped to steel my resolve. He was so excited. How could I not have a good time?

Look at that dimple
Could he be any cuter?

And we were off, driving through Tokyo, at night, on a go-cart. What sounded wildly unsafe was super-exhilarating and fun (that is sometimes the case with wildly unsafe things, huh?). I think I had mostly been afraid of how the cart would handle. It was very easy to drive, which greatly alleviated much of my anxiety. We stayed in a group and Stan had advised us of what his different hand gestures would mean (stop, go, single file, or two by two). We also had another go-cart employee following in the back. It all made me feel much more at ease and pretty soon, I had a big ole smile plastered across my face too.

We stopped at the famous Shibuya scramble cross walk and saw it in it’s full, bustling glory. People waved at us and smiled. As we navigated the smaller streets near where we began, folks outside of a few bars, gave us high five’s and cheers. I am so happy I decided to join Phil for the experience. It was SO fun!

2. Kawagoe

Kawagoe is an Edo-period castle town, it is best known for its old clay warehouses and merchant homes, called Kurazukuri and our destination was the Warehouse district, called Kurazukuri no Machinami. The historic warehouse buildings were very cool and mostly house little tourist shops. I picked up a lovely aventurine necklace. It is a stone I was not familiar with but looks a lot like jade. Green is my favorite color, so I obviously needed it. I also picked up a cool new phone case.

We also happened upon a Buddhist cemetery which was very cool. We stopped by another Shinto shrine to have our book stamped (referenced in the first Tokyo post).

3. This fish-shaped treat

This [I guess you could call it a] pastry, called Taiyaki, was the best sweet treat I had during our time in Tokyo. Resembling a seam bream, in Japan, the red sea bream (tai) is a symbol of good luck and prosperity, and taiyaki is often associated with these positive attributes. The outside has a similar taste and consistency of a waffle and it is stuffed with your choice of several fillings, traditionally sweet red bean paste. This one was filled with custard. Not too sweet and the custard was so creamy, it was more than just right. It was heavenly! In fact when we stopped two other times during our trip to buy some, I could not bring myself to order any other filling since the custard had been so amazing.

To be honest, sweet red bean paste takes some getting used, as a westerner. I like beans, I like sweet, but to have something so traditionally savory in the U.S. made sweet, takes your brain and taste buds through a wild ride. I had some red bean mochi that I enjoyed. The more I tried it, the more I liked it. It is rather rich, so a little went a long way.

 4.  Omiya, the bonsai village

Recently, Phil has gotten really into bonsai. In fact, over the past six months or so, he has acquired about 40 plants. Some he purchased as bonsai and tends to, and others were nursery plants he saw potential in and created new bonsai, clipping and pruning as he is inspired. Either way, it is pretty cool and he really enjoys it.

I think we would have wanted to visit Omiya regardless of his new hobby, since we both have been long appreciators of the art. The fact that he is now a bonsai gardener, made it that much cooler.

The area is a quiet, residential area, that also houses several bonsai gardens and nurseries as well as a bonsai museum. We also saw many bonsai in the backyards and on the front stoops of homes.

The nurseries were SO cool, the variety amazing. Unfortunately, photos were prohibited in most. Luckily, as we were walking around a rather large one, we saw a French couple taking photos of an older Japanese fellow in front of a larger bonsai. We inquired about it and they told us that the bonsai master was standing in front of a tree that was 600 years old! We asked if we might also take a photo and the bonsai master was happy to oblige.

Another very cool, non-bonsai-related thing happened while we were walking the streets of Omiya. A fellow who appeared to be engaging in some sort of building renovation with a few other guys, called to us and quickly came over. He handed us a baggie with something in it, stating it was free and his father had made it. Suspicion kicked in for both Phil and I, having traveled to many places, if someone puts something in your hand and says it’s free, chances are, you will be giving them some sort of payment for, if nothing else, to end the interaction. Nothing is [usually] free and both of us decline offers of “free” items when traveling. One guy in Milan expertly tied a bracelet on my wrist before I even realized it (and of course, wanted some money for it). But, I digress.

We knew that all manner of scams and street crimes such as pick pocketing, although not non-existent in Japan, are rare. We eased our initial, uptight reaction, when the fellow said with a warm smile, “Welcome to Japan”. He told us that not many people had been through that day, so he handed us several of the packages; zip-lock baggies containing a hand carved dragon fly and a Japanese post card with a message about the “balancing toy” (if you perch the end of the dragon fly on the edge of something such as a flower pot it will balance there) that was the dragon fly. With another smile, he quickly returned to his work and we were on our way. The gift was so unique and so personal that it ended up being one of my favorite souvenirs of the trip.

 5.  The National Arts Center

Phil and I love a good museum, especially an art museum. The National Art Center was no exception. There was so much beauty to take in from drawings, paintings, and textiles. Just when we thought, we had seen everything there was to see, we found ourselves in a huge area filled with more amazing sculptures.

While all the art, buildings, temples, go-carts, and bonsai trees were exciting, entertaining and enjoyable, the food is actually my #1 favorite thing about our trip. I shall be making an entire post about the amazing food we ate, so more to come!