Local Cuisine in Hanoi

Local Cuisine in Hanoi

Some of my friends said that after visiting Hanoi once, they never want to go back. I used to think of Hanoi as a boring city before I visited there…but I was wrong! After being there, I saw many differences that I couldn’t have understood before actually visiting the city. Now I realize that Hanoi is more traditional and graceful than Saigon. It is a city with old, classic places and interesting food, and it made me – a tourist who just visited Hanoi for the first time - want to come back again. I totally love the food here (except for some weird dishes I can’t eat and don’t want to try). If you have an opportunity to visit Hanoi, don’t miss Hanoi's local cuisine. Below are descriptions of some dishes that can be found only in Hanoi, or dishes of which the flavor is further enhanced if eaten in Hanoi:
  • Bún chả:
Pork ground are cut into small pieces, grilled and eaten along with noodles, fish sauce, garlic, chili and green papaya salad. Bun cha sellers are found in any street, but Bún chả Hàng Mành is the best! A large bowl is just 60.000 VND – and I think it’s too much for one girl. With 2 people, I recommend you order one Bún chả and two rolls of nem rán whichcosts 30.000VND/roll. Nem rán is a dish of ground meat mixed with bean sprouts, egg, mushroom, vermicelli, rolled in rice paper, and fried until it is light brown and crispy. bún chả

“A big bowl with grilled meat pork and ribs”

nem

“Nem rám”

 

  • Lẩu ếch:
Frog hot pot is one of the top dishes on my ‘must-have’ list in Hanoi, and it is a terrific choice too warm up the body on a cold night! Along TrúcBạch Street, there are a series of restaurants serving frog hot pots, but I recommend the restaurant at 43 or 49 TrúcBạch Street – famous and delicious! A typical hot pot for 2-3 people costs around 400.000 - 500.000VND – quite expensive compared to other hot pots. Frog skin and meat, pineapple, spring onion, green pepper and coriander are cooked together.­ A good frog hotpot has a rich, deep and spicy flavor, especially suitable for people who like spicy food. This hot pot is more complicated to cook than other types of hot pot, as the frog needs to be well marinated, deep fried and stir fried again with bamboo shoots before being added to the broth. lau ech

 

  •  Bún bò trộn:
Another kind of noodle, in this dish, beef is fried with beansprouts and vinegar fish sauce, served with salad and fried onion. All are mixed together before you eat. A very delicious dish which is quite similar to “bùnthịtxào” in Saigon!  bún bò trộn  
  •  Phở:
Phở is associated with the city of Hanoi, where the first restaurant opened in the 1920s, and is a popular street food that has been named one of “the world’s 50 most delicious foods”, according to CNN. Phở Hanoi is often served with noodle, beef, onion and finger-shaped soufflé batte (cháoquẩy), and without raw vegetable. A local friend told me “o­nce you try this dish, you will never forget it” – and that must be true, as many Hanoians living away from Hanoi really want to try Hanoi phở to recall their past memories about the city -  but honestly, I don’t like Hanoi Phở! Saigon Phở has a better flavor! There are many famous Phở restaurants in Hanoi, such as  Phở Lý Quốc Sư, Phở Thìn,etc. pho

“Phở with beef”

quay 

“Quẩy”

  • Bò nầm nướng (baked beef)
A mixed of raw meat/ bowel/ breast/ cartilage of beef, and mushroom/ okra/ pineapple/cucumber…grilled by yourself…at the table. Eat with bread. Delicious!  grilled beef  
  • Bún đậu mắm tôm:
Shrimp paste (mắm tôm) is popular in VietNam. I know some of you don’t like it because of the smell but come on… When u travel, travel as a local!  You want to see the world, you have to  see, hear, smell, touch, taste and feel. Except dog/cat meat and some terrible dishes, this one is worth to try! First time, maybe you don’t like it (like me), but trust me, if you try it in second or third time, you will feel sorry for people who refuse to try this. Bún đậu mắm tôm includes “bún” noodles, fried “đậu” (tofu cake) and “mắm tôm” shrimp paste. Hanoians love it! That’s why it is easy to find a street vendor offering you this delicious dish. Add a few drops of fresh lemon or Satsuma, some slide peppers in shrimp paste (it’s more delicious if spicy, in my opinion), and mix all till the bowl is full of soft tiny bubbles (the smell will be less strong). When you eat it, dip a piece of tofu-cake, plus some noodle into the shrimp paste sauce, and eat it all together. Eating it with boiled pork and fried meat rolls is also delicious, but in restaurants, I think vendors just have tofu. And a tip for you, you should bring a chewing-gum after eating this dish (lol)  bún đậu mắm tôm    
  • Kem Tràng Tiền:
Although the weather is pretty cold at night, lots of people eat ice cream in Hanoi. A local friend said that Hanoians love eating Tràng Tiền ice cream specially when it’s cold! When I travel, I want to be a local, so i tried and I realized why this place is so crowded and why people have to queue a long time in order to be served, even summer or winter. By the way, this is a take away shop!

kem trang tien 

  Apart from these delicious dishes, there are a few weird famous dishes in Hanoi which I refuse to try. I get the creeps when I just think of these dishes:
  • Thịt chó (dog meat):I don’t know how delicious this can be, to make so many Vietnamese people (especial Hanoians) love it, but there you have it. However, they eat for various reasons aside from culinary pleasure, such as to increase male virility or bring about good luck (?!?!!!). By some estimates, Hanoi accounts for up to half of all the dogs eaten in Vietnam K I saw lots of dog meat restaurants provides seven ways to cook dog, known as “cầy tơ bảy món”:
- Steamed dog meat with shrimp paste, rice flour, and lemongrass - Steamed dog in shrimp paste, galangal, and rice vinegar - Steamed dog meat - Grilled dog meat - Dog sausage - Fried dog in lemongrass and chili - Bamboo and dog meat soup I find it unacceptable to eat dog - it is inhumane and cruel. I will never try it for sure! How can u eat it if you see this.. lots of shops like this sell dog meat on street. Terrible! selling dog meat
  • Blood pudding (Tiết canh): Blood pudding sounds like a dish for vampires. But Hanoians love it. When I first met my coworkers in Hanoi, they took me to have lunch…and I got shocked when I see all of them (men and women) ordering this blood pudding and eating it as a delicacy. This dish is made from raw duck blood and mince of duck meat or cooked duck innards. When you eat, you can put lemon, peanuts and chopped herbs (corianders, mints,houttuynia..)
tiet canh

Lakshman for this Lifetime

Lakshman for this Lifetime

This photo was me with the crazy group of Indian cousins I met in Mumbai. This was at the end of our trip when we made an American sports team style huddle before erupting into the “Lakshman” chant. For my last day in Mumbai I thought it would be cool to take the ferry over to Elephanta Island to see Hindu statues that dated back to the 7th century AD. I got on the ferry and sat down to enjoy the ride. A few minutes later I noticed a group of Indian guys causing trouble in the back of the boat. A couple of Indian families came up to me and asked me if I would take a picture with them. The guys saw this and motioned me over to meet them. These guys turned out to be some of the most nuts, fun-loving dudes I’ve ever met. They were all cousins or related somehow, and out of the 14 or so of them only one of them spoke a moderate amount of English. Nevertheless, we didn’t need to share a common language to pick on the monkeys of the island or holler at the white girls walking by. It goes to show that language is a barrier that can easily be overcome. One thing I’ve noticed about guys from around the world is that, no matter how bad their English is, they always find it funny to pick one of their friends and tell the outsider in broken English that their friend is gay. It’s usually the quiet, shy one that doesn’t fight back that is the brunt of the joke. For this group it was the unfortunate cousin Arjun that earned the title. The cousins approached me one after the other, “Hey see him. See Arjun. He gay!” This was followed by roars of laughter from the others. The laughter grew stronger each time it was announced that Arjun was gay. By the 6th or 7th time the poor guy was declared gay, the group was worked up into such a state of hilarity that I thought one of them was going to fall over the railing and into the ocean. Arjun just sat there quietly. He seemed accustomed to being the entertainment for the group. They gave me the Indian nickname of “Lakshman” and then broke out into laughter when I beat my chest like King Kong and yelled “Lakshman” in a savage jungle roar. I was continually prodded into unleashing my “Lakshman” furry until we got back on the ferry. At that point I got brief break and watched them throw potato chips to the seagulls that were flying behind the boat. When they included me and gave me some chips I pretended that I didn’t understand I was supposed to throw them and instead ate the chips. The rowdy group erupted into laughter again and took turns giving me chips as I playfully illustrated that Americans didn’t understand the game they were playing. I could have hired a tour guide for almost nothing and learned a lot about the island. Very few places that I toured in India dated back to the 7th century, and it would have been a rare experience to learn about the Hindu philosophies of this time period. There were things I would have learned on the island that I never would have learned anywhere else. Instead, I tagged along with a crew of newfound Indian friends and had a great day filled with trouble making and merriment. The mood of group was similar to the mood I would have been in had I done the trip with my American friends from home. We barely spoke anything of meaning the whole day, but that wasn’t really important. We didn’t need to speak the same language for this trip. We finished the trip off with an American sports team style huddle. Following my lead, the guys all put their hands in middle. We did a three count and yelled, “Lakshman!” and then I parted ways with them. I doubt I’ll ever see them again, but I know that’s not really what’s important. It’s important to enjoy little moments like this when they arise. According to Hinduism, our spirits are all connected in a beginningless and endless universe. My spirit has met up with the spirits of those guys at some point many other lifetimes. In prior life one of them was my brother. In another life one of them was my father. In another life one of them was my dog. In another life one of them was a stranger that helped me when my wagon broken down on side of the road. We’ve met countless times before in past lives, and we’ll meet countless times again in the future. The fact that we had a pleasant experience this time and did not do anything dishonest to one another ensures that we’ll have a positive relationship in future lifetimes. That’s the way I’d like to think about it. For this lifetime “Lakshman” will remain my Indian name and be a good memory of a fun-filled day in Mumbai.

New Years Eve in Haiti

New Years Eve in Haiti

Vincent and I have been friends for as long as I can remember but new years eve was when I actually  got the chance to see just how much of a great friend he is. I remember that night as if it occurred moments ago. I was sitting on my living room couch just thinking to myself,  "What's the easiest way I could fall asleep and wake up into the new year of 2013 a new man?"and if my friends knew exactly where the best party's were." I was rudely awaken from my brainstorming session by the vibration of my Blackberry. "Hello" I answered and the voice replied "Hey Sten, 2013 is almost here man, what are you doing tonight?" Instantly I was well aware that the caller was my colleague and good friend Vincent. "Nothing much, I was about to call this chick" I lied knowing damn well there was no chick to call. " Yo lets go to this party at kingston18" Demanded Vincent. "Kingston 18? Isn't that in Jamaica? We are in Haiti, man wake up!!" I barked. "No Sten. Matter fact be ready in 15 minutes, I'll scoop you up" and he hung up.   Haiti and Jamaica are two beautiful countries located in the heart of the Caribbean. The sea, climate, and beauty are some of the key things we have in common. However, the dialect, music, and cuisine are very different. The distance between Haiti and Jamaica is about 120 miles. The heart of Petionville is home to Kingston 18. If the taste buds are craving for some good ole Jamaican cuisine. Kingston 18 is surely the place. After one bite of the tasty mouth watering jerk chicken, I felt as if i was at Nikkita's, but this was not Montego Bay. Kingston 18 is far more than just a restaurant. The floor space is immaculate, shinning bright with multi color neon lights. It has two comfortably open V.I.P sections overlooking the city of Port Au Prince, several pool tables, and flat screens occupy the wall panels near the spacious bar area. The checkered wall paper paint and graffiti paintings on the wall combined a terrific artistic touch that is pleasing to the eye. The minute you step into this place, one look around is all you need to confirm that you are in yardie town. Jamaican flags are posted on all corners. All of Kingston 18 waiters are mysteriously identical to any eye , surely on the account that they are all young and beautiful, moreover the fact they are all seductively attired in body fitting tights flaunting green, yellow and black of the Jamaican flag. Kingston 18 is  located on the final floor story of the Irish village building. Once inside, be ready to be amazed by the fantastic views of the shooting stars of the breath taking Petionville sky. The speakers are strategically placed all over the place; which forces the music to fill the air, thus the dance floor is never left unattended. "Happy new year man" proclaimed Vincent at the count of zero "Yaaa mon".  I said in my best bob Marley tone.Irish Village front DSC02469 DSC02472 DSC02473 DSC02474 DSC02476 DSC02477 DSC02479  DSC02482 DSC02483

Hair Like a Bollywood Actor

Hair Like a Bollywood Actor

My long blonde hair is a big hit in India. Indians are used to seeing white people with long hair, but those people are usually hippy backpackers with greasy, dreadlocked long hair. I keep mine combed and conditioned. The Indian salesperson complements it to prime me for a sale. The average Indian asks about it before asking to get a picture with me. It’s kind of fun, but it also draws some pretty strange attention. Jaipur was beautiful but hectic. Amongst other beautiful sites I had toured Albert Hall, Amber Fort, and the Temple of Ganesh. I was worn out by the rickshaw taxi driver though. The ride between sites was headache each time. The rickshaw taxi driver kept bringing me to his friends’ overpriced tourist shops, kept trying to end my tour before the agreed upon time, and kept asking for more money than we had agreed upon. By the time I got back to my hotel I was ready for a freaking drink. I did my research and found that Jaipur had some of the worst nightlife in India. I had an option though. I had inadvertently agreed to meet up with some Indian vendors that had been trying to sell to me earlier that day. The rickshaw driver had brought me to this shit jewelry store, and I had repeatedly refused to buy their made-in-China jewelry and knick knacks. “You have nice long hair sir. It just like Bollywood actor. How about nice cashmere scarf to go with it?” “No thanks. I’m not buying anything.” “This is cheap for you sir. You are from America.” “I know this doesn’t cost much for Americans. I don’t need it. I threw away half of my clothes before this trip, and I don’t need any new ones. On top of that I don’t have a job. On top of that I’m traveling around with a backpack that has limited space. I periodically stop and throw away worthless stuff like this that I don’t need. If I bought this I would have to throw it away.” When they realized that I wasn’t going to buy any of their worthless shit they decided that they wanted “to be friends, no business”. After a pre-planned relationship-building talk the one leading the pitch asked me if I wanted to get dinner and drinks with them later so I could have a chance to “hang out with real Indians.” Trapped in the spell and without thinking I agreed. I immediately realized this hangout between “friends” meant going to their buddy’s restaurant and paying way too much for food and drinks. “Can you take me to a bar with other tourists?” I asked, “I’d like to meet other backpackers.” “Why would you want to go to a tourist bar and pay too much for drinks when you can hang out with real Indians?” My new “friend” had a good point….except that I felt like more of a piggy bank to them. I can’t wait to hang with these dudes who see me as a pocketbook and throw canned sales tactics at me all night. I was thrilled in anticipation of the great cultural discussion we were going to have about handmade suits and jewelry. “Just remember, you buy your drinks and we buy ours,” he added, meaning, “You buy food from our restaurant at 3x price and we’ll eat here at cost like we do every night.” He topped it off with the straight-from-scam-school sales technique of giving someone a reputation to live up to, “And that’s why we love Americans. They always keep their promises, so we know you’re going to come. See you at 7.” I decided as soon as I left that place that I was blowing them off. I didn’t want to get taken to some far off bar and then loaded up with liquor with these Indian guys that I didn’t know. India is pretty safe for tourists, but when you travel alone you have to watch out for yourself. If that means occasionally being rude and dishonest to random strangers so be it. When I got back I went online and found the only place that popped up when I searched “bar”. It was called TC Bar & Grill. Based on my prior searches for bars in India, I wasn’t completely convinced that it was a real bar. It seemed more like an Indian TG Fridays. I had nothing to do though, and it was only a $3 cab ride away. “Whatever,” I thought, “let’s check it out.” I arrived at the entrance and saw two bouncers monitoring the entryway that led to a patio with music. It looked decent. I went in, passed through the patio, and walked downstairs. It had a regular, Western-style, bar on the one side, and a dance floor on the other side. It was the first Western-style bar I had seen since I’d been in India. To top it off there was a DJ playing a good mix of American Rock ‘n’ Roll hits. I went to the bar and got a drink. They would not serve just one beer. Minimum serving was two beers per order. “Great way to get hammered way faster than planned,” I thought. I grabbed a couple and waited at the bar, staring into the blasting music. I stood at the bar waiting for people to come so I could make conversation. Two Indian women came up first. I kept silent as I didn’t want to risk starting any fights while hanging out solo in land that was foreign to me. I decided that it was best to start off by making some guys friends. A group of three guys came over and I said something about being impressed by the tunes. The shortest guy was wearing a purple shirt and did most of the talking. His name was Apu. He invited me to hang at their table. I had a crew now. “Where are you from?” Apu asked. “USA” “Oh nice. Great country. With your hair I did not think USA.” “Yeah, it’s different I guess.” “No it good though. You look like actor from Bollywood.” So far this was very typical based on the Indians I’ve met. They are generally very friendly and welcoming to outsiders. Also every Indian man is pretty much a world class freestyle dancer. There’s no shyness when it comes to dancing. Public displays of goofy and embarrassing (but kick ass) dance moves are the norm. Watch a Bollywood music video if you want to see what I’m talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLUS2pDKmmc We moved over to the dance floor and the guys started busting out typical crazy Indian dance moves. They pointed at me so I joined them. I introduced some off my offbeat American favs, going mostly with The Penguin, but transitioning back and forth to Double Guns. After a few minutes I grew tired of the meatfest dance circle, so I took a break and sat down. Apu came over shortly thereafter and started doing some silly dance. He motioned me to get up. I did so and did some retarded move with my hands to keep my new friends happy. I sat back down. It is also pretty typical of Indian guys to go out in a small group and keep to each other all night. The boldest occasionally try to squeeze their way into the closed off circles of Indian women. Since Indian women generally turn down anyone that they haven’t been introduced to by a friend you see most of the men keeping to themselves. It’s a different scene than what I was used to, but it was that or watching movies at the hotel. I waited a few songs, and then got up to join the group. Apu put his arm around my shoulder in a friendly gesture. I put my arm over his shoulder for a few seconds before moving aside. He looked at me and made a hand gesture. I thought he was trying to do a hang ten sign with his pinky and his thumb, but he inadvertently included his pointer finger, which made it the “I love you” sign in English sign language. “He must not know what this means,” I thought. He also didn’t know you were supposed to pivot your wrist back and forth when you do a hang ten sign. He just held it there motionless and looked at me, clearly, but inadvertently, telling me he loved me through sign language. The other thing about Indian men is that they frequently hold hands or walk arm in arm with their guy friends. When I first saw this I thought that India had a disproportionately high gay population, but it turned out that this was just part of the culture. I think the guys seek out a degree of affection from each other because any kind of affection with women is forbidden before marriage. Anyways, as far as I was concerned this was just a group of typical Indian guys. Apu was just getting annoying. More songs came and Apu periodically came over to embrace me. It was getting a little weird, even by Indian standards. He started to walk to the bar and motioned me to come. “Do you like here?” “Yeah it’s good man. Thanks for taking me into your group?” “Do you have girlfriend in America?” “No.” “Why not? You are good looking guy.” “American culture is very different. We generally get married later.” This was a pretty standard question from Indian men. They generally can’t have relations with women before they’re married, and so they generally get married earlier than men from the Western world. “No girlfriend? So what you do later?” It had gone from a little weird to really weird. “I’ll go to my hotel and go to sleep.” “No I’ll join you,” he whispered, making a stroking gesture with his hand. “No thanks dude. I’m not gay.” His shoulders slumped forward and he made a frown, “My bad luck.” “Yeah that’s shitty man. See you later.” With that I peaced out. From the experience I learned that my long blonde hair occasionally got the attention of gay Indian men. I learned to spot them after that, but some were never shy about asking. It also gave the salespeople another pointless reason to talk to me. No way I’m going to cut it though. It’s a reflection of my personality and current adventure as a free spirit traveling the world. I’ll put up with the occasional weirdo. Someday it’s going to turn gray and fall out….. sooo I’m going to rock it for now!

Midnight Standoff with a dog

It was about midnight, and Meeka, the Norwegian traveler I had been touring with that day, and I were parting ways. That day we had toured the famous City Palace and Hindu temples of Udaipur.  Then we finished the evening off with hookah and drinks at legendary backpacker hangout Pushkar’s Cafe. The streets were empty, but Meeka insisted on walking home alone. She had been traveling for four months, and I felt confident she knew what she was doing. “Goodnight” she said as she rounded the corner. I walked about 30 steps when I heard a shriek, “Jesseee! Help meee!” I ran around the corner and Meeka was cornered against the wall by a muscular, fierce-looking stray dog. At about 50 pounds it’s one of the largest strays I’ve seen in India. Meeka was frozen stiff as the canine inched forward growling fiercely. I sprinted over, positioning myself between Meeka and the dog. The dog was startled for a minute. It backed up a step, and then continued inching forward, growling even more fiercely this time. Now the rule with dogs is to never show fear. Dogs can sense fear, and for that reason, if you show fear they will consider you as prey chase after you. If you are dealing with an aggressive dog you cannot show that you fear it, you must instead make it fear you. You have to show it that you are the alpha male and will hurt it if you have to. If Plan A, scare the dog off, didn’t work it’s good to have a Plan B. Plan B was to fight the dog. This dog was about 50 pounds, and if it came down to a scrap a solid kick to the head would most likely send it scampering off. If the kick did not land on target the dog would continue charging, jump up, and bite my arm. At that point with my arm in its mouth I would wrap my legs around it body and grapevine its legs. Given enough pressure this would break the inflexible hips of the canine. At the same time I would apply a rear naked choke on its neck with my free arm. This was the plan. I learned it all from play fighting my German shepherd back home. But just remember my dog was only play-fighting. That said, I was confident I would win the scrap, but I definitely did not want to get bit by this mangy dog. I should have gotten those damn rabies shots before I left. Hopefully Plan A was going to work. As the dog came closer I felt my chest tense up and my heart pound rapidly. “It’s time to act,” I told myself. “You must put fear out of the equation. You must become a machine that responds automatically with the correct output to any given input. If you respond with the incorrect output (running away) you and Meeka will get attacked.” The dog started to run forward. I jumped back. “I need to run.” The flight instinct was kicking in. “I’m a harmless vegetarian creature with no natural defenses. A dog has teeth and is designed to kill. YOU NEED TO RUN!” the voice in my head resounded. “GEETTT!” I yelled. I had suppressed my panicked emotional impulse and instead made the logical decision to fire up my emotional aggression. The dog stopped in its tracks and looked at me sideways. It was confused. It stared at me, studying my new demeanor. The set back was not enough for this alpha dog. It took another step forward and started barking. I delivered my deepest, raspiest voice, “GET GOING!!”. The dog stopped again and took a step back. “GEETTT” I yelled and charged forward three steps. It worked. The dog ran back about 20 feet. It turned around and continued barking from a distance. I could see up on the ledge there was a female dog that he was protecting. This was causing this territorial display of ferocity. We were ok for the moment, but we need to get out there. I looked over to my side. Meeka was terrified and standing motionless against the wall. “Meeka come here. Back up slowly. Whatever you do, don’t run.” Meeka made a petrifying squeak and started to hurry away. This was just enough to engage the dog. It charged forward again and stopped about ten feet in front of us. It matched our paces as we backed away. “Meeka it’s ok, just don’t run.” Meeka panicked and started running. The dog attempted to go to my right to get to Meeka. I side stepped to block its path. “GEETTT!!!” I was eye to eye to with the dog and it was now barking more fiercely. This time it sensed that my charge was fake and was not ready to be fooled again. It was time to let it know that I wasn’t messing around. I raised my voice and flailed my arms wildly. I took several mechanical and aggressive steps forward. The dog backed up in pace, but continued eyeing me. This move hadn’t won me challenge. I needed to do more. Time for Plan B. Fight the dog. I am going to sprint forward, and if the dog does not run I am going to kick it straight in its lower jaw. Once I commit there’s no turning back. I can fly to Mumbai and get rabies shots tomorrow. “GEETTT OUUTTT OF HERREE!!!!” And with that I charged forward. I met eye to eye with dog for the last time. It turned around and ran. This time it did not stop until it was a safe distance away from us. I turned to see Meeka. She was now wielding a brick. She was about as dangerous as statue. We backed up slowly. Meeka was petrified. She grabbed my arm tightly, and began babbling some craziness in Norwegian. I grabbed a brick of my own and walked her home. From that experience I learned that when you walk around at night in India you are supposed to carry a big stick. If you can’t find one find a broken slab of cement from the side walk. If you come across a fierce stray dog all you need to do is raise the stick or brick and yell. Even if you are unarmed raise your arm as if you are going to throw something. These dogs know what the gesture means from being around people on the harsh streets of India. If the dog does not run give it a whack and it’ll get running. Whatever you do, do not run, do not show fear, and demonstrate that you are the alpha on the block. If it comes down to it, let it know that your bite is worse than your bark.

A Day in Udaipur

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A Day in Udaipur

  I arrived in Udaipur early in the morning via overnight bus.  4:00 AM in the one of the world’s most poverty stricken countries is a fairly scary place.  I’m walking around with about $1000 worth of gear, which is equivalent to the yearly salary of many Indian workers.  I can’t quite figure out yet why I haven’t been robbed yet.  I walked in darkness until I found the nearest rickshaw taxi. “Can you take me to Hotel Poonam Haveli?” “Yes sir 100 rupees.” I’m already getting ripped off but don’t have the energy to haggle.  I think to myself that the 20 minute ride is worth the $2.  I hop in the back.  I have no idea where I am.  This cab driver could kidnap me easily and no one would ever find out it was him.  This has to be safer than walking though. I woke up the next day, excited to get my first glimpse of “The City of Lakes”.  I walked to the balcony and gazed over Lake Pichola.  The jagged hills, historical Indian architecture, and primitive boats moving slowly across the lake were all glossed over by a smog based haze that made the place seem magical.  It was one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. I went out onto the street and the vendors began haggling me to buy cheap rugs, jewelry, and artwork.  I gave the first vendors a few moments of my time but quickly realized I would not get anywhere if I stopped to listen to all of them. I felt hungry but was afraid to eat anywhere.  I stumbled around until I found another traveler that looked like she knew what she was doing.  She was headed to a place for breakfast, and so I joined her.  Her name was Meeka and she was from Norway. “Hey thanks.  I feel so out of my element.  I have no idea where is safe to eat here.  In the last town I just went wherever my Indian friends wanted to go,” I began as we sat down at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the lake. “Yes it’s tough at first.  I was in the hospital a few weeks ago.  I had really bad food poisoning.” “Glad I asked you where to eat,” I laughed, revaluating my people sense. It turned out that Meeka was exploring the city too.  We decided to team up and left for the street. Right around the corner was Jagdish Temple.  We walked up the long staircase, removed our shoes, and entered the temple.  Like many other sites in the city it was constructed by Maharana Jagat Singh.  It is devoted to the Hindu God, Shiva and adorned with hundreds of other Hindu gods that are carved into the walls. We walked into the main room, and a small ceremony was in progress.  Hindus do not have a set day of worship as in Christianity.  They make pilgrimages to temples when they wish good fortune from the gods.  I sat down near a group of elderly Indian women that were participating in the procession.  A crazy old Hindu priest was chanting and shaking a stick over the heads of the women.  He passed around this yellowish putty-textured pastry ball.  The women dug their fingers in one after another. I was at the end of the line and the gooey ball worked its way closer and closer to me.  The old woman next to me licked her fingers, preparing to thrust them into the ball.  As she pulled her finger out of her mouth a strand of saliva was still bridging her mouth to her finger.  It broke and rested on her finger as she used the finger to pinch a loaf off of the pastry.  She smiled at me and passed the treat, happy that I was participating in her culture.  The saliva had been transfer from her finger onto the only untouched piece.  This was my cue to leave.  Thank you for showing me your culture, but I’m going to pass this time. We made the short walk over to City Palace.  As we walked through we viewed elegant paintings of elephant fights, tiger hunts, and glorious celebrations.  Those ancient Hindus knew how to live well. Most of the relics were in honor of a former ruler named Maharana Jagat Singh.  Singh had inherited a rich, but poorly planned Udaipur, and he had a vision that would change the city.  Udaipur, like most cities in India throughout history, was way over populated.  It lacked the water it needed to sustain its population.  Singh had his subjects divert a nearby river to create a large lake.  Udaipur had the water it needed to grow.  The people were happy and celebrated by having tons of babies until the city became overpopulated again. Indians love company.  They have a very social culture, and place little value on space.  When the next ruler took over he soon became unhappy because when he went through the streets he could see gaps in between the people.  “My city is far too under populated,” he declared, and commissioned the construction of another lake.  The people were happy and the population continued to grow.  This process continued with succeeding rulers until the city had five really dirty lakes and way too many people. When we walked through the other side we saw large murals depicting the glorious battles of Maharana Pratap.  Pratap was basically this kick ass leader that possessed just about every noble quality a man could have.  When he rode his elephant horse into battle he could single handedly take on 100 men, slay a full-grown elephant, and cut a man clean in half with one fell swoop.  He took on a very powerful Mogul army, implementing guerrilla warfare tactics to wear them down before finishing them off in a final battle. When the evening came around we went out on the street in search of something to do.  Because the James Bond hit Octopussy was filmed here, all of the restaurants show it in the evening.  Literally almost all of them had signs up with the message “James bond here”, “Octopussy at 7:00”.  It was funny because the amount of restaurants showing that same movie at that exact same time seemed to exceed the amount of tourists out at night.  I felt bad for the guy that did it first. We really didn’t want to spend two hours of my short stay watching a movie, so we ventured through town looking for other places that could be interesting.  There wasn’t much, and we had all but decided to give up when we saw a blue light coming from a second floor restaurant called Pushkar’s Café.  We walked closer and heard dance music. “Potential,” I thought. We went in and sat down at one of the hookah tables.  I started bullshitting with some backpackers and had some beers.  Then Pushkar came out and introduced himself.  He had a very likeable personality.  A few hours later he turned the venue into a dance party and DJ’ed it himself.  The scene turned from a mellow hookah bar into a European dance club with drunken backpacker girls stumbling all over the dance floor. I strongly recommend Udaipur if you tour through Northwest India.   Keep in mind though that it’s not for the average resort/cruiseliner-going type of tourist .  You will learn a lot about Hindu culture, but also see some of the major problems in India.  It is highly polluted.  I first grasped what highly polluted meant when I was in this town.  My throat was constricted for the duration of my stay, and I could barely see the hilltops because of the heavy smog.  Additionally, the streets are packed with a continuous stream of people and motorcycles. Pollution and overpopulation is standard in any Indian town.  I’m a bit hard on it because I believe any government should take action to reduce these problems.  Some of these actions, such as implementing techniques to gradually reduce population size or removing the stray animals from the streets go against Hindu beliefs, and so I don’t expect these problems to go away anytime soon. That said if you decide to visit Udaipur I recommend the following schedule. 9:00 AM Wake up 10:00 AM Visit Jagdish Temple 11:00 AM Tour City Palace 12:00 PM Lunch 1:00PM Hire rickshaw taxi to visit Ranakpur Jain Temple* 5:00 PM Take boat ride on Lake Pichola to watch the sunset* 7:00 PM Go to Pushkar’s Cafe for food, drink, and hookah.  Dance party likely. *Did not experience this for myself, but would definitely do it if I visited again.

Avoid being scammed on Airbnb

Avoid being scammed on Airbnb

Twas the week before New Year’s and the consensus was out “we’re not doing the bar crawl madness lets rent us a house!” no pushing, no shoving, no potential bar fights. No cramped crowded spaces just some close friends and I. What better way to ring in the New Year than a prime view of the ball drop from a penthouse overlooking the NYC skyline. Imagine with me if  you will; champagne, confetti, Ciroc and sexy people just being sexy  people, the kinda party you see in commercials and think man I want to fly out on my private jet and sip a tasty beverage underneath a palm tree having irreverent fun …but since I’m not P.Diddy and I don’t have that bank roll, I settled for an upscale yet affordable apartment I found on Airbnb.com. About a month ago I discovered Airbnb.com though an associate of mine, who raved about the great alternative to hotels. Well this week I decided to explore the site and I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued to see the great options and affordable prices. After conferring with my friends and some debate we all settled on a, for lack of a better term, perfect unit entitled “COMFORT OF HIGH END AWAIT YOU HERE”. We looked over the pictures read the landlord policy we decided that this was a great fit, close to Times Square and other fun attractions we decide to contact the host and book this steal! Well this is where things got a little bit sticky. After emailing the host through the Airbnb site she requested that we exchange personal emails, which I did since this was my first time on this site and I figured maybe this is how it works. She then proceeded to tell me the rates and etc. The deal was almost sealed but a red flag was flown when she wanted me to use Money Gram or Western Union as opposed to a credit card or PayPal service to pay the fees. After closer review a few more red flags popped up.

The warning signs on Airbnb

  • The place was being rented out for $200 a night, which was not too bad
  • They didn’t care about extra guest, like no limit if this was my house I would care
  • The pictures on the site did not look like a typical New York City skyline try to have an idea of what the area looks like…Google the address just to be safe
  • The pictures looked like a computerized 3D model or something from an architectural design used to sell to potential clients
  • The pixels on the images looked fake (even cheap point and shoot cameras take better pictures
  • The host had no reviews or friends
  • The host wanted us to send money via Money gram or Western Union
  • The host wanted to do business outside of the Airbnb site which is against Airbnb policy
Let’s just say we are a bit more trusting because it’s the holiday season and couldn’t fathom someone trying to rip us off, so we went against our better judgment and put a hold on the apartment. That’s when the host wanted our contact information and a $600 deposit to be sent via Money Gram or Western Union. For those of you who’ve done business online, most places use PayPal, credit card, debit card, and other certified online payments. Never send cash! You want to use certified payments because those can be easily tracked by your bank or Credit Card Company and if a transaction goes south getting a refund is much easier. In case you need to file a police report; you can show evidence that you actually made payments to that person or organization. When doing business online, it’s best to use a credit card.

Below is the message we received from the host on Airbnb:

Hi Jane Doe, Okay here is the basic information about the apartment that you should know………. The Address of the Apartment is xxx West 4xrd Street, New York, NY, the apartment is on the 5th floor of elevator building with 24/7 concierge and doorman service. The apartment is available for your desire dates Dec 30 – Jan 01? The rental fee for 2nights is $400 (@200 a night) Wi-Fi with free internet wireless is provided. The unit also have laundry facilities, washer and dryer ready for use, all other utilities such electricity, water and others has been included in the rental fee. 1) Living room couch which includes a pull out sofa for sleep. 2) 2 bedrooms, sleeps maximum of seven people Bedroom 1 – 1 queen, Bedroom 2 – queen . Bed sheets are provided. Bedroom 3 has two twin beds which can be made into a queen size upon your request. 3) 2 bathroom(s) , Bathroom 1 – Toilet, Combination Tub/Shower, Bathroom 2 – Toilet, Shower. Towels and linens provided 4) New kitchen includes microwave, full size oven, toaster, coffee maker and cooking utensils to satisfy the most discriminating gourmet chef. Elegant living and dining area appointed with large flat-screen TV and excellent music system, including dining area, seating for 6 people. If you are contented with the amenities of the apartment you can contact us to book the apartment now. Below is the requirement for securing the apartment, The rental fee = $400 Damage security deposit = $200 (Fully Refundable on your Departure day) You are to Pay = $600 To affirmed your booking reservation dates in advance… Payment Method Via: Secure Money Gram OR Western Union Transfer.. Kindly get back to us for the booking rental agreement form if you are able to meet the requirement of reserving this awesome home away from home apartment. The apartment is centrally located. Nearby you’ll find the Hudson Theater, Foxwoods Theater, Times square, Bryant park, Central park, Empire Building, , world class Restaurants and the best bookstores and coffee shops in all of New York . The wonderful thing about Manhattan its history and the world class amenities in it for pleasuring travelers. You can walk to many attractions as you wishes. Best Regards, Sandra and Stephen.

After we decided to channel Sherlock Holmes and not inspector gadget; we contacted Airbnb and they sent us this beautiful reply:

Marie E, Dec 21 08:21 (PST): Hello Jane Doe, Thanks again for calling Airbnb. It was my pleasure to assist you today. I have retracted your reservation request with Sandra L.We have released the hold on your visa for 224.00, and the funds will be available shortly. I would advise you not to contact this host again, or any other host that asks you to send them money directly, or contact them offsite.Our guidelines for using Airbnb: We require all contact between hosts and potential guests to be handled on the site before a reservation has taken place to maintain your privacy, help provide customer support,and adhere to the Airbnb Terms of Use. This means that you should not exchange addresses, websites, email addresses, or telephone numbers before having an accepted reservation. Read more about why it’s necessary to keep your communication and transactions on our site: www.airbnb.com/help/question/209 For your convenience, you can take advantage of our Voice Connect feature, which enables a host to call potential guests directly through the website without revealing personal contact information to either party. Look for it in our FAQs! If you have any more questions, let us know. Best regards, Marie E So in closing If at any time, you do not feel comfortable booking online, please contact the company who’s offering the services to make sure their postings are legitimate. Do not get caught up in the moment of having a beautiful place to hang out with a few friends just to end up being a victim of a scam or potential scam. Take everything you see online with a grain of salt. Protect yourself and remember all that glitters is not always for rent. I would like to thank Airbnb for their quick response and making sure that their customers are satisfied. Airbnb has specific guidelines to help its hosts and customers protect themselves. Please familiarize yourself with them. This incident did not deter us from using Airbnb. Fraudulent people are everywhere, the purpose of this article is to teach you some warning signs, for you to learn to trust your instincts and always ask questions.

The best time to travel!

The best time to travel is now! Like right now! Read my article on the international checklist and drive to the nearest airport and get on the next international flight. Be spontaneous! Well at least once you are done reading this article you can go on your merry way. There are many reasons why people don’t get out of their comfort zone and see the world or even the next state. But the worse excuse is “I’m Busy.” The last time I checked, we only had one life to live, so why waste that time being busy and not taking the time to explore this beautiful world? Now, I’m not saying you use every bit of your time traveling the world (but if you have the money for it, do it) but for the rest of us who are working a 9am-5pm or longer, ask yourself this question? When was the last time you took the time to go visit an aunt, uncle, cousin, sister, or best friend in the next town or the next country? When was the last time you and your spouse went somewhere together and just enjoyed where you are? No work deadlines, no annoying family members, insert any distraction in that sentence. The point is, when was the last time you took a break? Some of us go through life thinking that we have an abundance of time and tomorrow is promised. When in actuality, it’s not promised. From the time you were born, your time on Earth started ticking till the day you meet your maker. I am not trying to be dramatic. Just putting things in perspective. As a society, we need to learn to take mini vacations. You don’t have to wait till you’re retired to enjoy the good life. Enjoy it as you go. You don’t need to go around the board once to collect $200. Traveling gives you a different perspective on life that you can’t get behind a cash register or working in a cubicle. I’ve made it a personal goal to visit at least one new country every year. So far I’ve traveled to many parts of South East Asia and China and that in it’s self is a life changing experience.

“You are guest in my country”

By the time I arrived at the bus station in Udaipur I had only 20 minutes before my bus departed.  No one in the area spoke any meaningful amount English.  I quickly realized that few Western tourists travel by bus.  I guess the Indian tourism council had not yet caught up with the multibillion dollar backpacker industry. I went over to the attendant, point at my ticket, and say “Jaipur”.  He points the direction of the buses.  I walk over and all the buses are in Hindi.  This is different as the last bus I took was in both Hindi and English.  I find another attendant, hand him my paper, and he mills it over with two other non-English speakers.  After about five minutes I realize that I’m going to miss my bus if these guys keep going at this rate so I start looking around for help. I see an Indian guy in his early 20s who is dressed up a bit more Western.  General rule of thumb when you travel is the more Western the dress, the better the person’s English is. “Do you speak English?” I ask. “Yes. More British English. But what is question?” he replies. “I’m going to Jaipur on an A/C bus. Do you know where that is?” “One minute.”  He goes and gets the paper from the guys. “You are on private bus.  It is not here” I only have 10 minutes now, and I really want to get out of Updaipur.  If I have to walk by another stinky goat I’m going to freak out. “You are right down road.  Follow me.” “Thanks,” I said, “you are really saving me.” “It’s ok.  You are guest in my country so I help you.” His name was Rishi, and he was studying to be a doctor at a college in the next state over.  We hurry across the busy Udaipur street and arrive at the private bus station.  With five minutes to spare we had arrived at the right one. Figuring that he was in school I figured he was born into a well off family.  I did not know if it was right or not to offer money for his help. “Can I say thank you?” I said and pulled out my wallet. “Yes” he said, misunderstanding the gesture. I pulled out 100 rupees. “No,” he refused. “I am not poor.  You are guest in my country.” With that he walked off.  I got in line for my bus.  He returned a few minutes later, “I miss my bus, but it ok I catch next one.” That guy missed his bus to help out a total stranger.  He saved the day for me though.  I almost definitely would have missed my bus.  I get the feeling that Indians in the touristy areas of, even the poor and uneducated ones, have a good understanding of how important tourism is to their lives.  The Hinduism religion teaches to worship the forces help or hurt you.  I feel that because this is deeply rooted in their religion, it becomes part of their personalities, and you often see selfless acts like that. I experienced a similar situation in Jaipur one night when I returned to my hotel after hours.  I had to wake up the owner so he could let me in.  I told him I was sorry, and he replied, “You are my guest.  Guest is my god.” It seems that in polytheistic religions, people create gods around the forces that affect their lives.  There are major gods like Brahma, who is the creator of the universe, and then there are lesser gods like Balarama, who is the god of farming.  Indian farmers pray to Balarama when they need a good harvest.  Perhaps this man prayed to the god of Western tourism.  We’ll call him Gringorama.  Make sacrifice or you will be cursed with bad ratings on hostelbooker.com.

A weekend in Bangkok

If you plan on visiting Bangkok, do not go on a weekend of an election. 95% of clubs, bars, etc. are closed for fear of violence depending on which party wins the election. No one is allowed to sell alcohol that weekend. With that being said, my friend and I decided to visit Bangkok on the weekend of an election in 2011. We did not know that on that Saturday most places would be closed. Before I go on any trips I do my research on the area. This means, I check out the crime rate, crime against tourists, local laws, popular backpacking locations, hostel locations, and tourists reviews. I print out a map of the area and I never wear my best clothing. Although you are on vacation, you have to be aware of where you are and not make yourself a target for thieves. Once, you arrive at your destination, take your time to recognize landmarks and nearby streets. Depending on your country of citizenship, you can get a visa on arrival in Thailand. Which means, once you land, you stand on the immigration line till it’s your turn, and the agent views your passport and stamps it. You are now officially a tourist. Thailand is known for its shopping, full moon parties, food, the lady boys (cross dressers), beautiful beaches, tuk-tuks, temples, massages, beautiful women, and a few other things. Depending on the time of year and when you purchase your tickets, you can find round-trip tickets from Singapore to Bangkok for $230USD -$330. When you arrive at the airport grab a free tourist map and a map of the train. Friday Our flight arrived 8pm from Singapore. From the airport you can take the train to the heart of Bangkok. However, there are no trains near Khao Son Road. This means you get to practice your negotiating skills with the cab drivers. Once the cab drivers realize that you are a tourists, they will turn off the meter and you will have to negotiate a good deal with them. Make sure you have a printout of the currency rate between the Thai Baht and the U.S dollar to make sure you are not overpaying. You should not pay more than $10USD to get from the nearest train station to Khao San Road. Once we checked into our hotel around 10pm. The streets were already filled with tourists from all over the world. The music was bumping from every club, people were shouting, restaurants were packed, people were having a great time. Around 3am-4am, the scene starts to die down as all the places start closing down and people start making their way to their hotel/hostels for the night.   Saturday We decided to walk around the near by streets to get an idea of what’s around Khao son Road. What we saw were lots of shopping centers, street vendors, taxi, markets, and small shops. When traveling, it is a great idea to get to know your area.   Khao Son Road If you are a backpacker or traveling alone, you will want to stay on Khao Son Road. It’s a street packed with tourists, locals, and backpackers. Hostels on Khao Son Road are between $17-$45 a night depending on the hostel and what type of room you get. Plus you get to split between you and your roommate/s. On Khao Son Road, you can find local vendors selling shirts, paintings, electronics, and tailored suites. Since, this is a small concentrated area, you will not receive the best value for your money.   What you will find on Khaosan Road
  • Tailors (for custom made suits, dresses, etc.)
  • Restaurants
  • Clubs
  • Bars
  • Hotels
  • Hostels
  • Clothing stores
  • Lady boys
  • Call girls and other words that fall in the same category
  • Tuk-tuks
  • Taxi’s
  • Massage parlors
  • Handmade crafts
  • Tour guides
  The place is an international tourist haven. As it popularity continues to grow, I am sure you will be to find anything on that street. On different nights, local entertainers will come out and do a show for the crowd. When I was there, a few of the break-dancers came down to do some acts. They were incredible. It was some of the best break dancing that I’ve ever seen. The street performers reminded me of being in New York City. The Sites Golden Buddha located at Wat Traimit Temple in the Chinatown area It is currently the world’s largest gold statue. The temple is kept in great condition. You will find a lot of tourists snapping pictures of the Golden Buddha. If you are in Bangkok is it a must see. Please know that it is a temple and therefor people will be worshiping through out the day. Respect the religion and the temple. As a tourist you represent tourists all over the world and your home country. Don’t ruin it for everyone by being rude and disorderly.   The Grand Palace If you plan on visiting the Grand Palace, please sure to dress appropriately, this means long pants and no tanks tops for men and women. Wear sneakers or sandals with socks. You have to buy a ticket at the ticket booth inside the palace to enter. Beware of locals trying to sell tickets outside the Palace.  Only purchase tickets at the official ticket booth. Once, you purchase your ticket, if the staff feels that you are not dressed appropriately, they provide pants and other clothing for you to wear. I know because I was there a wearing shorts and I had to change. Out of all the sites there is to see in Bangkok Thailand, The Palace was my favorite. The palace is huge, so make sure you leave enough time to see the beauty that is the palace. They still have guards working in the area. You will notice many tours going on. If you walk closely to the tours you can listen in to the history of the place. Otherwise walk at you leisure. The Palace has many buildings, some of which are not open to tourists. The Temple of Emerald Buddha is located within the palace walls. Although, this is a main tourist attraction, people come from all over the world to worship at the temple. Resist the urge to take pictures and respect where you are. Sunday Shopping Thailand is known for its mega shopping centers, from the walls, to the weekend market. People travel to Thailand from all parts of the world to shop. You can purchase a lot for a little. I bought a few shirts and of course my favorite, Thailand Fisherman Pants! They are as comfortable as pajamas but cool enough to wear out in public. Make sure to get the ones with the pockets. Read my article on negotiating in Asia to get great deals on everything. The markets are filled with great food, entertainers, concerts, and people from all over the world speaking different languages. It is truly a melting pot. If you plan on shopping at the weekend market or any of the mega shopping centers, please make sure you bring lots of cash because there are no ATMS at the outdoor markets but the malls do have ATM’s (this might have changed since the last time I was there). Chatuchak Weekend Market Shopping at the weekend market is experience that I can’t fully describe in words. You have to be there in person to fully appreciate the place.  You need a full day to shop at the weekend market if you are a true shopper; this is not a task that can be done in a 1 or 2 hours. There is a skill and an art to being there and purchasing. Your communication skills have to be at the top of its game. I enjoy negotiating for the best price, it’s a skill that you have to develop and will surely help you in other aspects of life. You can find a variety of products at the market, from toys, to electronics, clothing, pots and pans, paintings, maps, you name it and they have it. You have to be patient in quest. The market gets over 1000,000 visitors per day. You might be thinking that its overcrowded, however, the market is so big that you don’t even notice all the people around you. If you get tired of walking around, there are a lot of fine local restaurants where you can stop and enjoy a quick bite to eat. Don’t forget to try the world famous Thai Tea. The street food at the weekend market is nothing short of incredible. As I am writing this article my mouth is watering, I want to go back right now. Tuk-tuks For those of you who may not be familiar with Asian culture. Let me introduce you to the tuk-tuk. If you have an opportunity to ride in one of these vehicles, please do so. It’s is a lot of fun. When you are stuck in heavy traffic, they are easy to maneuver around. Did I mention they were a lot of fun? On our last day in Bangkok, we took one the nearest train station from Khao Son Road to the airport.  We were zipping in and out of lanes, I felt like I was in a chase scene in a Hollywood movie. The tuk-tuk driver must have had a special license, the moves that he was making in the tuk-tuk was straight out of a James Bond movie. The people The people of Thailand were very nice and respectful. I had a great time interacting with everyone I met with the exception of the cab drivers. I love traveling to different cities to see what sets them apart. For the most part, it’s the people. On one block, you might find someone begging for food, on another, you will find a group of people practicing hip hop moves. During my visit there, I was able to interact with locals that at one time or another either studied in Singapore or the States for a semester or so. I met a friend in Bangkok that I continue to talk to. I hope one day soon I can go back for a longer period of stay.