India diaries: Panjim and Old Goa

 

It’s funny how the smallest things while travelling make you feel like you’ve accomplished so much.  Thinking back to my first day in Tokyo, getting on the subway and arriving at the intended destination (about 2 minutes down the line) was enough to inspire a little victory dance. After being in Japan for a while those initial accomplishments became routine, and things weren’t as exciting anymore. Being in India has rekindled all those feelings. I swear you’ve never seen someone as happy as I was the day I braved the bus from Calangute to Panjim.

There aren’t really bus stops here in Goa, more a general stretch of road where the bus may or may not arrive. If you ask a local where to catch the bus they’ll point to a random spot on the main street and tell you to wave the bus down.  This is partly the reason I am so glad I started my India trip down South. Things are relaxed in Goa, and I feel like I’m gaining a little insight into how things work around here, without the threat of too many people taking advantage of my naivety. The people in Goa are kind and friendly and I’m really going to miss it when I head up north.

My successful bus ride definitely warranted a Panjim victory meal, so off I went to Hotel Vihar for their famous thali. I had no idea what a thali was when I ordered it. It was my first Indian meal, and despite a few potential masala tears, I absolutely loved it. Thali is the best way to try different curries and vegetables because you get several small dishes that come with rice and chapatti or naan. It was fulling, and it was cheap.

I really liked Panjim. It’s a small, walkable city, with a few sights and markets. I sought out what the Lonely Planet described as “a giant church on the top of a hill that looks like a fancy white wedding cake”. They weren’t kidding. After that I wondered around town and found the municipal market, bought some much needed fruit and veg and watched florists preparing marigolds, while an old Indian granny shouted at me for taking pictures and not spending any money. After that I caught a rickety ride on an autorickshaw and headed to the previous Portuguese colony of Old Goa, to check out the biggest church in Asia, and a couple of other buildings and ruins. Panjim and Old Goa can definitely both be done in one full day.

It was definitely a day of firsts for me. First successful bus ride, first meal in an Indian restaurant, first time catching an autorickshaw/tuk tuk. I can see how the firsts of travel and the after sense of joy, excitement and accomplishment could become addictive. I think I was hooked from that very first 2 minute subway ride in Tokyo and its consequential victory dance.

India Diaries: Day 1 – Goa first impressions

  1. Holy moly!
  2. Breathe
  3. Aaaand Go…

I survived my first day solo in India…I was afraid, I was awkward, I was triumphant. I insisted on saving some money and catching a bus from Dabolim Airport in Goa, waiting around 2 hours for sunrise and the first buses of the day, constantly hassled with taxi and motorbike offers. I left my sweet smile on that plane, and replaced it with a permanent stern shake of the head. If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m definitely not the stern type, so my face is exhausted. 6 weeks of this may leave me in need of some comedic relief and a botox appointment.

I took one look at the bus that was going to take me into town, and decided on a taxi. Relieved that I’d hung around until sunrise, I tried to soak in every bit of scenery that zipped by as the taxi driver raced, hooted, hooted some more, overtook on blind corners, drank his juice and spoke on the phone. The country before my eyes was like a South African informal settlement cross palm tree beach from Survivor cross Portuguese architectural jungle.

After arriving at a guest house at Calangute beach, I caught a few z’s and then headed for a walk through the main street and onto the beach. 3pm sun and I’m sunburnt. I could get used to this. I got lost on the way home because I forgot to look for some landmarks, but somehow found my way back in time for a swim in the guest house’s gorgeous pool and a cheesy garlic naan.

Calangute is definitely not the touristy paradise I expected, and because it’s not high season yet, the temporary beach huts and restaurant/bars that probably give this place more of a touristy scene are only starting to be put up.

I did however have an absolutely amazing eye-opening day, and I know for sure this is going to be an incredible adventure.

Day one lessons for solo female travel in India:

#1 Leave your sweet smile at home.

#2 A prepaid taxi from Dabolim airport to Calangute beach will cost you 900 rupees.

# 3 Don’t compromise on safety to save money.

#4 Don’t get in a taxi that has no seatbelts.

#5 Don’t stay in a mixed hostel dorm (I changed my booking to a single room).

#6 Don’t worry, be happy.

 

Japan diaries: Onomichi and Setoda

A set of pictures that remind me of some solo wanderings, times when I made the effort to notice my surroundings and see the beauty in the little things: views from above and views from below, sunsets and heavy skies, colours and textures, layers and landscapes. Wordsworth describes it best: 
“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.”
These photographs may not be of daffodils, but I can look at them and think back and smile at many a time when I stumbled upon beauty while “wandering lonely as a cloud”. 

 

Lunch in Harajuku – Salvatore Cuomo

After a morning of shopping and wandering through a drizzly Harajuku, a lunch hunt began as we tracked down the ever swanky Omotesando Hills shopping complex, designed by renowned architect, Tadao Ando. The hunt led us up to the top floor, to Salvatore Cuomo, a gorgeous Italian restaurant that offers a daily lunch buffet between 11am and 3pm. For just 2200 yen we could each order a main dish pizza (highly recommended) or pasta, and then help ourselves to the appetizer, dessert and drinks buffet. It was an absolute pleasure meal for sure and as the sun peeped in, we felt full and refreshed, ready to head back to Harajuku’s streets for an afternoon of sightseeing.

Korea diaries: Seoul food

(well…Busan as well, but that would’ve ruined my play on words)
I love Korean food but why oh why was I born with such embarrassingly weak taste buds!? Some of the kimchi even had me shedding a tear or two. It makes me a little nervous for any future Asian travels because I absolutely love trying new food but I just can’t handle the spice. Living in Japan hasn’t exactly helped…with the exception of wasabi I can’t think of a single food here that packs a punch. Better start on operation taste bud spicy bootcamp. I think a couple of Durban samoosas would be a good start.
Busan fish market
 
The first thing that struck me about Busan fish market was how clean it was…until I witnessed the most horrific sight of a woman skinning live eels. I think I’m still having nightmares about it. After some recovery time and leisurely meandering we headed upstairs to the open-plan restaurant section. We were led to a table and ordered (well we weren’t really sure what we had ordered) but ended up with a table full of seafood dishes and sidedishes. We left full and happy, beaming at the success of our first Korean meal.
Korean barbeque (Gogigui)
The gogigui meal we had in Seoul was possibly one of the best meals I have EVER had!! I love food that involves experience…and sitting together at a grill, with plates of meat and a multitude of sidedishes, while cooking it up ourselves and chatting about the previous night’s antics all seems a sweet memory to me now.  Our looks of apprehension had the very pushy/disguisedly sweet Korean waitress picking up our food for us and showing us how to wrap the meat, rice and sidedishes in a perilla leaf and then gesturing to eat up with our hands.  It was glorious, and I even tried one with a whole clove of garlic in it, which no doubt led me to tears again. Gogigui places are everywhere, so just ask your hostel/hotel to recommend a good one. 
 
  Bibimbap
 
 A great meal in Myeondong before a shopping marathon! We were beckoned into a restaurant, which at first I was apprehensive about entering. I assumed if they were desperate for business their food wouldn’t be so great, but  we obliged, a little out of fear (I’d be scared to ever say no to a feisty Korean woman), and ended up having a perfect bibimbap meal. It’s a rice dish mixed up mainly with seaweed, vegetables and a fried/raw egg. They served up the gochujang (chilli pepper paste) on the side so my weak taste buds and I could add it in moderation.
I wish I’d had more time to taste all that Korea had to offer! The food there is a travel experience in itself and I hope I’ll be back someday to try more. Recommendations are most welcome!

Japan diaries: Cafe in Fukuyama

If it weren’t for friends’ recommendations, I’d probably still be sitting at the same café week after week doing the same old same old.  It often just feels like mission impossible when you’re wondering around back alley Japan in hopes of stumbling upon something incredible. I’ve often found that a lot of cafes and restaurants here are so unassuming, so hidden you’d never find them unless you had the inside scoop. Or if you did, there’s sometimes an unexplainable intimidation preventing you from peeping in somewhere that looks cute and cosy, as if you’d be interrupting some intimate moment behind a restaurant curtain. Well, I’m here to share…and I’m really excited to be blogging about this place. It’s called “&S” and is a beautiful mix of creepy, gorgeous and cosy. I could’ve sat there all afternoon, though considering the size of their set lunch, it’s as if they want you there all day. This is possibly the first time I haven’t been able to finish a restaurant meal in Japan. I loved the price too, for just 850yen you can choose between four set lunches that includes soup, salad, main meal, dessert and drink. The dinner menu looked gorgeous too so I’ll definitely be back! Their attention to décor detail is impeccable and the chef in top hat just adds to the whole charm of the place. So no excuses, use this map and go, go, go. 
The lunch sets pictured in order above are: muffin sandwich set, one plate lunch (a delicious, chicken, veggie, egg mix with salad and rice) and the coconut curry lunch with extra mixed beans. All of them come with a drink of your choice and a set dessert (last pic).

Korea diaries: Myeongdong Dog Cafe

 
It was my Seoul mission! Find a dog café: A place to drink hot chocolate and get my pet fix. I’d actually given up on the idea after reading a couple vague blogger directions, which I’m now, ironically, adding to. As fate would have it, a shopping stint in Myeondong led me to this giant snoopy dog that hangs around the general area of the Forever 21 and Zara building. We took a flyer and then asked a couple kind strangers to point us in the right direction. We found it pretty easily on the fourth floor of a narrow building in a busy shopping street (elusive much?). I snapped a picture of what I hope is the café’s name written in korean – though it seems the last letter has been cut out. If you get a chance check out the basement of the same building for this restaurant that’s completely covered in post -it notes. Unfortunately we arrived two minutes before their 3pm – 4pm closing so I didn’t get to catch a glimpse of the inside. Sad face.