The Hungry Voyagers

Philippines

Lawless in Manila

November 3rd, 2023 – November 5th, 2023

Table of Contents

The Philippines was the 4th country we visited in our Southeast Asia 2023 Trip. If you want to read through chronologically, start here.

We love Grab

I’d heard the rumors about Manila from people online. The worst airport in the world. The worst traffic in the world. On the flight I told Emily, “Just prepare yourself for chaos. It’s lawless in Manila”.

Our plane landed on time and we taxied to the gate. It was time to see if the first rumor was true, was it the worst airport in the world? Surprisingly, it was easy to navigate and we easily made our way outside to the rideshare area (we’d find later that arriving and departing are two different beasts). We took a breathe of our first Filipino air. It was about 9pm and still hot as hell. We could hearing the distant beeping of cars and rumblings of city life. Our ride came almost immediately. I love Grab. It just seems to work so much better than Uber. The interface is smooth and it’s just so efficient. Rides are quick and we never once had a problem with it. I promise we’re not sponsored by Grab, but if a Grab executive is reading this and wants to sponsor us, hello we’re available.

It was dark out, but we got a decent look at the city we’d been spending the next day in. The traffic had already started to pick up. Our hotel was only 3.5 miles away from the airport but it would take us more than 30 minutes to arrive.

Our driver didn’t really speak English, but there was one word he did know. As we turned a corner he pointed to our hotel in the distance and gave a painful laugh, “Traffic”. This was the dreaded EDSA. This road was the most congested and busiest road in all of Manila, and it showed. Millions of motorcycles weaved in and out of cars. Everyone jostled for positions in the road, fighting for inches of space. The horns never stopped. It was constant. I don’t even know what a horn is supposed to communicate in this scenario, but everyone was blasting them, hoping to get their message across.

We inched our way forward slowly but surely and made it to our hotel, Hotel 101 Manila. Before we could even get out, two policemen asked for all windows to be rolled down, and inspected the entire car, including the trunk. They pointed flashlights their flashlights under the car and gave a nod. As we walked in, a policeman directed us through a metal detector and then inspected our bags. Alrighty then, at least it was safe. Maybe it wasn’t lawless in Manila.

Morning Adventures

We only had one full day here so we woke up early to make the most out of it. Looking out of the window, the traffic was a complete contrast from yesterdays madness. It was calm, finally no more horns.

The mall was enormous, and entirely decked out for Christmas. I seemed like the Filipinos were very ready for it to be Christmas. Christmas songs played nonstop, lights covered everything, there was a 2 story tall Christmas tree with giant presents. I don’t know if we entered the Mall of Asia or the North Pole.

We went for breakfast at Biker’s Cafe, which is (as you probably guessed) a bicycle themed cafe. Here they promote, bike stands, free coffee in the morning and free showers all day long for cyclists. I ordered Sisig and Emily went with the Ube Pancakes.

My Sisig was really tasty. It was salty, fatty, and I loved combining egg yolk with rice and meat. A Filipino colleague at work had really recommended it to me and said it went great with beer which is weird that I was eating it for breakfast.

The Ube Pancakes. Man. These were on another level. Ube is real big in the Philippines, and if you haven’t heard of it, it’s basically a purple yam.

After dinner, we walked off our food with a stroll around Manila Bay. It was a pretty area. Giant ships dotted the sea. There were giant mounds of salt or sand waiting to be picked up in the water. Nearby was a slightly destroyed Amusement park area with old rides.

Mandaluyong Food Tour

The main attraction for the day was a street food tour around Mandaluyong, a city about 20 minutes drive from our hotel.

We walked in to the Starbucks and took a seat. Almost immediately our guide, Chloe, approached us. We were pretty shocked at how quickly she was able to pick us out, especially since I hadn’t even messaged her on WhatsApp yet. We jokingly asked how she knew we were on her tour. “Whenever a white person comes in, checks their phone, looks around, and then sits down”. There were two other people on the tour and we decided to test out her theory. Surely enough, they came in, checked phones, looked around, and sat down. We had a good laugh about that.

Chloe explained that on this tour we would be 15+ different foods! We stepped out on to the street and flagged down a couple of motorcycles with sidecars. Emily hopped in the first rusted sidecar and zoomed off down the street. Chloe handed the next driver a coin and I hopped in after Emily.

The first stop was a small stand called Master Siomai. Here we were given Pork and Shrimp Siomai. They were pretty much dumplings, very tasty. We were also given a Gulaman Drink. This was a local Filipino made with agar jelly, tapioca pearls, brown sugar, and water. It was very sweet and refreshing.

Next up we took a short walk down the street to Ihawan ni Kuya Speed for, as Chloe said, a “mystery meat challenge”. We sat at a small table as Chloe approached the glass container with many types of meats on sticks. One by one she handed us a stick and asked us to guess what it was. It was fun to try and figure out what it was and then laugh and be shocked at the answer. We ended up having Walkman (Pig Ear), Pork Atay (Liver), Isaw Manok (Chicken Intestine), Chicken gizzard, and Isaw Baboy (Pork Intestine). My favorite was the Walkman. It was fatty and had great smoky grilled flavor. Emily’s favorite was the Chicken Intestines. Who could have guessed she would ended up liking that the most. She was the only one at our table to completely eat the entire stick of it. We agreed on our least favorite, the Pork Intestine, just couldn’t get behind it.

As a little ‘prize’ for completing the Mystery Meat Challenge, we got to have some desert, Pichi Pichi and Cassava Cake. Both were Cassava based deserts and were really good. The Cassava Cake had cheese on top of it which, we were told, was very popular with Filipino deserts. We noticed cheese on sweets earlier with the Ube Pancakes and, let me tell you, we are now sold on cheese with desert. It’s a combination that just works, the savory milky taste of cheese is a great contrast with sweets.

We continued our trek down the road, when Chloe must have noticed us locking eyes with some people. “You will notice people staring at us. This is not a place that tourists come”. We were getting the real, local experience, and next up was a small, yellow stand with no signs or menus. Chloe handed us some Lumpia, which is very popular in Filipino Food Trucks in the USA. I was interested to see the differences between Filipino and American Lumpia, but they were surprisingly the same. I suppose there is only so many ways to do fried rolls. We also had some Chicken Proven (Stomach) and Kwek Kwek (Fried Boiled Quail Eggs), not our favorites.

“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, beer!” Those words were met with a cheer from our small group. We were stuffed, and had eaten so many types of different foods, what we needed now was a cold beer to wash it all down. To get to the bar, we’d take a Jeepney. We’d seen these cool looking cars all over the city the past day. During WW2, most public transportation in the Philippines had been destroyed in the fighting. What they had left was an abundance of US Military Jeeps and thus, the Jeepney was born.

We waited at a corner for one to show up. We hopped up into the back and Chloe handed the driver a coin. Eventually more and more people got on, and we were in a packed Jeepney. The driver is paid at each stop, so every time the car stop, people pass a coin down the passengers and to the driver. It was pretty cool to be apart of this line of coin passing for a couple stops.

Red Horse Makes you a Real Man

Eventually we got to the local bar, Sutukil Restaurant. It was a large open space with pool tables, flashing lights, and music. A perfect end to our little excursion.

We both started with the most popular beer in the Philippines, a San Miguel Pilsner. It was a solid beer, but there was only one thing on my mind. “Red Horse will make you feel like a real man”. We had been told that Red Horse is the beer to get. At 8% ABV it’s definitely one of the stronger beers we had seen in Asia so far, no wonder it makes you a real man. It was fun to drink and laugh about it.

Fertilized Egg

As we walked out, Chloe spotted something and asked if we wanted to try the legendary Balut. If you haven’t heard, Balut is a Filipino delicacy consisting of a fertilized duck egg with a partially developed embryo inside.

Chloe instructed and I followed. Crack the shell. Remove the top. Sprinkle in some salt. Sip out the broth (this was actually very good, like a pure, strong chicken broth). Remove the rest of the shell. Eat. It’s as simple as that, except when you’re face to face with a tiny baby chicken fetus it’s not so easy. I closed my eyes and dove straight in. The first taste to hit my mouth was an intense rich, creamy egg. I got a little crunch which threw me off. Was that the beak? Thoughts raced through my head as I chewed. I went in for a second bite and the realization hit me. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought. Nowhere near as bad actually. I didn’t love it, but I got why this cheap street snack is popular around here.

Adobo for Two

We trodded back into our hotel, sweaty and absolutely stuffed. We must have eaten pounds of food. Reluctantly, we knew that we still had a mission, we couldn’t not get the National Dish. Earlier in the day Chloe had broken my heart by saying that Adobo wouldn’t be part of the tour. I had no other alternative lined up. Desperate, we went straight in to the hotel restaurant. “Do you have Adobo?” “No” “Shit”.

We waddled upstairs to our room as I began furiously looking through Grab Eats for a place nearby that had Adobo that could be delivered. And then I found it, Pork Adobo from Tebla @ Selah Garden that would be delivered in about an hour. We had to stay awake. I tracked every step of the order like a psychopath. Eventually the motorcycle driver arrived and I ran downstairs to pick it up.

Inside the bag, a plastic box containing Pork Adobo, the National Dish of the Philippines. Thick cubes of pork sat inside a brown gravy. On top, some furry orange stuff? I stuck my plastic fork into one of the cubes of pork to almost no resistance. It was filled with flavor, the gravy covering it was peppery and rich. I could taste soy sauce, vinegar, garlic all coming together. Even for two stuffed, tired travelers, we found it in ourselves to take a couple bites and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Early Morning Goodbye

The next morning we woke up at 5am and headed to the airport. The Philippines had be been a fun little layover.

Now we were heading to our most hyped country, so join along as we continue our Southeast Asian Adventure to Thailand!

Thailand

Temples and Pad Thai

November 5th, 2023 – November 10th, 2023

Thailand was the 5th country we visited in our Southeast Asia 2023 Trip. If you want to read through chronologically, start here.

The excitement of finally visiting Thailand was palpable. I had been planning on coming here for years. I had two close friends during High School that were from Thailand, Beer and Mark. The stories of their motherland captivated me. I was fully invested in the culture, food, language, everything. Beer stayed in the USA while Mark was a foreign exchange student and moved back to Bangkok at the end of the school year. Because of this, our time together had been limited to his brief visits to America. Well that was all about to change, it was now our time to visit his homeland.

Pad Thai

We arrived at Don Muang International Airport and after some phone tag and searching around, we met up with Mark. Surreal was an understatement. I knew that I’d be here one day, but the fact that the moment was now didn’t feel real.

After being told we couldn’t check in to our hotel before 3pm, Mark turned to us and said, “Fuck it, I’m going to take you to my favorite Pad Thai place, I can’t wait”. I’d had Pad Thai before in America, but it was never my favorite Thai dish. That would be Pad Kee Mao, also known as Drunken Noodles. But this was Thailand, and Pad Thai was their National Dish.

After a short drive through downtown, we arrived at ICONSIAM, an enormous, modern mall. Inside, there were 10 levels filled with shops of all kinds, restaurants, everything you could image. But most importantly, there was Thipsamai, Mark’s favorite Pad Thai spot.

We waited in a line which had just started to form. It wasn’t long until we were at the front and got our table. In a corner I noticed a fridge filled with Orange Juice, and pointed it out to Mark. In addition to their Pad Thai, Thipsamai is also famous for it’s Orange Juice, which we quickly ordered upon learning. It almost didn’t look real with how orange it was. I felt like I was squeezing a freshly picked Orange into my mouth. It was so refreshing.

The Pad Thai arrived quickly. On our plate was a large ball of thin egg, two large shrimp, and a small pile of crushed peanuts. We took our chopsticks, made a surgical cut down the center of the egg, and out came steaming, orange noodles.

“You eat it the way you want. Squirt some lime on, add bean sprouts, chili, or peanuts. However you want.” It was like a Choose your own Adventure. You determined how the dish would taste.

I fumbled with my chopsticks and took a first bite of noodle and egg. It was unbelievable, so different to any Pad Thai we had eaten in the USA. The bright, fresh flavors struck me immediately. It was citrusy with a little heat. Adding some peanuts gave it texture and nuttiness. Emily shared my shock, “I feel like in America it tastes like peanut butter and noodles. This is so different.”

After stuffing our faces, we climbed to the rooftop bar for a pint of fresh Singha. I feel like this is the Thai beer, the one that is always on the menu at Thai restaurants with a corny caption like “Try a Thai beer!”. It tastes just like Bud Light, but now I was having it at the source, overlooking downtown Bangkok. It was perfect.

I still couldn’t believe I was here. All the years of talking about it. Looking over downtown Bangkok on a rooftop bar with my wife and old high school friend. Little things like that held such meaning to me in this moment. It was incredible.

Hotel ASAI Sathorn

We were dropped off at our hotel and immediately passed out.

Wagyu Beef

That night we had made plans for Ginzado, a Japanese BBQ restaurant. We’d always wanted to, but never been to a Asian BBQ style restaurant. Here, you bought thin slices of raw meat and cooked them on a grill at your table, similarly to Korean BBQ.

Mark and Pang were out to impress their guests, but I was still shocked when the words “Japanese A5 Wagyu” came out of their mouths. For the unaware, A5 is the highest quality grading that beef can achieve and Japanese Wagyu cattle are the most sought after cows, renowned for being raised under very strict regulations. In other words, it’s a beef lovers dream.

We ordered Japanese A5 Wagyu sirloin, tongue, and some some garlic rice.

What arrived to our table was heaven. Plates full of incredibly marbled meat, drizzled in light soy. I took my chopsticks, picked up a slice of tongue and dropped it on to the grill. It immediately sizzled. I couldn’t get over the marbling on it. I mean this slice of tongue was completely marbled. It looked like there was more fat than meat, in the best possible way. Mark and Pang manned the grill, and put a slice on everyone’s plate. I took a bite. You wouldn’t have thought it was meat. It was so tender it completely melted in my mouth like butter. The Sirloin was also delicious. Slightly less tender than the tongue, but with a meatier taste.

German Brewery

After dinner we headed up north to Nonthaburi for, in Mark and Pang’s words, “a real Thai experience”.

This was Tawandang German Brewery. We pulled in to a gated parking lot in front of, what looked like, a small stadium. Inside was a large open floor with hundreds of tables. At the end, a stage with flashing lights and an excited man dancing and singing.

Day 2: Wat Phra

After doing our touristy duties, Pang took us to one of Mark’s favorite spots when he was a kid, Si Yan Beef Ball, to try their signature Beef Ball Noodles.

We parked up and walked down the street until Pang pointed out a small hole in the wall, with a baby blue sign. Inside was quite simple. A few tables each with a couple of wooden stools, various carts holding random kitchen utensils, old photos and menus completely in Thai on the walls. A lady walked over and Pang ordered for us. This was definitely the type of place where English wasn’t spoken, and those are the best places to eat.

I went with the soup version and Emily had the dry version. The Beef Balls were juicy, tender, and packed with flavor. The noodles, were springy and soft. The broth added a different dimension of flavor to the dry version. It was a great, authentic experience.

Jodd Fairs

We headed back to the hotel and immediately passed out. We’d walked quite a bit, but it was the Southeast Asian heat again that had hit us hard. It was unlike anything else.

It was here where I witnessed something truly special. My eyes lit up and suddenly felt relief from all of the pain in the world. In the distance, on a tiny shelf, I spotted a gold can. It stood out from the rest of the cans. Like a light from the heavens was shining down on it. I rubbed my eyes and got closer, could it be? It was. A Singha Reserve Special Edition. Yeah it still tastes like Bud Light. But that’s okay. This was a Special Edition Singha. You don’t get opportunities like this every day.

Mark Wiens

By Day 3 we had mastered the BTS. Each day we bought a $4 pass, and anywhere we wanted to go we simply scanned our card, hopped on the train at the station near our hotel, and . It was so efficient and easy.

Like any rail network, the BTS had different lines that went to different areas. Our station, Saint Louis, was on a line that didn’t really go anywhere, which meant we had become regulars at Siam Station. This was one of the big interchanges, where different lines met together so you could hop off one line and get on another. Because of this, it was usually always packed.

We got off at Ekkamai BTS Station to get to a place we had been excited about since booking this trip.

Emily and I both enjoy watching Mark Wiens’ videos together. The incredible places he visits and exotic foods he eats inspired us to go out and do the same. It’s also a good laugh to see his over-the-top reactions to everything. “Oh wow”.

So obviously, being in his neck of the woods, we had to visit his restaurant, PhedMark.

Here they only serve Phat kaphrao (also spelled Pad Krapao), a spicy pork and basil stir fry. It was around midday and the small restaurant was already full and with a line. Ordering is easy, you choose a meat and spice level. That’s it. Out of the 5 levels of spice, we opted for Level 2 (Very Less Spicy). Mark Wiens is known for his love of spice, we knew ‘Very Less Spicy’ really meant ‘Spicy’. For meat, we went for the classic Pad Krapao style, Pork. After ordering, we were given a receipt and told to wait until our number was called. We sat outside on some tiny stools and sweated a little more in the heat.

Around 30 minutes or so our number was called and we were ushered inside and crammed into a corner. It was a tight fit, but this is the experience in Southeast Asia. Eating is a social event that takes place intimate spaces. Food is enjoyed together.

And then the moment we had been waiting for. A plate donned with colorful Thai text, flowers, and chili’s was placed in front of us. Immediately, the dark orange yolk of the crispy, fried duck egg caught my eyes. Underneath, the plate was split between fluffy, white Jasmine rice and ground pork mixed with wilted basil leaves.

We did what any sane person would do and cut into the yolk. It was perfectly cooked, and the beautiful, orange yolk oozed out all over the pork. I took a spoon and got a bite of everything, the pork, egg, and rice. I felt like Remy from Ratatouille when we mixes the cheese and strawberries. The richness of the yolk, the spice and umami from the pork, the crunch of the basil, and softness of the rice. Everything came together in a perfect blend of flavor. Emily’s eyes lit up and we basked in the tastiness. It definitely was our favorite dish of Thailand so far.

Chinatown Adventures

Later that evening, we met back up with our friends for a trip in to Bangkok’s Chinatown. We were excited, this felt like the real Thailand.

Parking was rough here, so we dropped Pang and Emily to get seats at one of their favorites in Chinatown, Krua Phon Lamai, a small street food stall located in an alleyway.

This was one of those moments where you just take it all in like, “Holy shit, I’m in a completely different place”. We were loving it. We all huddled around a small table at a back alley stall that served our friends favorites.

The first dish was Rad Na. and Hoi Tod

We went looking for another Michelin restaurant and found Guay Jub Ouan Pochana, who had been awarded a Bib Gourmand. We got the Guay Jub Nam Sai, a rolled rice soup, which is what they were famous for. It tasted pretty mid. The pork belly was crispy and great but everything else tasted like bath water.

I also ate Durian for the first time, dangerously without gloves. I told Mark that it was on my bucket list and while walking back to the car he flagged down a guy selling them on the street and got me a bite. It doesn’t taste nearly as bad as it smells. I wouldn’t just eat it casually as a snack though.

We ended the night at United People’s Brewing for a couple a beers. I ended up smashing a glass because I definitely didn’t have too much to drink.

Day 4: Sak Yant Tattoo

Bangkok United

Day 5: Jay Fai

A couple of weeks prior to this trip, Emily and I had watched Street Food: Asia on Netflix, a documentary featuring street food stalls all over Asia. The Bangkok episode focused on one woman’s rise from nothing to Michelin Star. This was Jay Fai.

Getting a place inside this restaurant was like a secret military operation. It isn’t hyperbole when I say, people wait hours and hours to get the chance to eat here. In fact, while we were eating, an American came to talk to us and told us they had been waiting for 4 hours!

Luckily, we had someone on the inside. There is an entire, not entirely legal, business where you can pay people to wait in line at restaurants for you. We had this arranged for us, and were given specific instructions on how to proceed. A lady had put a name down and was given a number. When the number was called, she gave the host our order, finally the name was called, our ‘Waiting Person’ nodded over at us, and we sat at the table. It sounds pretty easy, but all of this is done in secrecy, as not to alert someone at the restaurant that we had used a ‘Waiting Person’. We couldn’t be seen talking to her for too long, and had to be discreet when switching over. I don’t know how long she had been waiting for us, but close to being seated a sign was hung up, “No more customers”. It was only 1PM.

Anyways in the time we were waiting, through a small opening, we saw the legend herself, Jay Fai, in her iconic black goggles and beanie. She was now 76 years old, and still manning a Wok over open flame and cooking each dish by herself. That’s right, every single dish is hand prepared by Jay Fai. It’s this meticulous preparation that earned her a Michelin Star. In fact, Jay Fai is only 1 of 2 ‘Street Food Stalls’ to be given a prestigious Michelin Star. The other one? That’s Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Singapore, where we have also been. So go check out our experience there.

Eventually, we were sat at a table outside. We had been waiting almost an hour and half since arriving (which means our ‘Waiting Person’ must have been here for almost 3-4 hours!). The hype had been building and we were so excited. We had ordered 3 of Jay Fai’s iconic dishes, Tom Yum Soup, Pad Kee Mao (also known as Drunken Noodles), and her signature, the Crab Omelet.

The first to arrive was the legendary Crab Omelet. On our plate was an enormous lump of crispy egg. We cut it in half to reveal a mountain of tender crab and soft egg. There must have been at least a couple crabs just for this one omelet. The crispiness on the outside perfectly complemented the soft crab and fluffy egg on the inside. It was rich, simple, and exactly what you want in a Crab Omelet. It didn’t need to be anything more.

Next came the Tom Yum and Pad Kee Mao. The Tom Yum was absolutely packed with flavor. It was spicy, citrusy, and salty. Inside was shrimp, fish, and squid, each adding a new dimension of flavor when you got them in a spoonful.

The Pad Kee Mao was amazing. This is my favorite thing to get from Thai restaurants in America and I had waited until Jay Fai to have it here in Bangkok.

Singapore

Hawker Stall Heaven

Singapore

October 29th, 2023 – November 1st, 2023

Table of Contents

In early 2023, we decided it was time to pull the trigger on our dream trip. Over the past 2 years I had been saving points on my Chase Sapphire card and now it was time to use them. Flights from the US to Singapore (and then back) averaged at around $2,000 for the both of us, but with my handy dandy points, it would only cost $100.

It took a while to pull the trigger, but one night, over a glass of wine, we did it. The tickets were bought. We’d take the longest, most intensive trip we’d ever been on. 8 countries in just 3 weeks.

Thus began the Southeast Asia 2023 Trip.

The VIP’s Have Arrived

After almost 20 hours of flying we arrived at Singapore Changi Airport. We were exhausted, but excited to be here. It was our first time flying with Qatar Airways and I have to say, it may be our favorite airline to date. The comfort, quality of food, and entertainment options made those long hours in the air not as bad as they could be.

We quickly ordered a Grab, Southeast Asia’s version of Uber, and made our way into the city. Our first driver was an older lady called Low Yoke Fun. She was great and introduced us to life in Singapore.

Police on motorcycles began stopping all traffic from getting onto the highway. “There is a VIP coming. It will be our Prime Minister or another head of state.” You’re damn right VIP’s were coming, The Hungry Voyagers were in town.

A Modern Utopia

A 12 hour time difference has an incredible affect on the body. By 4am, I was entirely awake. Laying next to me, however, was the greatest sleeper I have ever met. Emily slept throughout the entire flight, got to the hotel, and then got another 8 hours of sleep. It is the most impressive thing I have ever seen.

Finally at 8am, we first stepped out into the hot, humid air of Southeast Asia. Our first impression of Singapore was pure awe of how modern everything was. Large skyscrapers dominated the sky, but were covered in plants and greenery of all kind. It felt like the classic interpretation of a modern utopia. Big, clean, environmentally conscious. All that was missing were the flying cars.

Hawker Heaven

Singapore is renowned for its Hawker Centers. We had no idea what that meant. We’d never heard the word ‘Hawker’ in our life. However, we’d soon come to find out what the hype was all about. Essentially, Hawker Centers are large, intricate complexes filled with little stalls that serve quick, cheap, delicious food. Typically, each stall is owned by an older couple known affectionately as ‘Uncle’ and ‘Auntie’. They run, cook, and serve their customers.

Walking in to Hong Lim Hawker Center, I knew we would love it here. It was bustling with locals. All around were little openings in the wall with bright signs, lit up with pictures of food and Chinese letters. Smells we’d never smelt before came from all corners of the complex. Knives hitting cutting blocks, Auntie’s yelling out order numbers, pots and pans clanging, fans blowing, people chatting and laughing. The Hawker Center Orchestra.

We made our way through the maze of hallways and stairs. The first dish on our list was a local favorite, Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee. In fact, it had recently won the Bib Gourmand award from Michelin, which is pretty much one level below actually having a Michelin Star. The line wrapped around the corner as a man went down the queue taking peoples order and money. There was only one thing on the menu, Kway Teow Mee. Online reviews said that people usually wait in line for hours for this dish, and more and more people lined up behind us.

Luckily for us, the line quickly whittled down. It was an efficient operation. The Uncle taking orders, the Auntie putting the dishes together, and a chef cooking up food.

We got our food and sat at a free table. In these Hawker Centers, you just sit wherever is open, a lot of the times with strangers. The bright red plate stood out against the light blue table. On it, the legendary Kway Teow Mee. Noodles in a dark soy sauce with garlic, chili, egg, and cockles. It was delicious, smokey, oily goodness.

Our second dish at Hong Lim was downstairs at Heng Kee. Here they specialized in a Curry Chicken Noodle Soup. The Auntie took my order as a very large man began creating it. This guys neck was about the same size as my body, yet he was so meticulous with his preparation. A wooden stump sat in the corner of their hawker. In the middle of the stump was a hole with, what looked like, stock and chicken juice. The large man took a hunk of chicken, picked up his cleaver, and carefully began chopping it in to bite sized pieces. It was like watching an artist with his paintbrush. Each stroke of the cleaver was delicate, yet purposeful. Each piece dropped into a white bowl, which he then covered in the juice from the middle of the stump.

First of all, the star of the dish is the broth. Creamy, rich with a distinct curry flavor and a little kick. The chicken is unbelievably tender, soft, and absorbs that rich curry broth beautifully. Tofu puffs also sit in and soak up the broth, becoming little flavor bombs of goodness.

Hawker National Dish

Soon enough we found ourselves at the most well-known food center in the country and tourist hotspot, Maxwell Hawker Center. Unlike Hong Lim, Maxwell was open air and only on one floor. The structure felt like we had walked in to an aircraft hanger. Hawker stalls with colorful signs of all kinds of dishes lined up and down the hallways. You could tell it was a lot more touristy than Hong Lim. There were a lot more white people, which was fine for now. We had our mission.

We were on the prowl for Hainanese Chicken Rice, the national dish of Singapore, and Maxwell had the best place to get it. Tian Tian had been hyped up in the area by Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, and even Michelin. Not a bad list of supporters. Unfortunately for us, it was closed on Monday’s. Luckily for us, there was a great alternative right in front of us.

Ah Tai was opened by a former Tian Tian chef who left, copied their color scheme, took the recipe, and moved about 5 hawker stalls down from the original location. It was close enough.

We waited in line for about 10 or so minutes before getting to the front. We were lucky, by the time we ordered, the line had doubled in size. I ordered the Medium Chicken Rice, paid $6SGD ($4.50) immediately got our plate, and sat at a nearby table with some strangers. The place was absolutely packed, there was no room to breathe.

The plate was composed of 3 main components: some slightly brown rice, sliced chicken with a brown glaze over it, and a dollop of sambal. I scooped some rice and chicken together and took a bite. After hearing Bourdain and Ramsay gush about it, we couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Is it tasty? Yes of course it is. The glaze is sticky and a little sweet, the chicken was tender, and the rice was….rice. In our humble, non-chef opinions, it needs something else going on with it. I wanted to love it, I ended up just liking it.

In the couple weeks leading up to this trip, Emily had become obsessed with the idea of having freshly squeezed Sugar Cane Juice. As we took the last bites of Chicken Rice, her Sugar Cane Juice detector off. Low and behold, a couple of hawkers down, a white sign with red Chinese symbols. But underneath, the words ‘Sugar Cane Juice’. The Uncle at the stall took some sugar cane and ran it through a grinder which caused it to shoot out some juice into the cup. Emily was very happy.

A Flower Oasis

The Sugar Cane Juice was very, very refreshing. Sweet, a little grainy, but most importantly, it was cold and this heat was starting to get to us. It was 91 degrees Fahrenheit with a 93% humidity. Buckets of sweat were being extracted from my body. Our original plan to walk to the next destination was scrapped and, instead, a nice air-conditioned Grab called our name.

Gardens by the Bay had to be the most iconic sight in all of Singapore. Google Singapore right now, it will be in the first photo. Even now, I still didn’t really know what it was. You see the photos and it looks cool, but what exactly is it? Well it’s essentially a massive, fancy garden complex split into different attractions. Like most of Singapore, it focuses on blending nature and sustainability with technology.

The first attraction we showed up at was the Supertree Grove. Seeing them in real life was surreal. They are giant, vertical gardens that tower above everything. Made from metal beams wrapped with plants growing up them, they’re designed to look like trees and gave us some good shade from the sun beating down on us.

We stepped inside one of the trees and took an elevator to the top. At the top the first thing that hits you is another of Singapore’s iconic sights. Another example of the modern metropolitan it wants to be. The Marina Sands Bay. It looks like a surfboard on three skyscrapers.

An older German couple offered to take this for us

The first giant, glass dome that we entered was Cloud Forest. The cool air hit immediately. All of the senses were touched. The sound of running water. The smell of fresh air and plants. The feeling of cool mist hitting your face. In the middle, a massive 120 foot tall mountain covered in greenery and housing the worlds tallest indoor waterfall. Emily’s eyes lit up. She is a proud Plant Mom and if she had it her way, our apartment would look like this.

At the time, there was a special Avatar collaboration so the Cloud Forest. Special plants from the movies and creatures were scattered around the dome. We even got our faces scanned to become Avatar people.

We walked into the center of the massive structure in the middle and took an elevator to the top. It was crazy up here, we were practically touching the roof.

The second massive, glass dome was called the Flower Dome. In here were thousands of different plants from all over the world. Each section was broken into different continents which contained plants native to them. It wasn’t as grand in scale compared to the Cloud Forest, but it was incredible to see just how much there was.

We crossed the Marina and ended up at Little Island Brewing Company. Our first Asian brewery! The excitement was palpable. It was located in a posh looking mall area and definitely had the ‘look’. But would the beer be good, would it be a good representation of Asian beer? The answer is, meh. I had Famous Last Wort, a Golden Ale, and Emily had Penny Lane, a Pale Ale. The standard of craft beer is so high in America that it’s hard to not judge, but they were very average. An English couple sat by us and asked what we were drinking. They ended quickly scuffled off before finishing it. Guess we’re not just snobs after all.

Rib Soup

That night for dinner we would be going to yet another Bib Gourmand awarded restaurant. Singapore actually has 79 Bib Gourmand restaurants, and is one of the highest concentrated areas of eateries with this award.

The restaurant was only a 15 minute walk from our hotel so we decided to walk. By now it was dark and there was a slight drizzle, making the air far cooler than before. We walked down the streets, dodging cars and weaving in and out of back alleys. It was late, but the city was alive. The bright lights from tiny alley restaurants reflected off the wet floor. I was in love with the food culture of Singapore. Eating was a big thing for these people. All these tiny, hole in the wall restaurants were filled with people.

Our stop for the night was Song Fa Bak Kut Teh to try their famous Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Soup). Originally started as a single pushcart stall in 1969, Song Fa has now expanded to multiple restaurants around Singapore, all serving the original dish that started it all.

For hours under the hot sun, he served bowl after bowl of piping hot Bak Kut Teh to the tables gathered by his pushcart.

The bak kut is running out, he thought. It was time to get more meat from the chiller at his friend’s liquor stall down the road.

These were the humble beginnings of Song Fa Bak Kut Teh.
Our Legacy. Song Fa Bak Kut Teh

We were given a number and waited in line outside. The restaurant was packed, but it only took around 30 minutes to get us seated. We both ordered the special. Two Premium Loin Rib Soups. They quickly arrived. A small, humble, white bowl. Inside, a light brown broth, 2 bulbs of garlic, and a single rib larger than the bowl itself.

The broth was peppery and rich with depth. Meat from the ribs fell off the bone with very little resistance. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Crossing the Border

The next day we booked a tour guide from ToursByLocals to take us across the border to Malaysia. Our guide, Han, was absolutely incredible and gave us a great food tour of the area. Click here to read about our adventure around Johor Bahru.

Making our way Downtown

It was 2pm and we had just spent 8 hours travelling around Johor Bahru. We were exhausted, so we jumped into bed and took a quick power nap to recharge our batteries.

Singapore really is a beautiful place. Even though it was hot (and I really mean hot as hell), we loved the vibes. We couldn’t get over just how well modern technology has been integrated into nature. I said it before, but it really is a modern utopia.

We stopped for a bit on the Jubilee Bridge and watched over Marina Bay. You could see the whole main downtown skyline from here including the Marina Bay Sands. Boats came chugging by filled with people as we waved from the shore. It’s hard to describe this view and even the pictures don’t do it justice, it was just a really cool place to be and I’m glad we got to experience this.

The Cheapest Michelin Star Dish in the World

It had become dark outside as the rain poured down. Our Grab dropped us off to a small, opening in the wall. Inside it’s white, tiled floors were tables and small plastic chairs and in the back, 3 small hawker stalls that lit up with bright signs. The buzzing of lights, clanging of pans, and shouting of orders filled the room. Inside this humble abode was home to a very special dish. The cheapest Michelin Star dish in the world.

It wasn’t hard to tell which one it was as everyone had lined up at one place. It’s bright yellow sign with crimson Chinese text stood out amongst the others. On the left, the sacred Michelin Star sign. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle would be our first Michelin Star dish ever. To say we were excited would be an understatement.

The line didn’t seem that long, about 15 or so people, and it took about 45 minutes to get to the front.

An Auntie signaled me forward to take my order. I went with a version of their specialty, dry Bak Chor Mee. I handed over my cash (only $5USD!) and stepped back to watch the artists in action.

Behind the stall, putting the dishes together, were 2 supporting chefs and a head chef. Each component of each dish was individually prepared from scratch. Fresh noodles were put into a cage and dropped into boiling water. Various meats were dropped into a bowl, different sauces were scooped on and mixed together, then another meat was added, and different sauces added. It was incredible to watch and took about 5 minutes to finish.

So what exactly was this Bak Chor Mee? A combination of egg noodles, minced pork, sliced pork, pork liver, pork meatballs, dried sole fish, chives, and vinegar sauce.

The anticipation was killing us, and Emily jumped in for the first bite. The noodles were soft, chewy, and fresh. The pork meat was tender and flavorful. We liked the texture that the dried fish brought, but the flavor was a little overwhelming. And the liver? Liver is my arch enemy, I can never seem to like it, and this was no different. The texture was too soft and gritty for me. The vinegar sauce, however, was wonderful. An earthy, umami flavor with a kick of spice that really brought together the whole dish.

Honestly, we probably wouldn’t wait in line for almost an hour again for it. For a Michelin Star, you’re expecting something out of this world that knocks you off your feet. Maybe expectations are too high and hype has propelled it into something that can never be met, but Michelin Stars do mean the best of the best. And in the end, we found this to be good, just not the best.

One Last Brewery

Earlier we had gone to a brewery and been slightly disappointed at the beer, so this was Singapore’s chance at redemption, Lion Brewing Company. Our Grab driver on the way was hilarious. We talked about this trip we were embarking on and all of the countries. “You guys are crazy. In Cambodia they will take your organs.” Alrighty then, we’ll be sure to protect our organs at all times.

We arrived and danced around in the rain until we found the entrance. It must have been a funny sight to those who were driving by. Walking in, I could immediately tell the type of people in here. It is my Spidey Sense. This place was filled with Brits. It looked and smelled like a pub. My type of place, the vibes were already better than the previous. We ordered a flight and, again, the beer was just average. I do have to point out one in particular that was really good. The Kohia Australian Pale Ale was a collaboration between breweries in three countries, this one, Big Shed in Australia, and Hakuba in Japan. It is the first Australian Pale Ale either of us have had and it definitely left us wanting more.

Here are my Untappd ratings out of five.

Melaka Pumpkin Ale: 2.25
Volksfest Vintage: 2.75
Lunar Osmanthus Wit: 3.25
Kohia APA: 4.0
Island Lager: 2.25
Straits Pale Ale: 2.50

Country Number One, Done.

And just like that, the first country in our Southeast Asia 2023 Trip had been completed. These 3 days in Singapore had been a great introduction to this month long adventure we had planned. It felt like a great balance between Western and Eastern culture that would prepare us for what was to come. There definitely felt like far more to do, but in this short time we really connected to Singapore. The food culture is the best we had seen thus far and we’d discovered dishes and flavors we didn’t think possible.

But now, it was time to move on, and we set off early to Singapore Changi Airport. This airport is absolutely incredible by the way. The center and main part is called The Jewel, a massive glass dome that holds almost like a nature park inside with a giant waterfall (for whatever reason this wasn’t turned on today). I mean it doesn’t even look real, a monorail goes through it.

Anyway, it was now time for the third country in our trip. Click here to read about our next adventure, Brunei!

Mexico

Taco Bout a Great Time

Tijuana

June 22nd, 2023

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“Don’t go to Tijuana, it’s not safe”. “You’re crazy if you go to Tijuana”. “Please don’t go to Tijuana, I’ll worry about you”. These were the words that rang from family and friends when we told them about our plan to walk across the US / Mexican border to Tijuana. The reputation for the area was not great, just last year the cartel had run rampant in the city in response to the arrests of high-level cartel members. However, we didn’t really care. As with most places, if you follow the simple rule of ‘Don’t be an idiot’, everything will usually ended up being okay.

Walking to Mexico

We were due in San Diego for the wedding of our very close friends, when a thought crossed our travel-addicted minds. “Hold up, that’s close to Mexico.” The idea of adding a new country to our repertoire made us foam at the mouth, and within minutes we had booked a tour of Tijuana, the closest city.

A 3 hour drive from Los Angeles took us to the border town of San Ysidro. ABC stores, currency exchanges, and cheap motels dotted the street which ran parallel to a train track that crossed through the city and ended at the border. We parked our rental car in an enclosed parking lot and made our way across the train tracks to the border.

Our tour guide, Marisol, had already reached out with instructions on how to get across and where to meet her. As we moved ahead, a sign appeared, ‘To Mexico’. We were here. Slight nerves began to creep in as we thought back to all the warnings from family and friends, and those nerves were heightened as heavily barbed wire fences loomed over us.

The border crossing was easy. “Why are you here?” “A tour.” “Ok.”

As we walked through the turnstiles, a new world appeared. We had really been in America just a couple minutes ago and now here we were in a completely different environment. Food stalls and stands selling cheap, miscellaneous items crowded the border entrance. A man at the end of the street yelled at everyone walking by to get into his taxi. A giant, colorful ‘Farmacia’ displayed itself in the distance promising the best prices on all drugs. It was loud, bustling, energetic. We loved it.

Marisol met us just outside. Our tour group consisted of me, Emily, and an older man from Guatemala, Manuel. We chatted with him about our experience in Antigua, which he was happy and surprised to hear. You can read about our experience in Guatemala. He was visiting the USA to see his new grandson for the first time and send in a new VISA application.

Marisol pointed to a van just down the street and said we’d be using public transportation to get to the center of town. We were handed a small ticket and sat in the van with a couple of locals.

Tourists on Tour

The short ride took us to Avenida Revolución, the main tourist street in downtown Tijuana. The street was colorful and lined with palm trees. Very touristy, but nice.

At the end of the street was the Tijuana Arch, built in 2001 to revive tourism in the area. It dominated the view of the street and was actually quite impressive. Next to it was the other touristy photo op, the Tijuana Sign. If you Google Tijuana, you can be sure to find a picture of this sign. We did our bit as tourists and posed with them to get our Instagram photos.

Our tour continued through the Plaza Santa Cecilia as we made our way past countless stalls and waiters ushering us in to their restaurants. “Real Mexican food in here” they would say as they easily spotted the only two white people in the center. We didn’t not believe them, but Marisol had promised us something very exciting: Mexican candy tasting.

We pulled in to a colorful store packed with candy of all kinds and pinatas hanging from every part of the ceiling. It smelled amazing. Marisol saw us in awe of the many pinatas and told us a fun story about them.

When you think of pinatas, you just think of birthday parties right? Well here in Mexico we use them for every occasion. Got divorced? We’ll throw a party and fill it with condoms and tequila.

We would get to try a couple different candies here that Marisol had picked out for us. The first was a sweet, dried mango covered in chili powder, which tasted exactly how it sounded: a spicy mango. The second was a coconut tequila candy, which I regrettable forgot the name of (It was similar to coquito). This was delicious, we both agreed it was the best. I wonder why the tequila one would be our favorite? And last, but not least, freshly made caramel, straight from the bucket it was being made.

We continued our walk through more markets. Meats, cheeses, dried chilis, beans, and vegetables filled the small corridors. We stopped by a local cheese seller who gave us a taste of his Queso Fresco. It was so fresh.

One thing we had noticed about Mexico was how colorful everything is. Simply walking through a market is sensory overload.

Like most Latin American countries, Catholicism is the main religion. In fact, 78% of the Mexican population is Catholic, which makes no surprise that the region is filled with massive churches. One of the most notable in Tijuana is the Santuario de la Virgen de Guadalupe (Sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe). The Virgin of Guadalupe is simply the Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus. Originally built in 1902, this Cathedral was the only one in Tijuana up until the 1930s.

Inside was beautiful. White walls bordered by gold paint. An intricate glass chandelier hung over the sanctuary. As we walked in about 10-15 people were kneeling and praying. We stood in the corner as Manuel went to pray. A lady at the front started loudly talking to everyone. I looked to Marisol to see what she was saying. “She is saying good things”.

Wining and Dining

“The historical section of the tour is over” Marisol declared, “Now we eat and drink!” These were words to our ears. As much as we had enjoyed learning about Tijuana, it was a hot day and we are The Hungry Voyagers after all. Our first stop would be to The Beer Garden. We walked into a little courtyard and up some short stairs into a big empty room. It was nice inside, very modern, but a little too American for our liking. You could tell they were trying to cater to people coming across the border. We sat outside on the balcony and looked down at the street below us. “That’s the wall that Trump built over there” Marisol pointed out a large brown, tin structure in the distance.

The owner of the tour came by to chat with us, he was a nice, genuine guy. “Mexican craft beer is really kicking off. Some people say the beer is better here than in San Diego”. I didn’t believe him.

I was recommended two beers from Cerveceria Wendlandt, a brewery from Ensenada, a coastal town about 2 hours drive from Tijuana. Vaquita Marina was a Pale Ale and Perro Del Mar was an IPA (I was told it was a Mexican Beer World Cup winner). The IPA was fantastic and lived up to the hype. The Pale Ale was okay.

After getting a little loose, it was the moment we had been waiting for: Food.

Marisol took us to a little street vendor called El Doradito. It was just a small tent covering a couple of stools sitting in front of a grill and countertop. A lady and a man stood inside, smiling as we approached. I told Marisol to order the two things that she would order if here for the first time. “Tacos are great, yes. But Tijuana is more known for our Quesadillas”. I ordered a Deshebrada (Shredded beef) Quesadilla and Taco Adobada (Marinated pork). Emily ordered an Asada (Beef) Gordita and Taco.

On the bar sat 3 plastic tubs, each containing a different liquid. I chose the Horchata, a sweet, refreshing drink made from rice, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. I excitedly slurped it down from my Styrofoam cup as I watched our food made right in front of us. Meats were thrown on the grill, tortillas thrown into deep fryers, and veggies chopped up. Does food taste better when it’s cooked right in front of you? I think so.

We were handed paper plates with our dish of choice. The Quesadilla looked like no Quesadilla I’ve had in America. It was thick, fried dough acting as a pocket for the shredded beef, lettuce, tomato, salsa, and white cheese. I took a bite. It was tasty but nothing incredible. Many flavors combined together in this fried pocket of dough. I could feel my arteries clogging.

The taco looked more familiar. A fried tortilla held the pork, onion, lettuce, and two large slices of avocado. Again, as with the Quesadilla, it was tasty. Tacos are tacos.

“Woah woah, careful!” Marisol looked over at me in fear, “That salsa you are putting on is very spicy”. “Yeah right” I thought as I drenched my remaining food in the bright red liquid. My cockiness did not go unpunished. The liquid lava hit my tongue and immediately hit me. I turned to Emily, tears in eyes, “This was a mistake”. She simply laughed at my pain.

Drinking Scorpions..?

When in Mexico there are two things you must consume: tacos and tequila. We’d had the tacos, and now it was time for tequila. Marisol led us to a small store, absolutely covered from floor to ceiling in tequila. Strangely enough, at the back of this store was a barber. Tequila while getting a haircut? Maybe it’ll catch on in the US.

Here we were met by an enthusiastic man that was very passionate about his tequila. He grabbed about 10 bottles and started pouring us shots. Before each taste he gave us a description and where it was made. Like our rum tasting in Mauritius, after 2 shots I had stopped listening and just began blanking smiling and nodding my head while pretending the words made sense.

Finally, he brought out the bottle that had caught my eye from the beginning. A Mezcal with a scorpion inside. This was the type of stuff you see in movies. I was eager to try it. It tasted like beef jerky, no other way to put it.

I bought a bottle of the Scorpion Mezcal to give to my friend before his wedding. We (the groomsmen) ended up drinking the entire thing and taking bites out of the scorpion the night before the wedding. I took a bite of the claw and body, all I tasted was shell and liquor. It was grim.

Back to the USA

And just like that, it was time to head back to the border. We hopped in the local van transportation and headed towards the USA.

Right next to our drop off point was a lady standing at a small tent selling food. I asked Marisol to translate what it was. Breaded beef tacos for about $2. I was sold. It was a nice little thing to snack on as we walked towards to the border crossing.

Marisol had been a great guide around Tijuana. We experienced everything we could in a single day in Mexico: tacos, burritos, beer, tequila. What more could we ask for?

However, the most important takeaway from this journey had been not to judge a book by its cover. Our friends and family had told us to stay away from Tijuana. We were told it was too dangerous. Too dirty. Why would you even think about going there? Of course, we never listened. There is beauty to be found in all corners of the earth. There are cultures to be experienced, foods to be eaten, and amazing people to meet no matter the country they reside in. Sticking to what you know simply feeds ignorance. Take a risk, do something you wouldn’t usually do. You never know what you might find.

And with that, I leave you with this photo. Emily happily eating a churro while waiting in line to cross into the USA.

Guatemala

Dipping Our Toes in Latin America

April 20th 2023 – April 24th 2023

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Guatemala would be a first for us. Our first Latin American country, our first backpack only country, our first country where Emily had to speak Spanish the majority of the time, and our first Level 3: Reconsider Travel country (Ooo spooky). Safe to say, we were both excited and nervous.

Flying Spirit

This was the first time we would be flying Spirit internationally. There are plenty of memes about how bad Spirit is, but honestly, it wasn’t so bad. Sure, the seats are rock solid, the space is limited, and the food/water is extra, but our plane was on schedule and we got there with no problems. Now, I have friends who flew Spirit and their flights were delayed to hell, and if that happened, we’d be having a different talk. But no, we boarded our flight and arrived in Fort Lauderdale for a long layover.

9 hours to be precise, so we left the airport and Uber’d into the city. But this isn’t a Fort Lauderdale blog entry, so we’ll save that for later. Eventually we ended up on our Spirit flight into Guatemala City. The flight was easy, only 2 and a half hours, and we landed in La Aurora International Airport at about 1am local time. We got out of the Terminal and ended up in a hot, sticky room with 5 lines to go through Immigration. Every time without fail I end up choosing the slowest line, and this time was no different. Even though we were one of the first 25% of people there, we were the last to leave.

First Impressions

We wouldn’t be staying in Guatemala City, in fact, we’d be about 45 minutes from it. Because of this, we had hired a driver to take us to our hotel. We’d set our pick up time for 12pm, and it was now getting close to 1am. Thanks to our experience with drivers in France, I was getting nervous. But, low and behold, as we walked out the airport and hit with the muggy air and sounds of people chatting, right in front of the barricade was a short man holding a sign with ‘DANIEL ROBERTS…’ in green sharpie. I pointed at him and we walked to his white van, which he then proceeded to bang on the door until it opened.

As we drove through Guatemala City, we traveled through areas I can only describe as Call of Duty maps. Abandoned buildings and barbed wire dotted the dark, urban landscape. I pondered to myself, ‘Where have I brought my wife’. I was being dramatic obviously, but the US State Travel advisory of ‘Reconsider Travel’ and the stories online of drivers selling out passengers for extortion plagued my mind.

This beginning drive was a great learning experience. Even though I had come in with these judgements based on online forums, the driver was a lovely man who got us to our hotel with no problem at all, in fact, everyone we met in Guatemala were so friendly and helpful.

We sat in silence, half awake as we drove out of Guatemala City, through winding, mountain roads, until eventually arriving at our old, cobbled city. Like zombies, we badly communicated to our host to try check in to our rooms, and knocked out as soon as our heads hit the pillow in our room.

Home for a couple days

The Posada El Antano would be our quaint home for the next couple days and it was nothing short of amazing.

A UNESCO World Heritage… City?

Antigua awaited us. The third capital of Guatemala during the old Spanish colonial days. So old that the entire city is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Like any first day in a new city, we set out to explore our surroundings and a quick 2 minute walk from our hotel was La Merced Square. Located here was its namesake, Iglesia de la Merced, but for 2 tired voyagers that didn’t matter. What did matter for the small coffee shop located right outside, La Pareda.

Guatemala is quite famous for its coffee, and is actually up there considered as one of of the best in the world. The National Coffee Association talks about Guatemala and lists the reasoning behind it’s unique coffee flavors:

While perhaps not as well-known as some of its Central and South American neighbors, Guatemala’s coffee has a distinctive taste quality favored by many for its rich flavor. There are three main growing regions — Antigua, Coban and Huehuetanango — each with a breathtakingly rugged landscape and rich volcanic soil. Microclimates strongly influence the quality and flavor of the “strictly hard beans” (grown at altitudes 4500 feet/1370 meters or higher). This medium-to-full bodied coffee has a depth and complexity of taste that is almost spicy or chocolatey.
The National Coffee Association – ‘Coffee’s around the World’

Emily was really excited and, even though I am not a coffee drinker, her enthusiasm had me excited too. I let Emily order for me, she brought back 2 cappuccinos. This would be maybe my 5th coffee ever. It woke me up, it tasted good, and it was relatively cheap. Could I drink it everyday? No, but for today it was very enjoyable. I won’t bother to give a flavor profile as I don’t think someone who has had 5 coffees can better depict these flavors compared the the National Coffee Association.

La Merced Square: The site of our coffee

Cobbled Streets and Squares

Since Antigua is an old, colonial city, the streets are designed to be simple and easy to navigate. Everything was laid out in a square, which made exploring a lot easier. We walked up and down the cobbled streets, occasionally stopping in to a store. People on motorbikes whizzed by. Ladies sat cooking up homemade tortillas on corners. Cars hobbled over the cobbles.

At the center of Antigua is Parque Central, the main square and hub for everything. It was bustling with people. Vendors lined the columns leading up to the fountain, kids played soccer in the grass, cars inched forward in traffic jams around the perimeter, and tour guides led pasty white people all over.

Our eyes were immediately drawn to the head of the square, where a massive church stood, the Cathedral of Santiago. Something we learned throughout our trip was the significance of earthquakes on Antigua. This particular church was originally began building in 1545 but it’s progress was hampered by frequent earthquakes, including big ones in 1717, 1874, and 1918 which essentially destroyed it and forced them to start over. Still, here it stands today, hopefully with some modern earthquake proof architecture this time.

One of the buildings that caught my eye was the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, or simply, the Captain General Palace. Built in 1558, this building was where the Spanish empire governed over Guatemala. Today it serves an even greater role, as the headquarters of the Guatemala Institute of Tourism.

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (Captain General Palace)

The Real Reason we Travel (Hint: It’s Food)

“Give me something the locals eat”. La Cuevita de los Urquizu is renowned for its old style Mayan dishes. Right off the street, hearty soups fill clay pots tempting customers inside with an array of sensual scents coming from a variety of dishes. The man behind the pots loaded our plates up well and escorted us up a small, winding staircase to the rooftop.

We ended up getting Subanik with sides of Tamales, Ichintal, and some beautiful homemade Tortillas. This was Guatemalan cuisine at its finest.

Subanik is a Mayan dish nicknamed “God’s Meal”, and consists of chicken, beef, and pork in a thick chili stew. I had read that Guatemalan cuisine consisted of a lot of stews, but couldn’t have imaged how flavorful they would be. All 3 meats were so incredibly tender and flavorful, yet somehow, the star of the show was the broth. Wow. So much flavor packed in to it. With every bite you discovered something different.

On the side were some Tamales wrapped in banana leaves. I couldn’t tell you what these are or what they tasted of, but Emily was a big fan. We also had a very traditional Guatemalan side, Ichintal with red sauce. Ichintal, also called the Vegetable Pear, is native to Guatemala and only grows during certain periods, making it a delicacy to the locals. It was very tasty. Soft enough to bite into, but not so soft that it become mush. The red sauce added flavor and a little kick.

On top of it, our first taste of Guatemalan beer, and we had to start with the national hero: Gallo. It’s just your typical run of the mill Cerveza (don’t tell Guatemalan’s that).

Subanik with Tamalas, Ichintal, and homemade tortillas

We were the only ones on the roof, making the experience so special and personal. In the distance, peaking through the clouds loomed Acatenango, one of the many volcanos in Guatemala. Motorcycles whizzed in the background and birds chirped as we chowed down on our soup. It was a great introduction to Guatemala and their food.

“You must try Gallo” was passionately said by so many . They are proud of their cervezas.

More Old Things

Antigua is filled with old churches, making it hard to not come across one while you’re out. While walking our food off, one in particular, Iglesia y Convento de las Capuchinas (Convent of the Capuchins), had its big old wooden doors open. What does Capuchins mean? I had no idea, the first thing that came to mind was the Capuchin Monkey.

The Order of the Capuchinas Nuns was founded in Italy under the concept of sanctification through work and poverty, between a life of penance and recollection. When he arrived in Guatemala, he began to spread this religious spirit, showing a special joy in his daily life.
Antiguena, Spanish Academy.

Ah, so nuns. Makes more sense than monkeys.

Built in 1736, it suffered the same fate as most things in Antigua in the 1700’s, earthquakes. How did anything in this city survive?

A short walk later lead us to a place where we always happen to end up: the local brewery. Antigua Brewing Company is one of a few breweries located in Antigua, and definitely the one aimed at tourists.

Earlier in the day, we were told that craft beer hasn’t really kicked off yet in Guatemala. It makes sense though. A country with a 55% poverty rate doesn’t really have a pressing need for craft breweries. However, walking in to the brewery, the vibes were there. A huge Guatemalan flag slung over multiple tanks, graffitied walls, and a clay pond scattered with flowers. They definitely understood what a brewery should look like.

As we walked up the iron spiral staircase, we were met with a view of the surrounding area. Moments like these are ones you look back at for the rest of your life. Sitting on a rooftop overlooking the cobbled streets, old buildings, and surrounding mountains in Guatemala with the love of your life, drinking local beer, does it get much better?

The actual beer left a little more to be desired. Not bad, but also not great. From the flight we shared, the Spicy Manguera was my favorite, which was simply a local chili added to their flagship lager. Little things like that are what sets apart brewery experiences from others.

Maybe craft beer in Guatemala hasn’t kicked off yet and there is a way to go, but for a start, it’s pretty damn solid. As always, here are my Untappd ratings out of 5.

Spicy Manguera- Spiced Beer: 3.75
Shute – Pale Ale: 3.75
Fuego – IPA: 3.0
Pilsner: 2.75
Red Ale: 2.75
Coffee Cream Ale: 3.25

National Dish Time

For dinner, we decided to take a walk around and find somewhere that tickled us. Arrin Cuan was the first place that stood out. It’s bright yellow walls, beautiful garden and Mayan trinkets peppering the walls gave a perfect backdrop to our meal.

In my quest to try every Guatemalan beer, I ordered a Cabro Extra. It was okay. Like a Bud Light with extra steps.

However, we hadn’t come here for beer. We had come here for the main event, the reason we travel. We had come here for the National Dish of Guatemala: Pepián. Like the dishes we had eaten thus far, it came in a clay pot. A thick, brown stew with carrots, plantains, potatoes, and chicken floating around. On the side, simply rice and a tamale.

While pepián is made primarily of tomatoes, chiles, onions and spices the secret to pepián is the nutty flavour of the pan-roasted sesame and pumpkin seeds in the sauce.
A Taste for Travel (https://www.atastefortravel.ca/13389-guatemalan-chicken-pepian-de-pollo/)

And it was delicious! As with the Subanik, there was an immense amount of flavor in each spoonful of broth. It had a deep, rich flavor with strong, savory spices. The chicken was tender, juicy and fell off the bone.

Chaotic ATV’s Through the City

We woke up early morning and had a Guatemalan twist on a hotel breakfast. Eggs, fried plantain, red sauce, beans, and some type of cheese. It was good, but I’m not sure I’m sold on plantains for breakfast yet like Emily is. “Carmalized, gooey, and full of flavor” as she put it.

Today would be exciting. We arranged an ATV tour of the city and a local coffee plantation. Emily was extra excited as this would be the first time driving her own ATV, unlike last time in Dubai when she shared with me.

Our guide was a younger guy called Jeremy. A former defender for the local youth soccer team, Antigua GFC (I still question he really was a defender considering his height). Jeremy was fluent in English from his private school education and very excited to show us around. Our group was small, only us and 3 other people. We began by driving around the nearby streets. The ATVs bumped up and down over the cobbled streets as we drove past the small colorful buildings of Antigua.

We broke away from the outskirts of the city and began driving up a long, windy hill. Keep in mind we were on a real road at this point. Cars were speeding down the hill, whizzing past, barely missing us. It struck me at this point how funny this was and I couldn’t help but laugh. They really would not allow this in America, the lawsuits would be insane.

Our first stop was Cerra de la Cruz. The views from up here were incredibly beautiful. A cross sits at the top looking over a panoramic view of the entire city with Volcano Agua looming in the distance.

Cerro de la Cruz (The hill of the cross)

Jeremy wanted to show us a view of another volcano: Acatenango. This was the active volcano we had earlier seen from the city. From here, if you positioned yourself in a specific way, you could see Acatenango with smoke rising above its peak. This was such a surreal moment. Our first time seeing an active volcano in action. Jeremy pointed at it with excitement and showed us photos of him standing very close to it as it spewed lava. An Irish couple in our group, Cathal and Caoimhe, would be hiking up to it next week. We began chatting to them and found out they were also travelers, recently coming from Colombia and Panama.

Jeremy bringing my ATV back from the dead

It was now time to go to the coffee plantation. We went back down the hill, dodging cars and lawsuits, and through the town of Jocotenango. At one point we were lined up at the intersection of a main road, sitting next to cars also trying to turn, waiting for the split second we could pull out. I was worried about how Emily would react to being on a main road her first time driving an ATV, but those fears were immediately put away as she turned around with the biggest grin on her face. She loves life threatening moments. Never forget the Ice Ramp of Death in Iceland.

It really was quite silly. Jeremy sat at the front of the column, leading the brigade as he gave hand signals where we would turn. At any point in time, we could be severed from the brigade as we were literally in main road traffic. Ladies drove past on bikes with newborn babies balancing on the front as they fought to make their way into the queue. The orchestra of horns blasted as the soundtrack to this madness. Was it the best time of our lives? You’re damn right it was.

We finally rolled down a dirt road and made it alive to our destination: Finca La Azotea. We were first showed a chocolate factory on the premises that made chocolate from cacao harvested in the area. A guide told us about the process and let us try different cacao percentages. “70% is the best” He was right, it was so tasty we bought some to take home.

Walking around the the plantation gave some great insight into how proud Guatemalans are of their coffee.

“We never use machines, everything is hand picked. Machines mean less people have jobs.” I asked Jeremy what salaries are for this type of work. “About $1 USD for 10 pounds of coffee picked. Entire families go out and pick, even little children. They paint their nails so they know what color plant to pick”. It sounded grim to us, but this is the reality of some parts of the world. Jeremy told us it was a good thing, and without coffee they would be starving.

It was a great little tour. We were given coffee samples at the end.

At the end of the tour, Jeremy sat down with us and had a beer. We all shared stories over our homelands. One lady was here doing Operation Smile work at a local hospital. Jeremy told us of his aspirations to come to America for work.

I had a Chelita Linda from Cerveceria 14. It was poured from an old, motorized 3 wheeled bike that had a couple of taps in the back.

The Smaller the Restaurant, the Better the Food

As we were finishing the tour, Cathal and Caoimhe pulled us and asked if we wanted to get lunch. We agreed and ended up walking the streets for food. Now there must be a rule written down somewhere that if you’re in a Latin American country and see a lady on a grill making her own tortillas, you go in. This is how we ended up at Refacciones y Pupusas Odilia, a tiny, hot, yellow room with enough space to fit maybe 6 people. I struggled my way into a seat against the wall and took a look around. This was the type of food I loved. Real, local cuisine.

Cathal spoke a little Spanish and was our translator to order food. We all ordered the same thing, chicken in a sauce, rice, and vegetables for a whopping $2. Honestly this is the dish that has ruined food for me. I can now never be happy after ordering food in America because of how good this was for the low price. “Yes this $20 steak is delicious but remember how good that $2 chicken dish was in Guatemala?” That’s usually how it goes. But for real, it was a good, solid meal. The chicken was beyond tender and in a typical, tasty Guatemalan sauce. The homemade tortillas were just the cherry on top.

VIVA ANTIGUA

As evening drew close it could only mean one thing: football. The local team, Antigua GFC were playing Club Xelaju in a 2nd vs 1st battle. I plopped on my Antigua jersey that I had masterfully negotiated for earlier and headed out for the stadium. On our way we stopped by a little restaurant, Restaurante Veracruzana, for a quick beer and snack. Nothing like a beer and kebabs before a footy game.

We followed a crowd of people wearing Antigua shirts up a hill to the stadium and ticket counter. A lady sat behind the counter as we tried to communicate to her that we needed tickets. Here is where we learned that you could only pay in cash, except we had no Guatemalan cash left. In a panic, I tried to bribe her with US money. “$20 for the tickets and $20 for you?” She paused for a minute and looked around, “…..no, sorry”. I was sad as we dejectedly walked away. We were so close, yet so far.

As if the football gods took pity on me, they gave us a sign: 3 pasty Canadians walked by. I ran up to them, startled them, and gave them the same offer. I give you $20 and you give me $20 in Quetzals, plus you keep any extra. They accepted the offer. I walked back up to the ticket counter with the biggest smile on my face and bought tickets. The lady laughed.

‘Do not compare them. Enjoy them.’ Antigua players aren’t like a 38 year old Cristiano Ronaldo

We walked up a staircase and through a tiny hole in the side of the stadium which acted as the entrance. Vendors lined the side of the pitch selling everything from scarves to Argentinian meat. As the game began, one side of the stadium immediately lit up flares which covered an entire section. I tried to walk over to the side but was blocked by a fence and a man watching over. I pointed to the other side, “Can I join the fans?” he simply replied “No, it is different there”. Okay then, noted.

The atmosphere was good. Constant drums and songs belted out from the flare side. Yeah, the flare side. The flares did not stop for longer than 5 minutes at a time. Those people were breathing in straight smoke. A single old man periodically chanted over the crowd, “VIVA ANTIGUA”, and would rile everyone up.

At some point we noticed kids coming up and taking photos with the guy sitting next to us. A little quick research let us know it was Oscar Santis, who played for Antigua and the Guatemalan national team but was injured. At 24 years old, he already had 7 goals for Guatemala, a bit of a baller.

It got quite funny. The kids quickly turned into savages in an attempt to impress him, screaming obscenities at the opposing team. Emily laughed and translated everything for me. They were relentless.

Antigua ended up losing 3-1.

One last taste of Guatemalan Street Food

Our final day arrived. Before our flight we had a couple hours to take one last walk around Antigua. We ended up at the La Merced street food market armed with our last 5 Quetzals. Looking through our options, we chose 2 ladies who were making a salad looking dish. We negotiated our way down to 5Q ($0.64). The younger lady asked the older lady if it was okay. She simply nodded and loaded our plate up.

We got a Tostada with pickled cabbage, beets, egg, onion, peppers, lettuce, cheese, a tortilla shell and covered with picante hot sauce. It was fresh, spicy, and just what we needed.

Guatemala had been such a pleasant surprise. We came with just our carry on suitcases, little planning, and no idea what to expect. Yet what we experienced was friendly, helpful people, amazing food, beautiful architecture, and some great memories.

Canada

The Northern Neighbor

August 31th, 2022 – September 5th, 2022

Table of Contents

Why not?

Canada started the way all great ideas begin: A bored weekend. As we were sitting around the TV, the question came up, “Want to go to Canada next weekend?” “Sure, why not?”. Within 30 minutes our hotel was booked.

The Long Drive

The next item of business was transportation. How would we get to Toronto? We could easily fly, but tickets for Labor Day weekend were notoriously expensive. This lead to only one other option: A Road trip.

Our plan of action was simple. Drive 7 hours to Newport News, Virginia to stay with Emily’s family. Then drive another 6 hours and spend a day and a half exploring Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finally another 8 hour drive to Toronto with a stopover in Buffalo, New York. Sounds easy, right?

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is famous for its Cheesesteaks. The most famous place to get these is at either Pat’s King of Steaks or Geno’s. Coincidentally, these stores are located right across the street from each other, creating a rivalry between the two.

I’d been to Philadelphia a couple times as a kid and always been a fan of the original, Pat’s. The story of the cheesesteak creation is that in 1930, Pat Olivieri, owner of a hotdog stand, wanted something different for his lunch and sent for some chopped meat from the butcher shop. He cooked the meat on his hot dog grill, placed it onto an Italian roll, and dressed it with some onions. As he finished, a customer insisted that Pat make him one. He took one bite and told Pat that this is what he should be selling.

Now, locals will tell you that the Pat’s Cheesesteak is terrible and simply a tourist trap. But, so what? We’re tourists and it’s fun to have the original of such a famous sandwich. Is the sandwich good? Yes. Is it great? No.

The next day we headed out to explore a bit of Philly. Reading Terminal Market is one of the oldest and largest markets in the USA. Opened in 1893, it is packed to the brim with stores and filled with bustling Philly locals in the morning.

Here we stopped by Dinic’s to have a Roast Pork Sandwich. In 2012, this was voted by Adam Richman as the ‘Best Sandwich in the USA’. No pressure on it tasting great then.

Oh yeah, we also went and cracked the Liberty Bell.

For dinner we stopped by a famous Belgian restaurant, Monks Cafe. Our time in Brussels had turned us on to Belgian food and we couldn’t wait for Steak Frites with that beautiful Belgian aioli. They also had one of my favorite beers on tap here, Pliny the Elder. What an experience!

The next day, before setting off, we pulled up to a little shack with the words ‘James Beard Award Winner’ painted on the side and construction workers lining up in the front. Oh yes, we made the right decision. This was John’s Roast Pork.

After getting a ticket from the stand, we waited as orders were called out. The level of quality between this Cheesesteak and Pat’s was immense. The bread was fresher, the meat tasted more like meat, and the cheese was perfectly melted. To day, this is one of the greatest sandwich I have ever eaten.

Bison

7 hours of driving later and we were almost to Canada. But first, there was something we had to do: Wings.

The story of Anchor Bar goes that on a Friday night in 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending the bar when a group of his friends came in asking for food. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends to eat. At that time chicken wings usually went into the stock pot for soup, but Teressa decided to deep fry them and flavored them with a secret sauce. They immediately became a hit.

Now, wings are by far my favorite American dish, so this was a Mecca trip for me. They did not disappoint. The depth of flavor in these wings was incredible.

Crossing the Border

After munching down on the wings and gaining back some much needed energy, it was time for the moment we’d been waiting for: crossing the border. We’d be heading over Rainbow Bridge Crossing. We waited impatiently for an hour and a half as we moved bumper to bumper across the bridge.

We arrived at the border to a kind French Canadian woman.
“Hi, why are you here?”

“Just visiting for the weekend?”

“How’d you get here?”

“Drove”

“You’re crazy. Continue ahead.”

Gooooood Morning Toronto

We started the next day as we love to do, a trip to the local market. St Lawrence Market was opened in 1813 and voted by National Geographic in 2012 as the world’s best food market.

It was busy. Walking through the doors, the excitement of a busy crowd hit us. All around were colorful stalls and people hustling about. To our left was Brown Brother’s, the oldest stall in the market. The banging of a cleaver hitting a chopping board was like a metronome as people ordered meats of all cuts and sizes. Up ahead would be our breakfast for the day: a Peameal Bacon sandwich.

The best place to get this sandwich was from Carousal Bakery. Bacon sandwiches were always my favorite breakfast back in England. The meatiness of English bacon is far superior to fatty American bacon, sorry Americans it’s just the truth. Peameal Bacon is the closest I have ever had to the English way. Canadians use the same cut of pork (back bacon), and then roll it in ground yellow cornmeal. Put that on a fresh roll and there we have it, a Peameal Bacon sandwich. It was so, so good. Each bite brought me back to sitting in my Grandma’s house by the fireplace, stuffing my face. Food can really transport you through time.

With our bellies happy, we continued to walk around the market, taking in our surroundings. We even bought some maple syrup because why not, it’s Canada.

Old Toronto

A decent walk through Toronto’s streets took us to the Distillery District, named after the local Gooderham and Worts Distillery which was founded in 1832.

The area was really cool. ‘Industrial vibes with an artsy flair’ as Emily put it. What we had seen of Toronto so far had just been a modern city, so walking in here was a complete 180. Everything was brick or metal.

A Gooderham and Worts Distillery sign hung overhead on a bridge and made a great photo. It’s crazy to think this distillery once provided 2 million gallons of whisky to the world (thanks Wikipedia).

A short walk away was Mill St Brewery where we’d get our first taste of Canadian beer. The vibes were immaculate. The sun was shining, plants covered the nearby brick courtyard, and we were sitting outside breathing in all that nice fresh Toronto air.

Emily had the Hazy Organic IPA and I went with the TFC Italian Pilsner (Named after the local MLS team we’d soon be watching). Overall, they were a bit meh. If this was what Canadian beer was like, they had a long way to go to catch up to their neighbors.

Walking somewhat disappointedly away, a sign caught our attention, ‘Drink of the GODS – Ultimate Drinking Chocolate’. Say less, we were there. Inside the tiny cobbled store we watched as a lady poured out a thick brown liquid from a shiny metal cannister into a paper shot cup. We sat outside in the now 85+ degree heat and took a sip of the steaming chocolate substance. ‘Daniel, why did we get a fancy hot chocolate when it’s this hot ‘. ‘I don’t know’.

Honestly, it would have been amazing on a cold, Canadian day. It was rich as hell, really chocolatey, and thick. But because it was 85+ degrees outside, again we felt meh. Maybe we just make bad choices.

Toronto Islands

Breakfast, beer, and hot chocolate inside us, it was time for the main event of the day: Toronto Islands. Another decent walk away took us back into downtown where we would catch a ferry to the island on Lake Ontario. We bought our tickets and headed into a docking area, where we learned that everyone in Toronto had the same idea today. Inside this small, old area were three turnstiles, each with the name of the island that ferry was going to. We waited in the small, crowded area taking a beating from the rays of the sun. ‘We’ll just take the first one that shows up’ I told Emily. After 10 minutes of tasting the breathe of the guy standing next to me, we heard the sounds of a boat horn. The middle turnstile opened up. Above it were the words:

Centre Island.

The vibe here was once again so incredibly different from what we had already seen of Toronto. In just 30 minutes, we’d gone from Modern Metropolitan Downtown to Old Industrial Brick to now Rural Lakeside Park.

If you could imagine the perfect picnic spot, this would be it. Bikes wizzed by, families sat under trees eating their lunch, birds were chirping, the sun was out, and all around was cleanly kept grass dotted with trees. As we made our way to the center of Centre Island, we walked across a bridge and looked out to the bay in the distance. This was such a beautiful little stop. Jet ski’s and kayaks raced around the water. No wonder so many people came here.

Our goal had originally been to rent bikes and go around the entire island. This plan quickly changed when we saw the bike rental line. We’d already walked so far so, why couldn’t we do a little more?

Imagine taking a ferry to school everyday

On the island was the oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes and the 4th oldest building in Toronto: the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, built in 1808. It’s also supposed to be haunted, just like every old building in the world.

In addition to the family friendly beaches, further down the island was a quite a famous ‘optional clothing beach’ called Hanlan’s Point Beach. We walked down the boardwalk in curiosity, immediately saw an old man hanging dong, and turned around. Not today.

Journey back to the mainland. Not a bad view.

Back at the hotel we took a much needed rest and prepared ourselves to experience the famous Toronto nightlife.

We were shattered. We ended up walking almost 12 miles that day. It was time for bed.

Chips, Gravy, and Cheese

Canada isn’t renowned for its cuisine, but I’d been excited to try Poutine for some time. Fries, gravy, and cheese takes everything I love in the world and combines them into one meal.

So today, we woke up early and began the trek. We walked through Toronto’s famous Chinatown and ended up at our Poutine destination: Smoke’s Poutinerie. Smoke’s is a chain restaurant in Canada and serves up all different kinds of Poutine. They definitely take their tagline, ‘How do you like your Poutine’, seriously.

We walked in to a colorful, red and black plaided store. The walls covered in graphics of Poutine. We were in Poutine Disneyland. We went with the original. No fancy addons, just straight up, vanilla Poutine. The lady gave us a large box filled to the brim with fries, gravy, and cheese.

I took a bite of a cheese curd. A little rubbery. I tried again, this time with the brown gravy and a floppy fry. I couldn’t help but want more out of it. It felt flat. There wasn’t much cohesion or depth of flavor and it was a little salty. I looked up at Emily and could see in her eyes she thought the same thing. A great hangover meal, but not much more than that.

Red Army

Filled with gravy and grease we marched on. It was a chilly, foggy morning and the streets were now quiet. Brick buildings marked University of Toronto lined the street as we walked by its campus.

With the Madison Avenue Pub in sight, a roar emitted from it’s windows. It could only mean one thing. Earlier in the week I had found that Man United has a pretty large supporters group in the area. As we entered the building and went upstairs, Man United shirts filled the crowded room, and my suspicions were confirmed. Man United 1, Arsenal 0.

We ordered a pint and sat in one of the rooms overflowing with red shirts. I thought back to our time in Iceland when we watched United at a pub in the heart of Reykjavik. Again, in that situation I had heard a roar emit from a building and we sat and watched with other die hard Man United fans. Football is beautiful. It binds all fans, no matter language or country. I was a thousand miles from Charleston, yet I felt at home and surrounded by friends.

We won 3-1. The celebrations got louder each goal.

That night the soccer theme continued as we watched Toronto vs Montreal at BMO Field, the Canadian Classique. After scoring 2 early goals, Toronto ended up losing 4-2.

The Falls

We left Toronto early morning and made our way back to the US border. There was, however, one last item on the schedule, something we could never miss: Niagara Falls.

It was another cold and misty morning with a slight drizzle. We heard the crashing of the falls before they were even visible, and then through the rising mist, there it was.

We had another 12 hours of driving left in the day. Brutal. But we could spend our time talking over what was such a fun, spontaneous trip. And isn’t that one of the great joys of travelling with loved ones? The conversations, stories, and memories that link you together for a life time. We certainly had another chapter in our travel book after this one.

Mauritius

Our Tropical Honeymoon Paradise

April 28th, 2022 – May 4th 2022

Table of Contents

Mauritius holds a special place in our hearts. A once in a lifetime destination. The home of our Honeymoon.

When deciding on our honeymoon destination, we wanted to meet a couple criteria. We wanted it to be tropical, unique, less traveled, and as exotic as possible. Mauritius checked every box. We wanted it to be ‘our’ island. Years later, when hearing Mauritius, it had to feel special.

Arrival

Just before, we had spent almost 10 hours exploring Dubai in its hot, dry air.

We were exausted and sat quietly in our terminal, waiting for the Emirates plane to arrive. There weren’t many people on the plane. It ended up being be a nice, relaxing flight with lots of rest…..for Emily. If you read about our trip to Iceland, you’d know that if I have a long night flight with a car rental at the end of it, I’m not sleeping. So, as Emily slept, I stayed up and approached hour 27 of being awake.

Emirates has a great feature on their planes. A camera placed right on the tail that you can look at whenever. As the sun rose and we got closer to the island, something magical happened. We emerged from the clouds to unveil our first view of the tropical paradise that awaited. We were in Africa. More importantly, we were in Mauritius. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport awaited us. What a hell of a name.

Left Turn to Left Lane?

I grew up in England, but learned to drive in America. I had never driven on the left side in my life. That would change in Mauritius. As they used to be a British colony, Mauritius is 1 of about 11 African countries that drive on the left side.

The process was easy. We got off the flight, went through immigration, and went straight to the car rental right outside the airport. We were given a nice, little Kia Picante. I asked for a GPS, which they didn’t have, so the owner of the place gave me his personal one. “Please bro, bring it back to me, I need it.” That GPS didn’t work once.

Sleep deprived, exhausted, and in a new country with no previous experience on the left side of the road, I had to now drive 45 minutes to the resort. Nothing could go wrong, right?

We drove through multiple villages and many miles of Mauritian countryside. At one point we drove through a massive field of, what looked like, corn. It certainly was a culture shock, we’d never seen anything like this before. It was amazing.

Shanti Maurice Resort

Shanti Maurice. What a place.

It didn’t feel real being here, we’d never experienced such luxury.

The first step was to get our COVID test done. A lady took us into a backroom, swabbed our noses, waited for 15 seconds, and told us we were negative. Easiest test ever.

We were then led into the bar area. A wooden room with giant glass walls on all sides. We sat facing the infinity pool and ocean while our room was checked. It really hit both of us at this point. What a view. This is where we would be staying for the next week.

The lady came back and told us because we were on our honeymoon, we would be upgraded to a special level for free, meaning we now had access to free beer, wine, and food in this bar area. We were then given two specialty Mauritian cocktails while we waited for our room to be ready. Could this get any better?

As we were waiting, two of the bartenders came over: Anil and Mica. We would become very friendly with them throughout the trip. I asked for a local Mauritian beer and was told I had to start with a Phoenix Lager. A great metaphor for how I wanted to feel. I was feeling terrible from the layover and long flights, I needed to rise from the ashes.

The bar area. We’d be spending many hours here over the next week.

Island Adventure

What a strange feeling to wake up, open your curtains, and be a couple steps from the Indian Ocean. I got to witness this at 6am in the morning, fully awake. My body wasn’t ready yet, it was 10pm in the states. I sat outside our condo, watching the sun rise over the ocean. Nobody else was outside, the only noise being the crashing of waves.

After Emily woke up, we held hands and walked down the beach past palm trees and thatch umbrellas to a wooden restaurant. It was time for breakfast, and boy did we eat breakfast. We entered the room into a large open floor with everything you could ever want from a breakfast buffet: eggs, fancy meats, fruits, yogurt, Mauritian fritters, smoked marlin, salad. There was more, I just genuinely can’t remember everything. We were stuffed.

It was time to hop into the trusty Kia Picante for our first trip of the honeymoon. Todays plan was to explore around the town of Chamarel. It was a short 30 minute drive down the coastline and up into the mountains. I had Emily as my trusty copilot reminding me constantly, ‘Left to Left’.

And she was my trusty copilot for about 10 minutes, until we reached the first major city, Chemin Grenier. The majority of the area around our resort was very rural, so we had yet to experience the urban side of Mauritius. The country road we were on quickly transitioned into a main road, filled with hundreds of people crowding and desperately trying to to cross the street. We were bumper to bumper with people so close to the car I could smell their breathe. It was in this moment, my trusty copilot sent me down the wrong road, leading us down single lane backroads. Even the GPS didn’t know where we were at. It was as if we were in a back alley behind rows and rows of destroyed buildings. Over the next 15 minutes of frantic driving, there must have been 10 cars that came toward us in this single lane. Each time, I was lucky enough to pull in to a small hole to let them pass. This was a trial by fire.

Somehow, we escaped the city and once the roads got narrower, steeper, and less kept, I knew we were almost at our first destination: Chamarel Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Mauritius at 272ft tall.

Close by was the Chamarel 7 Colored Earth, which is essentially an area with 7 different colors of soil which all happened to settle in the same place due to volcanic rock cooling down at different temperatures.

Rum Time

Another short drive away was our next, and most anticipated, stop. We pulled off the main road onto a smaller street which was surrounded by miles and miles of sugar cane. Tropical trees, mountains, sunshine, sugar cane, yeah it was island time. We came up to the sign ‘Rhumerie de Chamarel‘ and passed through the large iron gate into the parking lot. Fancy.

We walked down a slate pathway, surrounded by iron lanterns, flowers, and, you guessed it, more tropical trees. A large rectangular pond surrounded by flowers led up to a tall, stone chimney. The Mauritians knew how to build atmosphere for their rum.

The tour consisted of an explanation of how their rum is made and a tasting. It was interesting seeing how the rum was made. It was essentially all done in a large garage. Sugar cane is brought from the fields and placed on a conveyer belt which twisted and turned through all types of old, industrial machinery before being strained, aged, and whatever else happens to rum.

It was now time for the moment we had been waiting for: the rum. We’d be tasting 7 different types of rum, all made here at the distillery. We’d be trying Classic, Vanilla, Exotic Spices, Vanilla Liqueur, Mandarin Liqueur, Coconut Liqueur, and Coffee Liqueur. Our guide did not hold back o the tastings, each of these was a full shot, so we were feeling pretty loose towards the end. They were real tasty. Not too strong, with a great hint of the sweetness which came from the sugar cane. Emily had to give up towards the end which meant I got double shots.

We started chatting with a lovely Dutch family next to us. A Dutchman, Erik Ten Hag, had recently been announced Man Utd manager, joining from Ajax Amsterdam. The father was an Ajax fan, “You are getting a great manager, but more importantly, an amazing man.” Maybe it was just the rum, but I was getting giddy.

We bought a bottle of the Vanilla Spiced Rum. We’ll open it on our 10th anniversary.

A Taste of Mauritius

Lunch today was the first thing we planned when coming to Mauritius: Le Chamarel Restaurant. A specialty Mauritian restaurant with a breathtaking, panoramic view of the valley and west coast of Mauritius. Words do no justice, this was stunning.

Lunch was a special ‘Flavors of Mauritius’ tasting menu. There were about 11 different small dishes, each of which represented Mauritian cuisine. Many different types of curries with different meats, samosas, calamari, some spiced vegetables. All these different flavors and textures were playing games with our tastebuds. Being Indian food connoisseurs, we could already start seeing some of the personality of Mauritian curries. Each curry, while different, had an underlying spice which was consistent throughout them all. It was earthier than Indian curries. This was a great little introduction to Mauritius and its food.

Oh, and you best believe I took the opportunity to have another Mauritian beer. This time it was the Manawa Mauritius IPA from Phoenix Brewing. Delicious, deep, full, not too hoppy. Exactly what you want from an IPA.

On our drive back, we drove through the nice, little coastal town of Bel Ombre. We really liked it here. A small road separated ocean from civilization. Small restaurants dotted the side of the road. We got out for a quick walk by the ocean. It was sunny and the ocean breeze kept our bodies feeling cool. Palm trees were everywhere. Fishing boats lay still out in the ocean. I’ll be back in 40 years to retire here.

‘Together we live in peace’. My favorite photo.

There were a couple of restaurants on the premises of Shanti Maurice, but none caught our eyes like La Kaze Mama. This was the proclaimed ‘Authentic Mauritian Experience’. Of course it being a resort, it could only be so authentic as they still need to cater to their clientele.

We walked on a dirt path to a small hut housing a couple of dishes. Kaze Mama, the brains behind the food, was standing watch and welcomed us. She walked us through each of the dishes explaining the flavor profiles of them all.

I got a little bit of everything. It was great.

Island Time

This was our honeymoon, so we wanted to make sure to relax and Shanti Maurice was perfect for that. We played it out like this, one day adventure and one day relax.

National Park

Black Gorges National Park is one of three National Parks in Mauritius and is dedicated to protecting the Mauritian rainforest. We drove north through our favorite city (Chemin Grenier) and into the hills. The road twisted and turned. People stood at either side of the street with linen bags and seemed to be picking fruit from the trees which lined the road. We asked Mica later in the day and he said it was Goyave de Chine (Chinese Guava) which they make into jam. Wish we knew that before!

The park was pretty full. It seemed to be the place to take your family for a picnic.

Hindu Temple

Almost 50% of Mauritius is Hindu. We immediately noticed it’s prevalence when driving around, small Hindu temples are scattered all over.

The largest and most sacred of these is the Grand Bassin Temple located at Ganga Talao. We parked our car and walked down a road lined with flags. Two enormous, golden statues of Hindu Gods, Durga and Shiva, dominated the sky in front of us.

Pilgrims, barefoot and donned in colorful garbs walked up to shrines to pray. Some lit incense as they walked around praying. Many people disrobed and cleaned themselves in the holy water of the lake.

We were getting some stares, which was normal. We were the only white people here. But it was at this point we came to a realization, something that we hadn’t thought of. This was a sacred, holy site. All of the women here were covered, which made sense. Except Emily was wearing shorts and a crop top. Terrified that we were being disrespectful, we quickly left.

Let’s Hike the Tallest Mountain in Mauritius

Le Morne. For Emily and I, this is now a two word horror story.

Our goal for today was to hike to the top of the tallest mountain in Mauritius, Le Morne Brabant. Standing at 1824ft tall, it wasn’t hard to spot and we’d seen it many times already on our trip.

As we drove down the southern coastline we caught our first glimpse of the monster. There it stood, menacingly. We turned onto a dirt road and zig zagged our way to a parking lot where we packed our backpack full of water and headed out.

About 2 miles out and then 2 miles back. Should be easy right? The first hour was actually pretty easy going. A slow, gradual heigh increase made for a somewhat pleasant walk. We were also shaded by tree’s. Occasionally we were teased with openings in the thick forest which revealed already beautiful views of the ocean and valleys below .

We were then met with a bright yellow sign. “Beyond this point. Dangerous climbing. Only experienced hikers allowed”. We accepted that it probably wouldn’t be safe, took our photos, and headed back down the mountain.

Except that’s the exact opposite of what we really did, we’d come this far and wouldn’t be stopped now. We pushed on through a narrow pathway surrounded by overgrown tree’s and out into the sun. There would be no more shade from here. Soon after came a twisted metal gate which we squeezed through to signal the beginning of the tough part.

It was at this point we hit the unbelievable. What lay ahead was an almost 90 degree climb up the side of the mountain. Each foot had to be meticulously placed into dents caved into the mountain. Metal hoops hammered into the side suggested at one point there may have been a rope to assist in this, but that was nowhere near to be found. The rock was also red hot from hours and hours of sun beating down on it, meaning you only had a short time at each stop before being forced to move again. Other hikers stopped to lend a hand in pulling each other up. Talk about an adrenaline rush, it took almost half an hour of constant 90 degree climbing to get through this.

Eventually we made our way above more trees revealing more of the beautiful Mauritian scenery. We were so close to the top.

What stood at the top was, in every sense of the word, magical.

We both agreed that this was one of the hardest things we’d ever done, yet we had accomplished it together. We had pushed and supported each other, both physically and mentally, to the summit. As we sat together at the summit, looking over the Mauritius it came to me that this was a perfect metaphor for how marriage is supposed to be. Supporting and helping each other over everything and anything, if we could do this, nothing would be able to stop us.

National Dish

We stumbled into the Shanti Maurice bar and sat down exhausted. Excitedly, Mica came over. We’d been asking him about Dholl Puri‘s the entire time we’d been here. “I have Dholl Puri’s for you” We immediately lit up. “My girlfriends Grandmother made them”. Holy shit, so this was as real Dholl Puri as you could get. We thanked him profusely and ran to get changed.

As we came back Mica had put them on a plate for us, “Enjoy and let me know how it is”. What a kind thing for him to do.

In Mauritius, Dholl Puri’s are held with such high esteem. It’s simply a flat bread filled with yellow split peas and different curry spices. They’re quick and easy to make and typically cost less than 50 cents to buy. As Mica told us, “They are sold in Chemin Grenier really early in the morning. People pick them up from side of street on way to work”.

We took bites from these Mauritian tortillas. You could tell they were freshly made. The bread was soft and easily broke away. Inside was a little dry, but the curry spices were tasty when you got bites of them. It’s a nice, humble snack that serves its purpose, and for less than 50 cents, you can’t say no.

One Craft Brewery on the Island

There is but one craft brewery in Mauritius, located in the northern part of the island in the capital, Port Louis. Surprisingly, it was only an hour drive away even through it was the complete opposite side of the country. Mauritius really is tiny.

I remember being about 10 minutes away when it hit just how different the Northside was to the South. Driving over a hill revealed in the distance, to my surprise, a modern western city. We had spent our entire time in the rural Southern part of the island, that seeing big interstates, modern buildings, and no forest was like whiplash.

We took a quick walk around the Bagatelle Mall Of Mauritius before heading to the promised land. The one craft brewery in Mauritius: Flying Dodo Brewing Company.

It was quite large inside and we were met with large industrial pipes and two ginormous vats of beer. A sign sat on the wall, ‘Welcome to Mauritius first and only craft brewery. We brew beers with our hands, heart, and sincere passion’. It definitely passed the vibe check.

We ended up trying a couple of different brews. There’s a bit of a ways to go in terms of quality, but there’s definitely something there. I think my favorite was the New England IPA. As always, my Untappd ratings out of 5.

New England IPA: 3.5
Flying Dodo IPA: 3.0
Old Style Belgian Wit: 3.25
Session IPA: 2.0
Experiment’Ale IPA: 3.5

There was also a little kitten perusing the grounds and begging for pets which made the whole experience even better.

For the past couple months I had been playing Football Manager as a team in Curepipe called Cercle de Joachim. Earlier in the week Mica and I had been chatting about football when he passed along that his local team was Cercle de Joachim. He was shocked as I opened up my game and showed all players he knew. He went and showed Anil who revealed he used to play for Savanne SC. He pointed to a player in my team, Adrien Francois, “He is fast. Very fast”.

Anyway on our drive back from Port Louis, we stopped by Curepipe and the Cercle de Joachim stadium, Stade George V. It was a cool little experience.

Goodbyes

United Arab Emirates

Arabian Dreams

April 27th, 2022 & May 5th, 2022

Table of Contents

A Day to Remember

Going to the United Arab Emirates took place after a very special day for us. Just 24 hours before, we stood across from each other in front of all our family and friends and agreed to be with each other forever. It was the greatest day of our lives, we were both on cloud nine.

And now, it was time for the first adventure as husband and wife: our honeymoon. Before we could get to that destination, however, we had a 20+ hours to spend on a layover in our 9th country, the UAE.

Flying Emirates

This was our first time flying Emirates. We’d heard great things about the hospitality and quality, so were excited for the experience.

It was a long, long flight, and we landed in Dubai at 5am. Sleep deprived and hungry, our lifeless corpses dragged themselves to the hotel transportation desk. Since we booked DubaiConnect, we were given a complimentary room and rides to and from the hotel. I have to say, it was impressive how fast the bus came. I think they run every 30 minutes or so.

Our hotel was standard, nothing special. Being a DubaiConnect hotel there had to be a ton of easy, standard rooms. It felt like there were thousands of them, and everything was empty, which made it feel a bit dystopian. Getting to our room meant going round an endless maze of rooms. All the with the same dull, 1970s color palette. But, hey, it was free.

We had about 20 hours in Dubai before the connecting flight to Mauritius, and we were going to make use of it. After a short rest, we called an Uber and headed into downtown.

Beeg Building

We were dropped off at the Palace Downtown, a beautiful 5 star hotel in the center of Dubai. The car drove through a giant, stone arch that revealed an intricate ceramic fountain surrounded by palm trees. This was too fancy for us. As we pulled up, hotel workers hustled over to the car to open our doors. “Checking in?” They asked. “Nope, just seeing the Burj” we replied and walked off. Not embarrassing at all.

Our online research to find the best photo spots of the Burj Khalifa had led us here. Palm trees lined a long, rectangular pond and in the distance, the Burj. To say it dominated the sky would be an understatement.

Built in 2009, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world at a staggering 2,722 ft tall. That’s over half a mile just straight up in the air, and it definitely looks like it.

Now we just had to get inside. We did a little walking over the Burj Khalifa Lake and into the Burj Khalifa Park (Yes, these are the actual names). It’s honestly beautiful. The Burj Lake was a crystal blue, the park a luscious green grass, both with modern, silver skyscrapers on the skyline. That’s when we started to notice something that was off. It was midday and we were the only people here. Yes, I’m sure Ramadan means a lot of people stay inside, but everybody? Something about it gave off dystopian vibes.

I walked up to some construction workers and asked them how to get to the Burj entrance. We did not communicate well and he pointed us off in some direction. We walked and walked, then turned around and walked and walked. It was 100 degrees here, and the desert heat was starting to take a toll.

Then finally, the Dubai Mall. We had made it. We bought our At the Top tickets and waited in the short line for the elevator. Around the queue was a timeline of pictures during its construction, which was actually pretty interesting. It had taken 5 years for them to build which seems like a feat in itself.

We stood, packed together, in a large elevator. The lights went out and displayed graphics on the building. The floor number was flying up until it finally slowed to floor 148. Our ears popped simultaneously as we stepped out. Here we were, on top of the tallest building in the world.

The scariest part is you can actually feel it slightly wobble as you walk around.

Fancy Mall

I don’t really care much for malls, they all seem pretty much the same to me and this was really not that different. Yeah there’s an aquarium, an ice rink, massive fountains, dinosaur skeletons, and 1200 shops but, it’s still just a mall. Apparently 84 million people visited here in 2019, making it the most visited mall in the world. I get why you’d come here if you liked this stuff.

We walked around the somewhat empty mall, past Gucci’s, Versace’s, and Louis Vuitton’s. Occasionally there would be a little light or water show that would kick off and attract a crowd of people.

And yeah, that’s really all that happened at the mall.

Time for Iftar

Ramadan fasting officially ends at sunset, which happened around 6pm. The days fast is broke with a large feast called Iftar. We hopped in an Uber and headed to Dubai Festival City Mall which would be the location of our Iftar restaurant. Walking in was one of those culture shock moments. The Islamic call to prayer was blaring over the speakers throughout the mall.

We walked past Five Guys, Cheesecake Factory, and a Texas Roadhouse, all with modern, western designs and filled to the brim with pasty white people. Then came our restaurant: Al-Fanar. Designed to look old with its stone exterior, old land rover parked outside, and lanterns lighting the entrance. A host led us to our seats. Unlike the restaurants we’d walked past, not only were the only white people here, we were the only ones not donned in traditional attire. Perfect, this would be a good meal.

We were handed a special Ramadan menu, 113AED ($30) for a 4 course feast. Our waitress started by bringing over a plate of dates. Traditionally, this is how Ramadan fasts are broken and Iftar begins. The Prophet Muhammad would break his fasts by eating 3 dates, and this tradition is carried on to day. Dates replenish sugar in the body after a long day of fasting. Never have eaten a date before, I dove straight in and threw it into my mouth, not realizing a pit was waiting to destroy my teeth. Not making that mistake again.

Emily and I looked across from each other with the same thought. 5 years ago we’d just met at a Chipotle at our college. Would we ever have guessed that in a couple years we’d be married and taking part in a Ramadan Feast in the UAE? Our lives had taken us down a crazy path. I had so much gratitude.

Anyways, after our dates, the meal officially began. We started with 2 types of salads (one made with Arugula and the other that was literally just chopped tomatoes and basil), chicken soup, samosas, cheese sticks, and meatballs. Our mains consisted of Chicken Machboos and, the national dish of the UAE, Harees.

The Chicken Machboos was great. Nicely charred, full boned chicken sat upon well seasoned rice. It was fragrant, flavorful, and with a hint of spice. Brilliant for breaking a fast.

And then came Harees, the National Dish. This was another traditional Ramadan meal that is eaten during Iftar. Harees is made by boiling wheat and mixing it with meat over a long period of time. The result is a concrete like substance that tastes like thick meaty hummus. Yeah it wasn’t for us, and we had a bowl that could feed a village. However, we were in the presence of locals and had to represent the Western world well, so I forced it all down with a smile on my face.

And thus our 20 hours was coming to an end. We headed back to our dystopian hotel and hopped in a shuttle to the airport. Ahead of us was an 8 hour flight to Mauritius where we’d be spending the next week of our lives. You can continue on with our trip here. But we’d be back in Dubai, another 20 hour layover was in our near future.

WE’RE BACK BABY

7 days later, we were back. We’d had the best week of our lives in Mauritius, and now another 20 hour long layover awaited in Dubai. On our first layover, we explored the city by ourselves. This time, we had something a little different planned.

Siri. Play ‘Arabian Desert Music’

We checked in to the same, dystopian hotel as last time, navigated the maze of empty rooms and made it to our room.

Outside the hotel awaited our guide for the day. An expat from Bangladesh, he had spent more than 20 years in Dubai and seen it grow into the crazy, modern city it is today. Joining us in our group was 2 other English couples, an older one and a younger couple from Liverpool. The banter with the scousers was funny.

An hour drive later we were at Al Madam Desert. We arrived at a compound with an absolute enormous UAE flag in the center. This was obviously a tourist trap, but it’s okay, we were tourists today. We were taken out into the desert and presented head scarfs and camels. I looked at Emily and sighed. My weakness is I am physically unable to not feel bad for animals forced into labor. Our guide comforted us by saying that camels are treated like royalty in the UAE and that they are all taken care of, better than a lot of people are. I guess that’s comforting?

Anyway the camel went to its knees, we hopped on, it stood up, and we walked around the dunes. Cool I guess.

In all seriousness, it was quite an interesting experience. How many people can say they have ridden a camel in the Arabian Desert?

Next up was ATV’s. We were placed in a large tent covered from floor to ceiling in colorful, persian rugs. A man presented basic ATV safety rules, gave us helmets, and set us up with an ATV. Emily and I shared one. The guide set off into the dunes and we followed like a pack of wolves.

Fortunatley, we had positioned ourselves right behind the guide meaning there wouldn’t be anyone in front to slow us down. As the guide sped ahead, we were given free reign to go as fast as we could with no limitation. Frequently, I’d turn around and see the rest of the group were far behind as someone didn’t want to go fast and everyone else would be stuck behind them. Not us though, I had my foot all the way down as I drifted over dunes and sped down hills. Emily’s screams of enjoyment and laughter deafened me.

After some time we were led up the biggest dune around and parked our ATVs at the top. One of the guides whipped out a board, and people started sandboarding down the dune. Not one person made it all the way to the bottom without falling. With a big head, I grabbed the board, fully confident I’d make it down. I made it halfway and went flying off. One of the guides tried to persuade Emily to try boarding. “No no no, I won’t be good” Emily replied, her face reddening with embarassment. A couple more people unsuccesfully made it down before more people tried to encourage Emily to go down. Finally she agreed, grabbed the board, and made it all the way down without falling, and turned around with a massive smile. Everyone watching clapped.

As the sun began to set over the vast, Arabian dunes. We climbed back onto our ATV and drove back to Camp Tourist. There would be one last thing to do today, a massive ‘Arabian’ BBQ. We got back into the car with our guide and drove for, what seemed a long time, through back roads in the desert. By this time it was dark, and the Scouse couple began shooting us looks of concern.

Eventually, we made our way to a castle-type enclosure. We were welcomed with rose water and escorted into a compound. Inside was a large open area surrounded by small lights and tents. A large open grill cooking a variety of meats sat near the middle. There were already a lot of people here. It seemed like all tour groups for the day had congregated.

We sat on decorative pillows in a small tent in the upper right corner. Again, everything was covered in Persian rugs. A large hookah sat on the table.

Tonight was a buffet. In large, metal containers were pita bread, rice, and roasted vegetables. At the grill, large, bearded Arabian asked what meat we wanted. Lamb, beef, chicken, I got it all. It was a solid meal.

A man walked over with smoldering charcoals and asked if we were using the hookah. We said yes and he dropped a large, hot charcoal on the top. The open area at the bottom immediately turned to smoke as I inhaled through one of the multiple pipes.

The End of our Honeymoon

We traveled back in darkness to our hotel, where we packed our bags, and caught a shuttle back to the airport.

Thus came to an end of a memorable honeymoon. A week which would set off the beginning of the rest of our lives as husband and wife. We had visited two ‘exotic’ cultures, so different to anything we knew at home. It was exciting, it was fun, but more importantly, it was ‘us’. The experiences we had in the UAE and Mauritius set off so many gears in our heads, so many potential places for travel and exploration. The ‘beginning of the rest of our lives’ is so commonly said about marriage, but this truly felt like the beginning of our adventures.

Belgium

Beer, Chocolate, Waffles, and Fries

Brussels

September 29th, 2021 – October 1st, 2021

Table of Contents

This was the 3rd stop in our 2021 European Trip. To read in chronological order, start with France.

Trains, Trains & Trains

Our train to Brussels would be longer than the one to Luxembourg. We were going to have to get through 12 stops before we reached our destination in Brussels. In fact, there were 5 different stations in Brussels alone, easy to get lost.

The train was long. We sat at our table and watched as passengers got on and off, as day turned to night, and as the countryside slowly turned to the city.

A First Tasting of Brussels

We arrived at our train stop at 10:30pm. We lugged our suitcases on to the dark platform and followed the small crowd of people. Our hotel wasn’t too far, a short 3 minute walk from the train station. After checking in, we still had some energy left in us, so we went out for a night walk around the town.

Lucky for us, our hotel was right next to the majestic Grand Place. As we would see tomorrow, during the day Grand Place is a bustling city center, but at night it’s something special. We were alone with only a few others as the gothic pointed structures rose all around. It was a quite, intimate experience. The grand majesty of it all hit me. The history of the Grand Place dates back to the 12th century. It’s been through countless wars, golden periods, depressions and yet here it stands and we are alone in the center of it.

Belgium is famous for many things, but most importantly to us was its beer, particularly Lambic Beer which was quite famous here in Brussels. As The Beer Connoisseur puts it, “Much like the vineyards of Bordeaux and the peat-covered terrain of Islay carry centuries-old wine and scotch traditions, the region surrounding the Senne River in Belgium is steeped with one of the oldest beer traditions in the world: lambics.”

Since it was late, our options were limited, but we stumbled across a hole in the wall. A sign pointed to a small alley, ‘Lambic Beer’, that’s what we wanted.

As we walked down the tiled alley, it was as if we had entered a time machine. Cafe A La Becasse was first opened in 1877 and has remained in the same family to this day. Brass contraptions dotted the old, wooden room. This was the experience we craved. We asked for their best most popular lambic, and were handed a clay pot filled with a yellow orange liquid. This was a Timmermans Lambicus Blanche, and apparently the historical way Lambic was served. I poured the frothy liquid from clay pot to glass and took a sip of my first true Belgian Lambic. The sourness hit, followed by a fruity aftertaste. It’s exactly what I had needed after a day of travelling.

Many believe that the first historical depiction of this stoneware being used for lambic (more specifically Faro) is in Pieter Bruegel’s painting The Peasant Wedding. Completed ca. 1567-68, the painting depicts a wedding ceremony in which stone pitchers are used for serving beer to guests.
Gueuze, Faro, et Kriek – Raymond Buren

Not only famous for its beers, Belgian is considered by many to have the best fries in the world. In fact, Belgium even claims the origins of fries, although there are other countries that dispute its claim. Either way, we were hungry and wanted to have some traditional Belgium fries. Luckily for us, fry shops are all over Brussels so we only had to travel all the way across the street.

It’s always a good sign when a tiny food store has a big line going out the front, so we patiently waited in line. This particular store, Friterie Tabora, was, quite literally, a corridor. A single lane interior with enough space for 3 people to fit length wise and enough width so someone could order and walk back outside.

Inside, a single employee did everything. He consistently dipped fryers into the oil, threw fries into paper cones, and squirted the variety of sauces on. In Belgium, it’s traditional to eat fries with mayonnaise. When it was our turn to order, we opted for a chipotle mayonnaise.

It was quick. In and out. There is nothing better than late night takeaway.

We walked through the quiet, cobbled streets of Belgium back from where we came. The first night in a new country is always so special.

We stopped by the Grand Place on our way back to eat our first Belgian Fries. We were now the only ones in the plaza. Just me, Emily, and our fries. They live up to the hype. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. A strong potatoey flavor, unlike the oil and salt you get in the USA. The slight spice of chipotle mayonnaise was a great pairing.

All alone in a 12th century UNESCO heritage site

Do you like Waffles?

Lets revisit our original checklist. Beer? Done. Fries? Done. Chocolate and Waffles? Nope. That’s what breakfast was for.

We woke up early and walked to Maison Dondoy for this classic Belgian breakfast. We both opted for the same thing: A Brussels style waffle with homemade whipped cream and locally made melted chocolate. Heaven.

Beer Mecca

Anyone slightly connected to beer has probably heard the name Cantillon. The Kings of Lambic. In the USA, bottles typically sell for $100+. I was beyond excited. So much so that I made Emily walk 30 minutes from our hotel to the Anderlecht region of Brussels where Brasserie Cantillon is located.

We walked through the steel, olive green doors into a storage room like setting with barrels and crates scattered around the place. We walked down a hallway filled with bottles to a stairway which led to the taproom.

At the bar stood an old, bearded man. He was stern and straight forward. “A La Becasse? No this is real lambic beer. Start with the Gueve and come back for more”. We obliged.

In the taproom we met Brandon, a Moderator on Untappd. We chatted for a bit about our love for Untappd and he offered to share some of his beers. Keep in mind, this man had 15k+ beers checked in on Untappd and this was his first trip to Cantillon, so he was buying everything he possibly could. A couple more people started chatting and sharing their beers, and soon we had a large collection.

Each bottle is served in a ‘Lambic Basket’. These baskets hold the bottle and keep it horizontal to prevent any sediment from entering the glass. It’s also to help properly pour it. Emily had a lot of fun just holding the basket and pouring.

We ended up trying 7 different beers, that’s all we could handle. Here’s a list of everything we tried along with my Untappd rating (out of 5).

Saint Lamvinus: 4.50
Mamouche: 3.25
Lambic d’Aunis: 4.25
Kriek 100% Lambic: 4.25
Fou’ Foune: 4.50
Cuvee Saint-Gilloise: 4.25
Classic Gueve: 4.0

The Greatest Sandwich Experience

Feeling tipsy we stumbled and laughed our way back to the hotel. It didn’t feel like a 30 minute walk this time. However, as we neared our destination we became munchy and stopped by a little sandwich shop named Tonton Garby.

Walking in, we’d never have guessed the wonders that awaited. It was a small, bright yellow room that only just fit the glass case up front filled with fresh cheeses and meats. The walls were scattered with pieces of paper with handwritten notes of encouragement. The man behind the glass case, Hussein, gave us a genuine, warm smile and welcome.

“Hold on, let me get some of my ginger soup” He scurried in the back and returned with a small cup of hot, ginger soup. For the next 5 minutes, as we sipped on our soups, Hussein asked us about our lives and what made us happy. He talked about his love for sandwiches and how he came here from Morocco with his brother. He told us humans are all the same, we all want to love and be loved. There was no need for hate in the world.

I want no stars. No number 1. I just want to see you happy. If you are happy, I’m happy.
Tonton Garby

When it came to the sandwiches he told us, “There is a menu here, or I can just make something for you.” Of course we just let him go wild and make whatever he would concoct.

For the next 5 minutes, he carefully explained each ingredient, where it came from, the flavor profile, and how it would complement the other flavors on the sandwich. Local fresh cheese, sliced pear, black olive spread, and local deli meats all combined on homemade, fresh bread.

Hussain would not let us leave before we sat down and took a bite. He wanted to see the joy on our face as we tasted the sandwich. It was absolutely phenomenal. Without a doubt, the greatest sandwich we have ever tasted.

And to our shock, as we looked at reviews online, he does this to each and every customer. There are typically hour long waits for these sandwiches and he spends quality time with everyone. Truly an amazing man.

A National Dish for the History Books

It had been an amazing day. Brussels had truly been special to us. After our sandwiches we took a short, drunken nap. We had to be rested as tonight we had to fulfill our mission: eat the Belgian national dish.

A small, wooden storefront lit with lanterns stood out in a line of shops: Nuetnigenough. Inside seated about 20 people, all tables were full. A waitress pulled some chairs and sat them outside.

She asked what we would like to eat. We knew exactly what we wanted, we were here for Carbonnade Flamande. Before we could answer she let out, “You must try the Carbonnade Flamande, it is the best meal in the world”. Maybe she was a mind reader.

Now every country hypes up the dish they’re known for and calls it the best in the world. But for the first time ever, we agreed with them. We were presented with a large bowl of, what looked like, a stew. Roughly cut pieces of beef sat in a thick, deep dark brown liquid. We were also given bowls of salad and, because this is Belgium, fries with mayonnaise.

We each sunk our fork into a piece of beef. There was no resistance, the beef was beyond tender. Each bite melted in our mouths. The sauce was hearty, rich, and aromatic. The beer I ordered, a De Ranke XX Bitter, was the perfect complement. A hearty bite of Carbonnade followed by a sip of bitter Belgian beer.

As we sat at our tiny table, outside a wooden building, on a dimly lit cobbled street in Brussels, I took time to really take in my surroundings. Since we arrived, more tables were brought out to accommodate more people. We were practically sitting shoulder to shoulder with people at our sides and behind.

Our waitress came out to smoke a cigarette. We chatted for a while about the dish, our travels, and Brussels itself. Behind us, an old man in a flat cap, holding a newspaper, smoking a pipe heard us talking and said something in French to the waitress. The four of us kept on talking, the waitress translating English to French and French to English. We laughed and learned little bits about each others home.

We lived thousands of miles away, in two distinctly different places, yet it was like we were neighbors. Was this the perfect meal? This intimate experience shared between 4 strangers, bonding over the love of food outside a tiny, local restaurant.

The 2021 European Journey continues

The next morning we hopped into an Uber and headed to Brussels Airport where we awaited a flight to our next European destination: England.

Luxembourg

An Underrated European Gem

Luxembourg City

September 29th, 2021

Table of Contents

This was the second country in our 2021 European Trip. To read them in chronological order, start off with France.

A Train to Catch

Our Luxembourg experience didn’t start off on the greatest foot. In fact, it almost never got off on any foot. We woke up, what we thought was, a good time to catch our 11am train to Luxembourg City. We packed our bags, checked out, and headed outside to book an Uber to Gare de l’Est, the train station. Daniel turned on Uber and searched for available drivers. Nothing. Searched again. Nothing. And again. Nothing.

At this point we were in full panic mode. The drive would take 30 minutes, and if we set off now, we would get there just in time for departure, except we didn’t even have a driver. Scenarios were flowing in our head. If we didn’t catch this train, we wouldn’t make it to Belgium or England. We would be stranded.

After searching over and over, luck finally came to us and a name finally appeared. Jeannot. We had finally connected to a driver. We anxiously scurried into the car and asked the driver if he spoke English. No. Anxiety was at an all time high. We put in the Translate app ‘We have a train to catch in 30 minutes, can you get us there fast’, and showed it to him. He nodded, “Qui“, and proceeded to drive like a madman to get us to the station. Wherever you are Jeannot, thank you for your service.

A National Dish to remember for future Trivia Nights

The train ride composed of us finally breathing a sigh of relief while watching the French countryside pass by. After a quick 3 hours, we finally made it to country number 7, Luxembourg. We only had 5 hours here in Luxembourg City before our next train, so we headed straight to get, you guessed it, food. Come on, we wouldn’t be The Hungry Voyagers if we weren’t food obsessed.

It’s easy to see that Luxembourg City is a beautiful place. After walking for 5 minutes we had already arrived at a bridge overlooking a mountain valley. It was breathtaking, something out of a movie. The center of the city around the train station is what you can imagine as a typical, modern Euro city, but walking outside of that is where the culture and charm of Luxembourg really shines.

In our mission to try every national dish, we weren’t particularly excited for this one. Beans and ham? Really? That can’t be too special, right?

We stopped by Café-Restaurant Um Dierfgen to try some traditional Luxembourgish food, including their national dish: Judd mat Gaardebounen, which translates to Smoked Collar of Pork with Broad Beans. It ended up being absolutely delicious, we were completely wrong. The ham was so tender and the creamy sauce spread over added much depth. We also got a charcuterie of some local deli meat, which was served on a wooden log.

Old Fortifications

Deep into the heart of Luxembourg City is the Old Town, also called Grund. The Old Town is Luxembourg City’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and is surrounded by ancient fortifications called the Bock Casemates. These fortifications were built all the way back in 963 and have been through so many wars.

The Bock Casemates, which surround the Old Town

We walked across a bridge over the Alzette River. There was barely anybody here and the streets were too small for cars; so peaceful.

We stopped by Oscar’s Bar for a couple of local Luxembourgish brews. Battin is the most popular brand of local beer and we had a couple of their variations. For a small country, Luxembourg has some pretty decent beer!

The bartender was incredibly nice and told us stories of his time in New York City when he found out we lived in America. Turns out he was the private driver for Donald Trump’s sister’s lawyer. He showed us photos of him with millions of dollars worth of jewelry from his clients and told insane stories of his time there. One of the biggest joys of traveling is all the crazy stories you hear.

Choices Were Made

Before we headed off to the train, there was one last thing Daniel had to do. He had to add to his list of football stadiums visited. The most well known team in the area was Racing FC Union Luxembourg, so we decided to visit their stadium, and it was only a 10 minute walk. What could possibly go wrong?

Halfway into the walk, the rain started pouring, and the wind started blowing. We were wet, freezing, and miserable, but also halfway there so there wasn’t a point in stopping now. After arriving with hypothermia, what awaited was greatness: a fence. But we went through torrential rain, wind, and cold to get this picture, so you’ll be damn sure it’s getting including in the blog.

Our life expectancy decreased by 5 years for this photo.

By the train station was a local supermarket, Marché, so we decided to pop by and get some last minute food and souvenirs. I’ve said this before, but I really think you get a feel for a place by visiting one of their supermarkets. It’s such an oddly personal experience.