Hanoi, Vietnam: Eat, dance and sing!

Building near West Lake and Hanoi’s city centre

 

Intercontinental West Lake Hanoi

For our second visit to Vietnam, we decided to spend 4 days in Hanoi, in Northern Vietnam. We arrived in Hanoi Vietnam around midnight, after being in transit for about 18-20 hours. As one of the major cities in Vietnam, we did not expect to be greeted by darkness as we made our way to our hotel; there were not a lot of lights illuminating the roads and streets. When you travel to different places, it’s the small things you see and experience that make you realize how different things are abroad.

Alleys of Hanoi

We decided to stay at the Intercontinental Hanoi West Lake due to its location, to the end of West Lake for a more peaceful experience.  The hotel was very reasonably priced, the rooms were nice and well equipped, the fitness facility and spa were nice, and it was a great place to walk and explore. We also decided to book a club room for an extra $20 per day as it included breakfast and happy hour snacks and drinks; it was worth it for us.

View of our hotel and a community garden near it

View from our hotel balcony

For our first excursion, we decided to walk to the local flower market.  Despite it being 05:30 am, the air was already heavy with humidity and the streets crowded for the morning commute.  A little jet-lagged and disoriented, we managed to cross 6 lanes of traffic while trying to avoid the cars, buses, bikes, trucks, and scooters that zoomed passed us. We looked at the various flowers and were amazed at all the different types especially the unique orchids.

Marsh on our way to the flower market

Flower market stalls

By the time we made it to the hotel, the wedding buses had already started to arrive. It seems that the area near our hotel is popular for wedding photos; from morning until evening, there are always about 5-15 couples taking photos in western style white dresses by the canal.It was interesting to note that only a few of women were dressed in the traditional Vietnamese wedding aido with most of them favouring the big white western style wedding dresses.

Locals doing their morning aerobics to the Venga Boys at 05:00

Wedding photos by the hotel

Compared to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi is a little bit more relaxed, but you can still expect the chaotic streets, particular to Vietnam. The city is surrounded by West Lake; this water mass with trees and walking path is a gathering place and creates a peaceful atmosphere.  Like HoChiMinh City, Hanoi teeters between communism and capitalism; communist messages blare from outdated loudspeakers on the streets as you walk by party posters, nestled between luxury shops selling designer purses, watches, and clothing.  That being said, Hanoi does not feel as commercialized and developed as HCM due to limited real estate development. As we were there in November, the weather was very comfortable; low 20′s and mostly overcast.

Morning by the Lake and our hotel

Monument in West Lake by the city centre

We decided to take a cultural cooking class with Hidden Hanoi one afternoon. The class included tea with staff to learn about life in Hanoi and Vietnamese food culture. We really enjoyed how staff shared their life experiences with us and gave us a glimpse into a day of life in Hanoi.One of the staff said that Vietnamese life can be characterized by loving to eat, to dance, and to sing!

Tasty banana blossom salad we learned to make at the Hidden Hanoi cooking school

Streets of Hanoi on our way to the flower market

One of my passions is food systems and local economies.  The guided market tour allowed us to about one of the most important economic systems in the city; the local food markets who supply families and business. Not all homes have electricity and running water in Hanoi, so a lot of food shopping is essentially market to plate for family meals cooked in the home. People usually go to the market 3-6 times daily to get the supplies they need for the daily meals. There are a few types of markets: large western style supermarkets that are expensive, licensed public markets that operate fixed stalls and are affordable, and frog markets that are illegal but very cheap. The frog markets are make-shift setups in alleys that move throughout the day for the vendors to avoid being fined. They are usually run by people who cannot afford to pay the licencing fees to have a market stall. According to our guide, the produce is local but often not the best quality, and interestingly enough they do sell frogs!

Bicycle vendor

Hanoi’s City Centre is a mix of charming french colonial buildings, communist party buildings, the market where you can buy anything and everything, and luxury shops. You can definitely still see and experience the French influence due to the architecture.

Hanoi Opera House

Hotel

We had lots of tasty food in Hanoi, but unfortunately, we did not get to eat at one of the restaurants on our list because we couldn’t find it!  We can be a little stubborn when travelling, often preferring to navigate streets on foot with our Google maps instead of taking taxis.  By this point though, my stomach was upset so I didn’t have much of an appetite. Much like the last time I was in Vietnam, I should have been more careful with the raw vegetables I chose to ate daily. The other thing we avoided was the local made beer you could buy anywhere on the street. While it sounded interesting, we were a little weary about getting sick.

Daily reality for some in Hanoi

We did not make our way to the North to visit Ha Long Bay  . While we considered it, the idea of spending 2 days on a boat eating from buffets was not appealing to us, even if it would have allowed us to see the stunning beauty of Ha Long. That being said, many people have said good things about this excursion.

Overall, we enjoyed our time in Hanoi. The best thing about it was interacting with locals to find out about their daily lives, eating Vietnamese food, and meeting other tourists to hear about their travels.

Safar Voyage at the UBC Museum of Anthropology

UBC MOA

I used to love going to the UBC MOA during my lunch break when I worked at UBC.  The museum is set in a beautiful area that showcases Vancouver’s natural beauty with some relics of Canadian history.  Inside the museum there are regular exhibits as well as special ones.  I made a special visit recently to see the Safar Voyage exhibition.

Safar Voyage banner

Totem pole at the back of the museum

I have always been fascinated with history and politics in the Middle East. Since travel there is risky and in some cases impossible, literature and art are a great way to see and experience the region.

Safar Voyage “is the first major exhibition of contemporary art from these regions to be shown in Vancouver.  It is constructed as a journey in the company of 16 artists, each of whom is neither fixed inside the territories of the Middle East nor permanently diasporic. These artists define themselves and the world according to their own creative representations, often informed by culturally specific conditions”.

Safar Voyage introduction

The exhibition has different types of art: photos, paintings, sculptures, mise-en-scenes, and video all communicating stories from the region, as told by the artist.

Youssef Nabil’s I Will go to Paradise, Self-Portrait, Hyeres 2008

Safar/Voyage, installation view. Photo: Alex Quicho.

 

Y.Z. Kami’s Konya

Susan Hefuna’s Woman Cairo 2011

You are not allowed to take photos inside but some of them are available on approved websites so I am including links to them. While each piece was interesting, my favourites were:

• Susan Hefuna’s Woman Cairo 2011: The sign is made from “mashrabiya latticework”, which is used in Egypt to cover windows to keep women from the eyes of men.  Interestingly, the words: Cairo 2011 Women were inscribed so that when light hits the mural, it casts the shadows of the words on the floor.
• Ayman Baalbaki’s installation Destination X used a 1970′s car and piled it with items to depict the number of years Lebanon was at war and how people were displaced. The cardboard boxes were actually from Lebanon and so much detail was spent in assembling the piece to show how people may have clinged to household possessions we would probably throw out and purchase again.  I think those possessions were the only stability displaced people may have had and they may have brought them comfort.
• Y.Z. Kami’s Konya is a collage of photos from Konya, Turkey, the city where the famous poet Rumi was said to live. The back and white photos depict various places and faces, and evoke the sense of a spiritual journey.
• Hannoun, Nazgol Ansarinia’s Rhyme and Reason is a Persian carpet depicting scenes of life in Iran, in satire.  The intricacy of how the scenes were woven to tell a story was pretty impressive. 
• Adel Abidin’s Abidin Travels is a travel booth with a website, brochure, and video for tourism in Iraq to show how his country has changed due to the invasion.  I think he is trying to show that before and after the invasion in Iraq, democracy is not present. Abidin got the idea for it when he went home in 2004 and was greeted by an American Soldier who said: “Welcome to Baghdad”. 
• Hamed Sahihi’s Sundown is a 20 minute video loop of made a video of a scene by a beach on the Caspian Sea where people wander like ghosts and the only color, is a balloon being carried by a little girl. 
• Youssef Nabil’s I Will go to Paradise, is my favourite piece. Through a series of hand-coloured photographs, a man draped in a long white robe stares out at the Mediterranean sea, as he walks into the sea, and is completely submerged.  It shows the beauty of living, your progression through life, and then having to go.   He says: “I have always felt like a visitor wherever I go: I’m there for only a few days and then I must leave. My relation to my whole life is the same-for me it is about coming to a place that is not yours, then having to move on.”

The Safar Voyage was a beautiful, thoughtful, and emotional collection of art from Middle Eastern artists. It gave me a glimpse of life in the Middle East and some of the things people experience there.  I highly recommend this exhibition to everyone, especially people who have an interest in anthropology and the Middle East.

Winning Tickets

Life is one huge lottery where only the winning tickets are visible.”  ― Jostein Gaarder, The Solitaire Mystery

The “lottery life” is linked to time, as it  is the one constant that is intertwined in all aspects of our existence, even before we’re born.

I am talking about one long chain of coincidences. In fact, that chain goes right back to the first living cell, which divided in two, and from there gave birth to everything growing and sprouting on this planet today. The chance of my chain not being broken at one time or another during three or four billion years is so little it is almost inconceivable. ― Jostein Gaarder, The Solitaire Mystery

How we get to spend our time, is determined by when we were born and what the state of the world is, where we were born, how we allocate our time, what our aspirations are, and what our risk tolerance is.

How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living. ― Jostein Gaarder, The Solitaire Mystery

Time is the most valuable currency in the world because you never know how much of it you have and so you gamble, each day, not knowing if it will be your last.

It is difficult to find balance between the things that motivate and inspire you, and the things that you need to do which can often drain you and make you want you to zone out.

I crave freedom to wander and get lost between point a and b but there isn’t enough time, time to see, touch, hear, smell and feel all the mystery of living through interactions with places, people, moments, and thoughts.

I hope to collect as many Polaroids of experiences as possible and feel thankful for when I do.

Northern Arizona; My Visit to Sedona

Driving into Sedona

For Easter, I had the opportunity to visit my family in Northern Arizona, for 6 days of relaxing, hiking, and exploring the Sedona area.  On our bucket list, we had a number of hikes planned, a tour of the wine region near Cottonwood and Jerome, and some investigation of these so called vortexes that have powers and energy.

Family Happy Hour by the fireplace

Combine the elation of getting to see my mom and travelling to a new place, I was one happy kid.  It was with enthusiasm and awe of the topography of this area, that I took about 2,000 photos!  In this post, I’ll share some of the really memorable ones and share information about the area to help you plan your trip.

View from the road above Jerome

Getting to Sedona from Phoenix:  The flights into Phoenix are cheaper than Flagstaff, but it is a further drive. That being said, the road is a lot less treacherous so it is worth arriving via PHX. It takes about 2-2.5 hours to drive to Sedona from PHX and there are many shuttle services that will also pick-you up (service every 2 hours or so). I really recommend the Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle service; I left my runners in the van and they came back to give them to me.

Staying Here: From timeshares, resorts, hotels, motels, campgrounds, and home rentals, you will definitely find something for you price range. We rented a small house at 89A highway and Willow Way. It was really quiet, convenient (could walk to get groceries, get to restaurants, etc.) and we had the comfort of having a kitchen and a nice patio area.

The house we rented on Willow Way

Yard of the house we rented

Activities:  My mom is a very active person so we planned a number of fitness walks/runs and hikes (Baldwin Loop/Cathedral Rock, West Fork in the Oak Creek Canyon, Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon, and we visited Chapel Rock). In 6 days, I did about 85 km’s on foot.  We also visited the wine region to sample some wines and enjoyed a few of the local restaurants. 

At the top of Boynton Canyon

An interesting tree in the forest; Boynton Canyon trail. We left an offering.

The chapel at Chapel Rock

Chapel Rock

Wine Tastings: During our wine tastings, we tried Caduceus/Merkin Cellars, Page Springs Cellars, and Oak Creek Vineyards and Winery. While Arizona is known for their wine, they have been investing a lot in developing this industry and there are some gems!  Of all the places we visited, the only place that I really enjoyed was Page Springs; I purchased a bottle of the 2009 Malvasia Bianca (white wine native to Italy and Turkey), and the 2011 Vino Del Barrio (53% Syrah, 22% Petite Sirah, 16% Tempranillo, 7% Alicante, 2% Mourvedre).  To me, these two wines really stood out as unique so they would make their way home with me. While we loved the service and atmosphere at Oak Creek Vineyards and Winery, the wine was not the best. They are still young and experimenting but there was way too much alcohol in their wine; their Chardonnay was 15% and the Viognier was bubbling as it was poured (a no-no).  As a fan of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and all things Maynard James Keenan, I was pretty excited to visit Caduceus, especially after watching the documentary, Blood Into Wine, about the Arizona wine industry. While Caduceus seems to be leading the pact with awards and recognition, their wines did not suit my palate, and I found the tasting fee to be be pretty expensive. I would have considered a bottle of the Sangiovese but it was pricey and not available to sample.

Tastings at Caduceus Cellars in Jerome

Page Springs in Cottonwood

Restaurants: While in Sedona, we ate out at Nick’s on the West Side, the Coffee Pot, the Mesa Grill, and the Oak Street Brewery. On our way to Sedona, I made my mom take me to Trader Joe’s to load up on healthy meal items to cook at home. I really enjoyed the pulled pork and brisket at Nick’s; while it is a little bit of a dive, they had excellent service and were able to meet my numerous demands. The Coffee Pot is a little touristy but they do have good breakfasts and are the home of 101 omelettes. The Mesa Grill is at the airport and they do have a pretty good happy hour; all glasses of wine are $5 and you can choose from a number of appetizers. They also have upscale and casual menu options; next time I really want to try their green chili burger and fries! We had wings and wine before catching the sunset from the look-out point. The Oak Creek Brewery has some nice beers and healthy salads. In Jerome, we wanted to try Vlad Costa’s 15.quince grill & cantina but there was a 1.5 hour wait and we were hungry, so we ended up at the Mile High Grill & Inn; the food was tasty, the prices reasonable, and the service was good. I had the Rio Verde Chili Pork Stew with a salad and it was a tasty and light lunch option.

Mesa Grill at the Sedona Airport

Walking/Hiking:  From our vacation rental, we did a number of 10km walks and runs down the 89A which has great sidewalks! The best part, as you head east into the town, you do downhill for about 17 minutes, which is great on the way back to get some hill work. I also found the Willow Way hill a great short and steep path for hill repeats.

Hikes: All the hikes we did were challenging but easy enough for people who don’t hike often. Since it is northern Arizona, it is warm and sunny, so you can hike comfortably. That being said, we did bring extra clothing because it was chilly at times and we did have to walk into water when crossing canyons.  The most advanced hike I did was the Cathedral Rock; due to the switchbacks and heights, my mom stayed behind. I also chickened out for the last 0.5 miles because you had to climb the rock face and it was pretty crowded. It really bummed me out that I chickened out, but without someone to help me come back down and spot me, I was a little uncomfortable and weary of being rushed to an emergency room in the US.  The hikes we chose were always about 3-4 miles and took no more than 3 hours. I liked the West Fork at Oak Creek Canyon trail a lot because you get to cross the canyon a number of times, and you need to choose your path over stepping-stones; these experience was very relaxing and fun. Boynton Canyon was also a fun hike because you get to walk through the desert, then a forest, and climb up the red rocks to get a nice view of them; it was very peaceful.

Boyton Canyon trail

Canyon crossing on the West Fork trail at Oak Creek Canyon

Mom getting ready to cross the creek at the Baldwin trail to get to Cathedral rock.

Cathedral Rock

View of the rocks from Cathedral rock

Grocery Stores:  There’s a Safeway with a really good beer and wine selection, a Basha’s which is a local grocery store chain with the usual, and a New Frontier’s Natural Market where I was able to get some kombucha and salad bar items.

The power of vortexes: So what’s a vortex?

About.com explains them as: In Sedona vortexes are created, not by wind or water, but from spiraling spiritual energy. The vortexes of Sedona are named because they are believed to be spiritual locations where the energy is right to facilitate prayer, mediation and healing. Vortex sites are believed to be locations having energy flow that exists on multiple dimensions. The energy of the vortexes interacts with a person’s inner self. It is not easily explained. Obviously it must be experienced.

I am a pretty spiritual person and open to these types of concepts, but I cannot say with certainty that I truly felt the effects of a vortex. While in Sedona, I did feel a deep sense of well-being, peace, and tranquility but the beauty of the red rocks, the bight blue skies, the sun, and warmth tend to evoke those feelings of well-being for me. Occasionally, I would place my hands on the rocks and would feel vibrations and ease to meditate, and often times headaches. Whether these were caused by the vortex, or the altitude, I don’t know. Being surrounded by the beauty and history of the red rocks, in a desert setting is a truly unique experience that I feel has changed me; it’s a feeling that I hope to experience again someday when I visit again.

While in Sedona, I felt very detached from my life back home, and the rest of the world. I think it’s a culture they try to promote in the town; even their local newspaper doesn’t really tackle major news headlines.  As I watched the con trails from airplanes overhead, I felt really far away from everything; I think the desert can do that to you, as I felt similar on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The awesome fireplace

Roasting marshmallow

I spent time in solitude and with others, but the solitude of the desert, and how it is life, death, solitude, and community all at once is a little overwhelming to contemplate.

Dusk by the airport viewpoint

Sunset as viewed from the airport lookout

Summary:  Overall, I loved my visit to Sedona and would love to go again!  I found that 5-6 days was appropriate for me; I have circled the globe in under 3 weeks twice now so my pace is pretty quick and intense.  It was definitely a destination that allowed me to indulge in my passions:  fitness, good wine/beer, food, and relaxation.

Have and Have-Nots: Reflections on Life, Realities, and Travel from Experiences in Bali

Mural in trendy Seminyak

From traveling to many cities and countries nationally and internationally, it is always so interesting to observe the different types of lives people live.  Some of them leave me feeling envy, while others make me realize how fortunate I am for my reality, which has come mostly due to my birthrights. There are a few experiences that still find their way into my thoughts, while posing many questions and inciting deep reflection.  Two of these experiences occurred during my last trip to Bali, about 3 months ago.

Tanah Lot Temple

During our cooking class at Bali Asli, we heard loud cries from a distance, and people commented that they were for a funeral, a way or mourning and communicating with the spirits.  Interestingly enough, people commented that they did not think it was a good day for a funeral, as in Bali, ceremonies like marriage and funerals are determined by the “Saka”, the Balinese-Javanese calendar system.

After our cooking class at Bali Asli in Amplura, we were making our way back to Nusa Dua with a planned stop to Kusamba to see a traditional village of salt panners. As we drove towards Kusamba, we encountered a funeral ceremony where a number of people were surrounding a public cremation by the road.  In plain sight, you could see the remains of the person, including their bone structure and some clothing, as the flames engulfed the person.  To me, there was something very natural and cathartic about this ceremony and how it was held; people were grieving in a community, close to where they lived and farmed the land.  Some may comment that they could not conceive having their remains treated this way, but in a 3rd world country were space is scarce and agriculture is prioritized, this is a cost effective and environmentally friendlier way of disposing of someone’s remains. In some cases, people have to choose between feeding their family or expensive North American style funerals/cremations, which are not the norm.

Salt pans

Next, we made our way to Kusumba, a small and lovely little village with many temples, off the main tourist path.  As we turned off onto a dirt road, near what appeared to be a construction site, we ended at a small village by the sea. Without our Balinese driver/tour guide, we would never have ventured this way as it did feel as though we were intruding in people’s lives and privacy. We walked towards the ocean, passing many little huts along the way, that I thought were for salt production. I was quickly informed that they were in fact the homes of the salt panners. These huts were essentially one room, had no electricity or running water; essentially they were constructed from bamboo and other wood, banana leaves, mud, rocks, and other materials.

Hut on the beach with the Indonesian flag

As we continued, we witnessed a number of trays sitting in the sun with sea water, waiting for the sun to evaporate the water to leave behind salt that would be sold for the equivalent of $1USD per kilogram.

Sifting through pebbles to find ones to sell

People from the village

We did not see anyone working by the salt pans, as there were about a dozen or so people sitting on the rocks in the heat of the day, sifting through pebbles, collecting a certain type which were placed in a bucket. According to our guide, the pebbles are sold for about $1USD per kilogram.  Most of the workers were elderly people, in their 50-60′s, with a few children in tow. Due to the economy in Bali, we would suspect that the younger generations would leave these professions for other ones relating to tourism in tourist centers. We did leave a few dollar bills with one of the ladies, for the baby she was holding. These people did not beg or anything and I had very mixed feelings about giving the money this because sometimes, these gestures of kindness can cause more harm than good, if you consider how currency and accumulation of wealth is a form of enslavement of people into systems (based on my study and understanding of (global political economics, i.e theory of haves and havenots). In the end, these people were producing something of use; salt for food, and pebbles used in tiles, which is a big contrast to the knowledge economy in which most of us are a part of.

Huts on the beach

Compared to other parts of Bali, the beach and coastline by Kusamba was very under-developped; there were no hotels and resorts dotting the landscape. The coast lined stretched for kilometers in each direction, with the mountains in the distance, and a black sand rock beach leading to the azure blue ocean.

As we headed back to the manicured and commercialized beach side resort area of Nusa Dua, the images of these two encounters persistently stayed with me, and made it difficult for me to enjoy my meal at our 5 star hotel. As we walked around the resort, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the salt panners/ stone collectors from Kusamba, as the tiles that adorned the resort had little black pebbles in them, set with intricate patterns.

Breakfast area at our resort in Nusa Dua

Balinese statue on the grounds at the resort in Nusa Dua

As I was lying down for my Balinese massage in a fancy beach hut by the sea, the images of the people sitting on the stones on the beach came to me. I couldn’t help but wonder if my massage therapist was from a similar village, if she had a better life now that she made more money, if she was a mother who did not get to spend lots of time with her children, and what she longed for.  While I think that a simple life, would afford more freedom, you cannot help but think that it may in fact provide less freedom.

Flooded streets of Kuta after rainfall

Balinese culture is very focused on community; one of our drivers told us that you can have all the money in the world, but without community, no one will take care of you. This concept of family and community is very prominent and you can see it as the government does not take care of people in the same way that we are used to with healthcare, education, and social assistance.

Our driver also expressed that he had no interest in travelling as he likes to remain close to his family and finds beauty in his home.  As an avid traveler, I find myself wondering if there is a place where I could settle and be happy with foregoing travel; Bali might be one of those places. I also feel a strong attachment to Hawaii due to the natural beauty and modern conveniences.

During my travels, I cannot help but believe that if I could start my day by walking on a beach, doing yoga/meditating, and having a non-desk job that I would be happier and not be afflicted with some of my minor health issues (headaches, knee pain, and tension on the neck and shoulders).  I’ll probably never know as the odds are very low that I would have enough income to sustain a luxurious life as an expat in a tropical place, or would have the courage to take a big risk and to unplug and leave behind the safety, security, and low risk of earning a steady paycheque with rally good health benefits and a pension. My perception and evaluation of my surroundings and life lead me to believe that many people can only dream of having the career, the condo, the trips, and other things, but yet, maybe some don’t and they may have more than I will ever know or come to have.  Yet, I cannot help but wonder what I would learn if I would dedicate 2 weeks of my time to live in that village and spend that time sitting in the stones, sorting through pebbles and making sea salt.

Speaking openly of these things makes me feel a little uncomfortable…I am very happy and fortunate to live in such a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and temperate rain forests, near the sea; of all the places I have lived in my native country, this is the one that feels the most like home.  All I know is that I will keep travelling, exploring, and collecting Polaroid’s of different lives, realities, people, and places.

Winter Blues: Finding Joy in 75 minutes

View above the clouds at Mount Seymour

I won’t lie; since Christmas, I have been feeling low, depressed, lazy, cold, and sorta under the weather.  Winter makes me feel cold, old, unappreciative, and uninspired.  There is something about going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark that gets to me, and also knowing that above the cloud layer, it is probably sunny in the mountains.  Usually, I love walking and using public transit, but all of the rain and cold has left me not appreciating my commutes as much. 

What most days look like in the winter and it is +3-6 celsius.

I have also found that when you become lazy, you just make the problem worse. Thinking about how I should be living somewhere with tropical weather would fix things is counterproductive because it wont happen in the short-term and impacts my ability to live life with gratitude and to the fullest. After weeks of procrastinating, I finally got myself to a Kundalini yoga class with the goal of finding joy again within, so that I can share it with others. It took about 25 minutes to walk/run the 4km’s to the studio where I found joy through a 75 minute Kundalini yoga practice in the same way that I find joy from travel.  Throughout the class, I closed my eyes and dedicated myself to the practice, fully appreciating each moment, movement and breath knowing that what is to follow could be more difficult, but that it would be temporary.
I find myself back home, dreading going for a walk in the rain with my spouse but will carry the warmth and joy within for our walk, to enjoy a Sunday afternoon with the person that I love.

Cherry Blossoms in March

All of this to say, sometimes the best thing you can do for others, is to do something for yourself.
Namaste.

My post about Kundalini yoga: http://maxineyvr.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/kundalini-yoga-my-yoga-practice-of-choice-16-2/.

Recipe: The Festivus Salad: Israeli Couscous Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

I dedicate this salad to Festivus, my grandmother, and Reaia.

Why Festivus? Because it is secular and while its traditions are the same each year, they adapt to what has happened and to your feelings the year in question. This salad brought together the creativity of two friends, reminded me of my grandmother, and was enjoyed by all at the Festivus brunch.

Why my grandmother? My relationship with my grandmother was unique because it combined a sharing of the traditional, with the unconventional. While she filled my belly and my ear with stories of her life and how she made traditional foods like fudge, pies, and stews, I opened up the world for her with stories of my travel, the foods I tried and what I was cooking. As I struggled with staining the walls and my clothes with pomegranates, she was able to Google how to get the arils out without mess and e-mail me the website. When I miss her, I cut into a pomegranate and think of her.

Why Reaia? As the co-chef and host of the Festivus brunch, it was her idea to make a salad using Israeli couscous for the event. As I had just come back from Turkey and ate tons of nar (aka pomegranate), and saw Meyer lemons pop up on the grocery store shelves, it inspired me to create this salad. Reaia had the good sense to add pear to it, for some extra crunch and sweetness.

So this, is my Festivus Salad, to enjoy with family and friends, as you dance around the pole, air your grievances, and battle it out during the feats of strength.

Recipe: The Festivus Salad: Israeli Couscous Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Makes 4-5 servings as a side dish

- 1 cup of Israeli couscous
-  3 tbsp’s of fresh mint, chopped
-  1 Bartlett pear, chopped finely
-  1/4 cup of pomegranate arils
-  1/4 cup of pistachios (optional)
-  2 Meyer lemons; rind and juice
-  2 tbps of pepper
-  1/2 teaspoon of ume plum vinegar or salt
-  1 tbsp of olive oil
-  1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Witt Istanbul Hotel in Cihangir

The Witt Istanbul Hotel is a small boutique hotel with about 18 suites.  Located in the Cihangir neighbourhood, it is walking distance to Beyoglu, Taksim, Galata, and Karakoy.  You can also walk to Nisantasi and Besiktas fairly easily if you enjoy long walks.  If you are taking the train, it is a short but steep walk from the Tophane stop.

Part of the hill by the hotel

The hotel accommodations are suites with a kitchenettes (stove plate, fridge, microwave, and dishes), which is convenient.  The suites are modernly decorated, very clean, comfortable  and convenient. I think the floor tiles in the bathroom are even heated, which is a nice feature. The staff are super friendly and helpful; we arrived very early in the morning and were invited to have breakfast, in addition to being able to check-in a little early (while we didn’t expect this, and even if it wouldn’t have been possible, we would have been just as satisfied).  Breakfast is included and it is very tasty, fresh, and healthy; there are Turkish, European, and North American options. We enjoyed the simit, fruit salad with pomegranate, local cheeses, and the cinnamon Turkish coffee.  Most of the food is locally sourced and organic; bonus!

View of the room from the kitchenette

The bed, which was very comfortable

We were on the 2nd floor and enjoyed our room after long days of exploring.  We were able to stand on the Juliette balcony and enjoy an okay view; next time, we will get a Bosphorous view terrace suite. What we liked the most about the Witt Istanbul Hotel is how you feel like you are living in Cihangir due to the way the suite is laid out and the quaint and interesting neighborhood it is located in.  Staying here made it easy for us to walk to Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence, Datli Maya, Van Breakfast, Karakoy, and wander the streets of Beyoglu. Since we love walking in Istanbul so much, we even wandered to Besiktas, which took about 40 minutes.

View of the room from the living area

Sipping wine on the balcony during the adhan

While we have stayed at other hotels in Istanbul, The W and Crowne Plaza, we enjoyed our stay at the Witt the most due to the comfort of the accommodations  the neighbourhood it is located in, and the friendly staff; we will definitely stay at the Witt next time we are in Istanbul.

View from the doorway of the bathroom

More Information:

Witt Hotel Istanbul website

Witt Hotel Istanbul reviews on TripAdvisor

Datli Maya Restaurant in Istanbul Turkey

Datli Maya sign

A few after my trip to Istanbul, Turkey, I cannot stop thinking of Datli Maya, and wishing I had more meals there. Datli Maya is chef Dilara Erbay’s latest venture, after the sad closing of Abracadabra.  This restaurant is a quaint and eclectic space in a small 2 story simit bakery that has been renovated.  Datli Maya serves up Turkish classics using an authentic wood burning stove under the theme of “fast slow food”. The menu changes with the seasons, and you can expect regional Turkish food done traditionally or modified; there is something for all eaters (vegan, gluten free, carnivores, etc.). Located in Cihangir, Datli Maya is a gem of a restaurant that stands out inconspicuously.

From the street, the restaurant is unassuming with it’s artistic wooden sign and painted exterior; it lacks the cheesy presence and theme of most Turkish restaurants with waiters clad in white shirts and bow-ties and popular songs from the 80′s and 90′s.  During one of our dinners, we ate our meal while the daily adhan blared outside and we were serenaded by The Band of Brothers inside.

Take-out pide and salad

As you enter, you are greeted by staff and a table which presents the days specials. You see a selection of baked goods and stew dishes in clay-pots on the table.  You can order to eat there or “paket” for takeaway. Due to a minor language barrier, we always wrote our order down and give it to the staff, which made them smile, laugh, and thank us.

We decide to make our way to the top of the restaurant to eat. As we climb one flight of stairs, we walk through the kitchen and are warmly greeted by the staff who seem happy to you are there. While some people have complained that the restaurant and kitchen is dirty, I strongly disagree and had no concerns.

Lahmacun and durum

We grab one of the 3 tables by the window and wait for our meal. We sip on cay that is self- serve and includes refills for 1.5 TL as we wait for our food to arrive. Like most restaurants in Istanbul, alcohol is not served, which is a bummer considering how great a beer would go with lahmacun.

At Datli Maya you feel like you are eating in someones home but you don’t linger for long due to how tiny it is.  We ate there 3 times and loved each item we ordered:

• AFYON KELLE SUCUKLU: SPICY TURKISH SAUSAGE, THIN CHEESE PIDE PIZZA
• ANTAKYA NAR EKŞILI LAHMACUN: ANTIOCHIAN LAHMACUN WITH VEAL & POMEGRANATE
• ANTEP LAHMACUN: ANTEP LAHMACUN WITH LAMP AND GARLIc
• SATIR ET DÜRÜM ELDE KIYILMIŞ 100 GR ET NAR EKŞILI SOĞAN,KIRMIZI LAHANA, MAYDANOZ: HAND MINCED MEAT KEBAP WRAP
• Bakes cheesecake
• Winter salad

In order to compare the quality and taste of the food, we decided to order things we ate at other renowned Turkish restaurants in Istanbul, and we found Datli Maya to be the tastiest and freshest. We also appreciated the kindness and patience of the staff.

More about Datli Maya:

• Datli Maya Website
• Istanbul Eats Post
• Eating Asia – November 2012 Post

 

 

The Museum of Innocence

A tradition of mine is to read a novel about a country or city I am visiting, prior to the visit. As we prepared to visit Istanbul, Turkey again, I decided to read another Orhan Pamuk book.  From research, I found out about “The Museum of Innocence”, a novel from which Pamuk also created a museum.

“It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn’t know it.” Orhan Pamuk, The Museum of Innocence.

After reading the first line in the book, as listed above, I knew this was going to be a tough but good read, and it was.  The Museum of Innocence centers around Kemal’s love and obsession with Fusun, a distant relation of his for about 10 years. Secondary themes are: Turkish history around 1975 with emphasis on the role of marriage, women’s roles/perceptions, cultural and social etiquette, insecurities and desires, the role of objects in connecting one to moments and people, and the concept of time and happiness.

This book affected me profoundly due to how it communicates emotional plight in an uncensored way. As Kemal became more obsessed with Fusun, I became more obsessed in reading the book.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:

• “In fact no one recognizes the happiest moment of their lives as they are living it. It may well be that, in a moment of joy, one might sincerely believe that they are living that golden instant “now,” even having lived such a moment before, but whatever they say, in one part of their hearts they still believe in the certainty of a happier moment to come. Because how could anyone, and particularly anyone who is still young, carry on with the belief that everything could only get worse: If a person is happy enough to think he has reached the happiest moment of his life, he will be hopeful enough to believe his future will be just as beautiful, more so.”
• “She looked out the window; in her eyes was the light that you see only in children arriving at a new place, or in young people still open to new influences, still curious about the world because they have not yet been scarred by life.”
• “Any intelligent person knows that life is a beautiful thing and that the purpose of life is to be happy. But it seems only idiots are ever happy. How can we explain this?”
• “Now, all these years later, I think that the best way to preserve happiness may be not to recognize it for what it is.”
• “In “Physics” Aristotle makes a distinction between Time and the single moments he describes as the “present.” Single moments are—like Aristotle’s atoms—indivisible, unbreakable things. But Time is the line that links these indivisible moments. Though Tarik Bey asked us to forget Time—that line connecting one present moment to the next—no one except for idiots and amnesiacs can succeed in forgetting it altogether. A person can only try to be happy and forget Time, and this we all do.”

After reading the book and arriving in Istanbul, we set out to find it.  It was very unique to walk the streets on our way to the museum,much like Kemal may have done in the context of the book. While the book is a fiction story, you cannot help but consider that it is real due to the museum. The museum is located in the Çukurcuma neighbourhood of Beyoğlu; its exterior and location is how I pictured it; a modest exterior in a low-key neighbourhood. As we made our way to Beyoglu from Cihangir, we stopped and browsed at numerous antique stores, contemplating the stories all of these objects had.

The museum is a collection of items mentioned in the book, organized in exhibits for chapters in the book.  Each exhibit is intricately designed to capture and depict the novel, while showing relics from the period of time during which the novel was set; it is part historical and also personal to the novel.  As you examine each exhibit, you remember and recognize certain moments in the book, which you can re-read as there are copies in the museum near the exhibits.

Source: http://www.flipflipmeheidi.com/article/museum-of-innocence-2012-08-09

To me, the most impressive exhibit are the thousands of cigarette butts mounted chronologically with annotations on a wall. Also, on the 3rd floor, you get a glimpse about how Orhan wrote the novel and his writing process.

Source: http://deviledeggcarrier.tumblr.com/

After visiting the museum, it was timely and interesting to encounter antique stores in the vicinity that has old photos for sale for about 0.50Turkish Liras. I could not help but look through these bins and contemplate the history and moments experienced by people in these photos as I looked at their faces.  Was this the happiest moment of their life? How did their photo end up in a bin for sale in Istanbul? If I purchase one of these photos, what would I do with it? What would it mean? Would I be preserving someone’s happiness?

More information:

• The Museum of Innocence website
• The Guardian “Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence – in pictures”
• The New York Time “Turkish Writer Opens Museum Based on Novel”