Brunch, Magic Coffee, Chocolate, and Pasta Perfection

Melbourne’s reputation for excellent brunches was confirmed at The Hardware Société. I enjoyed a beef brisket with pearl onions and a soft-boiled egg, as well as an ahi tuna dish served with soft-boiled eggs and hummus.

I had heard of Melbourne’s reputation of having a really strong coffee culture, and I was eager to try the local specialty known as a “Magic”. This Melbourne invention consists of a double ristretto (a short, concentrated espresso shot) topped with steamed milk in a smaller cup than a standard latte. The result is a strong, creamy coffee with a rich flavour profile. While the coffee didn’t impress me as much as I expected, I really enjoyed the latte art.

The city’s culinary scene extends beyond coffee. I noticed a trend of adorning dishes with edible flowers, which adds visual appeal and subtle flavours.

I also visited Koko Black, a local chocolatier. While their actual chocolate tasted mediocre, their chocolate with embedded Tasmanian honeycomb stood out. The sweet, crunchy honeycomb added a nice crunchy texture and flavour to the chocolate.

One of the culinary highlights was dinner at Tipo 00, where we tried their pasta tasting menu. The freshly made pasta was cooked to perfect al dente, offering just the right amount of resistance to the bite. Their squid ink pasta was particularly memorable. This striking black pasta had a subtle briny flavour, with a silky texture that paired nicely with seafood. We took some leftovers home and they still had that al dente texture even after going through the microwave. Although I tried some wine pairings, they paled in comparison to the exceptional wines we had experienced at Oakridge Winery. We also attempted to dine at Serai, a Filipino fusion restaurant, but our poor planning meant we were still too full from our earlier meals to fully appreciate the experience.

On a lighter note, we spotted an ice cream shop called “Bing Chillin,” which I thought funny because it’s essentially a reference how John Cena says “ice cream” in Chinese. No idea if it even sells ice cream or whether it’s good.

Oakridge Winery

The culinary highlight was an indulgent four-course meal with wine pairings at Oakridge Winery in the nearby Yarra Valley. In my excitement, I committed a traveller’s cardinal sin – I forgot to take pictures of most of it.

The menu featured dishes that were a symphony of tastes and textures. We savoured duck with celeriac, chard, and blood orange. Another standout was the Smith & Jackson sirloin (local from the Yarra Valley), accompanied by spinach, charred leek, and horseradish. I particularly enjoyed the interplay of the beef’s richness with the sharp horseradish and slightly bitter charred leek. Even the potatoes served alongside were perfectly crisp, adding a satisfying textural element. For dessert, a chocolate torte arrived paired with artichoke ice cream (I was skeptical about the artichoke, but found surprisingly delightful). In addition, we indulged in a silky smooth buttermilk panna cotta served with sorbet.

Being at a winery, it seemed only fitting to opt for the wine pairing. The 2017 Oakridge Blanc de Blancs was a particular standout. This sparkling wine offered crisp multi-dimensional notes of citrus. Too bad this wine isn’t available where we live. For one of the wines, the waitress could point out in the distance where the grapes came from because those grapes came specifically from this plantation as opposed to the other Oakridge plantations in the area.

We spent nearly three hours at our window-side table, savouring each course while gazing out over the winery. The view of neat rows of vines stretching into the distance added to the overall sensory experience. Our waitress guided us through each course, explaining the intricate details of every dish. Even though her explanations have escaped me, I still appreciated the experience.

After our leisurely meal, we had hoped to take a stroll around the winery to walk off some of our indulgence. However, the weather had other plans. Despite it being only 12°C, the cold felt more biting than we expected.

Queen Victoria Market

This sprawling complex houses vendors selling everything from touristy trinkets to fresh produce. While some areas featured items of questionable quality, the stalls offering movie poster prints and art prints of landmarks of different countries interested me the most.

The market’s expansive food section was particularly impressive, reminiscent of markets I’ve visited in other cities like Vancouver’s Granville Island Market or Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market.

Laneways and Arcades

Melbourne’s laneways are a defining feature of the city’s urban landscape. These narrow streets and alleys, once neglected, have been transformed into vibrant pedestrian thoroughfares lined with cafes, boutiques, and street art. I explored Degraves Street, one of the most famous laneways, and was captivated by its European-style atmosphere and array of eateries.

Nearby, The Block Arcade offered a glimpse into Melbourne’s Victorian-era architecture. This elegant shopping gallery, built in the 1890s, features mosaic-tiled floors, a glass canopy, and wrought iron fixtures. Inside, I discovered the oldest tea rooms in Australia and, surprisingly, a Dr. Seuss art store selling high-end paintings inspired by the beloved children’s author’s works.

Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station, with its distinctive yellow façade and green copper dome, serves as a major landmark and transport hub. Built in 1910, it’s Australia’s oldest train station.

It reminded me a bit of Toronto’s Union Station in the sense that they’re both iconic transportation hubs of their respective cities.

Motorsport and Automotive Experiences

As a mild Formula 1 enthusiast, I visited the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park. I tried to drive around the track, but found some sections blocked off.

The lake at Albert Park offered a view of Melbourne’s skyline. To my surprise, I spotted black swans gliding across the water – a first for me, but probably an unsurprising Australian sight.

Dutton Garage is a great place to go for car enthusiasts. This rare car dealership and showroom houses an impressive collection of vintage and exotic automobiles. I was particularly drawn to the classic Porsche 911s, with their iconic sloping rear deck, round headlights, and rear-mounted air-cooled engines. The showroom also featured sleek Ferraris and a few McLarens too.

I also had the opportunity to visit a BYD dealership. While not available in North America due to market dynamics and potential import restrictions, I got to get a glimpse of these Chinese-made electric cars, that to me had Tesla-like qualities, but at a lower price point, thanks in part to Chinese government subsidies. A cool fact I learned about BYD’s innovative battery technology that they can make batteries that don’t ignite when punctured, potentially allowing the batteries to be integrated into the car’s frame to reduce weight.

Shopping and Urban Exploration

As far as Melbourne’s shopping scene goes, I discovered R.M. Williams, a store specializing in Goodyear welted shoes made of different types of leather (even kangaroo), known for their durability and ability to be resoled (and also very expensive).

We attempted to take the City Circle Tram, a free service that loops around the central business district. We had hoped to learn about the city from the onboard commentary, but unfortunately found it difficult to hear over the noise of the tram and decided to explore on our own instead.

Our exploration also included a leisurely walk along the Yarra River, which winds through Melbourne. On the Sandridge Bridge, it features the “Travellers” exhibit, which is a series glass panels that offer information about the indigenous peoples of Australia and information about the demographics of immigrants (where they’re from, how many there were, why, etc.), reflecting the diverse cultural heritage of the nation. A common theme was that in the 21st century, across the westernized world, we’re being less and less likely to take on immigrants from weaker economic backgrounds.

Check here to see more of Melbourne, and the Oakridge Winery

Circular Quay

The Sydney Opera House, with its distinctive sail-like design, is not just an architectural marvel but also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Completed in 1973, this masterpiece by Danish architect Jørn Utzon has become synonymous with Sydney’s skyline. Its unique expressionist modern design features a series of precast concrete “shells” that form the roof structure, creating a striking silhouette against the harbour waters.

Adjacent to the Opera House stands the equally impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge. This steel bridge opened in 1932 and remains the world’s largest steel arch bridge. There is a tourist attraction there where people can walk along the arch of the steel beams (people are tethered for safety).

Souvenir shops lined the waterfront selling stereotypical Australian souvenirs like kangaroo and koala plushies. They also sell a lot of hats, which I recalled that those are also very stereotypically Australian thanks to people like Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter.

The Royal Botanic Garden

Established in 1816, this green oasis in the heart of Sydney is Australia’s oldest scientific institution. The gardens showcase a diverse collection of native and exotic plants, especially ones that are not present where I live. One of the standout flora was the Bird of Paradise plant, native to South Africa but thriving in Sydney’s climate. Its vibrant orange and blue flowers, resembles an exotic bird in flight.

I also encountered a variety of birds that I don’t usually see (I’m told some of them are garbage birds though). One amusing incident involved birds in the trees nearly missing some oblivious bystanders with their droppings (and oblivious even after the fact).

The Royal Botanic Garden proved to be more than just a green space; it was a living museum of biodiversity, a sanctuary for urban wildlife, and a peaceful retreat from the city’s bustling energy.

Barangaroo

We also took a walk through a nearby neighbourhood called Barangaroo. This area, named after an influential Aboriginal woman from the early colonial period, has undergone a remarkable transformation from a disused container terminal to a vibrant waterfront precinct with a mix of parklands, cultural spaces, and modern architecture.

Walking through Barangaroo, with its urban renewal, reminded me of strolling through Yaletown and Olympic Village in Vancouver, offering harbour views and an urban atmosphere.

Manly Beach

People also associate beaches with Australia. Close by to Sydney is Manly Beach. This popular stretch of golden sand is renowned for its excellent surfing conditions and laid-back atmosphere, and it also has an amusing name. According to Capt. Arthur Phillip, who named the beach, wrote of the indigenous people living there, “their confidence and manly behaviour made me give the name of Manly Cove to this place”

Birds also hang out in the nearby trees, chirping so loudly, they sounded like bats. It almost makes it scary to even approach the tree even though I know they’re just birds.

Manly Beach encapsulates the quintessential Australian beach culture – a perfect blend of natural beauty, outdoor activities, and relaxed coastal living.

Culinary Adventures

Sydney’s culinary scene proved to be quite delightful and exotic. In the spirit of trying local specialities, I sampled grilled kangaroo at The Meat and Wine Co. This lean meat, similar in texture to beef, offered a milder flavour with a subtle gamey note. It’s a unique protein that reflects Australia’s distinctive fauna and culinary traditions.

Another local delicacy at The Meat and Wine Co I had the pleasure of tasting was barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass. This white-fleshed fish is prized for its sweet, buttery flavour and firm, moist texture. When cooked, barramundi offers a delicate taste that’s less “fishy” than many other species.

Dinner with friends I know in Sydney at Bar Totti’s was another culinary delight. This pasta place came highly recommended, and it did not disappoint. Luckily, we had a reservation because by the time we arrived, there was a crowd of people waiting at the door. This trendy eatery has earned a reputation for its exceptional pasta dishes cooked al dente with flavourful sauces that complement rather than overwhelm the pasta itself. It’s also renowned for its baked bread, a signature item on their menu. The bread is served fresh out of the oven, airy and fluffy on the inside with a perfectly crisp crust. It’s also accompanied by a variety of dips and spreads.

I also found myself developing a newfound appreciation for salads, discovering that they can be far more than just a boring mix of greens. The city’s cafes showcased salads bursting with variety – multiple types of leafy greens, complex carbohydrates, diverse proteins, and flavourful dressings that elevated the humble salad to a satisfying meal.

Overall, I was quite impressed by Sydney’s food scene.

See more of Sydney here

Before my trip, I had no clue what there was to see in Toronto except the CN Tower, and Niagara Falls, which I had already been to. Luckily, this reddit post helped me find few places less traveled.

Royal Ontario Museum

It’s a museum that displays different elements of world culture, art, and natural history. Think British Museum, but much much smaller. One thing the ROM has that a lot of museums don’t are dinosaur fossils! There other exhibits showing world history and culture as well.

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

Located on the University of Toronto campus, this library is Canada’s largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. Among its collection is a copy of Isaac Newton’s Principia from 1687.

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada

This aquarium is exactly what you’d expect. Lots of different kinds of exotic sealife, sharks, manta rays, etc. The main exhibit is a giant water tank that contains these animals, and a giant conveyor belt takes guests all around. It’s a pretty good aquarium for those who are into that kind of thing

Casa Loma

This is one of the few “château”s in Canada. It was the largest private residence ever built in Canada and was the former residence of Sir Henry Pellatt, a former Major-General in the Canadian Forces. Now it has turned into a tourist attraction. The museum shows off similar things to what one would expect at a European castle: cool architecture, fancy decorations in just about every room, paintings and other art, antiques, and a garden.

And of course, a giant wine collection.

SkullStore Oddity Shop

This place is SUPER out there. This is a store that sells the skeletons of random animals, the skin of snakes, human remains (bones, preserved brain, etc.), taxidermy, preserved bugs, etc. All cruelty free and legally harvested apparently. Half of the store is an actual shop selling these strange items, and the other half is a free museum of even more weird things that aren’t for sale

The Half House

This half a house just sits on the side of the street like any other building. There isn’t a sign explaining why this is, what it’s doing there or anything like that. According to this site, it’s part of the remnants of the neighbourhood that once was here, where the owners at the time sold only half the house, and so the rest of the community developed around it.

St. Lawrence Market

This place felt similar to something like Granville Island in Vancouver, or Pike Place in Seattle – a farmer’s market positioning itself on selling fresh local meats, seafood, produce, etc. It’s a bit out of the way from the downtown core, and when I went, it was almost closing time, so it wasn’t very busy.

The one thing this place has over other farmer’s markets I’ve seen (at least in Seattle and Vancouver) is the variety. If you zoom in on that picture, below, you’ll see what I mean.

Restaurants

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, and therefore has a lot of offer in terms of food. Of all the places I ate at, these two places were definitely the best.

La Palette

This is a French style restaurant near the Kensington district of Toronto. It’s got an interesting selection of game meat, which was the reason why my buddy and I went. They’ve also got a good selection of wine and staff that are knowledgable about it.

For those wondering, horse doesn’t have a strong flavour like beef does, and it chews like super tender beef. Elk on the other hand, tastes kind of like steak with a bit of gaminess, and is actually quite hard to tell the difference unless you’re someone with really sensitive taste buds

Diana’s Seafood Delight

This place is known for their quality oysters and sea urchin, and also precisely the reason why we were there. They have a selection of different oysters from different areas, but if you gave me a blindfold and asked me which oyster was which, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

Photo albums:

• Toronto
• Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
• Casa Loma
• SkullStore Oddity Shop
• Royal Ontario Museum

This is probably the most iconic area in Singapore – Marina Bay. Starting with the Merlion, we toured around the bay. I didn’t actually understand what a Merlion was until I saw the actual statue.

The placement of all the buildings and the water was so perfect for photos!! This area is a must-go.

There’s even a spot for an outdoor band to play.

And an outdoor street food market.

I ate my very first stingray. Another one off the list.

Another must-go destination in Singapore – The Supertrees! There is a whole grove of them and they constantly change colours. They’re powered by solar energy and capture rainwater for reuse.

In Chinatown, there is a famous Michelin 1-star place located in Chinatown called Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle. The lineup almost went out the door and it was next to impossible to find a seat.

The chicken was not dry at all, but rather juicy with all the flavours of the soy sauce, and every bite was tender.

The chili crab is also worth trying if you’re willing to splurge.

In Maxwell Centre, Tian Tian is the best place to go for Hainanese Chicken Rice. If this place existed where I live, I’d go there all the time.

There’s also Song Fa Bak Kut Teh. They serve a ribs cooked in a flavoured soup. The ribs are super tender and fall easily off the bone, and the soup is a complex soup with lots of strong spices (kind of savoury and peppery). The shop even sells their own flavouring powder so people can make the soup at home!

Chinatown is pretty much a place where tourists go and most of the street vendors are catering purely to tourists. But the food here, on the other hand, is terrific.

The Buddhist temple there looks incredible. Unlike the temples in Hong Kong, photography is allowed and look way cooler.

Next destination was Little India. It was amazing at how all of a sudden, the streets were no longer filled with Chinese Singaporeans, but rather Indian Singaporeans. Many shops sold fabric for saris, and jewelry.

This was my first time visiting a Hindu temple.

There’s also an Arab Quarter. It’s incredible how in one city there are so many visible ethnicities.

Sentosa is another great place to visit. It’s the home of many resorts, Universal Studios Singapore, and the aquarium. It’s also the most southern point of continental Asia! I always thought the Vancouver aquarium was pretty amazing, but the one in Singapore is SO much better.

This was the most impressive aquarium display I had ever seen. The picture doesn’t capture how absolutely massive this room was. The window itself has a thickness of 70cm!!

Singapore also has a world class zoo – except this one is open at night, just to show off nocturnal animals.

Gordon Ramsay recommends 328 Katong, for Singapore’s famous Laksa. The soup is slightly spicy and contains chili, coconut milk, and evaporated milk. THe fillings contain noodles, shrimp and mushrooms among other things. The other two dishes are Nasi Lemak, which is a rice dish with dried anchovies and a spicy sauce, while the other is Otah, which is a fish cake with spices inside (these two items were probably the only dishes I didn’t like).

Pretty much all the restaurants and places I went came from recommendations from friends who either grew up in Singapore or lived there. Thanks to them, I got a bit of a local’s perspective on the most awesome places to go!

Photo album: here

Last time I visited, the hot and humid summer made it quite unbearable to do anything outside and I spent most of my time in air conditioned malls. But this time I went in November, where one could just go outside comfortably in summer clothes. Good visibility this time around allowed me to take photos like this:

Touristy places

For touristy things, people visit the Big Buddha – pretty much Asia’s equivalent of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

Visiting the Big Buddha requires taking a 30-minute gondola ride up a mountain. The entire area also contains a collection of temples and animals wandering about.

Visitors can even see Buddhist scriptures inscribed onto large wooden posts.

In the nearby fishing village of Tai O, people sell all sorts of parts from dried seafood like swim bladders, stomachs, starfish, and the like for people to make soup with. Notice the giant dried shark center left.

Tourists often visit The Peak as well. On a clear day, visitors can see all the way across the harbour into Kowloon (the northern part of Hong Kong). I took the light bus directly up to the top thinking I boarded the bus that would take passengers to the tram station that would go up the mountain. Without realizing I already arrived at The Peak, I walked further up the mountain just to walk back down. The views from up there didn’t compare to the actual touristy part of The Peak.

Old school culture

Since my grandparents lived in Hong Kong before they passed away, I will always visit them at the cemetery. In Chinese culture, people often burn fake money or other things as offerings for the deceased family member in the afterlife. Depending on who is selling the offerings, they will often ask questions about one’s family history so that they can write the information on the offerings for burning such that it will go to the right people in the afterlife.

Such cultural things may seem old fashioned for such a modern city like Hong Kong, but Hong Kong still to this day retains a mixture of the old and the new.

People still continue to place immense importance on worshipping mythological dieties and figures. Because Buddishm, Taoism, and Confucianism all have had great influence in Asia for thousands of years, many temples contain elements from all of these religions.

Europe has lots of churches, but Asia has temples.

From big city life to quiet gardens.

Day to day life

The MTR serves as the mass transit system in Hong Kong. In Vancouver, attendants will tell you not to board a packed train, but in Hong Kong, it’s normal to try to get yourself in the full train.

Shopping malls in Hong Kong don’t just consist of shops, but rather show extravagance.

From shopping malls to street markets

Live chickens anyone? In North America, some people raise chickens for their eggs, but in Hong Kong people, many buy live chickens to eat – but over time more and more people now prefer buying their chickens at the supermarket.

Visitors can feel the on-the-go culture in Hong Kong. People speedwalk everywhere, and they fill the streets. Some visitors, especially those from places with less people, like to take a moment to people watch.

Splurging

The tallest bar in the world, situated on the 118th floor of the International Commerce Centre, the Ozone Bar provides a view of Tsim Sha Tsui and Hong Kong Island. A drink up there costs at least $30 USD – pretty much paying for the view.

Museums on the road less travelled

For those interested in Hong Kong’s history in the context of finance, The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has a small museum for this, near the top of the International Finance Centre.

Those interested in trains can visit the Hong Kong Railway Museum in Tai Po. It talks about the history of rail travel within Hong Kong and lets visitors see the inside of old trains that used to run in the city.

Photo album here

The weirdest part about boarding the plane: all the flight attendants just assumed I was Korean and spoke Korean to me, but changed to English for anyone that didn’t look Chinese/Japanese/Korean. I guess better to do that than to wrongly assume and speak English to actual Koreans. What’s cool about a Korean airline is that they serve Korean food like Bibimbap too. Oh, and they also asked me if I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 7. I guess that makes sense. Exploding plane… not good…

I arrived in Hanoi at night, and after a terrible night of jet lagged sleep, my adventure began.

Crossing the street on busy streets without traffic lights

Probably the biggest WTF moment I had was when I noticed that there are exactly zero traffic lights at intersections and there’s like a hundred people on mopeds crossing these intersections. People here are somehow magically able to weave through each other while crossing the intersection. People crossing the street just walk at a constant pace and just let the drivers drive around them.

The first time I crossed the street, it was like a giant leap of faith. As I’m crossing the street, I’m thinking “I wonder if this is what it feels like to know your life is about to end”. After I crossed, I thought, “Oh that wasn’t so bad”. But then there are like a dozen more intersections to cross before getting to the destination. After a while though, it definitely got easier.

There’s so many people here and the air pollution is epic

I thought I was used to large Asian cities (e.g. Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc.), but Hanoi is on a different level. The average population density of Hong Kong is about 6000 people/square km, but in Hanoi, it’s about 15000. For some reason though, it doesn’t seem like there are as many people walking around as in Hong Kong or Tokyo. Maybe it’s because they’re all driving their mopeds. It’s so crowded here that some people live in front of an unused railway track.

The streets are way less spacious too. People are always selling stuff on the side of the street, or people are parking their mopeds everywhere, so it makes it really hard to just walk in a straight line along the sidewalk. And as you’re walking, you’re constantly smelling exhaust.

Lots of cheap stuff

The street markets are often selling cheap knockoffs of things. People on the street were selling tons of North Face jackets. Apparently, they are made in Vietnam, but I have no idea whether or not the jackets here are real though, but they sure felt real. And they only cost $35 USD. I picked up two football jerseys for Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund for about $5 USD each. Dong Xuan market is another place selling tons of cheap stuff. Stores are tiny, but full of merchandise stacked up and the walkways are super narrow, but to our western standards, everything is super cheap. This is a city where a regular guy like me can walk into a Louis Vuitton store without being judged by all the people working there.

I almost bought this “Lepin” Millenium Falcon for $40 USD. The lady wouldn’t budge on her price =/.

On weekends, there’s a night market selling more cheap stuff.

They’ve got a really cool lake in the middle of the city

It was definitely the most scenic part of Hanoi that I went to.

On weekends afternoons and nights, everybody is going to Hoan Kiem Lake to hang out with their family and friends. At night, the lake lights up real good.

Of course, there’s the food

A while ago, there was a story about Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain eating dinner in Hanoi. Since that happened, the restaurant they went to, Bún chả Hương Liên, became famous and tons of people went there to eat the “Obama Special” – Bún chả and spring rolls. A local guide we met later in the trip told us that this restaurant is overrated, but I thought it was good. Thanks Obama!

There was also this barbecue place. There’s a giant selection of meats with different cuts and you pick which ones you want and it all gets cooked on a giant barbecue platter. Aside from the usual beef, chicken, pork, they had an entire frog. Looking back, I should have ordered it. Frog is definitely up there on my list of delicious exotic meats. If I knew Vietnamese, I would have asked them if they had dog meat because I would have ordered that for sure. We ended up picking up a few things that looked good, but had no idea what they were. One of them tasted like beef and was kind of chewy and reminded me of beef intestines that I ate in Osaka.

At one point in the trip, we got a volunteer tour guide to take us around the city to eat stuff. We help them practice their English and pay for their food, and they show us around – it’s a pretty cool idea. Our guide took us to try some fried eel in a salad and some eel soup.

Our guide also took us to eat this Vietnamese version of a steamed rice roll. Not as good as the kind I eat at Dim Sum.

Everybody knows Pho. It’s a lot different than the ones I eat in Vancouver and not very comparable. The ones I ate in Hanoi were generally plainer and was less savoury. It also costs about $2.50 USD. Some people prefer this taste over the kind we get in the western world, but I would disagree.

By far the best meal of the whole trip was at “The Hung Snake Restaurant“. Yep, I got to eat an entire snake – a bamboo snake. A guy came with a sack with a snake inside. He took it out and let me hold onto it to “play” with it before eating. Sure, okay, playing with a snake is great and all, but that thing was frickin poisonous and the entire time, I was just kind of freaked out and hoped that thing didn’t bite me.

The next thing you know, the guy takes out a platter with scissors and knives like in a surgery and cuts open the snake. As it bleeds to death, he drains its blood into a glass, THEN takes out its beating heart and puts it into another glass. FINALLY, he cuts out part of the stomach and drains its stomach bile into another glass. He hands me the glass with the still beating heart and tells me to eat it. It was exactly what I came here for and it was amazing. I only wish I had chewed the heart before swallowing it instead of swallowing it whole like he told me to.

The blood and bile were mixed with some sort of alcohol and I drank those too. My friend on the other hand, could not bear to watch the snake get murdered like that and barely ate any of it when the food actually came. More for me :). All sorts of snake bits were used with different cooking styles: grilled meat, deep fried bones, deep fried skin, snake tail boiled into a soup, sauteed meat, spring rolls, steamed meat, the stomach, etc. Everything was GREAT. A++, would eat again – the king cobra next time.

In addition to snake, I also wanted to try cat meat. I asked the staff at our hostel and he told me that he knew that people did eat that sort of stuff, but wasn’t able to tell me where. Too bad. I also missed out on this silkworm omelette that they only serve in the mornings. Everywhere I saw a cat or a dog, I’d wonder if people would kidnap them and cook them =/

As usual, I drank the local beer. The Beer Corner is a popular place. It was weird to see a kid who looked about 12 pour my beer. Apparently that’s allowed around here.

Their way of life can be very simple

Just some kids playing Tug of War.

Let’s cut some hair on the side of the street.

Unique history and culture

This is a country where for so much of their history, they were conquered by someone: China, France, Japan, etc. The French left behind some of their architecture too.

Since Vietnam is a communist country, of course there has to be a statue of Lenin.

There was also an influence from Confucianism here. Enough for there to be a Confucian temple, which is also the site of the Imperial Academy, the first national university of Vietnam.

How fitting that when we were there, there were groups of students posing for pictures for graduation.

They’re really proud about going up against their enemies and winning

From going to museums there, they are really happy about finally having their own country back again. There were so many exhibits about their triumphs against the colonialists, against the Japanese, and eventually against the Americans. They even claim that the Americans fabricated the Gulf of Tonkin Incident as an excuse to fight in Vietnam. That could very well have been true, but everything just seemed super biased. During the war, the North Vietnamese shot down a B-52, which they proudly display.

There’s even a bit of a B-52 in the water where it crashed. The buidings in the back are also super narrow, which was because buildings were taxed on their width (not sure if this is still the case though).

They also like to point out all the terrible things that their French conquerors did to them at the Prison Museum.

The body of Ho Chi Minh is preserved and displayed in the mausoleum. When we were there though, his body had been transported to Russia for some work, and so it wasn’t on display.

At their military museum, they went on about how they fought a war against American imperialism and showed off the weapons they used. And of course, every time I see a tank, I think “cuz baby you’re a firreeeworkkkkk” and drinking margaritas.

I think that sums up the visit to Hanoi real good!

Link to photo album: here

Travel tip: THERE IS UBER IN KRAKOW!!! To go from the airport to the old town, it costed only 25.46 PLN, which is not even $7 USD to go about 12km. That total was split by 3 people, so that’s about $2-something per person.

Our hostel was in the old town, and was in walking distance to the market square.

South of the old town is Wawel Castle.

And it’s got a great view of the Vistula River. It’s a got a great bike/jogging path that runs along it too.

We went on a walking tour to the old Jewish quarter. Since the war, it no longer housed the vibrant Jewish community that once existed.  The Old Synagogue, built in the 15th century still stands today.

The former ghetto now looks like this. Each chair represents 1000 victims.

The tour ended at the former Schindler Factory. It is now the site of museums for art and the history of Krakow. One of the exhibits is a cable car that used to run through the city. The sign says “Use by Jews forbidden”. It’s one thing to hear about what the tour guide says about the holocaust, but this sign was much much more impactful.

A less depressing topic: food. I can’t go to a new place without drinking their beer. I definitely like it a lot better than the beers I can get in North America. And then there’s bread. I really like bread. A local brand of orange juice, called Cappy was amazing too.

Somebody also told me to try perogies, but perogies to me are alright I guess. I also ate some deep fried calf brain. I would not eat that again. One of the restaurants we went to was called Wierzynek, and the cool thing about it is that it’s been around since 1364!

Link to photo album: here

The best food we ate in Osaka was definitely Yakiniku at a place called Sora (空), which means “sky”. Pieces of pre-marinated meats are cooked on the grill, and everything was delicious.

Even though we were not in Hiroshima, we got to eat Okonomiyaki again. This time, there was a grill at our table and a server at the restaurant cooked it for us while we watched.

Osaka is also famous for deep fried skewers using different foods like chicken, squid, and veggies. The skewers are served with a special sauce and according to the local culture, double-dipping is highly frowned upon. We at this at a famous Japanese skewer restaurant called Daruma (だるま) with some friends in Osaka. My personal favourite was the kind with intestines.

Osaka Castle is another well known landmark in the city. Since the many wars that the castle has been involved in since its construction in the 16th century, the castle has now been restored and the inside has been converted into a museum with a rooftop observation deck.

We also visited the Osaka Science Museum. It was full of interactive exhibits that taught various concepts in the natural sciences, like magnetism, sound, air drag, and chemical reactions. The best exhibit was definitely the one on nuclear fission.

Takoyaki, another one of Osaka’s local delicacies, was also something we had to try. The ball is made of a batter and inside it, there are bits of octopus meat, and the entire thing is cooked in a special Takoyaki grill. After it is cooked, Takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise is added. It is interesting to eat since the outer shell is quite soft, but the octopus is not. The sauce also adds some sweetness to the flavour.

While I was no stranger to Takoyaki since I have had it previously, we got to try a kind that used egg for the outer shell rather than the batter. It was definitely new and special, but I have to say the regular kind was way better.

We also stumbled onto a restaurant called the “International Beer Museum” that had different beers from around the world on tap. It had been a long time since I had a Helles, so that’s what I got. I also realized that I haven’t been posting much about Japanese beer and the reason is that it is quite easy to get the same name brands in Vancouver (with the exception of Suntory Premium Malt’s) and they taste the same too!

I also didn’t think I’d be able to eat Currywurst in Japan either. Needed way more sauce though, but I understand that kind of sauce is probably hard to come by in Japan.

And I also didn’t think I’d see an Asian person wearing Lederhosen either.

Links to photo albums:

• Osaka
• Osaka Science Museum

Since members of the church are encouraged to do missionary work, some of them are assigned to Temple Square to work as tour guides. In the Visitors’ Center, there were many of them from different countries and the tour guides we got happened to be from Canada and USA.

The guides took us to the top of the North Visitors’ Center to show us an 11-foot tall statue of Jesus (picture from Wikipedia). While up there, the guides played a short audio clip about Jesus’s purpose and told us about their beliefs. Even though I’m not Christian, it was clear that they were quite devout and dedicated and such qualities are definitely admirable.

Next, the guides took us to the Salt Lake Tabernacle to see the pipe organ.

Then the guides asked us, “how many pipes do you think there are?” Me, not knowing anything about organs, merely counted the ones I saw on the surface and naively said, “maybe about 30”. It turns out I was off by several orders of magnitude. The answer: 11,623.

The building was built to house meetings for the church and was used for the LDS General Conference, but the church grew so large, that the occupant capacity of the building was exceeded. After that tour ended, we visited the newer and larger conference center.

We got a tour of the inside and it was massive with 21,000 seats. We were told that to play the church organ, the organist would have to have a PhD in that field.

The roof of the building had a beautiful view of the Temple Square and had a nice garden full of many varieties of plants.

Lastly, there is the temple itself. Unfortunately, it is not open to the public as it is sacred and there are strict entrance requirements. But at least it looks nice on the outside!

That concluded our tour of the Temple Square in Salt Lake City and then we made our way to the airport and flew back to Vancouver.

Link to more photos

The most interesting thing I experienced here would have to be the ridiculous portions of food that is served – it really fulfills the American stereotype. For example, this is what we got at the restaurant at the Star Hotel:

Now a standard fork is probably about 7 inches in length, so using the fork as a scale in that picture, the steak is probably about 9 inches long and about 2.5 inches wide. I was expecting a steak of half the size. Not to mention it came with spaghetti, beans, fries, soup, salad, and bread on the side. I ate all of that over two meals.

Naturally, we also explored the town. The road we mostly travelled through was Idaho Street and we really saw how small the town was. When we were there, the temperature was about 30°C and not very humid, making it very unpleasant to walk outside.

According to Wikipedia, Elko had a population of 18,297 people in 2010 – that’s pretty small compared to what I’m used to. The primary industry in Elko is gold mining – hence the reason to hold a tradeshow. The tradeshow lasted two days and after that we drove to Salt Lake City to catch a plane back to Vancouver.

Link to more photos