Tag: food

Beyond Inle Lake, Pa’O land

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Myanmar2 Comments

After two days exploring Inle Lake on a boat, we were ready to venture inland. On our third day in Nyaungshwe, we rented bikes and rode them into the countryside. It was lush and beautiful, and a great way to observe life beyond the tourist spots. The highlight was our lunch at the Bamboo Hut, an amazing local restaurant we had been recommended. While I slacked on their porch, looking at the surrounding fields and fruit trees (which they use for their ultra-fresh dishes), Elena joined the owners in the kitchen for an impromptu cooking class, and prepared us the most delicious fish ever.

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On our final day in the Inle region, we wanted to visit Kakku, the sacred site of the Pa’O people. We hired a car with driver in town, and headed very early toward the city of Taunggyi, the capital of the Shan state. We had to stop there to pick up a Pa’O guide, mandatory to visit their territory. Our guide ended up being a 19 year old college student named Kam, a shy and funny girl who we liked immediately. All the guides are dressed up in traditional Pa’O clothes (black and blue multi-layer suits and colorful turbans), speak good English and are quite knowledgeable. After about 2.5 hours in the car, driving through rice and soy fields, we reached Kakku.

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Exploring the temples of Bagan on a bike

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Myanmar5 Comments

Bagan, with its more than 3,000 Buddhist temples from the 11-12th centuries, is one of the most amazing places I’ve been to. We arrived late in the afternoon, due to a torturous yet fun train ride form Yangon, and decided to stay in the village of Nyang U, where most backpackers’ hotels and restaurants are located. After finding a good accommodation (Blazing Hotel, $25 for a double with AC) and eating the most delicious meal ever (Weather Spoon), we set to check out the nearby temples by foot. With little day light left and intermittent rain, we at least had time to visit the golden Shwezigon Pagoda, a couple random temples in the Nyang U area, and play tag-o-war with some local kids. It was a good introduction to the archaeological site, enough to get us excited for the days ahead.

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What to see in Yangon, the gate to Myanmar

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Myanmar6 Comments

Yangon, until recently, the capital of Myanmar, can easily be visited in 1 day. Our itinerary started at the furthest north sites, the Chaukhtatgyi and Ngahtatgyyi pagodas, with their respective giant Bhuddas, one reclining and one seating. It was a great experience to observe local people, who are extremely devoted. Very early on in our time in Myanmar, we noticed that the country was for the most part, untouched by tourism. We barely saw a couple of foreigners each day, and locals were unspoiled, smiley and dressed in traditional style (e.g. longyi skirts for men), many with their faces painted with yellow dye (thanaka).

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Madrid as a tourist

On By Carmen BIn Europe, Spain51 Comments

I LOVE Madrid, I honestly believe it is the best city in the world. In addition to rich history/art, and the best nightlife in the world, it has my family and childhood friends 🙂

People ask me a lot what they should do and see when they visit Madrid… and it’s always hard for me to answer. The city we live in is usually the one that we explore the least from a traveler perspective. But recently I had a chance to show the city over a couple of days to first-time visitor Elena, with the help of my good friend and fellow madrileña Anna.

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A perfect day in Palawan

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Philippines4 Comments

Getting from Coron, where we came for wreck diving, to El Nido, the travelers’ hub of Palawan, is not as easy as one would expect. There are no flight connections, so most people are forced to pick one of the two, or try their luck in rather unreliable bangkas (7-10 hours and several mishaps). Because we didn’t want to waste a precious day and wanted to do something special for Elena’s birthday, we contracted a private 3d/2n trip with Abandon Paradise Expedition. I cannot recommend them enough; Don and Fred are very professional and fun, and they offer a memorable experience.

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Stone Town, the heart of Zanzibar

On By Carmen BIn Africa, Tanzania2 Comments

From Arusha, where our Kenya-Tanzania safari ended, we caught a flight to Zanzibar. We had booked with Coastal Aviation and didn’t realize the tiny plane would stop 5 times before getting to the island… it was like being on a public bus hehe. Stone Town, the old downtown of the capital Zanzibar, was a nice surprise. Our expectations of African towns were low after Nairobi and Arusha (later also confirmed by Dar es Salaam), but Stone Town proved to be a charming, lively city, with an exciting history. As the center of the Zanzibar Sultanate during the 19th century, it flourished driven by trade of spices and slaves, before suffering a revolution.

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Getting ready for safari in Nairobi

On By Carmen BIn Africa, Kenya1 Comment

Since I was a kid, I always had wanted to go on an African safari. Last summer, I finally convinced myself and Elena to do it, now that the prices had become affordable. Last minute, my mom (my true traveling hero) decided to join us, after her plans to go to Ethiopia fell apart.

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Ziplining through Monteverde’s clouds

On By Carmen BIn America, Costa Rica4 Comments

After our detour to Playa Grande to observe leatherback turtles, we had driven a few hours and crashed in a crappy hotel in Juntas, close to Monteverde. We woke up a bit later than usual, and started the drive up to the mountain. The road was truly horrible and it took us good 2 hours and a lot of pain.

Monteverde is known for its Cloud Forests (Reserva de Monteverde and Reserva de Santa Elena), and for ziplining. It’s unclear if it really started here, but there is no doubt that this town has exploited the activity the most. We signed up for a group that was starting right away at Selvatura Park, one of the most famous operators. It was lots of fun! Not only the adrenaline of flying but also being surrounded by the thick forest with howler monkeys, the dense fog that wouldn’t let you see where the line was ending… we enjoyed like kids.

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How to visit Singapore in one day

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Singapore5 Comments

Thanks to a business trip, I recently had a chance to visit Singapore. I scheduled my meetings and flights so that I’d have a full day off, and planned an intense itinerary.

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My hotel was located in the south, so I started from the end of Chinatown, and walked my way north. My first stops were the Thian Hock Keng Temple and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum. They were pretty, but what really impressed me was how well taken care of the streets were, and how skyscrapers had popped up all around. The emergence of this city-state is unbelievable, though it hasn’t come without controversy.

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Chilling in Gili

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Indonesia2 Comments

For the last days of our trip, we wanted a relaxed beach place to swim, tan and eat. We chose the largest and most developed of the 3 Gili islands, Gili Trawangan, which can be reached easily from Bali (~4hrs shuttle + boat from Bali) or Lombok. We stayed at some nice bungalows on the north end of the main beach, close enough to walk to all the restaurants and bars, but very quiet. My favorite part was eating breakfast on wooden palafitos over the water.

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