Tag: in search of umami

Our favorite street art in Singapore

Many say Singapore is such a sterile place, limited by the rules and strict laws. Maybe… but it’s also a place of magnificent street art which is probably better maintained than in most Asian cities. In most of them murals are like mandalas, they cost a lot of work, precision and patience just to be destroyed later by the pass of time or vandalism. Not in Singapore. Here these fragile pieces seem almost eternal.

  1. The Coffee time one

Café ARC has a massive mural on one side of their lovely spot. It’s all about coffee in there. Made with different techniques, by different people… always with love 🙂

  1. The Holy Cow

That one we found completely by accident. I have no idea who the artist is or who commissioned him but the mural is magnificent! It’s colorful, playful and it’s all about cows. Unfortunately it’s also in a very narrow street and it’s massive so I wouldn’t say it’s a mind-blowing picture option.

  1. The peeking boy

Ernest Zacharevic is one of the most amazing street artists in the world. He is mostly famous for his pieces in Penang in Malaysia but he also did a few murals for Singapore. I always like how he adds dimension to his work and how playful and beautiful it is. And this boy looks literally like he is on a mission to spot someone!

  1. The exclamation mark

Another one out of Ernest Zacharevic pieces is a boy(s) playing with exclamation marks.

  1. Girl with a cub

The girl is huge and she lies there with a cub with her little, piercing eyes staring at anyone passing her by. Also by Zacharevic 🙂

  1. Kids in the carts

It seems like it’s only Zacharevic’s art in Singapore which is really not true but this one is so worth seeing. Two kids playing in shopping carts and the carts are actually real, placed in front of the kids. I absolutely love how reality and art meet in a playful way like that:)

  1. Just a colorful wall

Singapore has many really colorful walls that make the city bright and cheerful and for tourists they bring extra background for a portrait. We especially loved these two 🙂

  1. The life of the Indians

The art of the streets embrace all the different cultures merged together in one, tiny country. These ones show the simple Indian life.

  1. Something for the carpet lovers

There are many murals representing the past of Singapore. We especially loved the one showing life of a carpet/basket seller back in the days. Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit on a stunning, unique carpet rather than to shop it out from a supermarket knowing there are millions of the same ones?

  1. The faces of the Singapore club

There are quite some faces on that one although the most prominent is an elderly man in a turban. You could almost overlook a Chinese lady and a Malay man hidden in behind the tables of the Singapura Club.

Those 10 are just our subjective favorites. There are sooo many others spread all over the city and guess what, every day there can be a new one coming on these urban canvas' 🙂

Where and what to eat and drink in Taipei? Our favorite spots and dishes

  1. Tiny dumpling place

Unfortunately we have no idea how the place was called, if it even had a name but we know exactly where it was 🙂 we tasted so many dumplings everywhere on Taiwan but this little spot had the best ones by far. They were also pretty cheap, served in a very cozy place and the ladies working there were really sweet, although none of them spoke a word of English. After some time we also got fond of their water with floating jelly. I guess in a country where bubble tea is a religion, you just have to end up liking things like that. It helps that it was included in the service 🙂

  1. Mouthwatering gua-bao

This humble steamed bun with pork belly turned out to be our favorite dish. And after trying many around the island we unanimously decided one night market won. It had the best quality of meat, least amount of fat and most coriander and grounded peanuts. From our experience the quality of food on night markets was lower and lower the bigger the night market was. So in places where it was really crowded, the food was mediocre while smaller spots maintained high quality and often prepared the food fresh on the spot. The same night market had also the best barbecue with the most variety of veggies and meats and the most decadent sweet chilly sauce. Just next to that stand there was another one with spectacular roti with either eggs, bacon or just veggies. You will find it on our map below.

  1. Chinese food at its finest

Liu Pin Xiao Guan Chinese Restaurant was by far the most amazing restaurant we have visited on Taiwan. In this case looks are very deceiving, it seems like a so-so spot and the food doesn’t look very fancy but the taste is out of this world. They had a spectacular clam soup, noodle dishes, stir fries and fish. I honestly can’t believe they would have something disappointing.

  1. Get fruity everywhere

The whole island has an insane selection of all sorts of fruit. The availability changes with seasons but in general you can get passion fruits, dragon fruits both red and white ones, lychees, white pineapples and so much more. I have never made so many smoothies in my life. And I really miss those.

  1. The best fruit sorbet

With such a variety of fruit available, there are many spots offering juicy sorbet's. Nothing helps coping with the heat of the island better than a cool refreshment. After a very in-depth research we concluded that the ones sold at the Songshan Cultural Park were the best!

  1. Beef noodles worth queuing for

Taoyuan Street Authentic Shandong Beef Noodle might look humble from the outside but their beef noodle soup is worth standing in the queue. It’s delicious and full of flavor and their beef is soft and tender.

  1. Bubble tea EVERYWHERE!

Bubble tea is THE thing to drink on Taiwan. This tea based drink was invented on the island and rocked the whole world. There are so many varieties that the best way is to try them all and choose your favorite one. Give a chance to small businesses as well as big chains. I especially loved assam black tea with milk and tapioca balls. Jandirk was more a fan of a sweeter, fruitier type of teas with balls and fruit jellies 🙂

  1. More traditional tea

The island is famous for its teas especially for oolong and assam black tea. For more traditional tea tasting there is just one number one in Taipei- Wisteria Tea House. It’s a beautiful spot that looks like a Japanese tea house with our favorite tatami floors. Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to visit them. We were unlucky to find it either closed or too busy to serve us. We were more than happy with lovely number two –C-tea-loft. This is a bit more modern tea house with an insane selections of teas and a very friendly staff that will eagerly tell you all about those.

  1. Coffee stop

Although tea is the national drink, coffee game is getting stronger and stronger especially in the capital. There are quite some popular and nice chains like Cama Cafe where they roast their own beans at the spot or Louisa Coffee with stylish interior and more delicate coffee. Our favorite one turned out to be the very artistic Artalley Cafe. Maybe the staff was a bit clueless but the coffee was good and the interior was stunning with super comfy chairs and a massive book selection.

Kaohsiung- the street art capital of Taiwan

Kaohsiung was never on our list of places to visit on Taiwan. We thought there was nothing to see there.

Frankly we ended up picking it when our Airbnb in Tainan got canceled and we couldn’t find any better solution. Kaohsiung was close and cheap enough to be our base to explore Tainan on a day trip basis. The street art and city itself captivated us so much that we ended up staying there every single day…

The Pier-2 art district

I often don’t enjoy twisted modern art galleries. Sometimes they really go too far and conceptual for me. But I love how modern art can be applied into forgotten spaces and bring them back to life, keeping the old vibe and soul at the same time.

That’s exactly why I loved the Pier-2 art district. Situated next to Kaohsiung Port it had all the potential to be useful and beautiful at the same time. Yet it was abandoned for years. Thankfully art came its way and nowadays it’s as vibrant and lovely as it can be.

The neighborhood is divided in 3 areas. Penglai area in the north has the Taiwan Railway museum, exhibition warehouses and a park with steel sculptures…  The park is mostly an oasis of piece except for those unlucky moments when a whole bus of a school excursion unloads.

The central area (Dayong area) has exhibition warehouses, a cinema and a bookstore with beautiful cards and artistic souvenirs from Taiwan. Inside the shop there is also a charming café.

The southern part of the neighborhood (Dayi area) is where all the hungry souls and bellies should go. And that’s where we spend most of our time, mostly window-shopping.

Stunning cafes are combined with art galleries and restaurants, something for the spirit and body at the same time. Except for hip places to eat there is a very colorful flower shop that has the most jaw dropping floral compositions.

Just around the corner there are a few very cool shops, one of which is a fair trade shop with local arts and crafts from all over the world. This one especially has beautiful jewelry, wooden kitchen stuff and piles of things that I just wished I could buy.

All 3 areas are full of murals, sculptures and little art work so we kept our eyes open at all time. We especially loved the 3D train station mural, dogs’ sculptures hanging off the wall and a whale watching over the whole street. As weird as they all sound, they are just terrific!

Cijin Island

We naively thought the word “island” and “ferry” would scare people away from going there. As soon as we saw the massive crowds in the port, we knew we were wrong. After few minutes when we reached our destination a whole flood of people went straight to… the streets of the food market. Leaving the rest of the area deserted. And there is quite a lot to discover.

First we went for a small walk up a mountain to admire views over the city and a small lighthouse. It didn’t take our breath away but we didn’t expect that in Cijin.

Until we strolled along the beach side and found Cijin Seashore Park, calm park just by the beach with beautiful street art. At that point I was wondering how come Kaohsiung was not on every “must see” list of Taiwan.

The Dome of Light

The Dome of Light is the largest glass work in the world and it’s hidden right in the heart of Formosa Boulevard metro station. 4500 glass panels form a massive 30 meter in diameter dome…

I read on Wikipedia that it would be offered as venues for weddings. I can’t possible imagine how it would be possible with metro passengers crossing it all the time and quite poor light. That said, it did not stop quite a few newlyweds from taking their wedding shot over there.

Naoshima- the power of art

Naoshima could have been one of those lonely, sad, grey places. In the 50s and 60s it was booming and there were 8000 people on the island. All thanks to a Mitsubishi factory which was and still is the biggest employer in there. Sounds like a beginning of a science fiction movie but the machines really did take work of many of the locals, leaving the island to a certain death with the drastically declining population. Many left in search of a job, education and better life. With only 3000 people Naoshima was disappearing when art came…

Benesse Holdings, a big Japanese company was searching for a home for their big collection of art. They wanted it to help the locals and they decided that Naoshima would be a perfect place to do it. Art would bring tourism to the island, tourism would bring jobs and jobs would bring people back.

Now the island is a must see for every art lover coming to Japan.

The first thing we spotted while entering the harbor on this small island was the red pumpkin with polka dots. I was contemplating its beauty from the deck when we reached the port and tourists started to flow out of the boat, running to the pumpkin. Everything to take an “alone” picture with it or because they were afraid it might get eaten if they waited any longer… 🙂

The beauty of Naoshima is also in its size, it’s a really small island perfect for a day trip on a bike. So straight from the ferry we went to rent a bike and hit the road. First we went to where it all started in 1992 so to the Benesse House Museum. Although it was the first one to be build, it struck us with the harmony and beauty of already a well developed concept. The exhibition of modern art was unbelievable and it included a massive ant house made of colorful sand and divided into flags of the world. Ants were building tunnels that would eventually make a flag collapse and colors to mix beyond recognition.

As much as we loved the museum we were a bit disappointed we couldn’t see the Oval, the most famous part of the building. At least the most famous looking at all the pictures and posters promoting it. In fact only the lucky ones with willingness to spend “a bit more” get a chance to see it. It’s part of the hotel.

Except for the “mother museum” there are also two more in the area Lee Ufan Museum and Chichu Art Museum. All three of them follow the theme of art in harmony with nature and they are rather small and in our humble opinion a bit overpriced. 1030 yen (around 10 dollars for Benesse House) for a visit that takes maybe an hour including ohhh and ahhh and me trying to take a picture from every angle possible is a bit too much in my opinion. Even for an admirable concept of helping a dying island with its population.

Cycling down to the beach we saw many open-air art works. But none of them was as impressive as “Pumpkin”, yellow sister of the one we saw by the port. This one was more peaceful, situated on the edge of a concrete pier that otherwise wouldn’t be a pretty sight. Sitting nearby on the beach we were admiring the Instagram-queue created by the Japanese tourists. Every one of them was waiting patiently in a line for their chance to get a lonely shot with the famous pumpkin. Only the kids didn’t seem to understand the laws of social media photography and were constantly interrupting the photo sessions with short sessions of pure fun.

Art has a unique way of giving new life to old and neglected things. That’s what happened with empty houses in Honmura area. Through the Art House Project lifeless spaces were converted into works of art and got the local community even closer to beauty. Ando Museum tights it all together with a background story of the island and the architect who stands behind the majority of the transition of that God forsaken place.

For me there was a certain cherry on the cake on our way back to the ferry. “I love yu” bath is a great example that modern art can be far from serious. The building screams “fun” with all of its colorful tiles, crazy t-shirts and palm trees in front of it. We were tempted to go in but unfortunately we didn’t have towels or eagerness to strip so we only sneak peaked through the door…

Just before going to Naoshima when I was doing a bit of a research of what was there to see I realized that it’s not the only island included in the Benesse Project. It has expanded on two more islands nearby with similar stories and some extraordinary museums. Unfortunately time and availability was not on our side with that one and we couldn’t visit Teshima and Inujima. Maybe it’s for the best, one more motive to come back 🙂

Handful of practical info:

  1. To get to Naoshima we took a ferry from Takamastu Port (slow ferry takes 50 minutes and costs 520 yen so around 5 dollars one way, speed boat takes half the time but costs more than double the price- 1220 yen so around 12 dollars). The other way to get to the island is to take a ferry from Uno Port which can take you either to Miyanoura Port or to the other side of the island- Honmura Port.
  2. The only way to get to Teshima is to get a ferry from Naoshima which is not very frequent. That very same ferry follows later on to Inujima. To see all 3 of the islands requires a bit of extra planning…
  3. The best way to see Naoshima is to rent a bike, it costs only 300 yen (around 3 dollars) for a whole day and it’s cheaper than bringing your own on the ferry. For the lazy, there is a bus option 🙂
  4. Naoshima is not a paradise for travelers on a shoe-string. Chichu Museum costs 2060 yen (around 20 dollars) and Lee Ufan and Benesse House cost 1030 yen each (around 10 dollars). To visit one of the Art Houses it’s 410 yen (around 4 dollars) but there is also a joined ticket to visit all 6 of them and it’s “only” 1030 yen (around 10 dollars). To finish off Ando museum is another 510 yen (around 5 dollars). Adding bike rental, ferry fare and maybe something to eat and you know you have to love art deeply to pay for all that 🙂
  5. There are many restaurants on the island as well as a few grocery stores and a 7 eleven so there is no way to die out of hunger 🙂

Nagoro- the weirdest village of Japan

Nagoro also known as the doll village is actually not known at all… Every single Japanese person that I mentioned it to didn’t know what I was talking about. Like if it didn’t exist, like if it was a ghost town. Which it is…

The village is situated between the charming and ever green valley and rivers of the Shikoku region. Just like many other rural areas it suffered from closing a nearby company which was a big employer for hundreds of people. And over the years it became deserted. Some wanted opportunities and education and some well… passed away.

Tsukimi Ayano was one of those who left but she never forgot her childhood home. After years of working in Osaka she returned and without having much to do she decided to start her own garden. Unfortunately birds ate all her seeds and that brought her to an idea to create her first scarecrow. That one was supposed to resemble her father. Now 10 years and 350 dolls later Nagoro is the weirdest village I have ever seen.

To get there we took a few buses which are not very frequent and take hours. No wonder because no one is going to send a bus for 35 habitants as that’s the alive population… We knew immediately we got to the right place, the dolls were already waiting for us at the bus stop. With a bit of mist, rain and not a living soul in our sight, it was a scene straight out of a thriller. But it’s not meant to be like this. The artist wants to show people she knew that passed away or left just how they liked living… So the dolls smile, drink beer, cycle, work in the garden, fish and anything you can imagine.

Since 2012 when the last two students had left the school, also there people have been replaced. Unbelievable considering that the school looks pretty new and has a nice, big gym attached to it.

Escaping from the rain we entered the old cultural center where dolls were in the middle of the reunion. Old, young, in kimonos, with cigarettes, smiling, angry… every single doll was different and it felt like they had a soul on their own.

In so many places we really had to look twice if it was a doll or a person, especially from the back many looked very convincing. During the whole day we saw two people in the village and many, many great human imitations. There is no shop in the surrounding, no café, not even a vending machine. And when there is no vending machine in Japan, it certainly means that it’s a god forsaken town…

Tsukimi is now in her sixties but she is the youngest of the whole community of 35. Maybe she will outlive them all and turn it into a Ghibli studio village… I still don’t know if I liked it but I’m certainly happy we saw it. Somehow I feel that special places like this one are only possible to exist in Japan.

Jandirk is still doubting whether it was worth a 2 hours walk to the nearest bus stop and 1.5 hour wait till it came… So be warned if you decide to see it.

For art fans Tsukimi or the dolls, make nice pottery and other small things that are scattered all over the village with price tags and a box to collect the money.

Open post
Oman

How to travel long term without going crazy?

Long term travelling is not a vacation, it's being away from family and friends, missing weddings, births and birthdays, it’s having your house on your back and leaving the rest behind. Two years after we left our jobs and lives, being on the road became our lifestyle. It’s been an amazing journey that has taught us so much but it hasn’t been easy. Constant traveling, change of food, environment, packing, it all gets difficult after a while.

How to travel for a long time without losing your mind? How we adjusted our lifestyle on the road…

We can’t and don’t want to see everything

Sounds obvious but it took me a while to understand that. We get so many tips and so many times during my research I read that 100 km further there is again something worth visiting. And well we have the time, right?

It’s just impossible to see everything and at this point we don’t even want to because that means we would be running around the whole time and lacking time to enjoy where we are at that moment. As a remedy I decided that we would have some highlights of places we wanted to see and besides those we would go with the flow which for long-term travelling works best. Sometimes we met incredible people or hear of something really unique and we are able to join because we don’t have a tight schedule.

We unpack

We don’t have a house and diving into a backpack every time I'm searching for something, was driving me insane so I decided to unpack everywhere where we stay more than 3 nights. That is one of my favorite routines that makes me feel at home straight away. Even if there is no closet, I spread plastic bags under our beds and unpack there.

We take stuff we don’t “need”

When we left I thought I wouldn’t bring any make-up because I was going backpacking and I need to have a light backpack and cosmetics are just not essential. To be honest I just missed them. I just like having a bit of vanity from time to time and that’s a small treat for myself. Besides the basics are not so heavy to bring along 🙂 The same happened for me with books. I brought an e-reader because it’s handier and lighter but I missed the feeling of turning pages and reading a real book. After a while I decided to take books that I find and exchange them along the way. That has worked pretty well.

It’s true that the backpack needs to be light enough to carry around for some time but it needs to have things you actually like.

We don’t travel as cheap as possible

When we started in Argentina we were able and happy to travel cheap. Sleep in dorms, walk instead of taking a bus etc. But now we got tired of people turning on the light at night, coming back drunk or snoring. Thankfully Japan has actually forced us to lift the standard since economic guesthouses are more expensive than renting a small studio on Airbnb. It made us realize that we really have to limit dorms and shabby places to the minimum for the sake of our sanity. Sharing with others and meeting new people is great but we also need our own space and privacy.

We treat ourselves

Sometimes we go to the cinema or we buy ourselves something small. We try to lead a normal life on the road and treating ourselves is an essential part of it.

We cook

Eating out tends to be more expensive than cooking. More importantly budget eating out lacks in vegetables, nutrition value and many times its deep fried. That’s why we prepare our meals as often as possible. We eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and we drink a lot of water and tea.

Food is an important part of any culture and so we always try local cuisine and many times we try to prepare it ourselves as well. Cooking local means also lowering the costs, ingredients used and grown in the country are way more economic than those brought from abroad.

We stop

We never stay in a place less than 2 days (3 nights) and generally we try to stay way longer, preferably at least a week. We like exploring places slowly, being able to come back to a spot if we want to. We love stopping, observing, sitting down and chatting with people passing by. Many times we have lots of places we want to see in a day and we decide to stay at the first stop just because it’s magical and has a great vibe. We love the feeling that we have time to do so. Seeing less is often more for us.

Some spots change completely with light, seasons, and atmosphere. Canals in Amsterdam are not the same place at dawn as they are in the middle of a hectic day. Japan during cherry blossom is a completely different experience than during the winter months. Why rush if we don’t have to?

We emerge in a culture

We read, ask and observe as much as possible. That’s my favorite part of the journey. It’s a continuous, never-ending learning process. That’s partially why we prefer to stay in countries with longer tourist visa's. To feel that although we came with so little knowledge, we broaden our horizons and scratch the surface of understanding at least a bit.

Disappointment is part of the journey

Online research creates expectations and those are a perfect recipe for disappointments. We have seen so many places that didn’t impress us at all and they stood high on our bucket list. It’s part of the journey. If we didn’t see those we would probably still think they were amazing and regret not going. At least we know. It’s important to understand everyone is different and for someone Machu Picchu can be a life-changing experience. We know that Peru has so much more to offer and many of the Incan ruins are a true Indiana Jones treat so we didn’t feel impressed with overrated and crowded MP. We were still happy we saw it though.

We enjoy small things

We appreciate when the sun is shining but we are also happy when it rains. We enjoy the time we get to spend with people that inspire us and we try to let them know that. Every day we remind ourselves of just how lucky we are to get this opportunity from life and how important it is to be conscious about it.

We accept

Bus is going to be late? It will come tomorrow? Well than we have time to read a book, update the blog, talk to people around us. In long queues and never-ending waiting times I learned to crochet. Something I always wanted to be able to do but never took the time to learn.

Travel taught us adapting and making the best out of circumstances that occur. Why to drill and get mad at things you can’t change? It’s lost energy. It’s better to take a different approach and “row with the oars you have”as the Dutch say 🙂