We spent the morning downtown visiting Pike’s market, riding on the ferris wheel, and lunching at Post Alley Pizza.
Beautiful fresh flowers, fabulous salmon, juicy apples and tasty cider were abundant at the market.
It was the perfect day to ride on the wheel.
The pizzas prepared by Andrew were delicious. It was great to see both Ruel and Andrew and wish them every success.
Our first stop was Nishiki market, just a short walk from our hotel. I have rarely seen so many food items that I don’t recognize!
…and some unusual characters…
Pounding sesame seeds
Using our JR pass we took the train to Arashiyama to see the bamboo forest which wasn’t quite as dramatic as I’d imagined, but it was pleasurable to walk through the towering bamboos on a hot day.
We didn’t make it to Fushimi-inari during the golden light, but it was lovely to see the shrine illuminated. The next day, I made the short train trip back to see it during daylight.
Fushimi shrine is an important Shinto shrine just two train stops south of Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates which straddle a network of trails leading into the forest of the sacred Mount Inari. The shrine is dedicated to Inari, the deity of rice and sake. Foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital’s move to Kyoto in 794.
These torii are mesmerizing. I would have liked to spend the day, but we are onward to Tokyo.
Kyoto tower by night.
Arriving by train at Kanazawa, one is struck by the immense size and the beautiful structure of the railway station.
Eateries are plentiful and especially heavy on sweets and bakeries. We found this little fast-food place that served bowls, but only after being there a while did I notice that I was the only female in the fully packed place (other than the staff!) Maybe not fine enough for Japanese women. Reminded me of the days when pubs had public bars and lounges – I always felt more comfortable in the public bar!!!
Huge, well-spaced, bright shopping areas with lovely merchandise are right there within the station and enjoyed by well dressed pups!
The castle
Kenrouken gardens.
Another newly wed couple having photos taken.
Old Kanazawa
Omichi market.
Mostly a huge variety of seafood.
My new best friends – a group of Junior High kids wanted to practice their English! Not quite sure about this guy’s head gear – I think it has some significance??!
This lovely market on the banks of the river had plenty of interesting offerings – many edible!
Deliciously juicy apples and the sealed red item is (I think) some kind of pickle. We’ve seen it often.
This sweet lady was making and selling marshmallows. Dennis tried one, but ate it before I could capture the moment!
Meanwhile, I tried this delicious custard.
Buckwheat noodles and rice cakes.
These were some kind of egg puffs that these Japanese ladies were enjoying.
And then there were craft items and flowers.
Jeju Island, also known as the “Island of the Gods,” is a popular vacation spot for Koreans and foreigners. It remains the top honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds and offers a wide range of activities. The climate remains mild year round, and rarely dips below freezing.
The local traditional culture stands in stark contrast to the mainland (and much of Asia) as being matriarchal. The role of seafood gathering on the island has been dominated by women. As such, a common sight around Jeju’s coastline is that of the “haenyo” or “woman diver”, a figure that has become somewhat iconic. Even more evident are the “dol hareubang” or “grandfather statues”, giant basalt statues. These statues first appeared in 1754.
We took a bus that went around the town and along a short distance of the coastline. We got off at the Jeju Folklore and Natural History museum.
After our visit there, it was an enjoyable walk down hill to Dongmun market and Black Pork street. The Jeju Black Pig is a breed of domestic pig on the island, and barbecued black pig meat is commonplace here and we ate some at a stall in the market.
This seemed to be a neighborhood recycling center.
The market definitely offered a different selection of foods to most markets I’ve visited.
Lots of kimchee and fermented vegetables and fish.
I believe the long silver fish are called Oar fish. The other fish appears to be smoked or semi-dried and is expensive at $40 -per kilo?
Some of the prepared food.
Not sure what these are!
So much to see and so many questions!? And hardly anyone speaks English to answer them!
We started out this morning on a quest to find a Chinese cleaver – they are used in every Chinese household for chopping vegetables and my friend, Nan, asked me to get her one. We purchased a day pass for the metro and headed to a street that I had found after googling and googling these knives – without much success. We headed to East Nanjing and then to Fuzhou street. It all looked way too up market for such a simple tool.
On our way to People’s Square to catch another metro to a hotel and restaurant wholesale shop, I suggested we take one of the side roads that looked more interesting to me.
There we discovered the streets where the locals shop for produce, fish, and just about any other item. I love all the exotic fruit, and we bought some for our room.
I’d been wondering what these little pots on dry ice were. I bought one and discovered it Is delicious yogurt! Will be picking up a couple this evening for breakfast tomorrow.
So – back to the side streets …. the cutest mini mangoes – about the size of a small egg ( bottom left picture)
And ginger the size of my hand …
I spied a shop with a variety of stock and showed the shopkeeper the photo of the cleaver. She went to the back of the store and appeared with one in hand, but I wanted two!
Off we went, now with the knowledge of what type of shop we were looking for, and with one cleaver in hand. We quickly found another😊
These are typical side alleys where people live. Everything is spotlessly clean.
Now to what we don’t know. We made our way back to Nanjing Street and entered a food hall – something resembling Harrod’s. These things – I am assuming they are of some kind of herbal benefit – are REALLY expensive. 6456 yuan is a little over $1000!
I love this ad on a wall.
A huge Apple store in a mall.
Back to the metro to ride to Qibao – a suburb that was originally a small water town. Virtually everyone on the metros and on the streets is taking part in the national, or global, obsession!
We have seen many – mostly men – wearing these bracelets and necklaces. Some look like sandalwood, others like polished minerals or rocks. Why do they wear them?
We rounded out our India trip with a tour of some of Mumbai’s markets – led by an excellent guide – Jason – and joined by a young British woman. Despite the heat, Jason made the tour very interesting and we started the visit with the old Crawford market, built at the end of the 19th century, now renamed Mahatma Jyotiba Phule market after a philanthropic Indian who rose from the lowest caste and gave back by making education for girls a reality. A fabulous fruit and veg market and we were able to pick up some much needed dried curry leaves -virtually all our recipes call for them, even though we both have live tree plants at home.
The fabric market was fascinating – seeing the shoppers feeling all the fabrics, trying to make decisions. It brought back many memories of Saudi Arabia.
Chau alley- with street food vendors and small shops selling mostly Indian fast food. One item was a poppadum loaded with chick peas, chopped tomatoes and herbs – I’d say “Indian nachos”!
And then there was the flower market. Sorry about all the marigold garland photos – I cannot resist.
Finally – a walk through a temple area – no photos allowed – the the most sacred place – a cow stall – right down town Mumbai! People happily bring food for the cattle, who look very well taken care of!
The End.
Morning broke with beautiful clear skies and views of mountains in the distance.
After breakfast we set off towards Ooty with a little diversion to take a walk through some of the older tea plantations. Various shades of green covered the hillsides and Rajat explained how individual plucking of the fresh shoots provides for optimal results, whereas some farmers have the shoots removed with a scythe which damages the twig and causes the bush to coarsen and turn darker green; the financial yield from this tea is much less. If the shoots aren’t plucked every eight days, the plant can easily get out of control and revert to being a tree – as we saw on some of the plantations. The temperatures were perfect and the scenery spectacular.
We visited the market in Ooty where preparations are in full swing for the Pongal festival which starts tomorrow, Sunday. Sugar canes and bunches of neem, with its frothy white flower, were all over and people were buying to ornament their homes, vehicles, etc.
Otherwise, deliciously fresh produce was in abundance and I have complete cauliflower envy – a huge head can be purchased for 75c!!!!
Banana fact: Each guest at EVERY Indian wedding (many with 2,000 to 3,000 guests) is given a banana! Two weeks from the date, the banana merchant is contacted and given the date and numbers. Banana branches are cut, wrapped in banana leaves, and stored in a cool dark place to ripen. One of these branches holds about 600 bananas!!!
I grew up knowing that “Dhobi” meant washing/laundry, as that is what my father always called it! There are Dhobi ghats right here in Kochi – called Dhobi Khana. The origins of the dhobi khana lie in the colonial period, when British officers brought many Tamil villagers to Kochi to work as washermen and since 1920 they have been known as the Vannar community. To this day, most of the dhobis are Tamils. According to an article I read, there are about 40 families in the community who use this Khana. Each cubicle with wash pens and water tanks is allotted to one family.
The dhobis offer laundry services to private individuals, hostels, hospitals, and hotels. Many have been working there since they were young teenagers and are now in their 70’s and 80’s. The dhobi who was ironing let me feel the weight of the iron and told me it was 8.5kg, which I well believed!The laundry is soaked, pounded, scrubbed, rinsed, wrung and hung out to dry.
Some of the wall art at the Dhobi Khana.
Our next stop was at the Dutch Palace which the Portuguese built as a gift to King Veera Kerala Verma in about 1545. It came to be known as the Dutch Palace as it underwent major repairs at the hands of the Dutch. It now houses a museum, the Mattancherry Palace Museum. The interior has incredibly richly carved ceilings, beautiful murals and the displays include artifacts from the bygone eras of the Raj. A Hindu place of worship is on the grounds, and a spring fed pond is used as a swimming hole by locals.
This Hindu temple was on our way to the Spice Market.
Unlike the spice market in Dubai, this one consisted of some shops selling spices, to include a women’s cooperative. We picked up a few harder to find spices – like white poppy seeds and black cardamom.
We discovered that Bazaar Road was where the wholesale merchants were located. The street was a hive of activity as large trucks laden with sacks of rice, garlic, onions and more jockeyed for position to offload their loads. Men were busy counting money, giving orders, and doing book work – India still believes in the ledger!!!
This rather fancy hotel, renovated and converted from an old granary, was beautiful, but in a strange location.
Our plan was to explore the old, Portuguese influenced, area of Panjim; however, our driver spoke just a smattering of English and didn’t know the way! Iwas able to direct him to Se cathedral and the basilica (16c) using google maps!!!
Our sight seeing of the old architecture in town was less successful, and when we finally found the market, discovered that it was not nearly as nice as the one in Vasco de Gama. The ride to and from Panjim along the waterfront was interesting, especially the roaming cows, dogs sleeping wherever -to include in the road, and the brightly decorated homes (for Christmas).
The morning started out in monochrome as fog blanketed the bay, but quickly turned technicolor when we arrived at the farmers’ market in Vasco de Gama.
Our trip to the market was led by Rita, our cooking guru, and her helper Pooja. We purchased vegetables, herbs and fish to use to create our Goan dishes. (More on that in the next post). Like all markets, the vibrancy and people watching opportunities were in abundance. The only problem was that I was let loose with a camera! So be prepared!
The Portuguese introduced marigolds to India, the flower is offered to the Hindu gods for festivals and celebrations. The yellow or orange dye of the flowers is also be used for coloring fabrics.
Kokum fruit after processing. Known in some circles as the “Indian super fruit” .
Some of the people.
The colorful and very fresh vegetables.
Peppers, grains and spices.
Fish – the flat fish being Pomfret.
Vasco da Gama, named after the Portuguese explorer, is the largest city in the state of Goa and is situated on the western tip of the Mormugao peninsula, at the mouth of the Zuari river. Founded in 1543, it was in Portuguese hands until 1961 when Goa ceased to be a Portuguese territory.
This town is the best! And now we have a legit market hall – United Farmers Market – in the old Matthews Brothers building – what a transformation and fabulous selection of food, goods and produce.
A terrific little city break in Montreal to meet up with Irene from Toronto. A great AirBnB apartment in south west Montreal and very convenient to metro and downtown.
May 17 was Montreal’s 375th birthday and we were treated to free metro transport! We visited the impressively huge Jean Talon market and Old Montreal.
Subway sights….
Despite the blistering heat (totally unexpected after all the cold weather!) we spent an enjoyable day at the botanical gardens. In another week or so we would have been wowed by the peonies, but I will be wowed by my own in the garden at home!!!