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Seoul city

The ship provided a shuttle service from the port to Incheon where we caught the metro to the city center.

We were surprised to see so many young people dressed in a national style costume and enjoying photo ops at the first stop on our itinerary – Gwanghwamun gate – but then learned that the costumes are rented at a nearby shop!

The palace was closed, but we walked the perimeter and to the rear of the enclosed grounds to see The Blue House, Korea’s equivalent to the White House. There appeared to be a high level of secret service types, so don’t know if some dignitary was expected?

We enjoyed strolling the narrow streets and alleys of Bukchon-Hanok – a village like atmosphere within the city, with quaint and small homes and businesses. The name Bukchon, which literally translates to “northern village,” came about as the neighborhood lies north of two significant Seoul landmarks, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jongno. Hanok relates to the small houses.

These sweet delicacies are made by blending honey and cornstarch to make the threads and then filled with a nut mixture. Fascinating to watch!

Lunch called for traditional bulgogi (beef in a broth) and VERY spicy pork and noodles.

These were the side dishes.

Me rocking the chopsticks and Kimchee!

Cheonggyecheon Stream runs for 6 km through the city center and makes for a nice, tranquil walking space.

Tiles tell Korean history along the walkway.

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China Art Museum

This fabulous modern Chinese art museum is housed in the China pavilion built for the 2010 Expo. It is one of the largest art museums in Asia.

Some of the artwork that caught my eye…

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Shanghai Walking Tour

We started at 10 a.m. at People’s Square metro where we, and about 30 others, met Kylie from Free Tour Shanghai to take a 4-hour and 8km walking tour of the city center. She took us one level down to show us how Shanghai looked in its hey days of 1930’s.

From there we walked to the center and governmental section of People’s Square to see City Hall, the Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Grand Theatre – all built since the 1990’s on the former site of the British horse racing track.

The museum.

Onward to People’s Park which has only been open to the Chinese public since 1953. (This applies to all parks; before that they were only open to foreigners and Chinese dignitaries.

We went to a special corner of the park where on Saturdays, Sunday’s, and Holidays one will see several hundred people sitting beside an umbrella pinned with an announcement. These are parents or grand parents seeking a marriage partner for their child or grandchild. The announcement provides various details of the young person. This “marriage market”was started in 2004 by a woman with a 27-year old single daughter who was about to become a “spinster”! And the idea caught on -to the dismay of the younger generation who, at least, have the last say!

Negotiations???

A view of the former British Racetrack Club -currently a newly opened historical museum.

Until the 1980’s the ’30’s Park Hotel was the tallest building in Shanghai.

The typical housing for the Chinese during the time of the British and French was in block- sized buildings with a central courtyard and alley ways. Up to 1,000 people lived in one of these sections.

The Bund was also part of the British sector and was the business and banking street of Shanghai. To this day, banks fill the colonial buildings and a bull to match the Wall Street bull, and by the same sculptor, was ordered for the 2010 expo.

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Qiboa

Our original plan was to take the train to one of the water towns outside Shanghai, but with the journey taking upwards of one-half hours, we decided to stay local and visit Qiboa which is now in the suburbs of Shanghai and can be reached via the metro.

Known as an “ancient town”, Qiboa was built in Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126) and grew into a prosperous business center during Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911).

We didn’t see any crickets, but it was one of the most popular folk activities among the ancient Chinese and even now cricket fighting still draws much interest. Evidently the crickets in Qibao, especially the fiercest species called Iron Sand and Blue, provide exciting performances each day during the golden weeks (May 1-7 and Oct. 1-7) and the annual Festival of Cricket Culture. Too bad we weren’t here for that!!!!

Nonetheless, Qiboa is a very attractive spot and popular with local tourists.

We enjoyed a good lunch on the banks of the canal. I wonder what is stored or fermenting in these urns – seen in the restaurant?

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Shopping in Shanghai’s side streets

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?

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Shanghai streets and Yuyuan Gardens

The morning started with this lovely fresh pressed orange juice and dish of mango!

As part of our progressive brunch, we moved on to this amazing buffet but selected just the savory dumplings and crabmeat egg rolls – both being local specialties. We will return – a huge and very freshly made selection including what looks like my beloved pastel de nata!

One does not go hungry here in Shanghai! These huge crepes are also a local specialty and are on the list!

Ladies practicing in a neighborhood park; delivery man; silversmiths.

A screen print shop with cool designs for t-shirts while you wait.

One of the older Shanghai streets – Fangbang Street

Old Shanghai – formerly a walled town where the gates were closed at 9 p.m. The wall was demolished in 1912. The two Chinese characters in the city’s name are 上 (shàng/zan, “above”) and 海 (hǎi/he,”sea”), together meaning “Upon-the-Sea”. The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the 11th-century Song …

City flower: Yulan magnolia

The original north gate remains.

Yuyuan gardens.

The 5 acre private garden built in 1559 by Pan Yunduan, as a tranquil place for his parents to spend their remaining years, is considered “a pearl of classical gardens.” The gardens fell into disrepair in the 19th century, but were renovated and opened to the public in 1961.

We ended our sightseeing gig with a long, cool Tiger.

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Shanghai arrival

We made it after a long day of travel from Phoenix via Seattle, and then a 13-hour flight but now that we are showered and in our great hotel room ( SSAW Boutique Hotel).

A cab ride from the airport would have been easy, but we had to experience the Maglev train that does the 45 minute trip in 8 minutes!

NOTE THE SPEED!

From the station a couple of metro trains with easily navigated stations and we were with a few minutes walking distance of the hotel.

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Arizona break

Enjoying spending 5 days with family in Arizona. Fun on the quads and walking the high desert around Tonto Basin.

Roosevelt Lake -water is low. No rain here since September.

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Mumbai markets

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.

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Dabba wallas and dhobis

We started the day with a tour to see how some of the hardworking underbelly of Mumbai make a living.

Like in Fort Kochi, the British officers brought and kept their dhobis (laundry men) and in 1947, after independence, the dhobis remained and started servicing Indian needs (hospitals, hotels, businesses that require uniforms, and textile factories).

The ghats abut the Byculla train station and laundry is delivered by train or cart. The dhobis are not native to Mumbai, and live in miserable conditions surrounding the ghats – however, an emblem of pride is a dish attached to the patchwork roof of their dwelling!

we took the train several stations to Church Gate, where we watched the dabba wallas at work. On the way we saw these poor women (likely of the lowest caste)replenishing the crushed rocks between the railway tracks using nothing but a metal scoop. Back breaking work!

Dabba wallas are peculiar to Mumbai.

Dabba = box (usually a cylindrical tin or multiple containers also called “tiffin”;

Walla or wallah = a doer or holder – person.

When literally translated, the word “dabba walla” means “one who carries a box”.

In 1890 a Parsi banker wanted to have a home-cooked meal in his office, and so the first Dabba walla and the profession came into existence. Many others liked this idea and the demand for home-cooked meals delivered to the place of work soared. Mahadeo Havaji, a Parsi, saw the business opportunity and started the lunch delivery service with 100 dabba wallas and it continues in a very similar delivery format to this day as an association. Most dabba wallas are related to each other, belong to the Varkari sect of Maharashtra, and come from the same small village near Pune. Income of about 8,000 rupees a month ($125) is divided equally between all the dabba wallas who are self-employed, but belong to a union which guarantees a monthly income and a job for life!

Nowadays, about 5,000 dabba wallas, wearing a traditional Ghandi cap, deliver tiffin boxes to about 200,000 customers who pay about 3,000 rupees a month ($45).

How does it work? A dabba walla picks up the tiffin box from the home of the customer during mid to late morning. The lunch box is marked with alpha numeric coding to identify the pick up area, individual, delivery area and delivery location. These dabbas are then taken to the closest train station, and delivered by train to one of several central distribution spots (this is the step that we visited). The tiffins are carried from the train in long (about 5 feet) shallow crates and are then divided into delivery location using the coding. The dabbas are loaded on to a bicycle (up to about 25 per bicycle) for delivery by the local dabba walla. This whole process is repeated in reverse, after lunch, to return the tiffin from the office back home!

Afterwards we drove by and made quick visit to India Gate, built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary and the imposing Taj Mahal hotel.

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Teeming Mumbai

Our drive from the airport to the Fort area of Mumbai provided quite an eye opening experience as to the variance of life styles in this teeming city of 21million. From Wikipedia: “Mumbai, also called Bombay, is the capital city of the state of Maharashtra in India, and it’s the most populous city in India. As the 4th most populous city in the world and one of the populous urban regions in the world.”

A walk around the Fort neighborhood, where our hotel is located, offered a perspective of wide boulevards, green spaces, massive Victorian style buildings with colonnades, and these playing fields, Azad Maidan, and Tudor-style club house ( previously known as the Bombay Gymkhana club house built in 1875). The grounds cover 25 acres and are used for inter-school cricket matches, protest meetings – to include the largest ever by Mahatma Gandhi in December 1931, and yesterday for the Mumbai marathon, which we, thankfully, missed!

And then there is this – massive structure – bathed in the beautiful golden light of late afternoon. The railway station!! Formerly named The Victoria Terminus in 1887, in honor of Queen Victoria. It was designed by Frederick William Stevens and the architecture represents “progress and prosperity” through a variety of sculpted birds and animals. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 1996.

The Municipal Corporation Headquarters was also designed by Stevens in Gothic Revival style and built in 1893. Noteworthy is its 255 ft tall tower with the central dome rising to 234 feet.

On the streets …

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Out of the hills to the plains and the coast

Our descent from Kothagiri to Coimbatore was long and careful, giving us plenty of opportunity to savour the breath-taking views and realize the magnitude of these. NilGiris mountains.

Monkeys were everywhere alongside the road and jumping from branch to branch.

The cool air remained in the hills and Coimbatore was hot, dusty and a bustling metropolis with over 3million people going about their daily business.

Our train was just 30minutes late, and despite the packed platform, the carriage was not full. Some like to bring a full meal along even though there is plenty to buy from the stewards during the almost four hour ride.

Rice paddies en masses along the way!

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Alleppey on the water

Arrival at Ernakulam Junction at 5pm on a Friday was crazy! Luckily Nan had insisted on having a driver meet us to take us down to Alleppey -a two-hour drive. The roads were full of motor cycles, tuk-tuks, , bicycles, trucks, cars, people!!!

It was dark when we arrived, so we could only get a sense of how lovely the Kayaloram Heritage Resort would be. Sure enough! The next morning as the sun rose over the lake and house boats and fisherman were on the water creating a peaceful scene, the previous day of travel was forgotten. A gaggle of geese and an unlikely flock of guinea fowl and a rooster roamed the grounds and the open-air lobby.

The accommodations were lovely little cottages.

We spent the morning browsing some of the local stalls and shops in Alleppey.

The highlight was a three-floor store with one floor dedicated to saris. Being a Saturday, the young brides-to-be were out in full force – with their friends, sisters, mothers and other advisors in tow.