Dotted Route: The Epic Journeys

Seeing how my ideas are always stuck in my head, it seems prudent to start putting these down onto something physical. I am going to start compiling a list of epic journeys and great travel trails.

The Routes:

Mao's March
Asia
*Marco Polo and the Silk Road
*88 Temple Pilgrimage
*Trans-Siberian Railroad
*Annapurna Circuit
*Overland Southeast Asia
*Karakoram Highway
*Everest Base Camp Trek
*Taman Negara Salt Licks
N. America
*Lewis and Clark Expedition
*Appalachian Trail
*Pacific Coast Highway
*Route 66
*The Colorado Trail
Europe
*Ring of Kerry
*The Amber Road
*The Romantic Road
*Rhine River Valley
*Way of St. James
*The Orient Express
Africa
*Livingstone's Travels
*Mt. Kilimanjaro

This is a good place to start but I would like to reach out to the tens of you who read my blog. Let me know if there is a route that I completely glanced over. I think it'd be fun to research these routes famous and the not so famous.

2008: Katong District, Sluts, and the Culinary Journey

As I savor the joy that is Hainan Chicken Rice at the famous Tian Tian booth in Singapore, I wonder what other foods could match or possibly surpass this. The chicken is stewed in its broth making it so tender that it melts in your mouth like butter. The thickened soy sauce adds its bit of sweetness and tartness to every bite of the white rice cooked in broth instead of water. Even on a hot day like today, I sit down and think 'This is some trip'. That is of course until I get back to my hostel, the Betelbox in Katong District.

The Betelbox is a neat little hostel with lots of bunk beds. I met some interesting characters here in this hostel. A girl from Hong Kong who is starting an accounting job here in Singapore. She has a rather distinct distate for Singapore elitism. I do too. I feel it on the streets and on the subways. Just the way people interact with you. It seems like they are too busy to bother with you. Not a very hospitable country when you dig a little deeper. I also met Matt who lives in the bunk room that I'm in. He's a down to earth Australian guy who is constantly wearing a hat. A little bit peculiar but endearing at the same time. He was showing me his new camera that he bought for his trip to Thailand. Cool guy overall who seems happy from his persistent smile.

I arrive at my subway stop after a long day in the hot Singapore sun. The sun has already set and the night walkers come out to play. Walking down the little street to my hostel, I see drunk businessmen surrounded by these girls in short-shorts and mini-skirts. Their big fake smiles reflect the ambient lights coming from the shops and restaurants lining the streets. I pass a bar where a couple girls are hanging out texting and chatting away on their phones. They seem non-chalant about my presence. I finally reach the tiny door leading to the hostel. I punch in the code and drag myself up the stairs to the top floor to wash away a day's worth of sweat and dirt. The shower was cold but just what I needed in this blistering humidity. I go down the stairs to the lobby and ask the receptionist a good place to eat around the hostel. She suggests that I go south to get Katong Laksa.

As tired as I am from sightseeing, I walk the 6 blocks down to get me some local speciality. I am always up for good food. My god. I had no idea what I was in for.



Katong Laksa is heaven in a bowl. The most insane flavor I had in a while. I still miss it today. It is like a sweet curry noodle soup with bits of spices in every bite. The noodles are soft and slippery. The blood clams and the shrimp add a bit of sea brininess. Heaven, heaven, heaven. I loved it so much I went to the next food stall and had another bowl.



The second food stall, number 51, is climate controlled. Late night school children have converged into the far corners in the brightly lit room. I sit down and devour my second bowl. Completely overflowing with flavorful food from my stomach to my throat, I sit there contemplating what extradorinary things can top this delight. So far nothing but I hope someday and soon.

Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge and Other Musings about Travel and Food

This picture is of the box of cupcakes my sister brought back from the L.A. Cupcake Challenge. Man that was a good day. I think I ate more red velvet cake (in cupcake form) than any other time in my life. The raspberry red velvet cake was definitely my favorite. Not too sweet but oh so moist.

In other news, I think I'm motivated enough to really put one of my ideas to fruition. I'm going to make a fancy blog about how to eat food. It isn't going to be about how to cook or how to prepare. It's going to be all about my opinion on how to best savor food. Things like drying out the basil leaves before putting them in the pho or taking a small bite into a dragon dumpling and SLOWLY sucking out the sweet soup out of it. Hopefully, the site can get some traction and I can add my own colorful commentary to the food dialogue out there. Here's hoping. (Dotted Route is a little too ambitious for now I think, little steps).

On to another topic. I was just browsing through one of my facebook friend's (read lost friend) photos of her trip to Hong Kong and looking at how she has so much fun. Wish I could have had that experience in Hong Kong. It took me a split second to snap back to reality. I had an AWESOME traveling year last year. I met an awesome Swiss friend in Joachim and went all around Hong Kong. I went to Singapore and had some of the best street food in the world. I still crave that Katong Laksa. Oh my God!!! I want some now. I traversed some of the most beautiful places in the world in Tiger Leaping Gorge, Guilin River Area, and Pulau Perhentian. Travel is who I am. I am a traveler. I want to share my experiences. Hopefully these little flashback blogs will keep me motivated to keep sharing and to actually travel more. To the few people who actually do read these blog posts, thank you for your comments. It keeps me motivated to write.

San Francisco Treats.

Greetings from San Francisco! I write this to you sitting from Fisherman's Wharf. The wind carries the taste of the briny sea onto my tongue. The aroma of fresh sourdough lingers in the air. Tourists line up to look at kitsch curios like ants to sugar. Cooks are busy moving pots, frying shrimp, and cracking crab shells. There is no where else were I can be completely be at ease being a tourist. With all my love and adoration, H.