One of the most annoying things about travel is exactly that: traveling. I’ll admit that taking rickshaws in India, or riding on sleeper buses in China is bloody good fun. Flying, however, is the most boring form of transportation, but…
Musings: Osama Bin Laden is Dead. Now What?
Over the weekend, Sona had a journalism conference near Grand Central, so I met her afterwards for dinner. And it was a lovely day, so we decided to go for a long walk, randomly ending up in Chinatown. And equally…
Musings: Independent Travel . . . With Children?
I finally got my computer in good enough shape to edit this video and the last bit made me smile. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean. We were staying at this coffee plantation in Madikeri, Karnataka,…
Going Local: Ten Best Coffee Bars in New York City
In a pinch, we can drink coffee anywhere in the world. We have drank burnt espresso, overly milky frappuccinos, and super-sugary Keralan cold coffee from street coffee shops in places like Vietnam and India, at chain stores like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, and McDonald’s worldwide. But we’ve also tasted a coffee brewed to perfection at coffee plantations in India, been intoxicated by the fresh aroma of drip-coffee at coffee bars in Milan, Naples, Paris, San Francisco, and New York City. You heard us right, New York City has finally gotten with the program for the serious coffee drinker!
New Yorkers used to have to rely on West Coast roasting companies like San Francisco based Blue Bottle Coffee or Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon to supply the coffee beans for their favourite joints. Now there are plenty of roasters right here in town (including roasting companies that supply not only coffee bars, but restaurants and carts all over the City), like the Brooklyn Roasting Company, Porto Rico, and West Coast roasters mentioned above. There are a handful of companies that already do on-site roasting, and many of the coffee bars listed here have plans to roast their own beans within the year!
Here are our picks for the best coffee bars in New York City:
A Very Happy (and Messy) First Birthday at Blue Smoke in NYC!
For Kavya’s first birthday, we knew plans were underway for a big “little” gathering and we were okay with that. But we also wanted to have something for her that was just the three of us, especially since this could very well be the last time we get to control anything birthday related (or otherwise!). So we decided to have an incredibly messy birthday at Blue Smoke, a barbecue joint in the Flatiron area of New York City. This would also be Kavya’s first time eating barbecue, with her two front teeth.
Four Airports with Free Wifi
I was pretty ambivalent about the Continental and United merger that took place in 2010. Even when we couldn’t check in online to the first leg of our flight from Newark, New Jersey to Fresno, California because Continental claimed that flight was on United, and United claimed it was on Continental, resulting in neither website letting us check in. When we finally managed to get through agents at both United and Continental, the best either of them could say was, “We can’t access the flight information because that flight is on Continental/United. But I do see you have seats. So I wouldn’t worry about it.” Guess what happened the next morning when we tried checking in at 5:40 a.m. for our 7a.m. flight?
Aside from the flight situation, I was also annoyed that neither LAX or Newark had free wifi (they cost $8 for the daily rate, and I didn’t bother looking to see how much the monthly service was).So, I decided to do one of the few things I could do without my internet: compile a list of airports we had been to that had free wifi on Microsoft Word. Here they are:
Deciding to Go: Instead of Traveling Around Greece, We Are Going On A Babymoon to an All Inclusive Resort in the Dominican Republic. Same Thing, Really.
When Sona first brought up the idea of an all inclusive resort holiday in the Dominican Republic for our baby moon, I thought she was making one of those American jokes she sometimes makes. The ones where it’s funny because it’s true, not because it’s actually funny. So, I laugh. I quickly come around to the idea of the all-inclusive because the alternative to going to the all inclusive is to not go anywhere and sit at home.
Video: Cursing in Quebecois!
Cursing in Quebecois, the French spoken in Quebec, Canada, is much different than its English counterpart, and is very religious based. On a recent trip to Canada, I met up with an old friend from China at a bar (where else?), who gave me the run-down of swearing in Quebecois (don’t ever call it French or Canadian French). It is fascinating that all of their swearing revolve primarily around religion. She also recommended a movie called “Bon Cop/Good Cop” which gives a great breakdown of swearing in Quebecois akin to George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”
It’s the Punjabi Cheese Man at Mandi Mania at the Mohali Farmer’s Market!
Accidentally Finding Spirituality in India: The Golden Temple and Beyond
It’s a very strange feeling being back in India as a traveler again, but this time as a couple. It’s difficult not to think about our own spirituality when religion is everywhere, from impromptu Sufi music being sung in the park, or masjids, gompas, mandirs, and gurdwaras rooted in history that resonate deeply.
Eat This Page: Tibetan Momos in Mcleod Ganj, Dharmsala
McLeod Ganj, known as Little Lhasa or Dhasa by Tibetans, has one of the largest population of Tibetan refugees, and is the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile. So we thought a lovely way to spend our morning and getting to understand the culture of Tibetans in Exile would be through the food.
We went down a little side street and found Lhamo’s Kitchen run by (who else) Lhamo, a very laid back and funny cooking maestro, who wears an apron over a wife-beater. You can’t get more authentic than that. Actually you can: his cooking school is in his living room. An interesting thing we learned about momos – stuffed dumplings – is that in Tibetan, “Mo” means ”tasty.” So, in effect, momo means “tasty tasty.” Very fitting if you ask us!
We learned to make traditional Tibetan momos with veggie fillings, but the momos can be stuffed with anything you like. To prove this point, Lhamo told us we could even put chocolate in it! Traditional fillings are mutton, potatoes, and Tibetan veggies. The fillings we used in our course were vegetable, cheese, and spinach.
Photo Friday: Massive, Orange Fish at the Golden Temple in Amritsar!
We spent Sona’s birthday at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where we caught the sunrise, ate some delicious food at the free community kitchen, and watched these huge, orange fish swim through the sarovar in a body of water surrounding the Golden Temple. Absolutely gorgeous. Don’t worry, there was also cake.
