Continuing with the beliefs that words is all good but pictures can speak volumes, I’ve got round to uploading pictures from my time in Vietnam. 3 albums on Flickr as usual, all linked below: Hanoi, Hanoi to Saigon train ride and Saigon.

Made it to the U.S safely, with a nasty dose of jetlag. Got some Malaysia and Borneo updates to do first and then will start on the good old U.S of A. It’s been ‘interesting’ so far and I’m only two days in. Jetlag is a killer though, especially crossing the dateline.

For now though enjoy the pics

Hanoi - Flickr set

Hanoi to Saigon train ride - Flickr set

Saigon - Flickr set

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written by Laurent \\ tags: beaches, food, Hanoi, markets, pictures, Saigon, South East Asia, summer, temples, travelling, Vietnam

I made it to Saigon two days ago. The train ride from Hanoi to Saigon was a lot different to what I’d expected. For some reason I guess I thought the trains would be nicer than the Beijing to Hanoi ones. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Maybe I got the wrong train after all, but while they’re good, they’re also far from modern. More like run down and shaky. Still you can’t complain. The beds are comfy enough to sleep, even if the rocking of the train would probably keep light sleepers awake. Failing that Vietnamese kids running rampant until the early hours and again from the early morning will probably be enough to stop you from sleeping.

The scenery though was a lot more amazing than anything I’d hoped for. The China to Vietnam ride was nice, but far from really captivating in terms of scenery. Maybe it was the grey skies and pollution, but while the landscapes do offer some interest and surprises going through China, they’re something entirely else in Vietnam - a lot more breathtaking, varied and impressive.

The highlight, always mentioned if you read about taking the train through Vietnam, is the leg between Hue and Da Nang, south of Hanoi and just before you reach the middle of the country. The train goes up the moutains along the coast, giving you stunning views of the coast, and if like me you’re lucky to also have sunshine and clear skies during the ride, it’s all the more hypnotic and attractive. Beautiful, unspoilt beaches give way to rugged coastlines where the forest drops into the sea, boats laze in the bays, and small towns pop up in the mountains and the coast, giving you an insight into countryside life in Vietnam. This leg of the journey lasts maybe about 2 or 3 hours, and if you take the 7pm train from Hanoi, it starts at around 9am, the perfect way to start a long day on the train.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Ho Chi Minh City, markets, people, Saigon, sculptures, sights, smells, sounds, south, South East Asia, temples, travelling, Vietnam

Without a doubt one of the reasons and motivations behind my trip, apart from wanting to take a break and see the world, is food. Having the chance to try out local dishes, taste new flavours, discover new things as well as see markets, ingredients and just how people are around food, is something I really love. It was a big reason behind my move to Japan, and I indulged aplenty while there, and now that I’m travelling around South East Asia it’s still one of the things that gets me really excited and hyped when I arrive somewhere.

I’ve been meaning to write about Japanese food in more detail, for well over 6 months now, but lazyness and life got in the way. I’ll get round to it eventually. Looking at my trip so far though, and considering I finished work at the beginning of June, my own little food oddisey started in Japan. With two weeks to kill before I left for China, a friend of mine came over for a holiday and we indulged in all manners of Japanese culinary delights, which was a great way to leave the country.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: bun, China, eating, food, Japanese Food, Peking duck, pho soup, ramen, South East Asia, spring rolls, travelling, Vietnam

I made it to Hanoi early yesterday morning after a 2 day train ride through China and the northern border between it and Vietnam.

The train ride itself was a lot nicer than I’d hoped. The train was comfortable, safe and reliable. Buying the tickets in Beijing wasn’t as tricky as I’d feared and overall it was an amazing journey, giving me a glimpse into China, even though I didn’t stop anywhere along the way. Just looking out of the window was enough to get a sense for the country - field upon fields of rice paddies interrupted by big cities, all concrete tower blocks, dust and factories. At times in the distance you’d see factories pumping out smoke, and as we got further south, jagged rocks and small mountains started to crop up, like those you see on the South East Asian coast, but strangely enough, these were all inland, a weird and fascinating sight. Amidst the fields the sights of people in traditional hats sowing seeds and picking up rice alongside ox pulling carts was a strange - a typical cliche, postcard picture but yet one that is still very true for a lot of rural China.

The cities were also pretty interesting. Having left Beijing’s oppressing pollution and strange architecture, it was actually pretty much more of the same. The influence and power of China’s communist past obviously stretching in all directions, which when you consider the size of the country is a pretty impressive feat. Most of the cities were all concrete tower blocks, dust and busy streets. Very grey, a feeling only made worse by the cloudy sky and huge amounts of smoke emanating from factories both on the outskirts of big cities and randomly found across the countryside.

Arriving in Hanoi, the feeling of chaos and noise I’d felt in Beijing only continued, and much to my surprise turned out to be a lot worse. Though that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As I’m realising now one week into a month in South East Asia, once you let the chaos just flow around you and learn to walk through it rather than be stunned and scared by it, it’s really not that bad at all. I think more than anything, my time in Japan really made me forget how life in a big city can really be, and this sensation of chaos is only amplified by the relative calm and order I came to learn to live with while in Tokyo. And when I say that, it’s not that Tokyo doesn’t have its own chaos, but it really is a lot more ordered and contained  than anything I’ve seen on the Asian continent so far.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: architecture, chaos, food, Hanoi, hot, new, noise, old, smell, South East Asia, travelling, Vietnam

Had a good chuckle earlier today after reading this article in the New York Times I was linked to.

For those that don’t know, or can’t be bothered to read, the world-famous Michelin Guide, one of the things the French are most proud of, make no mistake, launched an Asian version of its guide for the first time last year. It chose Tokyo as the first city up for ‘inspection’ and came out with a stagerring amount of praise for the capital’s cuisine and its establishment, giving it more stars than both Paris and New York combined.

Which you’d think was good news for a city. But not for the Japanese it would seem, as the results were not just greeted with pleasure but also with a fair amount of discontent and disdain from some of the city’s top chefs it seems.

My favourite part as to be when chef Toshiya Kadowaki said his Nouveau Japonais dishes, which take inspiration from French cuisine, do not need a Gallic seal of approval. A lot of the disdain and refutal seems to either come from the belief that foreigners are not qualified to judge Japanese cuisine or that bragging, competition and awards go against the Japanese tendency to not stand out from the crowd, to fit in rather than stick out.

Which is all well and good, but when this comes from chefs in a coutry responsible for murdering foreign cuisine in new and unimaginable ways it’s a little funny… nah actually a lot funny.

Still que sera sera right, and whether or not they want to admit it, accept it or do whatever with it, the Japanese are responsible for some amazing cuisine and Tokyo definitely stands out as one of the major culinary centres for any self respecting foodie. It’s hardly surprising that Michelin chose to lavish that much praise on the city and its restaurants, as it is hardly surprising that some of the people reacted in the way they did.

No matter how good food can be in this city though, I still stand by my belief that some of the abberations Japan has come up with when it comes to interpreting foreign dishes is some of the most shocking stuff I’ve been unfortunate to see, smell or taste. Mentaiko spaghetti? Ughhhhh…

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Japanese Food, Random, society

With 2007 now behind us this might be a good time for me to actually get back to writing… still working on that, what with living in temporary accommodation and having to sift through piles of to do stuff. I’ll get round to it though, promise. In the meantime here’s some more pictures, this time from my New Year skiing trip.

Getting out of the city for New Year was probably the best idea I’ve had in a long ass time. Having spent the majority of the last 10 new year eves in a big city, I must admit that the great outdoors is a hell of a better place to spend your time. With that in mind I somehow managed to squeeze in a 3 day holiday over the New Year period, despite my now working for a Japanese company, and a newspaper on top, which entails no bloody holidays whatsoever (and I don’t qualify for legal holidays yet  :sad: ).

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, mountains, ski, snow

With a week long hangover and impending first skiing trip in nearly 14 years, it’s time for a round-up of my first year in Japan. Traditions and what not, everyone’s probably bored to death with yearly round-ups already but hey it’s the season of excess so I’ll add to it, considering I managed to keep my xmas shopping consumption to pretty much zero this year.

A lot has happened in one year. I’ve changed jobs much to my surprise, I’ve visited a lot more of Tokyo and Japan than I thought I would and I’ve also managed to attain a somewhat decent ‘beginner’ level in Japanese.

So to sum it up are two lists of what I consider good and bad points about living in Tokyo and Japan.

This’ll be my last post of the year. I’ve still got a bunch of things to write up which have accumulated and which I’ll get onto in the new year - once I’ve drunk away all the money I need to live and am forced to do nothing but work and sit in front of my computer at night.

Happy new year and wishes for 2008 to everyone.

2007 in two lists, bullet points and randomness  

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Random

Actually I won’t be doing much of the talking. These guys will: Ramen Tokyo blog. They kindly left an answer on my post about Ramen Jiro in Hibarigaoka, my first ‘real’ ramen experience in Japan. I was so excited about finding the place that I posted in detail about it soon after discovering it near the school I used to work at.

I’ve spent most of the year raving about Jiro ramen to anyone who would hear it (or wouldn’t sometimes). It’s also earned me cool points with many of my Japanese friends, as it turns out Jiro is a bit of an institution among Tokyoites who are fans of ramen. I’ve also discussed it with students at the school in Hibarigaoka whenever I could. These discussions led me to believe there were a few Jiro branches around town, but it turns out I was still far from the truth. As the Ramen Tokyo guys pointed out in their answer to my post, there are actually about 30 odd Jiro branches spread out around Tokyo and the suburbs! I’m now still trying to figure out if that’s a blessing or a curse.

You see, Ramen Jiro is somewhat addictive and by far one of the best ramen experiences I’ve had since moving to Tokyo. I’ll spare you the details once more, but you can check my old post here and the Ramen Tokyo blog excellent page dedicated to Jiro. Considering I wrote my post and ramblings about ramen a mere month or so after landing, it’s high time I updated it, especially in light of the treasure trove of information that is the Ramen Tokyo blog.

If you’re after some ramen in Tokyo, and don’t speak or read much Japanese than the blog is your saviour. It’s currently got a pretty nice list of reviews of various ramen spots around central Tokyo and the suburbs, as well as info on ramen chains, ramen lingo and the dedicated Jiro page. The reviews are particularly useful. They’re short and to the point and include all the necessary info and handy links on how to get there, times etc… These guys are obviously serious about their ramen and it’s nice to have finally found a place on the net dedicated to the subject in English, considering the majority of good sources of information are generally in Japanese only.

Having browsed the site for most of the day I’m now dead set on indulging my ramen addiction a little more seriously than I previously have. Looks like I’m gonna need to go to the gym a little more often to counterbalance all the forthcoming ramen-y goodness.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, ramen, Tokyo

What follows is an observation/rant/idle ramble about one of the most commonly observed oddities of Japan… packaging. Which may not be quite what you expected. And neither was it when I first arrived here either, though it’s something you notice soon enough, even if you’re just visiting. The Japanese have turned packaging into an obsessive, compulsive disorder, or if you want to be nicer, an art. Or if you want to be realistic, a pain in the backside.

For a country so obsessed with recycling and various other ‘green’ activities (to an extent anyways), their ability to undo any good the recycling may produce by over packaging goods never ceases to amaze. Whether you’re buying a single, small item or shopping for the week, you’ll find yourself with more plastic bags (of various sizes) than you could possibly ever need.

Wanna buy a can or milk from the conbini? Best grab it before the overeager staff put it in a bag. Even better - go to the conbini to buy some recycling bags (which are already pre-packaged in their own plastic cover), and they’ll be put into another plastic bag for you to carry home. Which surely must be causing some sort of space-time continuum tear somewhere, somehow.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, packaging, plastic

Just returned from a much needed holiday on the Izu Peninsula, about two hours from Tokyo, located on Japan’s Pacific coast. It’s been years since I spent time by the seaside, which made the whole experience even more enjoyable.

We found a cheap, if slightly run down, minshuku (Japanese bed and breakfast) located on the beach, with a lovely view of the ocean and the soothing sounds of the waves washing on the shore at night. While the place was a little run down it did offer some amazing food - turns out the owner was some expert fish chef, who runs a restaurant which serves fugu (more on that in a minute). We’d signed up for breakfast and dinner and after the first meal on our first night realised that we’d probably made the right choice.

W hat ensued was a four day orgy of fish - as the woman cooked and sliced something like 15 different kinds of fish for our dinner and breakfast. From sushi and sashimi to grilled, cooked and boiled fish. The weirdest part was the breakfast. Since arriving here I’ve been hearing a lot about the wonderful properties and delicious aspects of a traditional Japanese breakfast, which generally consists of fish, rice and miso soup (and I would assume infinite variations using the same core ingredients depending on where you are). I can’t say that it has appealed to me so far, even if where I come from we do eat some weird things for breakfast in the eyes of some people (cooked meat and cheese for starters). Still rice and soup didn’t strike me as the most enticing breakfast ever… I couldn’t have been more wrong.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, holidays, izu peninsula, Japan, travelling