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CHENGDU: City of Gastronomy – A Sichuan Food Series
Asia’s First City to be Named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy
The Food Video Series Where I Randomly Choose a Sichuan Food Themed Playing Card and then Go Try it in Chengdu, China – the Capital of Sichuan.
The Story
One day I was exploring a tacky tourist shop in Chengdu, where I’m currently living. I came across a pack of playing cards that featured a different Sichuan specialty dish on each card. A big part of the reason why I moved to Chengdu was because I fell in love with Sichuan food after frequenting an authentic Sichaun restaurant back when I lived in Vietnam. I bought the cards and vowed to try every dish – all 54 of them.
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Hong Kong on the Cheap
How Not To Blow Your Wad In Hong Kong (it’s a poker term)
The 2nd most expensive city in Asia, but there are plenty of ways to budget travel Hong Kong.
While Hong Kong is generally raved about, it’s not typically a backpacker stop, mainly because it’s too damn expensive. I’ve seen a lot of lists putting it in the top five most expensive places to live in the world. Even worse, it’s the 2nd most expensive place to drink beer in the world.
Oh my god! Why would anyone even want to go to such a hellish place?
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Shangli Ancient Village // This is Sichuan, China
Visiting Shangli Ancient Village in Sichuan Province
Shangli has been through a lot, but you wouldn’t know it from the peaceful feeling you get while walking its lanes. It’s one of 10 Chinese ancient villages in Sichuan province, but unlike its counterparts the village has been able to keep its authentic charm.
Everything We Ate in South Korea
This is (almost) all the food we ate during our 2 weeks in South Korea.
The absolute number one thing we were looking forward to in South Korea was the food.
It did not disappoint.
We were introduced to new dishes we had never had before, and some old dishes that we had eaten bastardized versions of.
This post consists of photos (some of which lack quality because they were taken on my phone – or maybe because I was all like “screw these photos, I just wanna eat this!”), videos, and information that will help you find the perfect meal in South Korea.
Note: This list has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to hide our McDonald’s shame.
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Longquan Peach Blossom Festival // This is Chengdu, China
If there’s an art to attending a Chinese festival, I’m the dumb kid who eats the paint.
Give me some time and I’ll be linking to a How To Successfully Attend a Festival in China article right here.
But for now, I’ll admit that my attendance at the Longquan Peach Blossom Festival was a short-lived one. The mass of people that shuffled along the uneven paths, the noise that blared from horrendous sound systems, and the foolish purchases that were being made all around me — it’s not my style.
But perhaps it’s yours?
If you’re interested in attending the yearly festival, I’d love to tell you everything I know. I must warn you however, you might not like what you find.
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Eating it Raw in the Largest Fish Market in South Korea – Jagalchi Market
Busan’s Jagalchi Market (자갈치시장), the largest fish market in South Korea, has taken up two very different places in my memory. The first one is a very positive place, where the memories of incredible lunches, lively atmospheres, excitement and intrigue all sit. The second place is dark. It’s usually avoided at all costs. This memory is based on the 8 or so rats that we saw scrounging through a pile of garbage (watch the video til the end).
I hate rats. When we go to a country for the first time, we always keep a rat count. Vietnam took the title during our first trip to Southeast Asia with 5 rats in 22 days (a rat every 4.4 days). But, in the matter of 10 seconds, South Korea managed to make Vietnam look like the outskirts of Alberta with a total of 9 rats in 12 days – a rat every 1.33 days.
That being said, this article is about fish, not rats, so I’m going to focus on the positive memories of Jagalchi Market. But know, as I write this with my feet off the floor, that those rats are haunting my memories.
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Our 4½ Month Southeast Asia Budget Backpacking Trip: All the Costs, all the Details
7 Countries
47 Cities
138 days
For only $3081.30 each
That’s $22.32 per day
About 156.29 per week
And $669.60 per month
In this guide, I will share all the details of our Southeast Asia budget backpacking trip that included Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.
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Exploring Off The Beaten Path Hong Kong: Pai Tau Village
Visiting Po Fook Hill, the 10,000 Buddha Monastery, and the hills around Pai Tau Village
Sha Tin is not only great for immature puns (I Sha Tin your shoe), it also has some worthwhile attractions. You can check out the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, or the the oldest walled village Tai Wai, there’s also the horse racing track, the well maintained Sha Tin Park with its gardens and grandstand, and there are plenty of villages that have a charm that you won’t get in the densely populated downtown. One of these is Pai Tau village.
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10 Days in Vietnam via Ho Chi Minh City
A Very Detailed Travel Itinerary
Tours are for foo-ls. I tried my best to make that rhyme.
While Vietnam may seem a little daunting at first, the country is not difficult to travel – especially if you have a great blog to aid you, with details on every leg of the trip, written by a man who lived in the country for years and who has sex appeal that is on par with Don Draper fixing a sink.
While 10 days in Vietnam certainly isn’t enough time to see everything, this detailed itinerary will insure that you have 10 packed days of adventure, amazing food, mountains, rivers, and culture.
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India
28 Days Later: The Dirt on Traveling India
We are seasoned travelers. We’ve been to over 30 countries. We’ve taken beat-up buses through dangerous switchbacks. We’ve shared rooms with snakes, rats, and who knows what else. We’ve spewed liquid out of both ends in both hemispheres. And to be honest, I kind of like that aspect of travel. Unpredictability makes life exciting.
And then there’s India.
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Taiwan
Is Taipei, Taiwan the Best Food City in the World?
Get my free guide to Vietnamese food with over 75 dishes.
After booking a flight for a week-long trip to Taiwan, we started researching things to do. Our list ended up looking like a restaurant menu. For us, food is almost always the highlight of a good trip, but in Taiwan the possibilities overwhelmed us. I was more excited about a Taipei night market, than I was Ankor Wat or Machu Picchu. We decided to stay in Taipei for the whole week, and basically live like a local – a local that’s on the highway to obesity.
