When I think of the Wild West two things spring to mind: the tiny period of American history that has somehow been blown up to be a cinematic staple … or the awful Will Smith film. You know the one: not funny, with the terrible CGI spidery thing, from back when Mr. Smith was a bankable star. Anyway, I digress. I certainly do not think of Singapore. Yet recently I found myself chugging along on a bus to what is billed as the Wild West of Singapore – Kranji.
Now if you go to Kranji, leave the notion that this is some kind of remote outlawed land on your breakfast table. This is Singapore after all. There is no such thing as remote land. However, if you are in the mood to try something a little different and maybe see another side of Singapore that isn’t all Boat Quay and Orchard Road, then there are some things to recommend.
Kranji Reservoir is much more than a beautiful vista. It is also a key source of water. Photo courtesy of PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency.
Kranji countryside is essentially a farmland area in the Northwestern reservoirs of Singapore that is an MRT and bus ride away. The bus, which only services the Kranji area, stops off at the six farmlands that participate in the Kranji Countryside Association.
“What does this mean?!?” I hear you scream. The association is essentially a collection of farms that welcome visitors and are accessible via this bus. While it says online that most of the other farms in the area do not receive guests, signs you pass along the way say otherwise. So I really think it depends.
If you only have time to visit one farm, I strongly recommend Bollywood Veggies.
Does the warrior attack the platter? Or does the platter attack the warrior?
Bollywood Veggies is a truly wonderful place. Their farmland is beautiful and allows for a very interesting and educational tour of all the things they grow. There is also a fantastic café in the middle. (Try a glorious dish called the “Warriors Platter” and their particularly good banana cake.) If you are lucky and it is not too busy, Dillon, one of the owners, will dust off his guitar and play any song you could possibly think of. We could not recommend this place more highly.
There are a couple of key things to consider before embarking on this trip. First, the bus only comes every hour-and-a-half, so once you get dropped off at a particular farm, you are stuck there for a good while. This is not so bad if you plan carefully. But be warned: some stops are far more interesting than the others. The goat farm left a lot to be desired, bar the fresh milk which is highly recommended. (Bring a cooler and a book, perhaps?) The bullfrog breeding farm was OK, but did very much feel like the end of the line.
Second, the fact that you are tied to the bus stops means getting to other parts of the area can be difficult. We were told the fish farm in the southern part of Kranji is beautiful and truly worth visiting, but without one’s own transport it is a no go. Note to the Association: bike hire is the way forward because the area really feels like a different country. In the meantime, for other business travelers, Uber is always a good option.
Kranji countryside is definitely worth the trip if you plan carefully — especially for those who are tired of the urban jungle. Weekend Crossroad’s recommended itinerary:
Begin with a midmorning visit to the Kranji War Memorial, billed as the largest of its kind in Asia. Next, catch the bus in time for a leisurely lunch at Bollywood Veggies. Finally, end your visit at the Kranji wetlands (the last stop on the bus route before the MRT). Even to locals who “know” Singapore, Kranji feels like a totally different world. Moreover, it proves that if you lift the lid on this city-state, you can find something truly unique.
I am excited to share my inaugural Jakarta Post travel article with readers of Weekend Crossroad! The article can be accessed on the JPlus website at http://jakplus.com/?p=3674
To all my dear Bandung friends out there, rest assured that I hold your city close to my heart. But I hope that by reading the below article you will see why Cirebon is well worth your while.
Simply put, Laotian food is amazing. There is a lot of national pride around the nation’s culinary heritage, and a combination of gratification and resentment that Thai cuisine has apparently “borrowed” a number of the area’s most renowned dishes. (Both the Lao and the Thai people are descended from a broader diaspora of Tai peoples whose reach extends from India to China, as well as Southeast Asia. So perhaps we can call a truce and deem it a shared heritage. . .)
Now, there are two ways to experience Lao cuisine. The first is the safe route, sticking to well-known staples such as:
Sticky rice (which comes in white, brown or purple varieties)
Laap, a spicy, minty salad of marinated minced buffalo, chicken, pork or fish (sometimes served raw so the more cautious explorer will do well to ask in advance)
Tangy papaya salad
Any combination of amazing dips, or jaew, which range from the almost salsa-like jaew mak len and eggplant-based jaew mak khuato the more adventurous but equally delicious jaew bong, a chili paste whose special ingredient is, of all things, buffalo skin. These dips are served with rice crackers and dried river weed (which may sound unappetizing at first but is little different from seaweed at the end of the day)
Local meatballs and sausage;
Various stir fried greens – some of which you would have never imagined eating — but are delicious nonetheless.
The second is what I like to call the “Anthony Bourdain on crack” approach. (You can view the episode on his visit to the Land of a Million Elephants below — though apparently not in all markets. Vientiane — check. Jakarta — check. Auckland — fail.)
This is the approach advocated by my friend Jason, who is not only a craft beer and whiskey/whisky aficionado (I never asked him if he’s an Irish or Scotch man), but also one of the most adventurous eaters I have ever met. So it is with great glee that he comes across Tamarind‘s Adventurous Lao Gourmet degustation menu. (As readers of this blog are likely aware, degustation means tasting in French. Finicky eaters will undoubtedly think of this more as a “disgusting” menu, and should opt for some of Tamarind’s tamer dishes.) For someone like me, who definitely draws a firm line between food and insects, it is still worth a try (barely!) For someone like Jason and his good sport better half Erin, it is a must do. (Rubbing his belly after the feast, Jason proclaimed that he could “go home” now because he’d reached the apex of his trip.)
For around US$ 25 apiece, we got to sample over 20 different dishes — beginning with banana-flavored lao lao, a traditional spirit distilled from rice, and ending with a dessert platter and coffee or tea. Value for money doesn’t even begin to describe the experience.
Round 1: Aperitifs
Erin did this JUST to mess with me. Hope the bug liked the banana lao lao!
We whet our appetites with shots of banana lao lao (which the Lao call whisky, and we call moonshine). We are also offered refreshing ginger and lemongrass drinks, and I spice things up (literally!) with an absolutely amazing watermelon chili granita. Then the adventure really begins.
Round 2: Vegetable Platter (which comes with extra protein)
I think this is pretty self explanatory
Banana Flower with Bamboo Shoots
Steamed Vegetables
Pureed River Weed
Baby Jackfruit
Boiled Rice Cracker
Stir Fried Fern
Sour Plum
The first food round really tests our mettle — nestled among 8 dishes is stir fried water bug. I would have been up for the challenge (the chopped up bug bits look like mushrooms). But — Tamarind “helpfully” wants to remind you of what you are eating — and a giant water bug proudly sits on top of the platter. I’m not particularly squeamish about bugs, but roaches are my Kryptonite. And, unfortunately, the water bug looks like the world’s biggest cockroach. (Water bugs are actually a kind of scorpion, but the eyes see what the eyes want to see!) Like a malevolent Mona Lisa, its baleful eyes seem to follow my every move, and I begin to feel slightly queasy. (To be fair, this could very possibly be attributed to the street-side BBQ chicken that I’d enjoyed earlier in the day — but I prefer to blame the bug.)
I admit it, I COMPLETELY wimp out. I happily eat AROUND the bug dish, while Jason and his wife Erin bravely dig in. Unexpectedly, it’s the chili — not the bugs — that almost does them in. (Jason’s theory is that Tamarind’s chef amps up the spice levels so people don’t feel guilty about not finishing their portion. Erin figures if your mouth is numb you can’t taste the bug.) Either way, despite their most valiant efforts, neither of them can manage more than a couple of bites.
On the platter we also enjoy banana flower with bamboo shoots, sauteed ferns (which tastes much better than in sounds!) a medley of steamed vegetables including mushrooms, mustard greens, and a Southeast Asian specialty called “pea eggplant” which resembles overgrown capers. We also sample a sour plum-based puree, as well as rice crackers boiled with ginger and sugar. In true Lao fashion, we make miniature sticky rice balls with our fingers and dip these into the platter, using our thumbs to scoop up bite-sized portions of food.
Round 3: Protein Platter
Baby Shrimp
Beetle Larvae
Riverweed Powder
Buffalo Meatballs
Pork and Pigskin in Banana Leaf
Sweet Pork Floss
Fermented Fish
Little Crabs
So, the secret protein on this platter was beetle larvae. With memories of my roach nemesis still fresh in my mind, I steer clear of these. Due to a shellfish allergy I avoid the fragrant baby shrimp cooked in lemongrass and chili and the miniature crabs (which Erin finds more difficult to eat than the beetles, and even crunchier.) I like the buffalo meatballs, am ambivalent about the riverweed powder (it resembles matcha toasted with ginger and garlic, and I can’t help but think it would wonderful with Japanese pickled plum). I think about my Chinese mother as I sample sweet pork floss, and avoid the fermented fish (which is basically Lao gefilte-fish) and the sour pork and pigskin wrapped in a banana leaf. Food coma is clearly beginning to set in, because at this stage at the meal I scribble even more illegibly that usual (the last dish on the platter appears to have been some sort of fish and shrimp in a banana leaf. . .)
Round 4: Soups
Ant Egg Soup (spot the ant eggs, anyone?)
Snake Soup
We are presented with two soups — snake soup (yup, it really does taste like chicken — chicken with tiny, tiny bones) Lao people traditional eat the snake skin — we find that we are not Lao in this regard. And ant egg soup. Ant egg omelets — Jason’s primary quest grace a Mr. Bourdain — are seasonal – and he is disappointed to learn that the eggs are too small at this time of year. But we all enjoy the soup — the eggs look like rice granules (I see an excellent prank coming up!) But again — fiery hot spice levels.
Round 5: Fish
This tiny catfish (we never knew that they came this small!) delicately seasoned with lemongrass, fish sauce and chili is absolutely scrumptious. However, we are so full that we can only enjoy a couple of bites. The next day we would see massive bins of these fish at the morning market, squirming around like eels.
Round 6: Flowers
This dish is basically mushy and extremely bitter, and is not a particular hit with any of us. However, the presentation was interesting, and we remind ourselves that even though we are not fans, bitterness is a highly prized flavor in Lao cooking. (Along with salty and sour, bitterness forms a taste profile trifecta in the cuisine.) We are far more interested in the so-called “earring fruit” that accompanies the dish. (Lao food-naming conventions are VERY creative, as you will continue to see. . .)
Round 7: Dessert
We have no idea how we are going to eat dessert, but what they say must be true — dessert goes into another part of the stomach. So we shift on our seats and make some room to feast on purple sticky rice boiled coconut milk and flavored with coconut tamarind sauce (which is so delicious that I buy a jar to take home with me.) We also tuck into pumpkin custard steamed in the rind, In an effort to be Lao, we attempt to gnaw on the tough exterior which elicits a chuckle from the restaurant manager — Lao eat ALMOST everything, but not that. Finally, rice powder and coconut skewers, a delicious cookie made from rice powder and palm sugar known rather appetizingly as “cat poo”, and a brittle-like cracker of sesame and peanuts. I am not usually a fan of coconut, but everything is so delicious.
After our three-plus hour dinner, as we cross the rickety bamboo foot bridge which spans the Nan Khan River to return home, we consider the distinct possibility of crashing through the slats in an Indiana Jones-like manner given how full we feel. It’s almost impossible to imagine that when we wake up 9 hours later, we will be back at Tamarind learning how to cook ourselves! (No, there were no bugs on that menu.) More to come on Lao food!
Are readers interested in recipes along with the posts? Let me know!
Happy Presidents Day (Feb 16!) to my American readers! Rather than buying a new car or mattress, I thought I’d share a post about the bailiwick of one of our most famous presidents — Abraham Lincoln.
Chicago, the U.S.’s “Second City” is frequently overshadowed by its more renowned elder cousin, New York and is sometimes snidely referred to as “flyover country” by people shuttling from coast to coast. But while the Windy City is worth its own post (or several), I thought I’d focus on a place that few people outside of the State of Illinois consider — Springfield, the heart of Abraham Lincoln country and a place that is not only the seat of State government, but also a place where living history is suspended in time.
My close friends know that despite holding a driver’s license for two decades or so, I’ve acceded to my inner cheapskate envrionmentalist and vowed not to own a car for as long as I can. (My next milestone is 40 years old and looks promising so far.) But one of the challenging things about living in the Midwest is that while Chicago’s public transportation is excellent (between bus, “El” and commuter train you can pretty much get to anywhere from anywhere), to explore further environs, you need to drive. But one Columbus Day (one of the U.S.’s many three -day weekends) I realized that Springfield – an approx. four train ride away — was a perfect destination.
One of the best things about Springfield is that EVERYTHING is walkable. Even my hotel, the State House Inn, was only two blocks away from the train station (and smack in the middle of Springfield’s historic attractions.)
If you’re not a big walker, Springfield Mass Transportation offers a convenient historic sites bus route where a $3 day pass allows you unlimited rides on public buses that run 15- 30 minutes apart.
Transit map courtesy of Springfield Mass Transit District accessed from http://www.smtd.org/pdf/historical.pdf in February, 2015.
For a weekend trip, I recommend catching a Friday evening train out of Chicago’s Union station to maximize your time. Trains are frequently delayed because passenger trains vie for track space with massive freight cars, but there is a lot to read up on during your journey! Here’s an easy to do weekend itinerary.
Day 1
Start the day with a visit to the Old State Capitol. This hallowed is site of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates that were instrumental in cementing Abraham Lincoln’s position in the national political scene, as well as his passionate “A House Divided” speech. Thirty-minute guided tours provide an excellent overview of how politics worked (and looked) in the mid-19th century.
Cross the plaza and pop into the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices which are overlooked by many tourists. (They appear to be closed at present for renovations — which is a good reminder to double check all opening hours and closures before trying one of my itineraries!)
Browse among the many small shops for souvenirs, “olde tyme” candies, or anything else that strikes your fancy.
Image courtesy of the Wall Street Journal and an interesting article about the history of the horseshoe by Joe Barrett.
Those with fearless arteries should stop in for a horseshoe sandwich (an original Springfield creation) at one of the many eateries near the Old Capitol. (For those of you who are Canadian or familiar with the Quebecois delicacy, think poutine on crack. . .) Sadly, as the horseshoe is a 20th century creation, Honest Abe never got to indulge. . . And for those of you who find several thousand miles between you and the nearest horseshoe, you can feast your eyes on the WSJ article here.
Next up is the Illinois State Capitol (note, this link is not the official website but provides much interesting history) which many believe is one of the most beautiful legislative buildings in the U.S. (It’s not that I disagree — but my sample size at present is too small to compare with!) A 30 minute guided tour allows access to areas that are otherwise closed to the public. Visitors are permitted to observe the State House and Senate when they are in session (sadly I went during a holiday so I missed this opportunity.) Tour times change by season so check in advance to see what times are offered. Also be prepared for security screenings in advance of your tour so you are not late.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site(Book in advance!) These tours are very popular, so it is highly recommended that you book in advance. In my case I just walked over to the visitor center in the morning and secured a free ticket for the late afternoon. Tiny by today’s standards and at $1,200 highly affordable as well! On a side note I kind of geeked out here wondering how much this was in today’s dollars – turns out it’s more complicated than you might think! But still well within my budget unlike today’s property market! The site includes several other restored homes — and one of my personal favorite things was the bookstore at the visitor center. If you have the time, it’s very interesting to compare day and night vistas.
Lincoln Ghost Walk This evening lantern-lit tour was a LOT of fun. Led by the highly entertaining Garret Moffett, it is more mysterious and thought provoking than truly scary, and is kid-friendly. Historians make much of Mary Todd Lincoln’s unique approach to spiritualism and mysticism, but Abraham Lincoln himself shared some of these interesting beliefs which are reflected in the home she shared with her famous husband. You’ll learn about these and much more on the tour!
End your day with a late dinner and glass of wine at Saputo‘s, another Springfield institution where many a backroom deal has been brokered. If you’ve been to Italy you are not going to be overly impressed with the food (though is it quite palatable!) But the true reason you’re going there is for the ambiance.
Day 2
Mosey along for a pleasant 30-40 minute walk or catch the bus to the Lincoln’s Tomb, where it is traditional to begin your visit by rubbing the nose of the giant bronze bust of Lincoln’s head for good luck. The tomb itself is somber as befits its purpose and is both simple and majestic at once. It’s a nice place for reflection.
Continue on to the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library which has attractions for all ages. Again, one of my favorite things about this place was the gift shop, where I loaded up on books and bought some earrings that I still wear today. More sobering but equally interesting was the civil war documentary and artifacts from that era.
Those with kids may also want to check out the Illinois State Museum (full disclosure — I did not make it there!)
The last train to Chicago leaves at around 7:30 pm (again, please double check!) So do a time check and figure out if you want to add anything from the proposed architecture side tour below.
Architecture Side Tour
Beyond politics, Springfield is also the site of some interesting architecture. Depending on the pace at which you visit other attractions, you can just about cram this into a full weekend, or alternatively take a second day off.
Architecture buffs can check out the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Dana Thomas House, which I found interesting because despite being his 72nd building design, was the first time he was truly allowed to “go to town” and do whatever he wanted. It’s a fascinating house with an amazing balcony designed to optimize live music performances from both an aesthetic and an acoustic perspective.
Another place worth visiting is the Vachel LindsayHome, where you can enjoy a guided tour of a 19th century tour house and learn about a poet you probably have never heard of <blush!>.
I apologize for the lack of photos — unhelpfully they are all on my camera which is in storage in the U.S.
Like so many who travel to a new city, I had no idea what to do first. Lucky for me, my Lonely Planet guide distilled in woman form – my girlfriend – is much better at this than me.
So off we went to discover as much about Manila as we could in 36 hours. First stop: the American War Cemetery. As a couple, we are normally big supporters of using local transport. You can understand a lot about a city by its transport (or not, if you have experienced the inverted maps in Taipei’s metro stations). However, if you are time pressed the only way to cover such great distances effectively in Manila, for the time being, is in a taxi. On reaching the cemetery you are blown away by how beautiful the grounds are and it strikes you just how important the relationship between the US and the Philippines is. This relationship becomes increasingly apparent the further you dive into Manila’s underbelly.
This underbelly led us across Malate to Chinatown.
Chinatowns come in two forms – the ones that look like the 1930s depiction of Shanghai found in most films and the Chinatowns that are living and breathing communities. The Manila Chinatown falls into the latter. Of course, this meant that there was little of spectacle to entertain but nonetheless a worthwhile venture just to understand the part Chinese migrants played in Philippines.
Next up was the beating heart of Manila’s past. Intramuros.
Even the clothing doesn’t do justice to the insane brilliance of Carlos Celdran.
Intramuros is a gateway to understanding the Catholic and Spanish influence of the past. The walled-city houses Fort Santiago where the shrine of their national hero, Jose Rizal, is kept, the remaining Manila cathedral, and streets upon streets of buildings that offers just a small insight into the Philippines past. All my preconceptions were swept away with the fantastic tour hosted by Carlos Celdran. Part performance artist, part comedian, and absolutely the history teacher you wished you had at school. Carlos gave us, and about 70 others, a tour that threw open our understanding of Spanish colonialism, Catholic rule, and the part America played into turning the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ into a place very much confused by its own identity.
With his performance still vividly in mind we decided to watch the sunset and drink in some surroundings of a city whose charm very much creeps up on you. Obviously not all travel needs to be conducted on the back of a bike, and sometimes paying a little extra brings its benefits. So head to the Bayleaf Hotel, grab a glass of wine and watch the sun set over the sea whilst enjoying a complete view of some of the very best of Manila.
Finally, our day ended with a few drinks. The main reason to go for drinks anywhere in Manila, in my opinion, is so that you can drink the excellent rum, Don Papa. I really would advise anyone who has a taste for rum, or any spirit for that matter, to take some time out to try.
The next day we had a little time to head over to Rizal Park, where the national hero is buried. If you have more time than we had, fitting in the park just after Intramuros is easy to do as they are almost next to each other.
So that was it. When I left Manila I suddenly realized why I had such sporadic knowledge of the place. It’s simply because as a city, and as a country, it is still trying to work out what it is today. This makes it a truly difficult place to know and a truly fascinating place to discover.
A brief hiatus from coffee to share some thoughts about New Delhi. (For those of you who are wondering about the difference — New Delhi is the capital of India, and is part of a larger municipality known as Delhi.)
Like Jakarta, New Delhi is a city with much to see in its own right. While one would be hard-pressed to deem it the nicest city in India, I would argue that is is both overlooked and under-appreciated. (Again, in a classic example of not listening to “helpful” advice — I’m actually glad that I had several days to enjoy New Delhi and meet some great people!)
A typical tour of Delhi — New or Old, guided or self-explored — will bring you to the following key attractions:
A peaceful corridor inside the Red Fort.
The Mughal Red Fort (If on your own, get there 30 min before opening rather than baking in the afternoon sun. Prepare to shove and be shoved — and to be thoroughly irritated by the blatantly discriminatory ticket pricing for foreigners! Get the audio guide because the signage is not especially helpful.)
Qutab Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage victory minaret in the Afghan style
Humayun’s Tomb, commemorating the second Mughal Emperor of India — and even a tomb dedicated to his favorite barber! (The steep steps are totally worth it.)
Humayan’s Tomb — a beautiful place of rest.
Temples/Mosques/Other Houses of Worship: (I don’t mean to be glib in lumping these all together — but the fact of the matter is that each concierge/tour operator/local will recommend a slightly different combination among the three on the must-see circuit.)
Khan Market: Khan Market is frequently recommended to tourists as it is relatively tame. Boasting several nice restaurants, a fun store called Happily Unmarried (which also has a stand in the airport), and tailors / saree makers, it’s a nice enough place to visit, but not necessarily at the top of my list.
There is no shortage of information written about these places. And they are mostly magnificent. But what about some of the things that, if not entirely off the beaten track, may not immediately come to mind?
Hauz Khas
A family enjoys a lazy Sunday afternoon at Hauz Khas.
The reservoir at pre-dusk.
In Hauz Khas I got a vibe that I seldom felt in New Delhi (or indeed, much of India!). The vibe? Chill. And not just on the narrow strip of bars and restaurants that is the haunt of many an expat, hipster, and hipster expat — but the actual Hauz Khas Complex. This is where the remains of a fourteenth century village and lush gardens face a beautiful reservoir, the royal tank, and a deer preserve. In addition to taking in nature and history/architecture — one of the most fun things is people watching. Hauz Khas also has a number of funky antique shops, international restaurants, good coffee, and even an authentic gelato stand!
Dilli Haat
Chances are you are not going to want to purchase much (if anything) at Dilli Haat. That said, it is still well worth the trip to this kitschy but entertaining arts & crafts market, designed to replicate a traditional village market (haat). There are three branches of Dilli Haat that I am aware of — but I recommend going to the original market in INA colony because there is a fantastic food and spice market across the street.
INA Market
INA Market is not for the faint of heart, delicate of nose, or fly-phobic. And while the name Indian National Army Market may evoke stolid images of commissaries and barracks — INA Market is in fact a lively bazaar offering everything from live fish to imported pasta. And the spices! I was in heaven. Gigantic bags of bright yellow turmeric, green cardamom, black mustard seeds, vibrant red chillies overwhelm the senses. While every local has their own favorite stall, look for one that grinds and packages spices fresh and on site.
Gourmet Desire
The feast that we helped to prepare at Gourmet Desire — a combination of Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.
If sightseeing in the baking, and I mean BAKING sun isn’t your thing — New Delhi offers an array of activities to delight even the weariest, heatstroke-prone business traveler. In my case, this turned out to be a cooking class. While many five star hotels offer new initiates a variety of options to try their hand at preparing Indian cuisine, my friend P and I decided to try Gourmet Desire, a program run out of the home of Jyoti Agarwal. Beginning her career as a baker / chocolatier, Jyoti later realized that the many wonderful regional cuisines of India are the perfect way to experience the richness and diversity that is India — all in one place.
Coming up!
New Delhi is also a fantastic launching pad to a number of places with posts forthcoming, including:
The Eye-Opening — Amritsar and the India’s Wagah border with Pakistan
The Peaceful (aka Royalty for a Weekend) — Udaipur
Today was the first day of my three-day professional barista course hosted by ABCD (A Bunch of Caffeine Dealers) in Pasar Santa, a traditional market with a quirky, hipster food-truck culture food court in Jakarta.
I am excited – and ever so slightly intimidated. I am overwhelmed by how little I actually know about coffee. And I find it fascinating.
Coffee originated from Ethiopia around a millennium ago, and is the stuff of legend. Kaldi, an Abyssinian goatherd, noticed that his goats were unusually energetic after eating the red berries and leaves of an unfamiliar tree. He tried them himself, joined his dancing goats, and became known as the happiest goatherd in the Arab world. The story diverges here depending on who tells it. Kaldi either:
Gave the strange fruit to an imam, who upon tasting it, was repulsed and threw it into the fire whereby it emitted a wonderful aroma, or
Gave it to a passing monk who realized that drying and boiling the berries led to the most wonderful beverage.
Was the origin of coffee one of the first religious disputes? Either way, coffee as we know it today was born.
Whichever version of this myth you believe (if at all), it was Yemeni traders who introduced this strange and wonderful brew to the rest of the world along with the spread of Islam. But the growers were wily, only trading boiled seeds. This made them drinkable, but impossible to transplant. As a result, the successful proliferation of coffee is also due to a history of chicanery, mischief, or just plain thievery. And lots of sex.
In the 1600s, an Indian Sufi named Baba Budan smuggled seven seeds to India from Mocha, and started the global spread of coffee cultivation. (I’m pretty sure that THIS story didn’t involve sex given his presumed holiness!) But more importantly, this led the Dutch to try (and fail) to grow coffee at home, until they found an excellent climate in their colonies in the Indies. And in keeping with my Indo-Indian connection theme, it is interesting to note that it was the Dutch governor in Malabar, India who sent the first seedling to the Dutch governor of Batavia (modern day Jakarta).
Offshoots from these plants were reserved as gifts to close friends of the Dutch, including France’s Louis XIV, who jealously cultivated, picked, and roasted his own private coffee stash personally. When French Naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu pleaded with King Louis’s court to grant him a few seedlings to grow on the new colony of Martinique, he was denied. However, royal physician Pierre Chirac (any relation to Jacques?!?) was strategically seduced by a woman procured by de Clieu. This unnamed heroine was able to smuggle some seedlings to de Clieu just as he was about to set sail for Martinque. According to some accounts, these seedlings grew to become 90 million trees in the span of 60 years, launching the cultivation of coffee across Latin America.
Meanwhile, amidst a heated border dispute between French and Netherlands Guyana (modern day Surinam), Portuguese colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta was sent as a diplomatic envoy. While little is written about his success or failure to secure the peace, what IS said is that he managed to seduce the wife of the unyielding governor of French Guyana. She smuggled him some seeds hidden in a lavish bouquet of flowers – and the rest is history.
Today, Indian coffee is produced predominantly by small growers in South India (Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu). Their product is low in volume but high in quality –reputed to be the finest shade-grown coffee in the world. (The coffee plant is quite temperamental. Mountain grown coffee gains natural shade from the peak, while plains grown coffee requires the planting of “shade trees” to minimize exposure. )
Indonesia, meanwhile, is the world’s number four coffee producer. Sitting perfectly in the coffee or bean belt, in many ways it is an ideal place to grow coffee. Unfortunately, according to Hendri Kurinawan, our coffee guru at ABCD, Indonesian growers have not been disciplined at segmenting their coffee plants, leading to a challenge for Indonesian growers to provide clearly designated single origin. But distinctly Indonesian coffees include Luwak (yup, the civic poop coffee!) and Timor, a hybrid of Robusta and Arabica beans.
Map courtesy of National Geographic — thank you for licensing your images for free for non-commercial uses!) The Coffee / Bean Belt stretches equidistant across the equator from the Tropic of Cancer through the Tropic of Capricorn.
Hendri ends today’s class by passionately asking us to take our learnings and become coffee snobs – not in the sense of turning our noses up at coffees we don’t like – but rather to appreciate the many distinct flavors, and demand higher quality from our brewers, who will in turn require higher standards from their roasters, who in turn will only source from reputable, reliable and sustainable growers. I couldn’t agree more – and am excited to see what tomorrow brings.
(Side note – as I write this I am EXTREMELY caffeinated, having completed my first cupping class at ABCD and now sitting in the same Café Anomali sipping a single origin Bali brew. Slowly but surely making my way through their list!)
Just as I have become addicted to batik in Indonesia, I may have gone a bit overboard buying saris in India! Fortunately, I could justify this one as I was unexpectedly invited to a work function and didn’t have a suit with me!
Today I take a break from Indonesia to begin a series of tales on India, and outline my general approach to travel. This seems particularly à propos as the very name Indonesia derives from two Greek words — Indós and nèsos — the Indian archipelago. (Fun fact told to me by Vire A. D’Sa — the Experiences Manager of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. He is worthy of his own post — which will come later — for now you can find some of his own musings about life and travel here.)
I had always dreamed of going to India, but as a solo, woman traveler, was slightly hesitant. Some were typically cited reasons (safety, harassment, etc.) and some uniquely “me” (reassurance that someone would take care of me when I was inevitably struck by “Delhi Belly”). When P, a British friend/colleague was transferred there — and the end of Ramadan provided a nice long holiday here in Indonesia — it was the perfect opportunity. Which leads me to my own travel manifesto.
Always go somewhere you might never visit but for having a friend there.
The nice thing about being an expat brat, and then a halfpat (an expat without the hefty salary package and perks) is that I always knew people living in the most interesting places — both at home and abroad. I couldn’t believe how few of my friends took me up on the chance to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta. (I did, however, get a lot of visitors to Chicago when I lived there!) For me it’s a no brainer. You get to catch up with an old friend. You get personalized travel ideas from someone who actually knows you. And frequently you can save on lodging costs. Never in a million years would I have thought about going to Malta, which ended up being one of my top 10 all time trips. As did India.
Try to tack on a few days of work (in a local office) to your vacation.
On this trip to India, I was fortunate enough to be working for a company not only with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, but also amazing colleagues. So I squatted in the office for a few days which was amazing because a) i met some really cool people who gave me great travel advice; b) i strengthened my professional network; and c) i got to deduct the vacation days I spent working, and could take a longer trip as a result. Now I recognize that not all workplaces are this flexible, and not all corporate cultures are welcoming to outsiders. And many people value the ability to shut off completely. But even on trips where I wasn’t working (Rome, Istanbul, Paris) — just popping in and saying hello made a world of difference (and got me a few great meals and new friends as a result!) I also found that I vastly preferred going to the office a few times to being glued to my BlackBerry while ostensibly relaxing.
Try to tack on a few days of vacation to your business trip.
The whole idea for this blog came from the last few years of my career which involved significant amounts of regional travel. You may recognize some of these symptoms:
Waking up in a Marriott in North America and momentarily forgetting what city you’re in;
Going to the wrong floor because you’ve stayed in 3-4 different hotels in the space of a week and can’t remember your room number;
Boasting about having been to a number of exotic locales, only to confess sheepishly that the road between the airport and your hotel was all you saw;
Having to tell your friends and family when you’re IN town rather than when you’re OUT because it is the rarity, not the norm;
Realizing that your status updates revolve around which airline lounge you’re in at any given time.
Adding 2-3 days to a business trip either to properly explore the city you’re in, or travel to a nearby destination can be re-energizing and make you feel like you’ve seized a bit of control back over your life. And hey — when the flight’s already covered, why not splurge for a weekend at a nice hotel?
Consider mixing things up rather than staying middle of the road the entire trip.
I’ve written in several places about “low brow high brow” travel, or roughing it on some legs of your trip to enable a once-in-a-lifetime blowout experience. I spent more at the Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur than on all other hotels on this trip combined. But I didn’t regret it for a SECOND. For the same amount of money, I could have stayed at a nice array of 4-5 star hotels for the duration of the trip. But I wouldn’t have the same memories. When I had a much lower budget early on in my career, I stayed at a couple of $7 hotels in Hanoi and ended my trip at the Park Hyatt in Saigon. And staying at a place aptly called The Backpack in Cape Town allowed my friend C and me to splurge on a private safari in Kruger National Park.
Sometimes it’s OK NOT to Listen to People. . .
As I planned out my trip to India, most people “helpfully” told me that it is a big country. The typical rule of thumb is to pick an adjacent area (e.g., Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan). This, combined with the fact that I wanted to hit a few places that P had not yet visited, led me to plan an itinerary that was a complete mess — but also gave me a nice sampling of both North and South. I also specifically traveled midweek to places I felt would be relatively less stressful (e.g.. Udaipur), while enlisting P’s company for more adventurous places (e.g., Amritsar and the Wagah Border). And Kerala and Tamil Nadu were far more fun with a companion.
. . .But Sometimes It’s Critical.
When my friend C and I went to South Africa, we decided that we did not want to be fraidy cats and the typical dumb American tourists scared of our own shadows. In Joburg, we were quickly disabused of this notion by EVERY LOCAL WE MET. When we met a colleague of his for drinks one night, and he told us that he’d been shot twice — it really struck home. We saved our aimless roaming for Cape Town and Stellenbosch, and only went around Joburg with recommended drivers. And the Apartheid Museum alone made this well worth it!
Do you have any travel principles of your own? Let me know!
My first ever weekend trip from Jakarta was to Bandung, the mountainous capital of West Java. Known alternatively as the Paris of Java, the City of Flowers, or just plain ol’ Bandung, you instantly feel the difference from the hustle and bustle of Jakarta. Especially when you’ve just sat in traffic for 5 hours to get there. No wonder it was a favorite retreat for the Dutch, and to this day features some beautiful colonial architecture.
Our guide has been doing this for a decade. Surely, I said confidently, other people have fallen into muddy, fertilized rice paddies. Oh no, he replied, never before you. . . and even tweeted about it!
While I typically won’t review hotels on this blog — I will write about hotels that I consider to be proper destinations in their own right. The Padma Hotel in Bandung certainly fills this bill. Built into a hillside with stunning vistas, one of the first unique features of the hotel is that the floors descend, rather than rise. You start in the lobby on the top floor (first), and take the elevator down to your room. (The numbering system is counter-intuitive, so many guests, including us, took many a “scenic route” in the elevators.
The pool is simply stunning — though as one would expect, filled with kids during the weekend. You can while away your weekend enjoying brunch with a view, lounging at the pool, or trying the many free outbound activities that they have on the premises, from zip lining to rock climbing.
Padma also offers early morning yoga and hikes around the premises, which involve heading up the mountain (gasp, pant) and then cautiously (in the rainy season) making your way down towards the rice paddies. Or in my case, INTO the rice paddies. Now the way that I tell the story, the guide, holding out his hand to help me navigate a particularly slippery patch, pulled a little too vigorously and toppled us both in to a *FERTILIZED* and irrigated rice paddy. My friend Quint, on the other hand, claims that I barreled down the slope at the speed of a freight train, taking down everything in my path — including our guide. Bless her heart — she ensured that neither of us was injured before laughing hysterically and snapping the photos that you see here. The WORST part was the trudge back to the hotel, covered in mud, and smelling none-too-fragrant. After waiting for 3 elevators (attempting to preserve some dignity by riding to our room alone), we caved in and got in with an unlucky family. They were polite enough not to stare TOO overtly.
It was impossible to look dignified — so the only options were to laugh or cry. We both chose to laugh. Photo: Quint Simon
There are a couple of nice places to eat around Padma, and the city is a short drive away. Now many people will tell you that Bandung is Indonesia’s capital of outlet shopping — needless to say that is NOT one of my recommendations . . .
A couple of hours at Saung Angklung Udjo (Udjo’s House of Angklung) , on the other hand, is one of the most interesting cultural experiences you can have in Indonesia. The angklung, designated a world heritage item by UNESCO in 2010, is comprised of a bamboo frame which supports 2-4 bamboo tubes.
Click here to hear Udjo’s angklungs. (I’ll embed the video once I learn how to use the darn widget!)
At Saung Angklung Udjo, you not only get to enjoy live angklung, wayang golek (puppet) and dance performances, you also get to participate in an audience angklung performance, where you learn to play simple traditional Indonesian melodies, and, in our case, an amazing angklung rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Sure, parts of it are slightly cheesy. But your admission fee goes to training youths in the art of the angklung and other Indonesian cultural traditions — and the program is led by Udjo’s spirited young grandson. The gift shop has the usual kitsch, but a few treasures as well.
Bandung also offers volcanos, hot springs, and several other sights, but my recommendation is to do as the Bandungers (Bandungese? Bandungians?) do — and take it easy. Or, if you want someone else to pick up the tab, arrange a corporate retreat there and enjoy the atmosphere!
The nice thing about quitting your job and taking up blogging is that a lazy afternoon at a coffee shop and a spa can arguably be considered work. (Those of you who are feeling the first twinges of jealousy remember – I have no income!)
Choose your own adventure — Anomali maps out the flavor notes of coffee from different parts of Indonesia
I’m sitting in Anomali Coffee on Jl. Senopati. First strike – the wifi doesn’t seem to be working. Boo. But enjoying a lovely cup of Toraja coffee and a chocolate croissant (4pm is the new 8am folks!), I slowly get over it. Anomali is a great place to take a coffee tour of Indonesia without leaving Jakarta. Slowly but surely I will make my way through their list and report back on my discoveries!
I find delicious irony in the fact that after Anomali I am headed for Tea Spa. For the most part, the world is arguably divided in two – coffee people and tea people. (Has anyone mapped concurrence in people, such as coffee people being predominantly dog people, etc. etc.?) Of course, loving to be ornery, I consider myself to be both.
Adequately amped up on caffeine, I walk the short distance to Tea Spa, on Jl. Gunawarman 9, in the Senopati area of Jakarta. With a tea room on the ground floor and the spa on the upper level with — you guessed it — all tea treatments and products, it is an unassuming standalone building with a curious combination of exquisite detail (such as crown molding) and mild decay (worn carpets.) And HORRIBLE elevator music. Give me gamelan, koto, er hu, ANYTHING but Muzak! I opt for a three hour signature package which includes a heavenly French massage, a “wrap” which is basically boiling hot padding placed around your stomach and thighs, a body scrub and a mask. Well worth the IDR 430,000. Overall, I give Tea Spa a thumbs up. Good value for money, nice ambiance (please, please change the music though!) and the therapists speak English. And now I’m going to melt into relaxed puddle. . .
Coming up next: Next week I am excited to be taking a 4 day barista course at ABCD – A Bunch of Caffeine Dealers – at Pasar Santa. I also plan to review other spas and compile a best of list of both cafes and spas!
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