Halifax, Nova Scotia

I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia for an academic conference. Its my first time in the Maritimes, and really the first time outside of Ontario (except for Montreal, Quebec, but thats so close to Ontario it almost doesn't count). For the most part I did travel alone, and although I had some reservations about this I actually really enjoyed it! I travelled at my own pace and did the things I wanted to do without obligation to stick to someone's schedule.

I was staying at an Airbnb by the downtown Halifax harbourfront and its beautiful here. The owner is an architect and has fantastic taste in home decor as I've slowly been taking my own little notes here and there for ideas on my own place.

My host gave me a quick tour of Halifax after picking me up from the airport, we drove through Darmouth, which he dubbed "the Dark Side" and he said its much like the "Scarborough" of Toronto. This area is not as affluent as downtown Halifax and tends to be considered a bit more sketchy by the locals. We crossed the McDonald toll bridge (lo and behold, a toll bridge).

Here are my photos from the trip:

Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market

Tea Ceremony in Kyoto, Japan

Tea Ceremony with En 縁

Near Gion District, you can go to En Tea Room, and have a traditional tea ceremony experience. It was such an enlightening experience, and very meditative even just to observe the making of the tea. We went through an informal tea ceremony, which should normal last 4 hours but ours was only 20 minutes with plenty of time for explanation. Normally there are a maximum of five guests, however we had 10+ people in the tea ceremony room

The movements during a tea ceremony or slow, deliberate and well practiced. They serve Matcha tea - a powdered green tea. 

"Tea ceremony (the way of tea) is one of Japan's traditional cultural practices,
and is the name given to a synthetic art
that encompasses not only the making of tea,
but also tea-room architecture,
the appreciation of tea utensils and bowls,
and Zen Buddhism."

Niagara-on-the-Lake: Wine Tour

Me and the the girls from grad school that I keep in touch with went on a wine tour at Niagara-on-the-Lake. This is becoming an annual event.

When I did the wine tour, I was a complete wine virgin. I couldn't really distinguish between wine tastes - I only knew that white wine was just a bit sweeter, red was more bitter than white wines, and dessert wines were very sweet. All red wines tasted the same too.

Since last year, I've had some wine on social occasions and have finally acquired the taste for it (beer.. is a different story). So I was excited to try the different types of wines on this trip!

My friend Melinda did research on each of the different wineries and selected ones that were in close vicinity and had good ratings. Each winery we went to had $2-3 wine tastings (sometimes $3 for three wines, or $2 for an ice wine tasting). Overall it was a very good deal! 

My approach to wine tastings: White wine first, red wine, then dessert wine. 

Japan: Kyoto

A view of Kyoto Tower and hte city from Kiyomizu Temple

Grabbing a quick breakfast before starting our day!

Japan: Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari shrine is the main shrine in Kyoto and sits at the base of a mountain (Mount Inari). You can walk up the mountain to smaller shrines. 

The earliest structures were built in 711 A.D at a smaller hill but later relocated in 816 A.D. It was built in dedication to the god of rice and sake. 

Nara, Japan

For 150 yen you can bbuy deer food. 

The deer overwhelmed a girl for now. 

The legendary deer that bow:

 

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Japan: Takasaki

Takasaki, Japan was added to our trip itinerary at the last minute. Takasaki has a population of approximately 379,000 people and is considerably more "small town" than Tokyo, Japan. It's a city in the Gunma prefecture famous for being the origin of the Japanese Daruma Dolls.

Rabbit Cafe R.A.A.G.F. in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan

Today we left for Harajuku to go to a rabbit cafe. It's tucked away on a smaller street near the station so after asking a few locals we made it! I had heard about puppy and kitten cafés, and I'm sure I've come across rabbit cafés while perusing the Internet. This was a big "to see" on my list.

Mount Fuji, Japan

When I first got to Japan, I ended up sleeping 13 hours because I was so jet legged. We had breakfast together in Tokyo before heading off for the day.

Gotemba Premium Outlet Mall (御殿場プレミアム・アウトレット)

Our first destination was towards Mount Fuji was Gotemba Premium Outlet Mall located in Shizuoka, Japan. There were many famous brands I recognized: Yves Saint Laurent, Michael Kors, Gap, Nike, Coach as well as quite a few that I did not recognize. I didn't end up purchasing anything there. We did stop by and have a Crepe, Iced Coffee and Iced Peach Tea (yum!)

Vietnam: Cần Thơ, Mekong Delta

Cần Thơ

The trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho
is a 2 hour drive.

Can Tho is the fourth largest city in Vietnam, and the largest in the Mekong Delta.. boasting a population of 1.2 million.

It is part of the Mekong Delta, which is southwest part of Vietnam that is considered the "rice basket" of the region, contributing to half the nation's rice supply. The Mekong river and its subsidaries empty into the ocean through this land. Its considered a "biological treasure trove" with a large diversity of species and plant life. -Wk

The Mekong Delta

There are a lot of tourist attractions and the markets offer lots of fresh fruits including Pomelo and Durian (hmm.. not a huge fan of this smelly fruit to be honest).

Here are some of my photographs from the two day tour:

Can Tho Riverside

Vietnam: Cần Thơ Fruit Farm

I had the opportunity to visit a fruit garden in Vietnam. My dad befriended the farmer and got a personal tour! This particular fruit farm is located in the Mekong Delta (Can Tho, Vietnam).

I love taking macro photography, any time I can add bokeh in a picture leaves me with a deep sense of satisfaction (whether or not thats good photography.. well.. who knows). We went to a fruit farm, which grows a lot of fruit.

Pitaya, aka Dragonfruit

It looks a lot like kiwi fruit once you cut it open and expose the flesh - its white with many seeds inside. These flowers look soo exotic! The blooms eventually fall off and the stem starts to plump and turns into the red dragonfruit.

An orchard of dragonfruit plants. These resembled Christmas Cactus that I used to grow as a child. Its

Vietnam: Qui Nhon Part II; 2 Fishing Villages & a temple

I begin each day at 6 am (for some reason I can't sleep in), and get up to go drink Vietnamese coffee with my family at the nearest cafe. We go to eat breakfast, head out to see a tourist destination then between 12 pm to 4 pm its far too hot to go outside. So my dad comes home to nap, while I sit up and read, relax, nap as well (or blog). 

Day and Night at the Nhon Nson Hoi bridge

My cousin took me on a joy ride on the motorbike throughout the city, which included seeing Nhon Nson Hoi bridge at night! Its empty here, so I got a chance to learn how to ride a motor bike - which is a LOT heavier than it looks. Luckily I didn't go flying off the bridge :P We also saw some young people drag racing their motorbikes on this bridge (at around 9 pm). 

I also got a chance to practice to practice my photography with all of these scenic views. 

A small fishing boat casting their net:

Vietnam: Qui Nhon: Part I; City of tragedy, worship & poetry

Qui Nhơn 

1 hour flight to Quy Nhon from
Ho Chi Minh City

Qui Nhon is the costal city in Vietnam of the Binh Dinh province. The economy runs on importing/exporting, fish farming (as I learned recently this is called "pisciculture"), agriculture and forestry. Thanks to tourists like me, they have a growing tourism industry as well.

This area is plush with mountains and forests, hills, fields, salt marshes, plains, lagoons, lakes, rivers, shorelines, peninsulas and islands.

The city boasts a population of approximately 1 million. What I immediately notice is how much less traffic there is compared to Saigon .

Peace in Qui Nhon

When driving to my grandfather's grave, we passed many rice paddies, farms, cows, mountains.

We visited my grandfather's grave site, which my relatives visit once per year. This area of land is dedicated to the family. They come and clean the site, removing weeds and dusting. We placed fresh flowers and placed burning incense sticks nearby. My dad says that when our ancestors smell the incense it beckons them to come to our realm.

Another tradition I wasn't aware of was the burning of money by the grave site. This isn't real money, and is made specifically for this tradition. Burning the money allows our loved ones to spend it on the other side.

Vietnam: Cà phê - Vietnamese Coffee Explained

Something you definitely must try when you come to Vietnam is Cà phê. Coffee was introduced into Vietnam by French colonists. Since then, the coffee culture in Vietnam has exploded. Dairy is a very rare commodity in Vietnam, so instead they use condensed milk. One cup will set you back about 70 cents.

The Vietnamese coffee is locally grown dark roast and is coarsely ground. 

How to order Vietnamese Coffee (WS)

"Cà phê nóng" - Vietnamese Coffee straight up (hot)

"Cà phê sữa nóng" - Hot Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk

"Cà phê sữa đá" - Iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk

Cà phê - Vietnamese Coffee

My dad was kind enough to allow me to take pictures to explain.

1. The coffee grounds you see there in that contraption is a French drip filter (cà phê phin) that is placed on top of the cup with condensed milk. You pour hot water through and it can take up to 5 minutes for it to entirely drip through. What drips through is rich in flavour (and caffeine!) onto sweet condensed milk.

Vietnam: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

Ho Chi Minh City

The people from the South (except for city and government officials) still refer to this place as Saigon. Many of my relatives live in this super busy Metropolis. I have been here twice before, and each time I go it becomes increasingly more dense and westernized. 

About Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)

• Population: 8.19 million (vs. 5.5 million in Toronto, Canada)
• Location: Ho Chi Minh City is southeastern Vietnam. 
• Districts: It is compromised of several districts, of which "District 1" is the most urban and central.

District map from Codie Maps

Bến Thành Market

Ben Thanh Market is the largest market in downtown Saigon, located in District 1. Its a popular destination for tourists and you can find textiles, souvenirs, local eateries and a fresh meat/food market. 

Vietnam: Food Diary

A lot of my friends back in Canada seem to have a fascination with Vietnamese food since its not a cuisine they frequent often. What is sad is that I myself, don't know much about it either. So I thought I'd use this trip as an opportunity to learn about those different dishes.

[cheesy confession] What's really sad is that most of these fruit names I had only heard of as "restaurant names" - I didn't realize they were named after actual fruit (to be fair, all of those restaurants were Thai/Vietnamese, so it was somewhat related). [/cheesy confession]

Just an important caveat, I only visited Southern/Southwest Vietnam, and did not venture to the North (we do not have family there, and this is a family trip otherwise I certainly would have gone!).

Măng cụt - Mangosteen, Saigon, VN

Thats the purple fruit on the top left corner. This also happened to be my first meal in Vietnam (instant noodles FTW!)

Instant Noodles

Phở: Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup

Pho in Saigon, VN - We went to a local restaurant in Saigon and had Pho! A huge difference between Canadian and authentic Vietnamese pho that I noticed is that there's considerably less salt/MSG in Vietnam pho broth. All the ingredients are fresh and local and feels like a much "cleaner" taste! I am still puzzled how a "hot soup" is so popular in a hot country in Vietnam, but its delicious nonetheless!

Pho.

YYZ ✈ NRT ✈ SGN: Trip to Vietnam & Japan

So I just touched down in Vietnam about an hour ago spending 18 hours in flight and 20+ hours total in transit. My aunt who I'm staying with has wireless internet here and plug adaptors which I'm ecstatic about! Its 1:36 AM in Vietnam (12:37 PM in Toronto I believe) and I'm wide awake. So I thought I might as well give an update.

Toronto Pearson International Airport

I took a taxi from my home to the airport and loaded everything up. Check-in was relatively straight forward and as per my dad's instruction, I arrived 3 hours before my light was to take off. I purchased a very expensive, single patty burger (no cheese) for $8.00 as they had nothing else, my French Vanilla Cappucino and a doughnut from Tim Horton's and proceeded to wait.

A photo I took while heading to my gate to board my flight.  

The wireless is not too reliable and I kept disconnecting every 15 minutes. Although they did have these nifty ipads around and plug outlets galore, which I really appreciated. I charged my SLR, iPhone (yes.. I did bring it with me...) and my dad's Windows Laptop. 

Niagara-on-the-Lake

This was a beautiful photoshoot that took place at Niagara-on-the-Lake near the Hydro towers. We played around with some really neat camera effects around sunset - it made for beautiful lighting :) 

San Francisco Day 9: Lombard Street

 Riding the cable car on our way to Lombard Street