May 20, 2012

EDC New York – There’s No Stopping Us Right Now

My good friend Alexis gave me some great advice the other day that’s been replaying in my head all week:

Embrace spontaneity.

So when a friend of a friend (of a friend?) invited me to join him and his group at Electric Daisy Carnival, how could I say no? Especially after finding out earlier in the month that I can’t attend this year’s Lollapalooza. Sure, I hadn’t know this guy for more than a few hours at that point, and sure I only knew his friend from one happy hour the previous week, and so what if that guy and I got introduced by someone at my office that I had just met for all of 2 minutes? When someone says they have an extra ticket to EDC NY with your name on it, you send out a thank you to the universe and graciously accept.

For all of you that don’t know, Electric Daisy Carnival is an electronic music festival that takes place in a couple different cities before having a massive blow out in Vegas. Some of the biggest dj’s perform every year, and this year they decided to add New York as one of the stops. It’s about time, EDC. The two day event quickly turned to three when they saw the demand for tickets (and more artists.) There are four different stages, so no matter whether you’re a house junkie like myself or more into trance you will have your pick of beats non-stop. So when I found out that my favs Avicii and Calvin Harris (not to mention some of the SHM crew) were playing on Saturday at the main stage, I knew I had to embrace spontaneity like Lex said and just go.

And the day turned out to be a total blast. The group I hung out with was awesome – like not just a group of reliable people that you would want to stick with if you were in a swarm of 30,000 party rockers, but fun kids that you would have a great time with anywhere. They took me in right away and broke the ice early which I was definitely grateful for. And we bypassed the nightmarish line for NJ transit at the end of the night with a car service ready to take us back. Phenom. So thanks to Goldie and the crew for letting me tag along and for making my first massive experience pretty freakin’ fun. Aside from the 1 hr bathroom line which was slightly traumatizing.

Today is one of those perfect New York Sundays where the weather is fantastic, the friends have all rallied together for an excellent brunch, and the worries of the week ahead is still far enough out of everyone’s minds. I’m currently sitting on my roof deck with a view of sailboats moseying by and I find myself inhaling deep breaths of air to take in as much of it all as possible.

Let’s make this summer epic.

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May 16, 2012

A Momentary Pause

My apologies for being a little MIA this past week. I took the liberty of using my birthday as an excuse to finally take a week off from my hectic schedule to relax and unplug. A pseudo vacation when I can’t afford to vacation almost. It was just what I needed.

But don’t be fooled! Even though I haven’t been posting doesn’t mean things haven’t been going down. On the contrary, last week I got some amazing news that will greatly change the dynamic of the upcoming year as well as Let’s Take The Scenic Route. It makes me want to jump up and down for joy and also bite my nails in nervousness at the same time – now that’s a good sign. I cannot wait to share that news with you in the coming weeks.

 

 

Stay tuned for most posts about the concrete jungle that is NYC…

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May 10, 2012

The International Food Tour Scene in NYC

You know, eating healthy is really hard for me. And it’s not because it’s difficult to find things to eat – I’ve actually been rather good about cooking for myself and adding a healthy amount of protein to my daily intake. My birthday is this weekend (Mother’s Day baby here, best gift ever!) and so a month ago my trainer friend put me on a wussy version of her intense lean protein diet. I had my doubts about it, and while I don’t stick to it all the time it has worked in helping me see results and also being more aware of what I eat. So here’s the bad part: when I do cheat and eat things I’m not supposed to, I am overcome with immense food guilt! Like even as I’m taking a bite I imagine the number of carbs vs proteins vs fats and thus the deliciousness factor is ruined.

(Can I also just add that I stopped midway through writing this blog to go mix myself a protein shake! I disgust myself.)

So I’m not saying its bad to eat healthy, of course not! I envy those people who are content with their salads and their almonds and their peanut butter spoonfuls. But then I think about my international food tour through Europe and how happy I was stuffing my face with macarons in Paris and bratwurst in Berlin and risotto in Milan. And it wasn’t even about how good it tasted, it was the feeling of absolute contentment and bliss of enjoying it all guilt-free. And well, that fact that I was in Europe didn’t hurt either.

So I’m throwing caution to the wind! Ok, not yet, but after I wear my little party dress this weekend I will! And what a better way to do that than by finding some of my favorite international treats right here in NYC. So in no particular order, here are a few must-eats for when you would rather enjoy what you’re eating instead of worrying about calories (boys, note that this right here is the way to my heart):

Mozzarella di Bufala -> Gallo Nero

Soup Dumplings –> Joe’s Shanghai

Korean Double Fried Chicken -> Boka

Dim Sum –> Ping’s

Sushi + Sake -> Haru

Bratwurst -> Bierhaus

Pizza -> Luzzo’s

Biryani – Biryani Cart

Enchiladas – Baby Bo’s

Boba ->Ten Ren’s Tea Time

Belgian Beer -> Vol de Nuit

Petit Fours & Raspberry Tarts -> Veniero’s

Gelato -> Grom

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May 7, 2012

Ruin is the Road to Transformation

For H

There was something in the air on Saturday. Some kind of eerie tri-fecta with it being Cinco de Mayo, the Kentucky Derby and the super moon all on the same evening. The day started out a bit rough, and with a slew of bad things happening along with it being a sad anniversary of the passing of an old friend, I was ready to call it an early night entirely. However, I was caught in the super moon’s orbit and after a night of too many of Pravda’s Sake-tinis I found myself glued to the tv watching Eat Pray Love at 2am…

“A friend took me to the most amazing place the other day. It’s called the Augusteum. Octavian Augustus built it to house his remains. When the barbarians came they trashed it along with everything else. The great Augustus, Rome’s first true great emperor. How could he have imagined that Rome, the whole world as far as he was concerned, would be in ruins. It’s one of the quietest, loneliest places in Rome. The city has grown up around it over the centuries. It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won’t let go of because it hurts too good. We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we’re afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Then I looked around at this place, at the chaos it has endured – the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again. And I was reassured, maybe my life hasn’t been so chaotic, it’s just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.”

Eat Pray Love

I love this book/movie because it hits so many crucial areas: love, finding yourself, spirituality, exploration… etc etc. This instantly reminded me of how many of my friends are unhappy with how things have turned out and feel trapped in their current circumstances. My cousin Prem and I even had a similar conversation a few years back when we both felt stuck in a rut. That rut is what got me to change big things in my life. But the real problem isn’t with being unhappy where we currently are, its what happens if we choose not to do anything about trying to fix it. Ruin is indeed a gift – it gives us the courage and the ammo we need to start over. Dory, one of my close friends in California, recently left her job after being miserable for several years; hearing from her today and how she is having an amazing time pursuing a new career venture brought me back to how I felt when I had just left my previous job and had taken time off to travel. Trying a new job, taking part in some long-term traveling, moving to another country… these are all very different things but can be quite terrifying but give us that same high. And for many of us, we won’t get to that point of rediscovery until we have been pushed to our limit with how much we can endure in our current situation.

Everything in our lives is fleeting. Today’s success and happiness may not be there tomorrow, but same with today’s worries and feelings of inadequacy. And if you are feeling like a mess, or well, just stuck, then I hope that you are able to channel that energy and use it to propel you forward in the right direction. Or maybe just any direction. You’ll figure it out.

Because this is a travel blog after all, I would like to keep it relative. If you are nodding along reading this and feeling like you need to make some changes in your life, perhaps consider taking part in some work exchange/volunteer programs in other countries. It’s relatively affordable, you’ll be able to visit amazing places, and you’ll find yourself working odd jobs that you would never have seen yourself doing before. A girl I spoke to that did this for a year and had jobs like shucking oysters for pearls, working with sea turtles and herding sheep. Sure its a little atypical, but the positive impact you make with the work you do just may give you the kind of inspiration you need to make some positive changes in your own life.

Work Exchange/Volunteer Resources:

Wwoof 

Help Exchange (HelpX)

Workaway.info


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May 2, 2012

Here’s A Major Workout For You

So with another birthday looming and the start of the summer around the corner, I have painfully tried my best to up my workouts. This last year of traveling has been amazing for me mentally, but its been a little detrimental for my waistline. One of the hard parts of extended travel is keeping up with a daily workout regimen, but this guy seems to have gotten a handle on the situation. You may have already seen his video since it went viral (its currently competing with Nike, but we always root for the underdogs) but Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness spent 18 months traveling all over the world and ::gasp:: EXERCISING. While I was sipping cappuccinos in Italy and eating far too much soba in Japan, Steve was doing jumping jacks in China and push ups in New Zealand. Hey, it sure beats the gym. Way to make me feel guilty, Steve, but your video is still pretty rad.

Check out Steve’s Nerd Fitness website here.

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April 30, 2012

The Dynamics of Dim Sum

“Sixty-one! Sixty-one! SIXTY-ONE!”

A group of four wide-eyed people come darting to the hostess table waving their numbered ticket. “This place is terrifying,” I hear one of the girls exclaim as they take the stairs to the second floor.

“Sixty-four!!! Sixty-four!”

Three more individuals make their way through the crowd. “What is going on!?” a guy with a big, confused grin on his face asks his friend.

What is going on is just another typical, slightly-stressful Sunday brunch hour at the Golden Unicorn, one of the more popular dim sum spots in Chinatown. On 1pm on a Sunday you can prepare for at least a half hour wait, so I’m sitting back with my ticket and enjoying the eavesdropping as I wait for my girlfriends. Dim sum is one of the best brunch deals you can get in the city: affordable, delicious, quick (once you sit down) – how could you go wrong? But if this is your first time trying dim sum, here are a few things to remember so you can ensure a pleasant experience.

Expect to share tables
Depending on where you go, unless you have a group of 6-8 people there’s a good chance that you’ll be sitting with strangers during your meal. Most restaurants have the typical large round table set up, which can be good or bad depending on who you get stuck next to. Another thing to remember is that with the close proximity, your new friends will probably hear every detail of your wild Saturday night or reasons you hate your job. At one recent lunch my girlfriends and I were in a detailed conversation about Whitney Houston’s drug addiction before we looked across the table and noticed a 10 year old girl staring at us absorbing every word. Woops.

Screw the menus
“Can we just get a menu and order? Because this is annoying.”

WRONG attitude. This was overheard from two unhappy lunchers who were sitting at our table and got overwhelmed by the hectic atmosphere. The beauty of dim sum is that you don’t need a menu – the food is brought to you in carts so you can see the real deal up close and personal and decide. Sure, it can be a little crazy with lots of different carts going by quickly and often times the people not speaking English, but that’s all part of the experience. Which leads me to my next point…

Be quick, and pardon all interruptions
“So I couldn’t believe what he said next. He insisted that we…”
“Holy crap, turnip cake! Stop that cart!”

Ok, so it may not exactly be the most polite thing to do, but if a fresh tray of turnip cake or pork steam buns or whatever is your dim sum weakness comes out, throw manners to the wind and grab that sucker! If you’re not quick enough some other lucky table will nab it before you do and you’ll be forced to wait another miserable 5 minutes before the next cart comes around. Let’s be honest here, in any other situation I would be a little annoyed if someone stopped me mid-sentence when I was just about to get to the juicy part of my story. However, during dim sum its perfectly acceptable behavior to interrupt conversations for the sake of food (although, you may want to make sure that everyone in your party is on the same page here or your brunch may not be so pleasant.)

Order what you want and as much as you want
Unlike other restaurants where you check with your friends and make sure to order things that everyone likes, with dim sum you have free reign to go wild and order what you want. With the portions being tapas-style and the price of each tray being so cheap, you shouldn’t feel guilty if you’re the only one in the group that has a thing for shrimp shuumai. That being said, you also should be prepared to share everything you grab since dim sum is family style and it would just be bad form to hog it all for yourself. Also, don’t feel bad if you feel yourself ordering too many trays – chances are everyone else wants it too and is just waiting for someone else to speak up. You’d be surprised at just how quickly you do fill up with dim sum anyway – you’ll most likely leave stuffed and happy that you didn’t break the bank on Sunday brunch for once. I chowed down big-time during yesterday’s meal and it only cost me $15. Win!

 

My top three favorite NYC dim sum spots:
1) Golden Unicorn – 18 East Broadway
2) Ping’s Seafood – 22 Mott Street
3) Chatham Square – 6 Chatham Square

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April 26, 2012

The Soapbox Chronicles: To The Dreamers

I was recently told by a guy that, in a nutshell, I’m too out there for him with my ideas of what I want to do in my life. He’s not the bad guy I make him out to be, but I’ll admit that I was a little thrown off by his statement. Isn’t ambition supposed to be a good quality?

I’m a dreamer! I feel that amazing things are almost within my reach and so I’m always on my tiptoes trying to grasp them. And perhaps mystery man was right in his poorly-chosen words because I am at the point in my life where I’m going after the things I want even though its possibly at the cost of my love life. But outside of this dating context, who is to say that being a dreamer is a bad thing?

Dreamers go for it. They tend to face rejection more than realists who are not as willing to try new things, apply for new jobs, etc. Dreamers visualize where they want to be rather than just being content (or miserable) at where they are. Dreamers are often the faces of innovative start ups that dare to create something new and exciting. They take risks and they don’t need certainties to act, but yet they are certain that they must try. And maybe the best dreamers are a bit grounded to a certain extent in that they see their limitations sure, but they also aim to break past it.

If you are speaking my language, dream on. Don’t be so concerned with toning down what you really want to go after. Be smart in your choices but be daring, be bold, be a little out there. After all, no choice is a choice and by not acting on your hopes you aren’t allowing yourself the opportunity to attain them.

::steps off soapbox::

Phew! Ok, on a personal note, my friends and family make up a healthy mix of both of these types by supporting me when I explore in unconventional ways and giving me a hard reality check when I need it. I hope you too have people in your life that will balance you out in only the best possible way:

 “There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists but more often than not the opposite is true. You see the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists, without the dreamers they might not ever get off the ground.”

Modern Family

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April 23, 2012

Japan, A Year Later

My second visit to Japan has ended, and this trip turned out to be even more incredible and eye-opening than I could have hoped for. Not only did I get to check out amazing places like the Chichu art museum in Naoshima and the massive sand dunes in Tottori, but in addition I was able to volunteer with typhoon relief efforts in Wakayama and see some of the tsunami devastation first-hand in Sendai. Even though this country is filled with so much beauty (and, of course, delicious foods), many people are of course still wary about visiting after last year’s events. While I hope that some of my previous posts about Japan can encourage more people to visit the country, I would also like for my entries to encourage others to further explore what’s happening there today. The beauty of Japan is found in more than its beautiful coastlines, amazing ski slopes, and intricate temples – it’s also found in the resilience of the people that are working everyday to restore their towns for their families and future generations. I was especially impressed with the amount of fundraising that I’ve seen from expats there. One group of JETS living in the Fukushima prefecture are selling Fukushima t-shirts in order to raise money for tsunami relief efforts. My sister, a current JET living in Nara, has already ordered several t-shirts and I am anxiously awaiting for mine to arrive in the mail. If you are interested in ordering shirts internationally you can email Galileo Yuseco at fukushima.tshirt@gmail.com.

Back in NYC, I am glad to hear that the conversation is still on-going as well. In February I attended a LucidNYC event where an acclaimed photographer named Kyoko Hamada spoke about her visit to Fukushima and her interactions with the people there. To hear her story and see some of the pictures she took, check out the video clip here. I was also fortunate to help out with another great event this past week hosted by Indiegogo over at Projective Space LES. Jason Wishnow, the filmmaker behind TedTalks, was one of the speakers and shared a new project of his called “We Are All Radioactive.” This online documentary series is about the people living in Motoyoshi, a small surf town 100 miles north of Fukushima, and focuses on their experiences with how their businesses and daily lives have been affected by the concern about radiation. While part of the series was filmed by Wishnow and his team, they also gave out cameras to the locals there so that us viewers can see their story through their eyes. The online series is crowdfunded and new episodes are being “unlocked” as each fundraising goal is hit – to find out more about this project and to donate, visit their site here.

I plan on visiting Japan again within the year and look forward to seeing all of the progress that will be made. Until then, I will have to be content with staying connected online and rationing out my green tea flavored kit kats appropriately.

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April 16, 2012

How To Eat Hitsumabushi

Unagi lovers, rejoice! Hitsumabushi is exactly what the food doctor ordered for hitting that eel fix. The dish is grilled eel over rice, and is one of the more popular local cuisines in Nagoya. And I’ll admit, while I did go to Nagoya to see the town’s beautiful castle, a big part of the reason was to get my hands on some of this grub. But wait, you don’t just dive right into face-first, there’s a whole process to enjoying the hitsumabushi experience!

Step 1:

Divide the eel dish into four sections. Separate the first section into the smaller bowl and enjoy as is.

Step 2:

Eat the second section, except this time add as many seasons and spices as you would like. Go wild!

Step 3:

If you were confused about that broth on the side, this is where it comes into play. Add the different seasonsings to your taste,  and this time top it off with the broth. I went a little crazy with this part, nom nom.

Step 4:

What did you like the most? Lots of seasonings, a drop of the broth to add flavor, or maybe the delectable grilled eel by itself? I prefer dividing it into quarters so that after trying it the first three ways you can pick your favorite and end the meal just right. I preferred it with the broth myself. Enjoy!

 

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April 12, 2012

Snow Monkeys in Nagano

Onsens are a big part of Japanese culture. People of all ages go with friends and family to relax, and some onsens are also known to have mineral waters to heal different ailments. Well, as it is so common in Japan, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that monkeys enjoy taking part in the onsen experience as well! Nagano is an area northwest of Tokyo, only about an hour and a half shinkansen ride away, and is famous for its snow monkeys. Originally, I wanted to go stay in a hostel for the night and have a longer stay in Nagano, but due to time constraints (there’s so much to see in Japan!) we decided to only go for the afternoon.

One of the best parts of visiting the snow monkeys was the trek to get there. I believe there is another, more direct ways to get to the actual site (some hostels may have a bus service as well), but I highly recommend the route we took! We hopped on the local bus which dropped us off at the base of a trail. This trail was awesome and it took us through the forest for about a half hour. Even though its almost Spring, it was still snowing that day and so we had to step carefully (especially me because, let’s face it, I’m clumsy.) Definitely take the trail if you’re planning on going to see these snow monkeys, talk about a great scenic route.

Once we finally reached the area, the first thing we saw was a naked man sitting in an onsen for all the world to see him. Seriously? After taking a few pictures (he was far away so it was NOT perverted!), we headed in for the main attraction. From reading up on this, I knew that you are not supposed to make eye contact with the monkeys because they will take it as a form of aggression. So naturally, what did I do? I made eye contact with every monkey in the place. I couldn’t help it,  I panicked – snow monkeys were EVERYWHERE! Sitting on the bridge, walking along the path, darting between people’s feet. But fortunately they were too concerned with picking things from each other’s fur and bathing in the onsen to give me a second glance. Sorry guys, you get zero privacy while bathing. Once I calmed down and realized there would be no animal altercations today, I really enjoyed the scene. It was something very different to check out in Japan apart from the typical tourist spots. I’ll say it again, you’ll find the coolest stuff in Japan when you take the time to get out of the big cities!

 

  

Would you want to bathe with monkeys like this guy?

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