8 Days at Vancouver

It's a family vacation. Mom, sister and I had an 8-day vacation in Vancouver and Victoria Island. It's a relaxing and slow-paced vacation. Lots of sushi, some chilly weathers, walking and talking. Along the way, we stayed at 4 or 5 star hotels, treated like privileged customers. We did pretty much what a typical tourist would do in Vancouver. We visited the vast and popular city park- Stanley Park; restored Gastown full of heritage building and the signature steam clock and China town; the fun Granville Island with a colorful farmer's market; " hilarious " nude beach- Wreck Beach. We took the " SeaBus" over to North Vancouver and visited Lonsdale Quay Market and Lynn Canyon park. In Vancouver, our favorite thing is to eat sushi. I personally think high quality and incredibly reasonably priced sushi a major attraction in Vancouver. We literally felt obligated to take advantage of the best part of the trip and had sushi everyday for 4 days in a row! Besides sushi, the highlights that linger in memory include the comic Wreck Beach and the spooky and freaky W Hastings St near Chinatown. I give a great deal of credit to my mom for our hilarious experience at Wreck Beach. Needless to say a professional comedian, my blunt and funny mother blurted out a bundle of hysterical jokes based on her observations of the nude people which immediately transformed the a bit embarrassing beginning to a hilarious experience. I personally think W Hastings St the most scary street in north America even during the day time. It's not just a street lined with "Pot Cafes" and drug addicts. It's home to zombi looking people. They are terribly sick and crazy. Some of them are simply lying on the ground, lifeless and others are high and jumping around. I literally felt I was in a Halloween maze and having all the horror characters scare me to death. I fled.
A side trip to Victoria turned out to be cold, sick and short. It's incredibly freezing cold in Victoria in late July! I caught cold and my sister felt sick from her pregnancy. We cut the trip short-from the originally planned 3 days to 2 days and ended up staying in Victoria only. Aside recovering from the sickness in the hotel, we got to scroll around and checked out Chinatown, Bastion Square and of course the Empress Hotel and Parliament Buildings.
Overall it's a nice and rarely relaxing trip for me. I found myself spend a large amount of time at hotel and run out of things to do in the end. Yet, hanging out with my folks is indeed the point of the trip. I do need and enjoy that.

2 Weeks in Mexico -- Colorful Oaxaca 2

Arzenta and I decided to take a trekking tour to Sierra Norte. We met a Spanish guy Victor at the tourism office. We planned to trek Sierra Norte together on the following day. That afternoon, we visited village Atzompa for its pottery. At the Mercado de Artesanias, I bought several pieces of small work for an excellent price.
We started 2 days trekking in Sierra Norte at Cuajimoloyas at which we met and joined two Italian guys and their tour guide. Pueblos Mancomunados (Commonwealth of Villages) cooperate in an excellent ecotourism program that offers a network of more than 100km of scenic trails. We took the most popular and scenic Latuvi-Lachatao route. We hiked about 6 hours to Latuvi on the first day. Woke up in the chilly morning, I witnessed the well known think cloud forests. We trekked through the cloud forests with hanging mosses, lush leafy vegetation and bright colored mushrooms to Lachatao. From Lachatao, we took a shared taxi to Ixtlan where we took another taxi to another village Capulalpam for some " indigenous cleansings and healings". Arzanta got her 30 minutes Limpia (cleansing).
My last a few days at Oaxaca was spent at Monte Alban and central city. Magnificent Monte Alban records Zapotecs history in an even larger magnitude than Teotituacan. Last day at Oaxaca City involves strolling around Zocalo, Iglesia de Santo Domingo, Museo de las culturas de Oaxaca and a few local markets. Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca is very impressive for its gorgeous and unique architecture as well as its rich collection. At Oaxaca, I had Mezcal shot. Regional filling, cheap and tasty Tlayudas are indeed delicious.
My 2 weeks trip to Mexico ended at Oaxaca. I rode 6 hours bus back to Mexico city and caught an evening flight back to California. Until I got on board the returning flight, I had been amazed how smoothly the trip went. It could have been even more rewarding if I had been able to communicate with locals in Spanish. Maybe next trip?

2 Weeks in Mexico -- Colorful Oaxaca 1

There are reasons that people most likely travel to Oaxaca while they travel in Mexico. I know and can see why people travel to this area and decide to stay. Lonely Planet puts this way " Indulge in the culture, color and culinary delights of colonial Oaxaca city" on its Highlights. That sounds appropriate!
I had 5-6 days planned for Oaxaca city and the nearby beaches and ended up staying at Oaxaca city for the entire remaining days.
I met my fellow traveler Arzanta at Oaxaca hostel. I felt lucky to travel with this lovely Spanish girl. Traveling with someone who speaks local language is also a huge bonus. Arzanta is a big fan of local markets. I'm a big fan of local life. Our interests can be easily infused. On my first day at Oaxaca, we visited two villages at Valle De Tlacolula (East of Oaxaca)- El Tule and Teotitlan del Valle. El Tule has a claimed largest tree in the world " El Arbol del Tule". The tree is over 1500 years old. From El Tule, we caught a bus to Teotitlan. Teotitlan is a famous weaving village lined up with shops and showrooms that sell locally famous blankets and rugs. Some showrooms are also workshops that demonstrate their natural dying techniques. Both Arzanta and I bought small rugs. That evening we witnessed the most colorful Fiesta at Teotitlan. Every year, this is one of the best weeks in Teotitlan del Valle as the fiesta of Preciosa Sangre de Nuesta Señor Jesucristo takes over the village. Thanks to Christopher Stowens, an enthusiastic American photographer we met at the Fiesta, we got some heads up about the Fiesta. We waited at the plaza of Templo de la Virgen de la Natividad till the parade of colorfully dressed young girls and men showed up. We then followed the parade and marched around the village. Chris has some very nice shots on this spectacular event. Here's his blogger link: http://oaxacanyear.blogspot.com/He puts a perfect description about the experience " Visually, it is full of richness, but it is the simultaneous joy and solemnity that makes it such a rare experience".

2 Weeks in Mexico - Holy Mole Puebla

To figure out a travel route is a hard decision on the first trip to Mexico. After several days of debating, I decided to travel to the popular south to Oaxaca area. En route, I stopped at Puebla for 2 nights. During the 2 days visit, I did 3 things in the Mexico's fifth largest city: 1. Eat-the most knock-you-off tacos on the planet were served with Middle Eastern-style flat bread at Las Ranas! It's not about the bread, it's the juicy and spit-grilled meat. Foodies should pay a visit to Puebla for the tacos alone. The glorious Chiles en nogada is a masterpiece at Fonda de Santa Clara. The taste is not like anything you have before. Now how can you miss traditional poblano dishes like mole while you are in Puebla? My dinning at elegant Restaurant Sacristia fulfilled my crave for mole? What's mole? Mole is chicken breast with one of a kind sauce-sophisticated mixture of chocolate, nuts, fruits and others. The taste? I don't know how to describe it. It's holy, I guess. 2. Shop- I spent a big chuck of my travel time shopping for a pair of authentic Mexican bullfighter boots. I ended up getting one for 800 Pesos. I bought a couple of indigenous outfits by the El Parian crafts market. My bus to Oaxaca was Sunday afternoon. I was lucky to get to check out the Sunday outdoor antiques markets and some sweets shops and Talavera (hand-painted ceramics) shops. I bought myself some camotes (candied sweet potato sticks) and a pair of Talaveras. 3. Sit- I sat with an entertaining mix of clowns, ambulatory snack vendors and nothing-to-do locals on the leafy Zocalo; I even sat in a couple of local live music concerts at Libreria Cafeteria Teorema with a Spanish fellow traveler.
I left Puebla that Sunday afternoon heading south to Oaxaca. I was stuffed with mole and walking in my new boots to the bus stop, leaving the hustle-bustle of Zocalo behind.

2 Weeks in Mexico - Mexico City

I embarked a 2 weeks trip to Mexico on June 25th. On this trip, I visited Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca. It turned out a wonderful trip. I truly enjoyed every single experience on the trip. The journey started with Mexico City.
I arrived at mid night, a little nervous about the safety, weather and language etc. With some assistance of a couple of hospitable locals, I easily made my way to Hostel Amigo where I stayed for 5 days while I was in Mexico City. My first impression of Mexico City is a school of cyclists threading through some neat cobbled streets by the hostel in a beautiful morning.There was a cycling event going on that weekend. It's completely opposite to Mexico City's stereotype "smog-choked, crime-plagued urban" image. Mexico City is easy, from the springlike weather, humble and patient locals, cheap, quick and tasty tacos to the extremely convenient public transportations. Mexico City is sophisticated. How do you define life, death and family in this unique culture? How do people live with the ethnic conflicts mainly between mestizos and indigenas? What about all those overwhelming pre-Hispanic, colonial and modern art and history? It probably takes a life time devotion to understand all.
Mexico City is too huge for 5 days. I mostly stayed at the Centro Historico area. My hostel is a walking distance from the Zocalo (meaning 'base'- city central square). I did a walking tour on the first day around the Zocalo area. In the following days, I visited Palacio Nacional, Templo Mayor, Catedral Metropolitana, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Museo Mural Diego Rivera and a couple of bustling local markets. On a side trip, I visited the pyramids at Teotihuacan. One night, with an escort of a 6'1 German girl, we walked to Plaza Garibaldi for the mariachis bands. Among the above attractions, the most impressive are Museo Nacional de Antropologia and Teotihuacan. Food wise, I had tried several local restaurants and still favored the taco stands most. The tiny sizzling taco stands produce the most tasty and moist petite tacos with self serviced accessories such as roasted cactus on the side. That drives appetite and lively crowds. It's part of life in Mexico City.
My favorite place is Zocalo. The square is the center of what's happening in Mexico City. One of main functions served here is a forum for protests. Protests are routine here. If I'm not mistaken, Zocalo "hosts"protest every Wednesday or Thursday. Apparently, there are plenty of issues to protest for. Sometimes there are multiple protests going on at the same time. One rainy morning, I found a piece of quiet at the Cathedral on the Zocalo. All of sudden, a loud voice from a speaker broke the silence as a mass protesters were marching around the Zocalo. They were well organized. After a few hours of march, they finally settled in front of the government office. Locals seem to be well accustomed to the activities and showed indifference on their face. I asked a few locals what the protest is about. There's no a uniform answer. Later I strolled through the square and noticed several piles of old shoes lay in a circle in front of vendor's tents. I heard vendors are not allowed to do business on Zocalo and some of them have been hanging out here to protest chronically. An old American man I met on Zocalo who has lived in Mexico for a while gave me some explanation on the protests going on. It sounds bus drivers and small business owners are the leading roles of the protests. The "shoes protest" has something to do with the hike of energy bills. There were voices on Zocalo in such a drizzling and bustling day. The voices were heard, sort of at least by me.
Next morning, the last morning I believe that is before I left Mexico City, I took a walk to Zocalo again. When I travel, my last day at a place always involves some roams around a spot I really like. It's like a way to say good bye. It's again a gloomy and drizzling morning. Vendors in the "chronic shoes protest" got up just as early. They were hanging outside of their tents and chatting. Some lovely Mexican pop music came out of the tent and went around on the Zocalo. Piles of broken shoes survived rain from last night and were lying around dripping. I looked through the half open tent and I saw Marx and Lenin's portrays. I guesses he is a souvenir vendor. Cheerfully, vendors greeted to me. "Aola" I answered back. A few women were preparing breakfast in the tents. People were in a good mood. So was I. In Mexico, one could enjoy a damp morning while he camps out on a chronic protest. I get that kind of spirit that morning.