Tag: ume

Our very best of 2017

2017 has been another incredible year on the road. In 2015 when we left the Netherlands to see the world we didn’t think we would still be traveling more than 2 years later. Yet 2017 brought some of the most incredible sights in our journey. We want to share them with you in this pretty compact list. Hopefully it will bring you inspiration for travels in the years ahead.

  1. Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

We travel to discover something foreign, a culture, a sight, a cuisine which we don’t have at home. Gardens by the Bay is something truly unique, that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. For me it felt like a vision of a future city, green, modern and a perfect symbiosis of nature and people. I could go back there a thousand times, over and over again and to all of you I recommend it as my unbeatable number 1. Don’t miss the light show by the main Super Trees site. More about the Gardens here.

  1. The Kaluts desert, Iran

That’s Jandirk’s  number 1 and the first place we saw in 2017. The silence, the rock formations and the feeling of landing on the Moon made it one of our very favorite sites. Not to mention the beauty of solitude out there. More about the journey here.

  1. Fuji mountain, Japan

Japan as a country has stolen our hearts. Jandirk has been fascinated by their manga, food and culture for a long time but for me it’s a very new love. Japan as a whole is an incredible journey full of surprises on every corner. But if we had to choose a specific place we would say Fuji Mountain. It can be seen from so many different places and it’s so perfectly symmetrical and majestic. We were lucky enough to see a lot of it from many different angles and we somehow can not imagine a trip to Japan without it.

  1. Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE

In 2017 we saw many incredible mosques in Oman and Iran but there was one winner and surprisingly it was in Abu Dhabi. It was completed in 2007 so I didn’t expect more than tons of gold and kitsch. I was wrong, the mosque is breathtaking! Every bit is magnificent, stylish, very thoughtfully made. In the evening it looks like a fairytale palace from Aladdin or 1001 Nights. It’s lit according to the phases of the moon so the color and intensity of the light changes every day. That should give you an idea about the amount of work and thought that went into this masterpiece.

  1. Pingxi mountains, Taiwan

I love mountainous views. Especially at sunrise there is something magical with the morning mist and clouds disappearing in between rays of light. I have to admit that I am not the type of person who likes hiking just for the joy of it. I have to have something spectacular at the top of the peak. Well Pingxi mountains gave us just that, super short, strenuous hike and absolutely magnificent views worth every bit of sweat and fear. About how to get there and exactly what to see go here.

  1. View on Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka

I’m not going to lie to you. We were not enchanted by Sri Lanka. We were stunned by the amount of garbage, scary transportation and not overly kind people. But one view stayed with us and it was the one on the Sigiriya Rock. It looked so blissful, so green, so Avatar-like, something we won’t ever forget. Tempted by this sight we actually visited the fortress on the top of that rock. We recommend you guys not to make that same mistake. It’s not worth the overpriced entrance and the slow, tiring walk up in a column of tourists.

  1. Japan in bloom

People tend to think that bloom in Japan means only cherry blossom and cherry blossom is only seen in Kyoto and Tokyo. The truth is cherry blossom is everywhere but just varies in period very much. This spectacle of nature, although very brief, brings Japan to life, pushes locals to celebrate and cherish what's fugacious in life. There are picnics and festivals everywhere and the trees look just breathtaking. After few days when the petals start falling it almost looks like snow. More about where to see cherry blossom here.

Except for cherry blossom we were lucky enough to see plum blossom which is almost as beautiful. It comes before the cherries and it’s more peaceful, less touristic.

  1. Kyoto, Japan

Every bit, every kilometer of it. It’s the city that charmed me the most this year. Kyoto is just pure essence of Japan for me. There is so much history there, so much soul but also plenty of modern, pleasantly weird Japan. I seriously can’t wait to go back there. For more info about our favorite places in Kyoto go to the post.

  1. Montserrat, Spain

No mountains are like those surrounding Montserrat Monastery. They look like sleeping giants overgrown with plants. I still can’t believe that all these times I came to visit Barcelona I didn’t think about coming here. Short trip away to huge joy.

  1. Tea plantations, Malaysia

We are massive tea drinkers and disappointed by tea plantations on Sri Lanka we decided to give it another tea try in Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Although the villages in the tea region were hideous, the plantations made up for it pretty fast. Hills of green, filled with bushes of tea. Unforgettable experience.

  1. Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

Already the name says it all. It’s a spectacular location that has a lot to offer when it comes to nature, culture and even modern architecture. Perfect escape from somehow chaotic cities of Taiwan. Every Dutch person will be delighted to hear that the best way to explore the area is by bike. More here.

How we fell in love with Japan. Our first days in Osaka

For Jandirk Japan has been a dream waiting to happen. He loves manga, Japanese food, origami and Studio Ghibli. For me it was a brand new destination on my bucket list. A few years ago I didn’t even want to go to Japan. In my mind it was a futuristic country without proper culture and with plenty of cold people… ow boy was I wrong…

Flying from Sri Lanka to Japan we knew we were in for a big shock but nothing could prepare us for what was coming. We landed in Osaka where we met our Japanese friend Juri, that we became friends with back in Panama. She offered us the most incredible experience we could ever ask for. We stayed at her grandmother’s house! 🙂 Juri and her family were just so warm and open for us. Her grandma talked to us all the time 🙂 It was all in Japanese but sometimes we could really understand her and her smile was just warming our hearts. On the other hand the homemade food was warming our stomachs. Most associate Japan with sushi and maybe sashimi but it’s not just raw food. There are varieties of soups, fermented beans and dried ingredients. As weird as they sometimes sound (dried fish with sesame seeds as a snack) they are delicious, full of flavor and mild. Such a relief to our stomachs after spicy curries on Sri Lanka.

Then the technology struck us. First visit to the toilet and we were charmed. Warmed toilet seat, built in bidet and even relaxing sounds in public toilets were inventions that surprised us. Those were not the only ones. When the evening came it turned out that the Japanese like to relax and take a bath rather than a fast shower. We literally dived into the bathtub which turned out to be way deeper than the ones we have in Europe. If we have them… Here even those can be really brought to another level, computer pouring the exact amount of water, bringing it to the right temperature and keeping it that way… Traditional but yet so futuristic and modern.

What is better after a good, warm bath than a long comfortable sleep, right? We were a bit anxious we wouldn’t be able to achieve that as we were about to sleep on a tatami floor so essentially many straw mats put on top of each other. On top of that we put a futon which is a Japanese style, very thin mattress. And voila a beautiful and potentially very uncomfortable bed is ready! We fell asleep immediately and we slept just great.

Then we got to see the city with Juri. Strolling through the streets we were surprised by how modern but not western they were. How the people took their time in everything they did and how everything was just done to the best of their abilities. There was just perfection everywhere we looked. Walking between blossoming plum trees in the park next to the Osaka Castle we met a lovely old man who sketched a little map including every plum tree from the park. All that to visit the trees, write down how they blossom, when and for how long. He has been doing that for many, many years. There was just so much love and passion in his story and in the way he spoke about it. We felt enchanted but also sad… Because in Japan it’s hard to talk to people unless you speak Japanese and we knew Juri wouldn’t travel with us forever.

There is no way I could write about any Japanese city and skip the food and street life. In Osaka it’s absolutely essential. There is nothing better than to stroll through the Dotonbori District in the evening surrounded by neons and crowds. Every cafeteria and bar looked cozy, spectacular and inviting. Every shop had a beautiful display. I thought plastic food on display would be off putting. Here it just looked realistic and mouthwatering. Every restaurant showcased what they had on the menu so I think the fake dishes were actually made to order and customized. Sometimes we really had to look closer to see if it was the real deal or a great imitation.

Juri took us out with her friend and made us realize how different everything seemed. We thought we knew what karaoke was. People getting drunk singing their hearts out to more or less pleased public at the last call of the night. Not in Japan. Here you go with your friends, you rent a room in a kind of entertainment center you sit down on a couch like if you were home and then it starts. There is nothing uncomfortable about it, you sing and have fun with the people you know and like. You don’t have to be drunk either and it doesn’t even have to be the middle of the night. We went at 5 pm with our green tea and soft ice cream we sang our souls out to the western hits and even Disney songs.

Although normally we don’t go to zoos/aquariums we decided to do an exception for Osaka. We didn’t regret it for a minute. Osaka aquarium was massive and except for the usual we also saw a whale sharks and an incredible selection of jelly fish. Something we could have never seen diving. Or better we would prefer not to see them diving as many are just really dangerous.

In Osaka we felt we were off for a great start of what could be the best part of our journey so far. So a bit sad but excited we were off to Kyoto.