melissamnoel – Page 2 – Melissa's Visual Ramblings

February 20, 2019February 20, 2019

Cohort 69 in Vietnam (And Loving It)

Ho Chi Minh City is full of glass skyscrapers, tons of people, great food, and so much people-watching to do. I could spend all day wandering the streets just seeing and feeling the buzz. It’s been great to have the time to get out there and be part of the activity – there is so much of it! I’m fortunate to be here with every single one of my executive MBA classmates. We have quite the lineup of learning, from business visits to nonprofit meetings to sightseeing. Little do they know, I’ve kept blogs on everywhere I travel since I was 19 (sorry guys – it’s not you, it’s me).

Our first local business visit, of all places, was PwC Advisory in Vietnam! It was really interesting to hear about the types of problems that they solve with companies compared to what we worked on in the US. The environment that they’re working in is pretty crazy. Vietnam is growing so rapidly in terms of their buying power, with poverty declining from 60% to 20% in only 15 years. They’re leapfrogging ahead with technology – for instance, the financial services industry is going from nothing to digital. They skipped the brick-and-mortar phase completely. Many companies are coming to invest in Vietnam, and Vietnamese companies also focus on growing here. I found it to be very different from the American way of doing business, which often focuses on international markets for growth.

The massive glass-and-steel shopping malls of HCMC are amazing. Prices are geared toward Westerners, though, which I don’t understand. PwC associates (people who recently graduated from college) earn $400/month, and that’s a good job. And yet I easily spent $120 on two dresses.

On my first evening here, we went out on the town to Bui Street which is like the Bourbon Street/ Lower Broadway/ First Ave of Ho Chi Minh City. No cars, only pedestrians – and a lot of them. We couldn’t believe how many people were out enjoying themselves on a Sunday night.

My entrance to the country was a bit challenging. I had a typo on my visa, and a travel agency who didn’t know what to do about it. So, I did my typical problem-solving take-action thing (thanks for your genes, Mom) and figured it out. I arrived 12 hours later than the rest of my classmates, and I’m lucky! It was really nice to arrive at a hotel room with a ton of flowers, champagne, and a basket of beautiful fruit. Not to mention 27 classmates who were so welcoming and excited that I made it.

My first day, since I missed the tour bus, was spent at a cozy vegetarian restaurant that felt like an indoor garden. I completely ate my feelings and instantly lifted my spirits. (I love food). I also got a 90-minute massage (when in Rome, right) that was top-notch. Those little Vietnamese fingers get in between muscles that I didn’t know existed.

Picturesque veggie lunch = Melissa exhaling

My favorite meal so far was a lunch where I accidentally ordered two meals and consumed them both because they were delicious. I had a sweet and sour soup that tasted NOTHING like that sweet and sour sauce that you get in the US. It tasted more “real” if that makes any sense. My second entree was stewed mushrooms and fried tofu that was delicious. Why can’t America have amazing homemade tofu everywhere I go!? #spoiled

Day 2 was spent at a software startup company in the morning followed by an afternoon on a Vespa! The company was called Smartlog and they specialize in transportation, warehouse, and logistics software. They’ve had an amazing growth trajectory since the company was started in 2015. They’ve already incorporated AI and machine learning into their platform, and now they’re talking about blockchain. The managing director spent two full hours with us, fielding our questions and seemed genuinely excited that we were there and interested. They have a very similar culture to a tech startup in the US, which is meant to be playful and feel like a family. The only difference is that they work in the office six days a week and get paid $800-$1000 per month. They do seem like a company to watch.

The crew in front of “Notre Dame”, built by the French.

Vespa riding was a complete thrill. You’ve never seen scooters until you’ve seen Vietnam. The chaos! And yet it feels like the bobbing and weaving is a well-orchestrated dance that I just don’t understand. I felt safe 99% of the time and had a fun conversation with my driver, who has spent his entire life in Ho Chi Minh City and knows five languages. He also whispered his and others’ “real” thoughts when the tour guide wasn’t looking. Hilarious, and informative to hear what people really think.

A temple, not to be confused with the pagoda

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018

Hong Kong. Quite the Spectacle.

Well, we did our best to see Hong Kong. We really tried. We weren’t able to do it its full justice because unfortunately Mark and I got sick, me with a sinus infection and him with food poisoning. But what we did see was awesome. I mean “awe-some”, like it’s incredible that this place exists. We turned to each other many times and said, “What a spectacle.”

The buildings are the tallest I’ve ever seen in my life, and there aren’t just a few of them. No, every high rise has to be over fifty stories tall, and there must be thousands of high rises. Then, throw in peaks and valleys that make up the landscape and it looks absurdly vertical. The islands that make up Hong Kong look like they belong on the ocean floor, like they’re a gang of volcanoes. There is no such thing as flat ground in Hong Kong unless it was man-made, I’m fairly certain.

Man-made land, you say? Apparently it’s common in Hong Kong to “create” space, as something like 500 meters of land have been added onto the main island in the past fifty years. Run out of room? No worries, build more!…? Crazy.

Most adorable form of transportation nicknamed the “ding ding”

The first evening, we hopped on the famous Star Ferry to see the lights and take it all in.

The next day day, we headed straight to Victoria’s Peak to cross that number-one tourist destination off our list. It was really cool – I’ll let the photos do the talking.

The only thing we didn’t enjoy about the Peak were the pushy tourists! Holy cow, you would’ve thought there was limited space up there by how much running and pushing there was just to get onto the funicular. We are decidedly in a different mindset coming out of Bali. Hong Kong is a do-it-this-instant kind of culture, which is opposite from the “take it easy, we’re all just here to be happy” culture of Bali. Next time, I’d start with the big city and then de-stress later, haha.

Our favorite reprieve from the hustle and bustle was at Stanley, a gorgeous turquoise water beach just a 29-minute drive from the city. Complete with views of Hong Kong Disney in the backdrop. Mark became the personal photographer for a cute young couple and inspired us to do the same.

Although we didn’t get to partake in the famous bar scene/ nightlife of Hong Kong (which is okay, that’s not really our scene anyway), the food was fun to explore. I loved a meal at a restaurant that specialized in veggie dim sum, which is like Chinese tapas. I ordered five dishes, hoping that would be an acceptable quantity, and devoured everything. I also decided that what Minneapolis really needs is a veggie dim sum place.

Pineapple buns, “French toast”, “egg waffles” and bubble tea are also high on my list. The pineapple buns taste somewhere between a dinner roll and a doughy steamed bun and topped with something sweet, though there is actually no pineapple in it.

Pineapple bun on left (om nom). Egg custard tarts on the right, because Macau (neighboring island) has major Portuguese influences.

I need to google “Hong Kong French toast” now that it’s safe to check the calorie count. I think it must be bread dipped in fluffy egg whites and condensed milk and deep-fried. SO GOOD.

I’m a big fan of the waffle craze that is coming from somewhere in China and did my part to support with a chocolate-banana infused waffle, shaped by a waffle iron into this bubble pattern that made it so fun to eat. And of course, bubble tea. Couldn’t leave without bubble tea. Apparently Hong Kong “invented” what they call “milk tea”, which is super strong black tea with evaporated milk. Add tapoica boba balls and I’m thrilled.

“Egg waffle” with fresh banana and chocolate chips right in the batter. Making this at home, after I track down an egg waffle iron.

“Bobas” = big tapioca balls. “Pearls” = small tapioca balls. Now you know.

We stayed in the Wan Chai district which felt like it had more locals than the touristy areas of Kowloon and Central. I stumbled across a pickup soccer game, food stalls, temples, and lots of shopping.

I bet I could’ve gotten these through customs! Darn.

A really cool temple from the 1800’s that was used as a courthouse and a religious center

Again, shouldn’t have gone to Bali first – but the level of materialism and shopping and vanity was off the charts. People walking around on a Saturday looked more put together than I do when I go to work. On a good day. Us Americans throw on our best athleisure on a Saturday and think we look cute. People in Hong Kong operate at an entirely different level. The shopping districts in Hong Kong add fuel to the fire – it was unbelieveable how many high-end shopping areas there were, and how close together. We counted 6 or 7 Rolex stores on one street. One street! I’m probably not the right audience since I didn’t travel halfway around the world to shop, but the options were never ending.

It seems like the same goes for food in that the options are endless. We paid $106 HKD for two big plates of delicious noodles on the first night, which translates to $8 USD. It’s just easy to stumble into restaurants with several Michelin stars and a steep price tag to match. I enjoyed playing on both ends, wrapping up our visit with a view of the nightly light show from the Intercontinental.

Light show and dinner at the Intercontinental

That’s all for now, folks! Maybe next time you’ll find us in Europe? Australia? South America? Will keep you posted. Thank you for reading!

Love,

Melissa & Mark

December 21, 2018December 21, 2018

Bali: Part Two

Hello everyone, we hope you’re in the holiday spirit! We’re writing this on the plane from Bali to Hong Kong, where it’s mid-morning on Friday the 21st and late on Thursday the 20th at home. We wrapped up our Bali adventure with a cooking class in Ubud (in the central portion of the country where we spent the first three days) followed by three days in Seminyak to the south, and most importantly, on the beach. Our time in Bali was extraordinary, and as Melissa (or Miss Lissa per some of the locals) wrote in the last post, the people were delightful and a combination of friendly, helpful and curious. We’ll look back on our time with all of the people, the raw beauty of the country and also the great cultural experiences with great memories and a lot of appreciation.

The cooking class from Paon Bali Cooking was delicious. We prepared a traditional Balinese meal with travelers from the Netherlands and Australia, and a lot of help from Puspa and her chefs/teachers. Puspa and her husband Wayan invite groups into their home for these lessons and meals, where they host up to 20 curious guests at a time. As an aside, in Bali a home is essentially a compound of buildings and temples and the entrances are often on narrow streets that are packed with homes side by side. From the outside the home screams urban density, but once inside the home opens up to a veranda offering spectacular views over one of Bali’s lush river valleys and jungles.

There’s no mistake “Honey” that this is Puspa’s show, from her commanding presence to the large picture of her that hangs above the cooking area! Our day started with a trip to the local Ubud street market, a mixture of colorful fruit and vegetables, abundant spices, local clothing (e.g., sarongs), tourist trap clothing (e.g., Bintang Beer tank tops) and distinct smells from the nearby refuse pile. After seeing where the ingredients of our upcoming meal were procured (not the refuse pile) we visited another rice terrace to hear from a local farmer. We are now experts on how to grow rice after the first three days of the trip! From here our driver took us to Paon.

An assortment of fresh veggies and fruits at the Ubud market

Wayan welcomed the group and gave a speech about the significance of the three levels of buildings in the home, the highest being the temple, the second highest the sleeping quarters and living space of the eldest generation and the lowest for the younger generation(s). Their two little dogs also came out and said hi, the Balinese love dogs so we felt right at home the entire time we were on the island with all the pups around though we miss Griff.

This Bali pup is tiny and friendly like all the Bali dogs

From there we went to the kitchen and spent the next few hours cooking and eating. We made more than ten dishes fresh from scratch including a garlic, onion, mushroom, lemongrass soup to start, followed by two different salads (green beans and bean sprouts, and Gado Gado), chicken (or tofu and tempeh) satay, yellow curry, crispy chili tempeh, tuna (or tofu) rolls wrapped in banana leaf and banana custard topped with coconut shavings.

This knife is heavy, sharp and we need one at home now

A well-balanced Balinese meal cooked up by the hosts of this website

You should absolutely try this banana custard!

The base ingredient for many of these dishes was a yellow paste that we ground in a “Bali blender” (manual labor required). The yellow paste was a combination of hot chilis, red chilis, shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, candle nuts, coriander, lime juice, peppercorns and a few other ingredients. Two tablespoons of sweet soy sauce, one tablespoon of salty soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of ground peppercorns were staples in most dishes as well.

Our crew of Dutch, Aussies and Americans. Note Puspa is always watching from above in her kitchen (that’s her in the picture on the wall)

This class was a phenomenal way to wrap up Ubud and from there we headed to our hotel on the shores of Seminyak. Seminyak is one of the beach towns south of the capital of Denpasar and is a mix of local buildings mixed with luxury hotels and beachside bars and restaurants. The Double Six Hotel greeted us with the warmest check-in process we’ve ever had, including some sort of green cocktail with vodka that was served with dry ice special effects.

Welcome to Double-Six! Please enjoy a green vodka slushy with special effects!

Our time in Seminyak was less adventurous and more relaxing with time spent hanging out and reading at the pool and on the beach. At the beach we took turns riding the waves without getting beaten up too badly in the powerful surf. We also managed to have a couple of massages at our hotel and very much enjoyed the customize your breakfast however you want, all you can eat approach. They had more delicious pastries that were almost as good as those at our hotel in Ubud, this Balinese excellence in pastries continued to be a pleasant surprise and a favorite of mine.

We also took the ~30 minute walk along the beach in the central square of Seminyak for dinner one night at Ginger Moon where I ordered the four spiciest things on the menu and managed to barely make it out alive. Melissa took the less spicy route and enjoyed her dinner as well. We also walked into Seminyak to peruse the street shops and buy a few local items to commemorate our trip one day and walked into town another day for an hour and a half of heated flow yoga.

Spicy mojitos and spicy steamed buns at Ginger Moon

Seminyak sunsets are a real thing and one of the reasons we chose Seminyak for our beach stay (over Kuta, Nusa Dua and the handful of highly-rated other beach towns). The beaches draw large crowds at sunset each night, and plenty of selfie-takers, as the sun descends into the sea in a fiery orange ball and leaves a magnificent trail of pink, purple, orange, red and yellow skies. We had the pleasure of taking in three sunsets from the beach and the 6th floor restaurant at the Double-Six that also doubles as a club for the party people (not us, we go to bed at 10…). We couldn’t have asked for a more picture perfect setting!

We’re off to Hong Kong now and will check back in on our way back to Minnesota for Christmas Eve!

December 18, 2018December 18, 2018

Happiness. Family. Community. Bali.

I landed in my 40th country and it might be my favorite yet (Mark is doing his best to keep up, he’s up to 20 countries now!). It’s definitely top five material. The Balinese people have it right in my opinion – their guiding light is to do what will make their family, community and themselves happy. We spent a day touring with a local Balinese person who was so kind in sharing with us all the important things in Bali culture.

And the scenery is beautiful too! We’re in Ubud, which is inland and covered in tropical jungles and rice paddies. We started our day with a walk along the rice paddies that our villa is nestled within. The path took us along the complex irrigation system, which was built in cooperation among farmers to feed everyone’s rice paddies across the island.

After a three course breakfast on our terrace overlooking the pool (which I could get used to), we were picked up by our driver and spent all day chatting with him about life in Bali and his village. We saw some pretty cool sights along the way, including but not limited to: a waterfall, stunning rice terraces, a silver workshop, a coffee and chocolate plantation, a forest filled with monkeys, and lunch overlooking the jungle.

Our driver has quite a passion for education, which is perhaps why we got along so well 🙂 he is currently sending the eldest of his four kids to a three-year hotel management program, including a “training” in Singapore that costs him as much as a car. But he places utmost value on education, unlike his parents did. He put himself through college in a major town in Bali, occasionally having to live on the street because he ran out of money. But now, he works for a top three tour company in Bali among 4,000 competitors in the country. He also taught himself Korean and Japanese to be one of the best tour guides in the country. But even with all this hard work and skill, he had to sell three cows to pay for just one semester of his daughter’s education.

Bali is likely the safest country I’ve ever visited. There are no car accidents and no crime because everyone knows each other in the villages and respects each other. This might sound odd, but I feel very safe here especially because I haven’t been stared at or “cat called” a single time. We also left our purses and bags out in plain sight in the car, something that I always avoid doing even in Minnesota, and it was clear that there was no need to take precautions. There is only a feeling of warmth, friendliness and respect.

I learned so much in a day about things that I probably should’ve known earlier, such as where rice comes from. The Balinese have a dedicated temple in every home and every rice paddy to the Rice spirit because it is so important to their economy and their existence. Our driver’s family of six eats 75 lbs of rice per month, for three meals a day plus dessert. He also carries 75 lbs of rice on his head when hauling it from the fields.

Want to know how rice is grown? Let me tell you. First, sprout seedlings indoors and keep them in the dark for three days. Plant them in your rice paddy in the mud below several feet of water. Add fish that will eat the bugs. Weed after the first month. In the subsequent month, shoo the birds out while the rice is sweet. Wait till the grains are dry and yellow, which is 3.5 months for regular white rice and 5 months for sticky rice. Whack the stalks with a machete (doesn’t matter if you’re 7 or 75 years old). Slap the stalks against a big basket to shake out the grains. Dry in the sun for 2-3 days. De-husk, boil and eat!

Our tastiest stop was a tour a plantation of coffee, which also grew every tropical fruit and spice imaginable, including: pineapple, mango, passion fruit, star fruit, durian (which literally stinks), mangosteen, coconuts, water apple, jack fruit, cocoa beans (aka homemade chocolate!), ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon (which is actually tree bark), and peppercorns. We sampled essentially the entire shop including tea, coffee and chocolate, and bought much more than we bargained for. But that’s okay with me, since the country relies on tourism. 70% of Balinese people work in the tourism industry. I’m glad to help these super happy, friendly people put food on their table. Their economy took a nose dive after 9/11 when nobody wanted to travel, and suddenly nobody in Bali could make money. It’s odd for me to think how much of an impact the US has on the world, including tiny islands in Indonesia.

We saw the most beautiful rice paddy terraces, which are a carved out of the ground and almost look fake. Lunch was at a private table overlooking the jungle, which also looked fake. The steep jungle valleys that dip down between rivers are unreal. The perfect compliment was an awesome “sampler” dish called nasi campur, a traditional Balinese dish.

Balinese have many many ceremonies, including blessing of a house, three-month old babies, and cremation being a few of the biggies. We toured a village temple that the community maintains. Every village and every house has a temple. Our driver was kind enough to outfit us with sarongs so that we could “look the part” and be respectful. The stone and wood carvings were so intricate and beautiful, and apparently all villages have an artist (or several) who have amazing carving skills.

Our driver showed us a typical home “compound”, which houses all male family members and their wives. He lives with seventeen family members in a single compound. His neighbor had fifteen sons and one daughter, so all fifteen men plus their wives and kids lived with them. Each family (if they’re lucky) has their own raised pavilion within the compound to call theirs. Grandparents have the highest pavilion in the complex because they are the most important, though our driver acknowledged that they “become like babies” and rely on their children to take care of them. There is no such thing as nursing homes; his grandfather lived with them until he passed away at 103 or 104 years old. I personally loved how families take care of each other – though women have to be aware that they’re dating not just a guy but his entire family for life 🙂

We also learned how to make jewelry out of silver, which is the jewelry of choice in Bali. Silver is mined from the next island over called Lombok and then combined with copper. The metal is rolled by hand, cut into smaller pieces, and melted back together to make jewelry. Tamarind paste removes the brown burnt layer off after heating it up (who knew). I’m going to put my tamarind paste to work on my silver napkin rings at home.

Did I mention we’re spoiling ourselves too? Every morning in Ubud, we are served a multi-course breakfast and afternoon tea (including appetizers) on our terrace or the pool deck. We agreed that we could get used to this pampering. Between the really sweet people, amazing food and lovely scenery, I can see why people extend their stays and never leave Bali. But don’t worry, well be home for Christmas!

January 2, 2017January 2, 2017

Fiords and NYE Fun in Queenstown

Hi loved ones,

We can’t believe we already came to our last destination – though it is an impressive one! Scenes from Lord of the Rings, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and other fantasy movies were filmed here in Queenstown, because the landscape is so incredible.

We stopped along the car ride for a few selfies, and to give Mark a break from my pestering him to TAKE MORE PHOTOS from the passenger window 🙂

We arrived on New Years Eve and headed straight to the spa, because that’s what honeymoons are for, right? These massages were arguably the best that either of us have ever had, though I think our muscles would’ve been grateful for any type of therapy after our hikes. Really good (aka scrummy) ice cream always helps too.

Dinner was along the water, complete with fireworks. We were warned that Queenstown can be challenging to get around on New Years because it’s SO packed. Queenstown is a known “party town” and a favorite among young people in New Zealand. Even so, the streets were hardly full. I found it amusing to see what “a lot of people” means on the South Island, though it was just our speed.

Our second day in Queenstown was spent on boats and buses! We ventured into Fiordland (fjords for all you Scandinavians) where glaciers carved these massive gorges. We had some sun but mostly clouds and misty showers, which was a double-edged sword: we couldn’t see the mountain peaks, but we did see hundreds of waterfalls. I mean over a thousand waterfalls (or millions according to the boat driver, we remain skeptical of his counting abilities). Only a handful were permanent waterfalls, and the hundreds of others sprung to life with the off-and-on rain. We had to try to control ourselves from taking too many photos, knowing that looking back we wouldn’t be able to tell one waterfall from the next 🙂

We got to see a few islands of seals and seal pups, which were adorable. The tour guides were great about pointing out the green irises that grew along the forest road, and the albatross flying over the entrance to the Sound. With the constant wildlife discoveries, I think Minnesota might feel barren when we return 🙂

Squint and you’ll see dozens of baby seals

One last run along the water, followed by a great breakfast, and we’re off to the airport!

An americano, where you pour your own water?
We’ve been so fortunate to enjoy 2.5 fabulous weeks together, and with good friends in India. While it will be great to be home, this trip was definitely one for the memory books.

December 31, 2016December 31, 2016

Franz Josef Glacier & Road Trippin

Hi friends!
I’m blogging to you from the road. Mark and I have been bopping around from town to town, doing the classic South Island road trip. Only about 20% of New Zealand’s population lives on the South Island although it’s fairly large in terms of land, so each village has only a couple hundred people. It’s been a lot of mountains, lush rainforests, cute creeks, ocean views, and little concept of time.

Many of these towns were boom-and-bust gold mining attractions, and today are known for art galleries and haunted ghost tours. We ambled around Hokitika, which has a dozen shops featuring jade collections and a really cool glass blowing studio where we stood mesmerized watching glass creations in the making.

We were both fairly in awe when we reached Franz Josef, the village built around the nearby glacier. With several snow-capped peaks, a relaxed attitude, and cozy shopping and dining establishments it feels like the quaint sort of place that you would find at the base of the Swiss Alps.

This cute mountain villa was where we called home, and we were well taken care of by the couple who hosted us.

A quick 75-minute hike (only 15,000 steps instead of 40,000 this time ;)) took us near the base of the glacier, which is known for its blue ice. The ice is actually turquoise colored and there are deep cracks large enough for people to walk through. Unfortunately, it is not possible to hike up on to the glacier from the trails due to the steep face, ongoing melting and the size of ice chunks that can fall off. Today it’s the fourth-largest glacier in New Zealand, and in photos it’s easy to see how much it’s shrunk in just the last handful of years. Get here before global warming finishes it off!

We were introduced to a kea along our hike, which is the world’s one and only alpine parrot. Mark ID’d it as a parrot right away and we now refer to it as Iago (Aladdin nostalgia, anyone?). New Zealand has approximately 200 species of birds but not a single native mammal. Apparently when it split from [Gondwana/Pangea], all the mammals missed the boat. That means there were no deer, squirrels, bears, wild cats, nothing. So, there are few threats to the birds and many of them evolved to not fly because they don’t need to – including the kiwi. And it’s a very safe place to spend time in the wilderness 🙂

Unwinding in hot spring pools was a perfect way to relax and reward some tired feet and muscles after a few solid hikes. It was also a good consolation prize after our heli-hike was cancelled due to weather yesterday.

We’ve been waiting for a break in the clouds to hop aboard a helicopter up to the glacier, and we finally got the chance this morning. We were both psyched to ride in a helicopter for the first time. While we didn’t get to tramp around on the snow or in the glacier, the views were spectacular and it was a fun experience. Since it was still rather cloudy we weren’t able to make it all the way up the glacier valley, and the helicopter company graciously didn’t charge us a penny.

Onto Queenstown for NYE and a honeymoon surprise 🙂
Love,

Melissa and Mark

December 28, 2016December 29, 2016

Abel Tasman

Hi, new voice here (it’s Mark), Melissa has handed over control for a guest post. We’re coming to you live from the South Island as we’ve ventured to the lower of New Zealand’s two spits of land.

We arrived on the South Island two days ago and after incredibly smooth sailing through the first half of our trip we hit a few bumps after we left the beaches of Coromandel (our last post). We suffered a smashed car window and a stolen bag of electronics during our trip to the Auckland museum just before heading to the airport, and the next day Melissa’s suitcase took a longer than expected voyage to Nelson, our landing spot on the South Island, although it showed up that night. We did soothe ourselves with the best ice cream we’ve ever had from Giapo (sorry Sebastian Joe’s).

There is ice cream under all of these toppings

Following those adventures, including a headache with Thrifty rental cars on paying for the broken window, we returned to our regularly scheduled programming with a bike ride around Nelson and the surrounding shores.

Yesterday was an exhilarating day of hiking through Abel Tasman, and possibly the most exhausting day of my life. Up early for the hour long drive to our water taxi departing from Marahau, with a quick detour to Split Apple Rock (the source of color in the world according to Maori legend) and Adele Island to take in seals sunbathing and playing, we landed with the tide in at Bark Bay around 11:30 AM. We hiked more than 26 km (16 miles) South back to our launching point.

The hike included picturesque views of forests, plants, waterfalls, cliffs and the surrounding sea and beaches. It was 8 hours continuously surrounded by nature and with the most amazing woman – I won’t get too mushy but it felt like one of our first dates. And in typical fashion we set new records for daily steps of more than 40,000 – although this may be one that is tough to surpass 🙂

Abel Tasman is situated on the Northwest coast of the South Island with granite cliffs rising above white sand beaches and gorgeous shades of blue, teal and green water. It has significant tides with the sea level rising and falling 6m (~18 ft) – these tides fill entire pools and bays, and create small islands and peninsulas when they are in, and leave a lot of stranded boats marooned on sprawling beaches when they are out. There are also many streams and waterfalls throughout the park and we stopped at one of the most famous, Cleopatra’s Pool, where we saw canyoning and crowds of people bathing in the large natural pools. The water in all of the streams, rivers and pools is perfectly clear and one of the most refreshing sights I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our swim suits.

After 8 hours of tramping (local term for hiking), we arrived back at Marahau and stopped at the first restaurant we saw for dinner, situated conveniently at the head of the trail. The food was delicious, and despite many sandwiches and snacks on the trek we both were starving! After dinner we limped back to our car about 10 minutes away and took the hourlong drive back to our room. We were both spent but it was one of our best days together ever.

December 25, 2016December 25, 2016

Lazy (Holi)days in New Zealand

Hello!
We made it to New Zealand! After a quick 14-hour flight from Bangalore, we are officially in the honeymoon zone. New Zealand has been amazing so far – beautiful scenery, delicious wine, and delightful Kiwis.
Without realizing it, we went to the number one must-see place in New Zealand (according to Lonely Planet) on our first day: Waiheke Island. It’s known for attracting wealthy Kiwis on holiday to its spectacular beaches and world-class wineries.

We hopped on a tour led by a local, who introduced to the quirks of this unique region. He said everyone on the island collects their own rain water for personal use – there is no such thing as city water, and drilling in your backyard is possible but very expensive. They store water through the winter to use during the summer. Can you imagine Americans being so resourceful? They’re also very protective of the people who have lived there before it was run over by visitors, in particular, of those who occupy houseboats. They protested to allow the houseboat residents, who don’t pay taxes and live in ramshackle rafts, to continue living there against a recent New Zealand law – and won.

We visited four wineries, from a very small one (only 1,200 bottles produced per year) to the most well known, having won the Best Wine in the World award decades ago and putting Waiheke on the map. Chatting with the others in our group was entertaining, and we now have an invitation to visit Napa from a winery owner. My favorite wine in the world is here, as introduced to me by a Kiwi through work, which is sauvignon blanc with grapes from the Marlborough region of NZ. It smells like passionfruit. We may have bought a few bottles. Even Mark really enjoyed it, and he was very excited to “finally” like white wine.

The food in Auckland has been top notch. Every meal is super fresh and full of greens – quite the contrast from a lot of Indian food 🙂 Veg options are aplenty, as they were in India, so I’m in heaven. They say Auckland is a foodie town and we definitely agree.

We plan to drive from place to place for the rest of our trip, including to the beach on the west coast, and I don’t think either of us were especially looking forward to time on the road until we headed out. The trip to the west coast from Auckland was one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever seen, complete with rainforests, mountains, and views of the turquoise ocean from atop the cliffs. We also marveled at how many cows we saw, even compared to the Midwest – they definitely earn the title of a dairy country. Yet again, locals here are amazing drivers as they zip around tiny hairpin turns with no shoulder. Volcanos are everywhere, apparently – although I’d rather not know when I’m on top of one.

At our little beach town of Tairua, we have a cute little villa to call our own, complete with a backyard and “pond”! The water completely drains out at low tide but fills up like a lake at high tide.

Not far is Hot Water Beach, where you can dig down about six inches and find burning hot water. It’s a remnant of the days when volcanoes in the area were active – water is heated up underground and seeps up. We arrived early Christmas morning and beat the crowd to stake out our huuuge hot tub in the sand.

Most Kiwis and Aussies spend the holidays on the beach with their families, which is very different from the traditional American or European celebration. They’re more likely to throw on a glittery light-up hat in the shape of a Christmas tree than they are to decorate one in their living room. We got the low-down on Kiwi culture from PwC friends who recently moved back to Auckland full time (thanks Will and Tally!) They informed us that Kiwis are quick to relax and joke around, and find it tough to be confrontational. It was great to catch up with them in their new city, and to hear how it really is from a resident. I have to say that I’m jealous that they get to stay here longer than our two weeks 🙂 They treated us to dinner and a black sand beach just outside of Auckland.

We happily joined in on the local beach holiday tradition. After Hot Water Beach, we went down the street to Cathedral Cove. It’s an iconic view, but came with loads of people. It was recommended to us that the cove next door was just as good, and it was the prettiest beach I’ve ever seen. We literally had every inch of white sand to ourselves, and the water was turquoise just like in all those touched-up beach photos.

It’s funny – the New Zealand sun is SO hot but the temps are moderate. Yesterday was a high of 66 degrees, but we both got a little red even with layers of sunscreen. Today was a high of 73 and we both thought we’d come out terribly crispy. They say it’s because there’s no ozone layer here. So let’s be more conservative with the CO2 and all, because that sun is dang hot.
One more day on the north island, and then we’re headed south (where it’s cooler – weird, right.). Merry Christmas to all!

Love,

Melissa

December 23, 2016December 23, 2016

Wedding in Bangalore, India; As Told by The Couple’s Friends (The Tall People)

Hello again!
It’s been a while since my last blog and I’m glad to be back! This time, with my co-conspirator Mr. Mark Noel. 🙂 Just wanted to fill you in on our adventures to India and New Zealand. These trips are for two special reasons – our dear friends Sheetal and Sushanth’s wedding, and our honeymoon!
We started off with three days in Bangalore, India for a quite memorable wedding ceremony. It was traditional Hindu with a mixture of rituals from the bride and groom’s local regions of India. We had so much fun with the bride and groom, their families, and our good friends from the US (many of whom are Penn friends or friends of Penn). We were so well taken care of that we never had to worry about arranging anything – and “India standard time” often thwarted any solid plans anyway 🙂
Speaking of the unexpected, Mark and I occasionally felt like minor celebs among the locals who weren’t accustomed to seeing tall white people everyday. Mark was pulled aside by four different groups for a photo while we were touring local botanical gardens. I thought that he should wear an NBA jersey and then see what kind of stir he could make 😉 I was called for a selfie with a little Indian boy, and my pucker face sent his whole group of schoolmates into peals of laughter. It was fun to be a source of joy and entertainment.

I had a similar experience while shopping for saris – I had to be measured for my height because they weren’t sure what to do with someone as tall as me. Quite the contrast from the “short jokes” that I’m often the butt of in the super-tall Scandinavian bubble that I call home. Sari shopping was in itself a learning experience – turns out there are many options (!), from saris to lehengas for women and kurtas to sherwanis for men.

We spent hours on the “fashion street” exploring the clothing stores dedicated to traditional Indian formalwear, with the kindness and patience of Sheetal’s cousins. Mark found a gold patterned sherwani with blue velvet trim, and I also went with an elegant blue/gold. We loved all the colorful options! There was no simple black/white/neutral available anywhere. Indian clothing is meant to make a splash. Accessories follow the same rule: pile on as many as possible. Simplicity and modesty are out the window; “less is more” is a phrase unheard of. The wedding was an explosion of color unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

The wedding rituals had a certain playfulness and energy that aligned with the colorfulness. On our first night, we attended and actually had a big role in the Sangeet. It’s an event where friends and family get up on stage and put on performances in honor of the bride and groom, sometimes making complete fools of themselves but it’s the effort that counts 🙂 As a big group, our friends put on a skit recounting their love story. I was so honored to play the part of Melissa in the skit (i.e. myself)! I was Sheetal’s roommate and friend during their early dating years, so I’m fortunate to be part of the storyline. I also got to dance Bollywood-style during one act and backup-sing a Beyoncé song. While us young people brought laughter and spunk, it was also great to see traditional song and dance from family members. Henna was another highlight, something that I’ll proudly show off for the next week or so (until it wears off)!
The following wedding day was a series of fun and meaningful rituals, starting with the Baraat where the groom’s side parades down the street. It was like a floating party, alongside a loud marching band and the groom who arrived on horseback. It symbolized the groom’s family/friends traveling from their homes to be welcomed by the bride’s family, and the young couple would usually stay with the bride’s parents after the wedding.

Once inside, the couple played out a traditional scene where the groom learns the evils of the world and considers becoming a monk, until the bride’s parents convince him otherwise because the bride loves him. The bride enters, looking stunning, and they playfully exchange garlands while being hoisted into the air. Tall Man Mark was drafted by Team Sush, to help lift Sush up on his shoulder during the exchange of garlands (the winner is the first to successfully place the garland on the other). Turns out there were few men with a football player’s stature in attendance. Ten minutes after we walked in the door, we got to be a central part of the fun!

People had told me that the ceremony stretches on for hours and it’s boring and you can’t tell what’s going on because it’s all in Sanskrit. I really found it to be the opposite. Yes, it seemed like a long day for the bride and groom, but the twenty or so sequential rituals were clearly explained and narrated for all of us newcomers. Additionally, me and sometimes Mark were called up on “stage” (for lack of the actual term) to keep the bride and groom company, to offer our blessings, and cheer them on for other game-like elements of the ceremony. It was such an honor to play the role of “elder” married couple with something to offer, close supporter of the bride and groom, and augment the female group that would traditionally be reserved for sisters (which the couple don’t have). I’m told that friends rarely get to be involved in so much, and that this was one of the best Indian weddings ever – so I consider us very lucky to be part of this special ceremony for two of our best friends.

One surprising element to us westerners was that in and among these rituals, people milled around and talked with each other, even as the ceremony was going on. We all ate lunch in shifts near the end of the ceremony while the couple and their families kept going with the priest. Mark and I had our caricature drawn, and a group actually gathered to watch it come together. I had to do some sleuthing on etiquette, but apparently it’s perfectly fine and expected that there is loud chatter going on during the wedding. Talking on your cell phone is a no-no. Sheetal told me that she trusted our friends not to be rude, but I can’t say I trusted myself until I asked since it’s so different from what I’ve seen at weddings in the US!

I haven’t spoken much about food yet, which is out of character for me in these blogs 🙂 Bangalore is known for being a foodie’s paradise, though the wedding is where the food really shone. We indulged in a 24-course meal (seriously) near the end of the wedding ceremony, which was was served on a banana leaf and tasted SO good. Nearly every meal was exclusively vegetarian, which is typical for for South India and heaven for me 🙂 Dosas, idlis, chutneys, stews, and chaat were the name of the game and present at almost every meal. The food is often brightly colored and seasoned with turmeric, cumin, and cardamom. They do love to serve carbs and fried food, so we’re looking forward to a slight reprieve back to fresh food (and I think Mark would kill for a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon). It was fun to finally get to taste authentic Indian food, since it’s one of our favorite cuisines!

In all my travels, I think that this new city was the one where we stuck out of the crowd the most. We seemed to be the only westerners wherever we went, and as such, we towered above the heads around us. They say many people in India have never seen a white person and we both received a lot of looks through a car window or across a dining room. We, in turn, watched the locals – for example, mixing the rice with a stew using only the fingers on their right hand, and tried to mimic it. (Left hand is traditionally reserved for other purposes and is considered less sanitary – use your imagination, not that we tried ;)). People were always kind and never bothered us a bit. Even in Minneapolis I’m more often haggled or shouted at on the street than we were in Bangalore. We also received oodles of compliments on how well we carried Indian formalwear, which was very sweet of the aunties to say 🙂 It was a new experience for me to be in a less touristy city where we were clearly the visitors/guests, and it gives me a new perspective being mainly the “majority” at home.

We had such a great time at this wedding, and we owe it to the bride and groom, their generous families especially, and the awesome group of friends that surround them. We spent bus rides with our friend crew in peals of laughter, even early in the morning and after a full hot day. We got to tour the sights of Bangalore as a group, including botanical gardens (we saw un-caged monkeys up close for a feeding frenzy!), shopping on Commercial Street, and taking it all in. For instance, our group was amazed by the stray cows that seemed to frequent the busiest intersections of Bangalore (and sometime decide it was time to lay down in the middle of traffic), and all the cars and scooters knew to just go around. Since basically every driver in India could compete in some masterful driving competition, it didn’t seem to phase them.

Cow in the road

Cricket practice

Visiting a Hindu temple

Off to New Zealand for some relaxation, adventuring, and honeymooning!
Love,

Melissa

August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

Wedding Photos from Around the Cities

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