Okinawa: Naha & Zamami
A few days in Okinawa spent roaming Zamami and Aka Islands, then Naha.
Okinawa is that kind of Japan but kind of not place, due to history. I got to check it out in 2011.
We started off by taking a boat from Naha, Okinawa's main city, to Zamami island, an island just west of the main city. As we pulled up to the dock, a happy young woman from the hostel that we were staying at was waiting to warmly greet us.
Zamami Island is small and very walkable, with little beach coves every so often. The main area is condensed, so getting across it takes only several minutes on foot. It has a very small community vibe being that it's a small town, one where everyone knows everyone. People are extremely laid back, casual and friendly.
We went in late April/early May, and the water was still quite cold. The beaches are swimmable, but due to the temperature, not the most comfortable. We wore wetsuits one day, then toughed it out without them on another. The water is clear, and in some places there is an abundance of fish, but there are sea snakes that hide in the coral so beware of them.
Here are a few food spots on Zamami Island that I'd recommend:
Umibaru
This fried fish, Gurukun karaage, doesn't have much meat but is quite tasty. Keep in mind though that this restaurant doesn't have rice, though.
La Toquee
La Toquee's rafute, Okinawa's well known way of cooking pork, is a must. It's tender and juicy, and a treat to eat.
Marumiya
Marumiya is a good place on the island for dinner. Soki soba, Okinawa's version of ramen, is fat noodles and a nice piece of pork in a light broth. If you've had Hawaii saimin, the flavor is very similar.
After our stay on Zamami Island, we made a quick stop at another neighboring island, Aka. Getting back on the boat, we headed back to Naha city.
Naha is a lot bigger as it is the central city in Okinawa. The vibe is very different as well, it's culturally quite diverse and feels somewhat like a mix of Japanese, American and Chinese cultures. There are a lot of businesses geared to internationals, a big reason is due to the big American military presence there.
The nearby Churaumi Aquarium is one of the major attractions as it's one of the most well known aquariums in Japan. It will take a big chunk out of your day as it's big and not central, but it houses a wide range of animals, even whale sharks.
Foods aren't any different from what we had on Zamami, but we did get our fill of seafood at Makishi Food Market.
Makishi Fish Market
Lined with vendors with fresh fish, they'll prepare sashimi for you right there. You can grab a table upstairs and they'll come up and deliver your order to you.
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Shanghai, China: World Expo
Checking out the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.
During the couple days that I spent in Shanghai in 2010, the majority of the time was at the World Expo. It was the reason why I traveled there when I did, but because of that, I didn't get to thoroughly explore the city as much as I'd like to.
Shanghai is a very busy, modern city that has a little bit of grunge to it. When looking at photos of the city from the 90's, it's almost unreal to see how much it's been developed. The enormous skyscrapers and neon lights are just a part of it. You can see it just from walking around the streets, like the digital displays at bus stops telling you bus location information in realtime.
While I'm sure much has changed in both these cities since I've visited, Shanghai has a different feel from Beijing, which I went to a couple years earlier in 2008. Beijing had a more spread out feel, with sections that included ancient temples, old buildings and walled-off neighborhoods. You could sense that it was an old, historical city beginning to transform into a modern one. Shanghai on the other hand, had an instantly modern feel that would fall into the same category as Hong Kong or Tokyo.
Crowded subway
Chinese flags in a subway station
The World Expo was nothing short of amazing, and a big display of countries showing off their design and tech to the world. Many of the country's "booths" had a couple hours wait time, but I was was able to make it into a few, the highlights being Dubai's and Spain's.
Spain's pavilion with digital displays showcasing its culture and history, along with a weird, gigantic baby inside.
South Korean's World Expo pavilion.
One of the moments that stick out to me was leaving the Expo. Everyone was lined up in a long line waiting for taxis. Keep in mind that the idea of personal space here is different from other countries, so everyone was body to body - with the woman behind me carrying her baby on her stomach pushing him into my back. Someone got impatient and jumped the line, running into the street to an open taxi. When that happened, it was chaos; a flood of people followed, running into the street to find any open cab, carrying kids in their arms and all.
Overall, I found that Shanghai took me a little more time getting used to than Beijing. Even though it had a more modern feel, it still was a bit less refined. It could've been just my experience. That being said, however, I did find it intriguing and I would want to visit again to see more of the actual city.
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Phuket & Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
A vacay down south to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, Thailand.
A few friends and I took a trip to Thailand in 2010 to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. Bangkok and Chiang Mai were initially on the itinerary, but due to riots and uprisings at the time, we decided to scratch those two off the list and spend more time down south.
It was my first time to Southeast Asia, and the biggest recommendation that I can give not just about Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, but Southeast Asia in general, is get "local." By that I mean check out random eateries, sit down for some street food, take a wooden boat captained by a local who doesn't speak your language. The more expensive, fancy tours may be great for living it up in Thailand, but balancing it with some raw, local life will, I feel, make for a more well-rounded and enjoyable experience.
We stayed at the Deevana Patong hotel in Phuket. It's reasonably priced, has a nice pool, excellent service and we got a free Thai massage included with our stay. The hotel is in a pretty central location which it made it easy for us to get out and explore the town.
We went for a swim at nearby Patong Beach and caught some tuk tuks out to Karon Beach, both really easy to swim in with really nice light blue waters. There's a lot of street food and open markets selling all sorts of goods nearby, from fabrics to knockoff clothing, particularly on Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi Road [map].
Koh Phi Phi
From Phuket, we took the Phi Phi Cruiser to head out Koh Phi Phi. When we arrived at Ao Tonsai pier on the island, we negotiated (somehow!) with wooden boat owners and one of them took us around the nearby islands.
The sights were incredible. Giant rock islands jetting straight out of beautiful light blue waters warm enough to take a swim in. This is an absolute must-do.
The thing about our trip to Koh Phi Phi was that it was a last minute decision and we didn't make any arrangements to stay the night. We ended up walking along the coast until we came across some cheap bungalows. They were less than US$20/night, I believe, so you can probably imagine that they weren't all that luxurious.
A couple memorable moments on Koh Phi Phi was the foot spa done by fish that nibbled at your feet, and a random "restaurant" that we stopped at for food. After ordering our meals, the woman left and bought the ingredients at a nearby market. During that time, we noticed a kitchen area next to us, a bit dirty with flies around it, and were hoping she wouldn't use that space. She did. We managed to block that out of our minds for a while and eat. Luckily, no one got sick!
Koh Phi Phi is a beautiful area. Even though our bungalows only provided the basics that we needed for the night, right next to it was this incredible view. I'd love to visit again sometime.
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Venice, Italy
Navigating the alleys and canals on my second trip to Venice, Italy.
The Grand Canal, taken from the Rialto Bridge
Venice is one of the most interesting cities because it's so different. Take a walk around and get lost, you probably will if you start to really explore. Venice, unfortunately, has become quite a tourist place and all of the main areas are geared towards their business. The backstreets and alleys is where you'll find more authentic sights.
The streets are extremely narrow and you'll find yourself surrounded by buildings making it difficult to get your bearings. But enjoy it, there's always a shop to peep into, and you'll find a lot to see and take photos of.
Gondolas in Venice with Murano in the back
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Innsbruck, Austria
A pitstop for a few hours in Innsbruck, Austria.
I got to check out Innsbruck for half a day while on a tour around Europe with some friends through Contiki in 2010.
At that time, Austria wasn't really on my radar of places I wanted to see, but it definitely got my attention on this stop.
The central part of Innsbruck is very quaint and walkable. We were blessed with some really good weather, so we headed to the Inn river.
Inn River
At that time, I had already been to Switzerland (in 2004) and was blown away by its nature. The view from this river rivaled some of the Swiss sights. Absolute gorgeous light blue water and amazing mountains around it.
Inn river, taken from the Innbrücke bridge.
Maria-Theresien-Straße
We walked through the town and checked out some shop along the central, Maria-Theresien-Straße street.
The most notable one was Swarovski, the Austrian crystal jewelry brand. They had a big location here, one that might tempt jewelry lovers a bit too much.
Maria-Theresien-Straße in Innsbruck, Austria
As we left the city and drove through the alps and made our way to our next stop in Venice, Italy, all I could think of how I’d love to visit Austria again.
It’s gorgeous.
Altstadt Magic Kebab
Huge pizzas and kebabs. While it wasn't exactly what I expected to eat on a trip to Innsbruck, but these didn't disappoint. There are seats in a courtyard inside as well as outside of the shop, near the Inn river.
McDonalds
Eating at McDonalds in every country I visit is a religious thing that I do when I travel, and I can honestly say that the McDonalds here is one of the best that I've had. There's a lot of variety and special menus galore, to the point where it was hard to choose what exactly to order. Definitely try their round fries (similar to curly fries) with sour cream dip, I haven't come across another McDonalds with that anywhere..
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Munich, Germany
A day of exploring Munich and a night at Oktoberfest.
The photogenic Marienplatz U-Bahn station
I got to visit Munich with some friends while on a Europe tour with Contiki in 2010. We stopped in the city for a night, coincidentally during Oktoberfest.
We spent the afternoon checking out sights around the city. We decided to catch the U-Bahn to Marienplatz, one of the main areas, then took a walk around.
Marienplatz had a lot of well known buildings. After exiting the U-Bahn around the Square, we roamed around and came across buildings like the Frauenkirche as well as a bunch of interesting shops and delis.
Frauenkirche in Munich, Germany
Keep in mind that there is not much English anywhere, so it may slow you down like it did us.
The biggest issue that we had was figuring out the U-Bahn subway system because there was no ticket gate, meaning you can technically ride the subway for free - as long as you don't get caught. It's a sort of honor system, and if you are found without a ticket when randomly checked, there are steep fines.
The same goes for other cities like Berlin. You're supposed to buy a ticket, put it in your pocket and ride.
Oktoberfest
In the evening, we headed to Oktoberfest. We were incredibly fortunate that it happened to be the 200th anniversary of the festival, meaning it was a pretty big deal.
Oktoberfest lives up to the hype; it's a full on carnival slash circus-type of affair, full of huge tents packed to the brim with people drinking beer, singing and having fun with everyone around them.
We peeped into a few different tents to take a look and compare, but realized that if we could find a seat at any one of them, we might be better off just staying put. Each of them holds at least few thousand people and were all packed.
Our third tent was the Munich-native Hofbräuhaus, one of the largest there. It took us a while to get seated, and there was only room in the standing area. Beer women came by every now and then taking orders, but you might have to be a bit aggressive to get their attention as it's crowded and everyone is talking and having a good time with the band also playing on stage. Those beer women come back with an armful, quite an impressive armful, of glasses for you.
One of the best things about Oktoberfest though? So much beer and fun and did not even see one scuffle or fight. If you can time a trip to Munich during Oktoberfest, I highly recommend it, it's a good experience.
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London
A few days in London while on a European tour.
The London Eye and Big Ben, taken from the Golden Jubilee Bridges
I got to visit London for a few days with some friends while traveling on a European tour with Contiki in 2010.
I found just walking around the city to be amazing.
As an American, I really could see and feel the connection between the two countries. The influence was very visible. London is a gorgeous city though, and it also had a quaint type of feeling that I hadn't expected.
Getting Around
We split our transportation between The Tube subway and taxis. If you have more than a few people, taking a taxi may be the better deal as The Tube can be quite expensive.
The system itself is old - the train cars are rather small, and you'll find some stations with uneven floors and winding tunnels. There was even one where we had to wait for cargo-sized elevators to take everyone up.
They make for great "I'm in London" pics and will get you to where you want to go, but it wasn't exactly my favorite part of the city.
While we mostly stayed with stereotypically foods like fish and chips and lamb, the city is pretty diverse both food-wise and culturally.
And while I've heard stories of discrimination, I didn't come across anything like that and found everyone to be well-mannered.
The British Museum
An escalator down to The Tube in London - Barrettish
A street performer entertaining crowds
Stonehenge
We spend a day to check out The Stonehenge. It's worth seeing such a historical relic but do keep in mind that it takes a few hours to get to by tour bus, so it'll likely take up a huge portion of the day.
The Stonehenge
More than anything, the simple feeling of just being in London was great because like I said, there's such a connection to my own home country.
I definitely wouldn't mind a few more days at least to spend there, and hopefully I make it back sometime.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
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Paris, France
Shots from my second trip to Paris.
Paris is basically one big city museum. Even on my second trip to the city in 2010 (once before in 2004), I felt the same. Everything, even the random building on a side street corner, could pass as a stylish masterpiece.
Looking at the Arc de Triomphe from Champs Elysées
View of Champs Elysées from the top of the Arc de Triomphe
The Louvre is probably in the top three of everyone's itineraries. Unless you're really into historical art, it's probably way bigger than you'd expect or like. We decided to just check out the Denon Wing of the museum, as it had the famous Mona Lisa painting.
Looking up at the pyramid from inside The Louvre
At night, we checked out the sparkling Eiffel Tower, going up to the top deck. It wasn't too crowded at the time, and it gave spectacular views of the city and the Seine river running through it.
View from the Eiffel Tower
There are also boat cruise tours down below that will take you on the Seine river around a lot of the city's landmarks, like the Notre Dame cathedral.
After the boat tour, we were able to go the well known Moulin Rouge. It was a great experience, very entertaining with a little bit of cheesiness. I actually found the acts during intermissions to be equally as entertaining as the show itself. (My Yelp review).
Paris is a unique city and it's easy to see why it's one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Even having been there twice, I'd love to go back and experience more.
Exploring the Old Town and Prague Castle areas of Prague for a couple days while traveling around Europe.