flying from china to taiwan
A not-so-direct flight from Xiamen to Taipei–presumably to avoid the military airspace over the Taiwanese strait. What was making headlines in the Chinese news when we left: …and in Taiwanese news, when we arrived:
yang wawa
we’ve just come back from several weeks of holiday in Hong Kong, China (Shenzhen and Xiamen), and Taipei–and wow, was baby S ever popular! especially in China, where girls (and the occasional guy) on the street would often come up and ask to take a photo with him: (same thing with waitresses in restaurants, shop attendants, etc.) (not everyone was … Read More
africans and indians
posted in: cross-culture, travel
0
In Nairobi, the upper middle class are Indians–and not “fresh-off-the-boat” Indians, but those that have been here for several generations. According to wikipedia, the origin of Indian migration was for the construction of the Uganda railway (or “lunatic express“; see also last post) in the late 19th century. There are now over 100,000 Asians in Kenya today–and all the successful … Read More
the train to mombasa
G and I are in Kenya for a 3-week holiday, and our only concrete plan was to take the overnight train to the coast. So shortly after arriving to Nairobi, we went to the railway station to check out our options. There is only one train route going through Nairobi:
burger machines & muscle girls
both of which can be found in Amsterdam.
senegalese goats
while I was in Senegal, I saw some goats. these are the senegalese variety: these are european: I think one likes me more than the other.
tulip bulbs & temporary passports
Observations about Schiphol airport, in Amsterdam:1. They sell tulip bulbs in the gift shops.2. All announcements in the airport are terse threats to the people late for their flights, who must “come to the gate NOW or we will offload your luggage immediately”3. Under no circumstances, not even your grandfather’s funeral, will they allow you to board a plane heading … Read More
pastéis de belém
One of the highlights of my trip to Portugal was a visit to Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, considered the mecca of portuguese egg tarts. Normally you can get custard tarts in any Portuguese snack bar by asking for “pastéis de nata”, but the best ones are to be found at this bakery, served warm out of the oven, and specially … Read More
lust & last
there are lots of ads around Stockholm consisting of pixelated 18th-century oil paintings—a marketing ploy by the national museum for their lust & last (“lust & vice”) exhibit. according to the museum: The exhibition Lust & Vice shows examples of how sexuality, virtue and sin have been depicted in art since the 16th century – from an age when the Church … Read More
food lessons from paris
had a nice visit to Paris with my parents, and was surprised to learn a few things about food in France: as expected, the food at most of the random French restaurants we tried was delicious. unexpected: the portions were huge. any dessert that even mentions chocolate is swimming in it. and chocolate shops are everywhere. moules frites: our waitress … Read More