Author: meredithallen
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Lunch Counters & Counter Culture
The next morning we headed for late breakfast/early lunch in this tiny tangle of streets. There was a line to this corner noodle stall with only counter service – about 8 or 9 stools – and a fast turnover of mostly men, slurping quickly and loudly. I sat down in the middle of all these…
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Weather & Wings
A rainy day, so we hit the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It was huge, with all sorts of interactive, moving and miniature displays. We ended up spending way longer than anticipated there! Edo is what Tokyo was called before it was the capital. The museum is right next to the sumo stadium, and when we were leaving…
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Trees & Traffic
Breakfast adventure! Grabbed some things from the konbini. Still not sure what I ate? First stop of the day: the Meiju Shrine. A huge, beautiful green space right in the heart of the city, we were shocked when we walked up. The trees are giant, the city noise drowned out and – since we got there…
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Flowers & Fish
Because of our, ahem, early bedtime, we all woke up at about 3 am and decided to try for the fish market. We missed the tuna auction (seats are limited and rumored to basically be all taken by about 4), but wanted to walk around anyway. It’s basically a fend-for-yourself situation, since it’s a commercial…
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Tokyo First Impressions & Toilet Tales
Well it took 30 hours of travel, our first vending machine stop, and some friends at the konbini (the convenient store – they pulled out a phone book of maps (?) and got us on the right path) to get to the apartment. Sarah and Matt were already asleep and we were exhausted, trying to…
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Travel Log
Our last ATX meal? Salt Lick breakfast tacos, of course. Excited but sleepy, we got on the plane only to be told the plane’s battery wouldn’t hold a charge. It might be a quick fix or they might have to fly parts in. (Which seems inefficient? But maybe that’s just me.) The grumbling out loud…
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Japan is Calling
…and I must go. Tomorrow. (Apologies to John Muir) test post!
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Unexploded Ordnances in Laos
Visiting the Laos Unexploded Ordnances Center in Luang Prabang is a sobering experience. Per capita, Laos is still the most heavily bombed nation in the world. Even now, one person almost every day is injured or killed by unexploded ordnances in Laos – sometimes by a bomb that has been there for fifty years. During…
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Khàwp Ja̖i Lãi Lãi, Tamarind!
Khàwp jai lãi lãi means thank you very much in Laos (sounds to me like hop jie la lie – but then again, I got some laughs so that might not be right!). Tamarind is a delicious brown lumpy thing that tastes waayyy better then it looks. Also, the name of my new favorite restaurant…
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Ock Pop Tok Is A Fun Thing to Say
Ock Pop Top means east meets west, which is actually a good title for this entire trip I think. It is also the name of a social enterprise that seeks to empower women through their traditional skills, as well as promote Laos textile design. We made our way to one of their store fronts in…
