Aimee’s World Tour

Little things take me across the world. Hand soap for instance.

The other day I was washing my hands in my friend’s bathroom. The soap was Japanese Cherry blossom. Quite honestly before venturing abroad maybe I knew cherry trees had blossoms and maybe I didn’t. I just knew George Washington wasn’t Japanese.

In any case, my mind was tranported to springtime in Korea – you just can’t miss the cherry blossoms. They are gorgeous. There are festivals and whatnot. In fact people travel from all over to Korea, and likewise to Japan, just to see these beauties.

Then there are the little Japanese restaurants I run into whether it be on the streets of NYC or the strip malls of Jersey. “Osaka” and “Kyoto” are popular.

The first couple times my heart leaps with excitement at the sight of one of these establishments. The excitement has since subdued into a smug smile.

How many people getting take-out or sitting down for sushi know that Osaka is a Japanese city located right next to preserved Kyoto. That Kyoto is the only Japanese city not destoyed in World War II, boasting thousands of temples and examples of authentic Japanese architecture. 900 photos in four days gives you an idea of its magnificence. And my love for photography I guess. 😉

I may not have eaten at Osaka or Kyoto, but I’ve eaten IN Osaka and Kyoto. And that is quite satisfactory for me.

Moving on. Pandas. Do ya like pandas? You’ve seen them in the zoo or on Animal Planet? Maybe you’ve slapped a bumper sticker on your car?

The famed Panda reserve is located in Chengdu, China, where my South African travel companion Justine and I spent an interesting morning.

Back home I see signs for Chengdu eateries all the time, in much the same spots as Kyoto and Osaka establishments.

In reality, these cities are anything but close in proximity. Japan is an island for those of you in remedial geography whilst China is a giant chunk of mainland Asia. But Asian food is Asian food over here.

Chengdu is part of the Szechuan region of China, renowned for it spicy cuisine. But do American copies do the region justice?

Just how spicy is the real deal?

Justine and I experienced szechuan hot pot once upon a cold March night in 2010. It was a must on our CHinese bucket list.

We immediately lost all of our layers, sleeves rolled up, tissues a plenty. Our noses were running, and we were sweating, perspiration everywhere. My ear was hurting which is a strange reaction I must tolerate. I ordered an entire bottle of walnut milk. Maybe two. The milk was essentially the only substance that coated our mouths to stop the burning.

Had you observed the tables sat with native Chinese, you’d not think much of the experience as they did not bat an eye.

An experience as fiery in my mind as in my mouth, Szechuan hot pot is not to be forgotten.

Tags: 1, abroad, cherry blossoms, Japan, Korea, Travel

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 19th, 2011 at 4:20 pm and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.