Category Archives: CulturesandUnderstanding
Spinning Disk - Sonoma County Fair Carnival
Have you visited the fair this year? Have some great photos? Want to tell us a story of the fair? Comment below 
Craftbeers From British Colombia - Beer Travels To Canada
Blarghhh!!! Yeah, that is what came out of my mouth. I was stumbling from crosswalk to crosswalk through the lovely clean streets of Victoria. The goal to this adventure? Try to get to the Greyhound station and catch my bus, WITHOUT peeing my pants. I almost made it. Good thing there was Starbucks with a bathroom on the way. I was racing to the Greyhound to catch a bus to my nice room in a house I was staying at in Nanaimo. I was hoping not to miss the bus which was leaving at 6:50PM. The handicap to this adventure? I had finished 8 or so beers in the past few hours. This is why I was stumbling from street to street and my quick pit stop at Starbucks.
Eight beers you ask? Yes, it is very easy for me to down 8 beers and even easier when visiting British Columbia. You see, one of the things that British Columbia is NOT short of, is craft beers. They seem to be all over in the major cities. I had visited only 4 out of the many in Victoria alone. Drinking 2 beers at each place, which can add up very quickly. And that was not the only place where I found craft beers.
Why Craftbeers?
So why are there so many micro-brews and craft beers? Where did it all start? Well you see, one of the good things about Canada is that they have a universal healthcare system. A great advancement for a first world country. The drawback, is that there is a huge tax on things like cigarettes and beer to help pay for that healthcare. This makes sense to tax people on the items that reduce health and longevity. Unfortunately, this has made beer really expensive. When driving around, there was a sign touting Corona for $4.50 during happy hour. Apparently this was a great deal. At that point I gasped with horror.
When I was in the neighborhood Kitslano, Vancouver, I came across some locals who invited me to eat with them at a wonderful restaurant called The Naam. Ironically they were all from United States who have found a new home in Vancouver as professors/scientists at UBC. They told me of the situation of beer prices and that to combat it, they brew their own beer. As a matter of fact they had gone out to eat just to relax from a whole day of brewing and preparing a beer. This was a huge trend in Canada, home-brewing beers, which was even larger in British Columbia and a much cheaper way to get a beer. This trend grew so large that there were so many microbrews and craft beers popping up all over British Columbia. So that is the history of why there are so many microbrews in British Columbia. At least that is what I was told. There are lot of microbrews all along the pacific coast, it could have been that they just grew upward from Northern California (being from Northern California, I am more inclined to like this version). Maybe it is a combination of both.Either way, for a beer lover, British Columbia is a place to visit.
How Did It Begin?
So how did this adventures start? Using Gogobot.com, I asked the question, “I like beer, can you suggest me some local breweries and local pubs in the Vancouver?” Little did I know that it would open a can of worms. Suggestions starting streaming in. So when I first arrived in Vancouver, I had to try out the list. In Vancouver alone I visited some great craft-beers as Yaletown Brewing Co. and Steamworks Brewing Company.
Yaletown Brewing Company
The first has a great atmosphere, full of many locals and is the downtown district of Vancouver. The area was converted from old warehouses and that is where Yaletown Brewing Company was located. They have a list of great beers in which I tried the Warehouse Stout at first. I love stouts, as they are my favorite beers, but this did not do it for me. I also enjoyed a salad and then had myself a Downtown Brown, a sweet yet hop tasting brown ale. Of the two the brown ale did the job.
Steamworks Brewing Company
Now that I had good liking of some beer, my goal was to hit Steamworks Brewing Company. It is located near the waterfront area just as the last rail station and Steamtown meet. It gets it’s fair share of tourists here, and tends to cater to the tourists, but it has great beers. I started with the Oatmeal Stout and worked myself to the Black Lager. I loved the Black Lager enough to have another. I meet some locals here who were giving me hints on where else to get some great drinks. I had a taster of the Coal Porter which was good, as and the rich Espresso Stout. The surprise was the Raspberry Frambozen, a sweet yet heavy tasting fruit beer.
Rogue
Afterwards my new friends from Steamworks Brewing invited me to try a Canadian tradition one building over at place named Rogue. The drink they had me try was known as a Ceaser, which is like a Bloody Mary, with a sausage. Rogue has many drinks to choose from, it is a wet bar, yet it does have some local brews from the area here. I unfortunately did not have one. The scene at Rogue is that of the place where people go to get seen, and yet filled with tourists since it is on the waterfront. I had to kindly let my new friends go as they went one way and I headed back to my apartment.
The Alibi Room
That evening I headed to The Alibi Room as suggested by the bartender. This place is a great place to get local brews from the area. Believe me, from my experience so far, there are a lot of brews to try. It is basically a tap room and a great place to find locals who are actually really friendly and willing to talk about anything. This was hands down one of the best environments to drink in Vancouver. It was a combo of a good mix of beer, people and entertainment.
In Victoria
Vancouver had some amazing spots to drink brews. But the place that seemed to be the king of beers was Victorira. I took a ferry to Nanaimo to check out the tranquil fishing town. Spent some time with my Airbnb hosts. A day later I found myself on a Greyhound to heading to Victoria. Victoria is known as “City of Gardens”, but should be known as the city of breweries. There are plenty of breweries to visit. The staring point here for me was Spinnakers.
Spinnakers
Spinnakers touts to be one of the first Micro Brewpubs in British Colombia, at least that is what I was told by the bartender. Spinnaker is located on the other side of the blue bridge kind of out of the way of the tourist area. This makes it have a more local atmosphere and feel. It is more of a restaurant than a bar. I started off with the Nut Brown Ale, which was rather good and had a good flavor to it. Ithen proceeded to the the Dark Ale which was nice and rich but smooth enough to counter the heat. I then tried the Extra Special Bitter thanks to the bartender’s suggestion and was well surprised on the flavor. The bartender was very helpful, knew a lot about beers and explained the origins well. He also talked of the history of the area. He was also kind enough to suggestion 5 other places to get some good brews while in Victoria.
Canoe
The next stop was back over the blue bridge to Canoe. Easy to find as it is on the waterfront, easy access for tourists. It had a good atmosphere, a wide open area as well as a large open eating area. This was odd due to the random weather in the area. Canoe has a good mixture of tourists and locals.
I asked for their specialty and the set me up with the Beaver Brown Ale. I really enjoyed it a lot. The bartender at first was not very talkative, until we started talking of Bogotá and our love for the place. He gave me a suggestion of the Summer Honey Wheat Ale. It was nice and refreshing. I then had a Red Canoe Lager which was nice but I had to run as the old lady sitting next to me was starting to hit on me.
Swan Brew Pub
I started to stumble out of Canoe quickly. Feeling a bit of a buzz I had about 5 other places to hit up, unfortunately Swan Brew Pub was going to be the last place. Thankfully within walking distance, I entered the small place. I like small as they have a nice atmosphere. It was definitely different than Spinnakers and Canoe. I tried the Swans Oatmeal Stout which was nice and thick and creamy with a heavy taste. It was a good one that I really enjoyed. I then had the Appleton Brown Ale which I really liked. Was not quite like a New Castle but was pretty close. A hurried that beer as I had to catch the bus back to Nanaimo.
Nanaimo - Fibber Magees
After my excursion from Victoria, I was hungry, despite being filled with beers. I tried to find my way to the area of Nanaimo, a small boating town, that was filled with nice restaurants. Instead I found myself getting lost. I spotted a place where a lot of locals were going so I decided to head that direction too. The place was an old railroad station turned into an Irish Pub. Fibber Magees had just opened a week prior to me entering. The service there was okay, not great and the atmosphere was definitely of the youth sort. The thing that stood out? Lots of beers on taps.
I asked the not so friendly bartender for a local brew and he provided me with a Longwood Dunkelweizen, a nice wheat ale. I then started to talk to some very friendly locals, which seems to be common on Canada. They introduced me to the world of Belgium style beers. They had me try La Trappe Tripel, in which I enjoyed and had 2 of. I then tried a Tremens which was delicious. I then had a local Longwood Framboise, a nice sweet raspberry ale which was quite tasty. At this point I was schnockered from all day of drinking. My kind new friends offered me a ride to my place in Nanaimo. I hurried myself to bed and then slept all night and more
The Wrap Up
What is there to say about British Colombia? Well it is a heaven for those who love beer. Other places that are worth mentioning are The Speakeasy and Granville Island Brewery. A beer fan can have a good time checking out the many craftbeers in the area. Just remember to bring some money.
Have some good beers you love from around the world? I know my list can go on for days. Tell me some of your favorite brews from all over the world Leave a message below, send us a tweet
// on twitter, or post on our facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let us know, we want to share it with others.
Places visited:
Yaletown Breweries
Swans Brew Pub
Spinnakers
Steamworks Brewing Company
Granville Island
Canoe
14 Hours of Travel Hell - Getting to Sapzurro, Colombia
Riding 12 hours from Delhi to Jammu and missing both my bus and my stop was really bad. Also being delayed 3 hours to miss a flight and was rerouted to Qatar then to Delhi, eventually losing my luggage and my friends who were to meet up with me was not fun either. 3 days on a Greyhound bus from California to Virginia would have been a nightmare as well if I was not traveling with a good friend. Yet, yesterday? Oh yeah!!! It was bad. How bad do you say? Well I would have to say it was the only time that I felt that it would have been better off wanting to die that to be on the travel. How did it start off you ask? It started off while traveling in Colombia. The first hour was easy, the rest not so great.
So for my birthday I had decided to travel to Colombia again. This time it was to be with my girlfriend. We were to meet up in here hometown of Bogotá. This part of the travel was not bad. Two days pass by and it is time to head off to our next destination. We are going to head off to the lonely lazy and secluded area of Capurgana and Sapzurro. We fly on Avianca from Bogotá to Medellín. That was a simple flight and for $35 it was way better than the seats and comfort than the one I had on American Airlines. We take an hour and half taxi ride from the Airport to the Bus Terminal in Medellin were there was craziness going on. You see this week is Semana Santos, which is equivalent to USA’s spring break. This is one of the largest travel weeks in Colombia. Everyone is trying to get a bus out of Medellin. Unfortunately, so are we.
The buses are just about full, and the last option to take is the ugliest and cheapest bus. The good thing is that it was cheap. The bad thing is that there was little leg room and the seats did not recline. Not only that but my chair had a metal bar that was a support for my seat that stuck into my butt and my girlfriend’s seat cushion detached itself. The whole ride my girlfriend was mad at me so she wasnt talking to me, which meant that the long 9 hour ride was longer and the guy behind me was kept jabbing his knee in my back through my chair.
9 hours have gone by and we are still in the bus. The bus is behind schedule and not is late getting us to Turbo. Turbo is where were are supposed to be buy our tickets at 7:00 am before the boat left at 8:30 am. The bus finally lands us at the stop at 8:20 am. We scurried to the docks where it was humid and crowded with people. There was nothing but chaos. Finally boarding our boat after trying to figure out who sat where I was sitting in the front. My girlfriend a row behind me. We head out and on the 2 1/2 hour boat ride where we are too get to Capurgana, the stop before we head to Sapzurro. So I thought 2 1/2 hours wouldnt bad compared to the last 11 hours. Oh was I wrong. I read that if you do not sit in the rear of the boat the boat ride would be bumpy. Little did I know what they meant by bumpy that you would get bruised up and wish to die from motion sickness, having your butt bruised, and getting with water the whole time. The guy sitting behind my girlfriend apparently almost started to break down crying. The kids behind us were the whole time.
After finally arriving to Capurgana, we imediatly hop into another boat, still shaking from the past boat. The rain had started coming down and we are starting to get soaked. The 15 minute ride was not too bad as we sat in the back this time, but both needed to vomit. Good thing we did not have time for breakfast otherwise we surely would have. That 15 minutes was fast compared to the rest of the trip. We get off the boat to find out luggage drenched. After all that it was very rewarding in the long run. I was able to see how and why Sapzurro is a sought out place to visit by Colombians. It is like being on a deserted Island… But not really. The view is gorgeous.
Things learned? Book your bus before hand, online if possible. It is not always possible, so try to book it at the ticket office before hand.
If you can, take a flight from Medellin to Capurgana. It is worth not wanting to get sick the whole ride. If you can get to the boat early and make sure to get a rear seat. Lastly I learned to just enjoy the trip. See the good in it, despite the weirdness that might happen.
Tips: Things Learned Traveling In Argentina
“Ugh! What is that on my boot?” “Wasn’t I here already?” “Did you say 18 hours on a bus?” We tend to learn things the best the hard way, which is by experience. Learning by experience tends to allow us to grow a bit more. What was learned in Argentina? Here are some tips about traveling Argentina, or just traveling in general but was discovered when traveling Argentina:
- “Cagar en el Calle!” Yes, the grammar is incorrect, but the alliteration was more fun. Watch where you step. It seems that dogs like to poop just about everywhere in the streets of Buenos Aires, and the owners do not like to clean up after their dogs. While looking up and around at the amazing architecture, make sure not to step into a smelly accident.
- Argentina is HUGE. Two weeks are enough to see Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls and Rosario and Colonia del Sacramento, but forget about Patagonia, the Pampas, the beaches, Fue de Tierra, Bariloche and the lakes, Salta… and much more. Looks like another booking to Argentina is required… Not like that is a bad thing.
- A shifty man leans against the wall in his white collared shirt and black slacks. Casually he announces “Cambio?” as tourist pass by in the heart of Centro Buenos Aires. I am not advocating doing something illegal, but there is an advantage for having American Dollars, you can exchange them for hefty amount of money in your favor. The regular exchange rate for American dollars is 4.7 and most “cambios” would exchange for 4.2 at the airport. Black market or “Blue Dollar” was more like 6.1 per a dollar. There are places online that can allow for money transfers to your account for a better exchange rate and no need to worry about walking into dark alleys or shifty buildings.
- Pizza is amazing. Some of the best pizza I have EVER eaten had been in Argentina. There is a huge Italian influence in Argentina and the cooking is hugely influenced. Pizza here is great, although not Italian thin crust, it has a great taste. It is always fresh and best of all you can enjoy it at midnight when you have a made case of the… hunger.
- Good luck being vegetarian, actually not really. When you say are vegetarian or “Yo soy vegetariano” they look at you with a weird stare. Argentina is known for being a haven for meat lovers. Most when asking for something vegetarian they will offer a salad. Look at the menu closely, there are actually a lot of vegetarian options.
- Buenos Aires is the hub. If you want to go anywhere, you have to go to Buenos Aires first. If you are in Puerto del Iguazu and want to get to Bariloche, you still have to travel south to Buenos Aires then westward to Bariloche rather than straight westward to Bariloche. It is a great way to rack up frequent traveler points…
- Don’t be afraid of a bus system. The bus system is rather comfortable, actually more comfortable than most first class air flights when taking long travels. With reclining chairs that turn into beds. That 18 hours bus ride to Iguazu does not seem so bad now.
- Don’t do anything the day you are set to leave, like taking a day trip an hour north to Tigre. If so, expect the chance of missing your flight in the 3.5 hours of traffic from downtown Buenos Aires to Ezeiza Airport. On a good note, it is a great way of extending your stay an extra day.
- Expect slow service. Service in Argentina is slow, but for a reason. The idea is just to enjoy your time. When you order something to eat, expect to have a good amount of time to talk to your lunch/dinner mate, because getting that check may take 30 minutes just to get to you.
Ever have some interesting experiences that you would like to share when in Argentina? Perhaps just some tips? Or maybe you have some experiences on traveling in general. Let us know in the comments below or tell us on twitter and Facebook. Or just stalk us on our feeds.
Bogotá - Review
When I mention Bogotá, what is it you think? I know, I know… You are probably thinking about drug lords and violence. To set things straight, Bogotá never was the center of all that. There are no in the street gang wars constantly happening, and there are not drug dealers on each corner trying push something onto someone. As a matter of fact, Colombia in general has moved way past that stigma. Guess you will have to keep watching the stereotyped films to see all that.
What is Bogotá like? To some it up, it is large and sprawled out, much like Los Angeles, but filled with artistic culture, like San Francisco and just a lot of old history and buildings like Madrid. Bogotá is filled with all kinds of different walks of life, from the poor to the rich and everyone between and offers a great place for anyone who wants to explore this wonderful city.
So Bogotá is grand, large and a very sprawled out city, much like Los Angeles. It is vast and has so many places to visit. But like Los Angeles, it also suffers from an insane amount of traffic. So much that it has a restriction on driving on certain days depening on your licensee plate number, a system known as Pica y Placa. The idea is to narrow the amount of traffic.
If you do not want to deal with the traffic, Bogotá has a “metro” bus system known as Transmilenio, which is an above ground bus system that has dedicated lanes and roads for the purpose of commute. It is a fast convenient way to get around Bogotá with out having to pay extra (yet still inexpensive) for the many many taxis you can take otherwise. The biggest drawback is the be weary of using the Transmilenio during peak hours, you may find yourself getting extra friendly with people on the bus with you.
One of the things I really enjoy about Bogotá is all the art in the city. From street/graffiti art to mounds and mounds of museums it has a lot to offer. One example is a great collection from the Botero Museum collection. A collection of great, including some Dali, Picaso and other great names in the art field. The art scene can mostly be found in the dowtown area of Bogotá, near Candeleria. There is also museums in other places of interest as well.
Art is not the only culture that can be found in Bogotá. One of thing that most Americans think about when they think of a latin country is Latin music. It is true there is a fondness for reggeaton in, and a lot of club dancing. But as you walk through the square of Chorro de Queveda, you will see a very different culture. It is a lot of rock. There is a huge rock and hard rock culture in Bogota. Sitting in a small pub in the heart of Candeleria while drinking soem chiche, a corn fermented alcoholic drink, I noticed the music of Metallica and local bands like Parabellum.
For those who like to dance, Bogotá is filled with such a thing. One thing that Colombians like to do is dance. And there are a fair share of dance clubs in Chapinorte and suba areas, as well as the northern areas of Bogotá.
For those who are more of those who want less energetic culture experience, there are a lot of sites to see in Bogotá. There is the large tower of Colpatria, and the beautiful old buildings of the Candeleria district. There is a the beautiful walk of Cerro de Monserrate and the view of Bogotá at the top of that mountain. The amazing square at Plaza de Bolivar offers a lot of culture and some of those amazing museums I mentioned earlier. And churches, Colombia definately has it’s fair share of churches and cathedrals, all worth photographing for their amazing architecture.
So what does Bogotá have to offer if cant fit the stereotypes of the what is shown in the movies? Well as you can see, it has a lot to offer, from amazing new and old cutlure and art in it’s amazingly sprawled out city.
So have you visited Bogotá? Maybe you have some questions about the large city? Write a comment below and feel free to follow us on twitter and Facebook and follow our feeds.
The Way - Pilgrimage Travels
When I saw the movie The Way, by Emilio Estevez, I was moved by character development the man played by Martin Sheen. The movie follows Tom, a Crabby doctor who goes to France to claim the body of his son after a tragic accident. Tom decides to take a journey on a path his son never finished through beautiful northern coast of Spain. The journey he takes is a famous christian pilgrimage known as “The Way of Saint James” or “The Way”. Tom meets some companions and on his journey and on his this path learns more about himself.
This reminded me of why I love traveling. When you travel, you learn more about yourself. Even more so, you learn more about a culture and other people, even more so if you experience a pilgrimage. In my travels I have experienced a few pilgrimages including the holy city of Rishikesh, India, climbing the Trikuta Mountain in Katra to Vaishno Devi Shrine in India, found myself at the Krishna’s birthplace in Mathura, India, and climbed the steps of Hanginan in Maasin, Philippines. All of these being spiritual journeys, and much like Tom, they landed on me at the last minute.
This got me thinking, Tom meet some interesting people on his pilgrimage, and so did I. I also realized that pilgrimages are great way to inspire travel, meet amazing people, and learn more about cultures of the area.
Always wanting to travel is dream of many. But where does one decide to travel to? And how do you decide? A pilgrimage could be the answer to such a thing. Many buddhists see the four holy spots of Buddha in India and is an inspiration for me to return to India. Many Christians walk “The Way” or “The Camino” like in the movie The Way and explore Spain. There is also the 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Japan. All of these are great reasons to want to travel and great inspiration for anyone to want to travel.
It is always amazing when you are doing something, and someone shares that same idea with you. That is great about a pilgrimage, you are surrounded by people who share your same ideas. My pilgrimage in Katra to Vaishno Devi I really got know my good friend, and meet some other great pilgrims, young and old along the way. In They Way, Tom comes across companions all walking “The Camino” all looking to find themselves, or just something. As one walks to lose weight and another is trying to quit smoking. They stumble upon writer with writer’s block who is finding his way. They all become friends on their common journey. Journeys like these are a great way to meet new people.
Tapas or Pinchos? Which do you order when you are in Pamplona? Well you could always be like Tom and find out the hard way. Something you always seem to learn about a pilgrimage is the local customs and culture of where you are at. Nothing like trying samosas for the first time and falling in love with them forever. Food is a great thing to experience on a pilgrimage, as you are forced to eat the local foods. You are also learning about the villagers in the area when talking about them, and finding similarities and differences, like whether to order tapas and pinchos.
So why go on pilgrimage? Well you do not have to do it to be spiritual, it is a great reason to be inspired to travel. You can make new friends along the way as you try new foods and learn new cultures. Pilgrimages are just a great travel experience. Do not forget to check out They Way on BlueRay now.
So if you could take a pilgrimage where would you go? Perhaps you would like to share an experience of a pilgrimage with us? We could use some good ideas of where else to go. Are there any other movies out there that have inspired you to travel? Write a comment below and feel free to follow us on twitter and Facebook and follow our feeds.