Campo Imperatore

On the second day of my stay in Abruzzo I more or less stumbled upon Campo Imperatore. It was just a name on the map, but the location intrigued me: right above the middle of the 10 kilometer long Traforo del Gran Sasso I drove through to reach my destination. When I reached the mountain grassland my mouth fell open by the sheer beauty. I had not expected this. 

In the distance you can see the mountains of Gran Sasso d'Italia towering over the grasslands with the highest peak being the Corno Grande (2912 m). The northern face holds Europe's southernmost glacier: Ghiacciaio del Calderone. In 2017 the glacier disappeared for the first time mid-August.

I spent a day cycling and a day hiking in Campo Imperatore and the mountains of Gran Sasso d'Italia

Campo Imperatore was also the backdrop of quite a few movies, like the Spaghetti Western Lo chiamavano Trinità... (1970) starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

Red Sonja (1985), with Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain massif

Polenta with meat stewed in red wine in Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi (2.400 m.).

Parts Unknown - Abruzzo

On my way to Abruzzo the words "Parts Unknown" were ringing through my head. I really didn't want to do this trip alone. I was reasonably sick of spending all my travels alone and this time I was even more apprehensive than normal for personal reasons. My previous long road trip didn't end well. At the same time I realised how lucky I am to own a car and have plenty of money for diesel and all the food I want to order at any restaurant along the way. Anthony Bourdain was even more fortunate, yet five days after photos of his love of his life hugging another man in the streets of Rome were published, he committed suicide. Bourdain was the presenter of the long running (11 seasons) travel and food series Parts Unknown. I kinda get the loneliness he must have felt. Just kinda. I do not want to pretend to understand the depressions he was suffering. My journey to Italy was marred by an intense feeling of loneliness.

Empty glass, yet "un quarto di litro di vino rosso".

I planned to cycle a 388 kilometer loop through Gran Sasso National Park, Abruzzo National Park and Sirente Velino Regional Park. The loop was envisioned by Giorgio Frattale and Francesco D’Alessio who cycled this trip in 5 days. On day one I loaded my bike with my tent and plenty of food and water. The sky was partially cloudy and my bike felt heavy. After half a day I calculated my progress in distance and it became quickly clear I would never finish the loop in 5 days. My plan had quickly crumbled to pieces. Time for plan B. There's always a plan B.

Turning point.

I decided to spent the first night camping in the mountains. I choose a spot between Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Calascio with a beautiful valley view. I pitched my Tarptent Double Rainbow at dusk and waited for the night to fall. Soon I could hear animals trampling the grass around my tent. I assume the Apennine wolf keeps his distance from the lower valleys, so it must have been - well, god knows what.

Serene early morning in the mountains. Absolute silence.

La vita è bella

A much lighter bike for day trips. Plan B wasn't so bad after all.

Final few kilometres of my holiday, just before the brake pads of my disc brakes were completely worn out and my braking power was reduced to almost nothing.

Tour de Achterhoek

In Thailand I felt silly I was hesitating to rent a scooter. I never rode one of these machines. Now I finally did, close to home. I rented a Taiwanese SYM Cello in Groenlo from a rental company called Tour de Achterhoek. Technically this was "snorfiets" according to Dutch law (the word "snorfiets" in the law dates from 1974, colloquially you would say "snorscooter"), which means the maximum speed is 25 km/h, there is no obligation to wear a helmet and the number plate is blue. Technically there is not much difference between a "snorscooter" and a "bromscooter", which can go up to 45 km/h and carries a yellow number plate. Both fall in the category "bromfiets" and can be driven with driver's license B, which automatically is also licence AM (bromfiets) and even license T (tractors).

It was kinda fun. First thing I had to learn is to reduce speed in the curves. On my bicycle I am used to take curves quite fast but a scooter is so much more heavier. Now I can rent a scooter in Asia and not die instantly in local traffic.

Parked at the pig farm (H)eerlijk Vlees near Groenlo. The family raises pigs, who get slaughtered at slaughterhouse Beerten in Zieuwent. The meat is sold at the farm behind that green door.

Route der Industriekultur

The German former industrial powerhouse, the Ruhrgebiet, boasts a dense network of bicycle paths and routes called: Industriekultur per Rad. You can follow two long distance cycling routes: the RuhrtalRadweg (240 kilometers) and the Römer-Lippe-Route (400 kilometers), but in between these long distance cycling paths there is a Dutch inspired bicycle junction network - "ein modernes Knotenpunktsystem nach niederländischem Vorbild" - which brings the total amount of bicycle paths to 1200 kilometers. However, there are many more dedicated routes. Just the Römer-Lippe-Route crosses over twenty other signed bicycle routes.

I cycled part of the Emscher Park Radweg - yet another long distance (230 kilometers) route part of the Industriekultur per Rad. Starting point was the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex.

Zeche Zollverein Schacht XII is probably the most famous coal mine shaft. Designed by architects Fritz Schupp (1896-1974) and Martin Kremmer (1894-1945) in typical style of das Neue Bauen. It was finished in 1932. 

“Der Kamin von Zollverein war höher als die Reinoldikirche”

— Information sign at Zollverein

Halde Rheinelbe, about 100 meters above sea level. A coal mine spoil tip.

Intersection of the Emscher Park Radweg and one of the many towns between Essen and Bochum.

Cycling path on the abandoned railway bridge 'Rote Brücke' (1926–1928) used by the former Erzbahn connecting the steelworks of the Bochumer Verein with the Rhein-Herne-Kanal.

An important part of cultural life in Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Biergarten.

Radschnellweg RS1, the first 'Autobahn' for bicycles in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

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Der RuhrtalRadweg (240 kilometer)

I cycled part of the RuhrtalRadweg in the first weekend of August. Starting point of this long distance cycling path is Duisburg and the world's largest inland port. The next metropolitan area is Mühlheim an der Ruhr, then the route follows the Ruhr towards the source of the river in Winterberg, 240 kilometers further upstream and uphill.

Where the Rhein and the Ruhr meet. Rheinbrücke Neuenkamp in the background. This is also the starting or end point of the Ruhrtalradweg.

Rhein-Herne-Kanal (1916) and the Ruhr. 

The river Ruhr.

The wide valley between Mühlheim an der Ruhr and Mintard.

IJmuiden

I remember the fishing harbour Scheveningen in the late 1970s. The smell of fresh fish was everywhere, mixed with the smell of tar and oil. Once a year my father bought a bucket of sprotjes (European sprat) and we would clean the fish at home and finish the whole bucket in one evening. In summertime we spent time at the beach. I still love fish and swimming in the cold waters of the North Sea. IJmuiderslag has become my favourite beach. There is no public transport connection. Therefore the beach feels more local and not as crowded as Zandvoort aan Zee - although the crazy amount of dogs is almost a dealbreaker for me. On the upside the North Sea is just as nice and the added bonus is the fishing harbour IJmuiden and probably the best sushi in The Netherlands.

Fishing harbour
The old fishing harbour of IJmuiden is quite small, although you can see very big fishings ships moored in the IJmondhaven not far from the Vissershaven. The Annelies Ilena on the photo below is one of the world's largest fishing trawlers - 145 meters from bow to stern. It is no wonder the fishing harbour IJmuiden has been growing from 9.221 tonnes of landed fish in 2006 to 15.000 tonnes in 2012.

My fishmonger in Amsterdam - Vishandel Tel - opened a second store in IJmuiden in 2002 after the store in "China Town" became too small. Luckily I don't have to travel to IJmuiden for fresh fish since their Amsterdam store is just around the corner, but is seems most fish I buy has been landed in IJmuiden.

Probably the best sushi in The Netherlands
Itamae Kuniyoshi Ohtawara used to work in restaurant Yamazato in the famous Okura Hotel in Amsterdam, but has now settled in Hokkai Kitchen in IJmuiden to work for Hokkai Suisan, a company led by Marinus Noordenbos supplying the Japanese expat community with fish in more than fifteen countries. I am missing the overpowering smell of fresh fish in a small standing sushi bar, other than that his sushi is probably the best sushi in The Netherlands.

I ordered six nigiri but already ate one before I remembered I wanted to take a photo. Shime saba (cured mackerel), nishin (herring), aburi o-toro (seared o-toro tuna and I am pretty sure I had the wijting and zeebaars nigiri.

Sunrise 2018-07-26 06:13.

Sunset 2018-07-27 21:35.

Sunset 2018-08-07 20:00.

Naturpark Hohe Mark-Westmünsterland

Naturpark Hohe Mark has become my favourite cycling area for a day trip or a weekender. The park is huge: 1040 square kilometers! Compare that to the famous Dutch park Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe, which measures just 55 square kilometers. It is no surprise the park has over 1000 kilometers of cycling paths. Many roads are closed for cars and motorbikes except local traffic (Anlieger frei), and therefor practically car free. Many cycling paths are dusty single tracks through forest or follow the path of railroad, the tracks removed since many decades.

When you start to know the area, you will learn to find the local Biergarten for an ice cold beer, or trout ponds selling smoked trout, still warm from the smoking chamber. In summertime Hohe Mark feels like heaven.

Angelparadies Schoel

Bicycling paths in Europe: most can be found in Vlaanderen, The Netherlands and Nordrhein-Westfalen. 

The Stone Mind 공안

Musings on subjectivity and objectivity in Buddhism.

From: Dong-seung 동승 (A Little Monk), 2003 by director Joo Kyung-jung.

The Dangun myth

Cheonje-dan altar on Taebaeksan in South-Korea, which became a substitute for North-Korean Baekdu Mountain.

The Korean sky god Haneullim (하늘님 "Heavenly King") had a son called Hwanung ("Heavenly Prince") who became interested in the earth with its mountains and valleys. He was allowed to descend to Baekdu Mountain in current North-Korea, then called Taebaeksan (great white mountain). A bear and a tiger came to visit Hwanung every day to pray. Hwanung promised to make them human if they ate only garlic and mugwort and stayed in the cave out of the sunlight for one hundred days. Only the bear succeeded in this task and Hwanung made the bear into a beautiful woman. But she grew lonely, so Hwanung gave her a male child: Dangun (“Sandalwood King").

According to myth Dangun founded the first Korean kingdom Gojosean (2333BC?–108 BC). The earliest record of the Dangun legend is found in Samguk yusa with the earliest extant publication of the text from 1512.

Inaccessible to South-Koreans: The summit caldera of Paektu Mountain, with Heaven Lake.

Dangun is often depicted with a robe made of leaves.

Dangun is worshipped with mountain spirit sanshin in the Samshingak of Manggyeong-sa 'All-encompassing-View Temple'.

Cheonje-dan altar on Taebaeksan in rainy clouds.

Taebaeksan and the Dangun myth

Taebaeksan and Munsubong are two striking peaks of Taebaek Mountains. On Taebaeksan a stone altar, most likely from the Silla period, is still being used for prayer and ceremonies. Taebaeksan is linked to the Dangun myth. Hwan-in 桓因,  the King of Heaven, sent down his son Hwan-ung to earth on Mount Taebaek-san 太白山 to benefit humanity. The myth does not describe modern Taebaek-san. Hwan-ung mated with a bear transformed into a woman and their son was named Dangun. 

Although according to modern scholars Hwan-ung descended onto Baekdu Mountain on the border of current China en North Korea, Dangun is revered on Taebaeksan in South Korea by groups of local nationalists and shamans. David Mason describes the story in more detail: The Myth of Gojoseon's Founding-King Dan-gun. 

Cheonjedan 천제단  - Altar for Offering to Heaven.

Cheonjedan 천제단 on Taebaeksan.

Dang-gol - Munsubong - Taebaeksan

I walked up to Munsubong an hour before sunrise. Along the way just after leaving Dang-gol (Shrine Valley) you will find a stone altar in the forest with offerings - a dried fish and alcoholic beverages; soju and makgeolli.

View of Munsubong just after sunrise with Manggyeongsa  - All-encompassing-View
Temple - in the far distance.

The path between Munsubong and Taebaeksan.

Dangun painting inside Manggyeong-sa's San-shin-gak.

After my hike up to Taebaeksan in the morning I returned to the altar the same day. The weather had changed dramatically. The alter was almost hidden in the clouds. A strong wind was blowing. 

Dangun painting in Dangun Seongjeon - Altar-King Sage-Hall - at the start of the trail just above Dang-gol

Golden Dangun statue at the Buddhist Buljeong-Am temple in Dang-gol. 

Wholesale fish market in Gunsan

Gunsan (population 280.000) is a seaport on the midwest coast of the Korean Peninsula. Once a small fishing village, Gunsan now boasts an Industrial Zone and high-tech manufacturing industries. Gunsan still has a thriving fishing fleet and is an excellent place for fresh seafood. The old fish market can be found in town, the wholesale fish market has moved to Saemangeum, about 20 kilometres from the city center. Gunsan is known for saengseon hoe (생선회), raw sliced fish. The first evening I was walking along the waterfront of the old fish market when I met two men eating saengseon hoe and drinking soju. They invited me to join them and managed to feed me about half their saengseon hoe dipped in spicy chogochujang (초고추장) sauce made from gochujang by adding vinegar. 

The next day I took a taxi to Saemangeum to try some Korean seafood, like meongge (멍게), gaebul (개불) and San-nakji (산낙지). In English: sea pineapple, a species of marine spoonworm commonly known as penis fish and raw octopus tentacles, still moving on the plate. 

I arrived two hours early,  the market only opens at 10:00 am, which gave me the chance to roam about in a deserted, eerie fish market.

The meongge (멍게), gaebul (개불) and nakji (낙지) were taken from the fishtanks and were killed right before being served.  Meongge is a sea squirt and lives attached to rocks. Mine was served as meongge-hoe: raw. The taste is hard to describe. It is definitely salty but the description "rubber dipped in ammonia" in the Lonely Planet is way off the mark. Gaebul is chewy but doesn't have that much taste. You definitely need chogochujang (초고추장, vinegared gochujang) as a dipping sauce. Although I read that gaebul straight  from the sea has a sweet taste, which is lost when kept in a fishtank. The san-nakji was interesting. Raw octopus tentacles also do not have that much taste, chogochujang to the rescue! I can use metal chopsticks fairly well, but with this these wriggling  food items using chopsticks was a challenge.

Jirisan Ridge Hike - walking with bears

Jirisan is the start point of the Baekdu Daegan, which is a 1700km more or less continuous ridge that forms the backbone of the entire Korean peninsula. The Jirisan section of Baekdu Daegan is about 40 kilometers. I started on the west side of Jirisan National Park in Gurye, sleeping in a small guest house. I had planned to sleep rough but I soon learned Jirisan is also home to about 60 Asiatic black bears. 

I had to sleep in a mountain shelter. It is not allowed to just turn up at a shelter, so you need to make a reservation - even weeks in advance in peak season. I wanted to start my hike the next day, so I was lucky I could make a reservation for Yeonhacheon Shelter at the Jirisan National Park Southern Office (511-1, Hwangjeon-ri, Masan-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-Do). Apparently June is considered off-peak season. 

Day 1: Gurye - Nogodan shelter - Yeonhacheon shelter

The hike from Gurye starts with a 7 kilometer and 3 hour steep walk up to Nogodan, the first shelter along the ridge hike. I left at sunrise and soon walked past Hwaeom-sa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, one of the Seon (Zen in Western thought) sects dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392).

Hwaeomsa 華嚴寺

The distance between Nogodan and Yeonhacheon takes about 5 hours. The path is walkable but there is a hardly an horizontal stretch. The path is mostly hidden under the canopy of the trees. Clear views are not common and my views are often blocked as clouds drift in. The temperatures are very nice though and I can hike the whole ridge just dressed in a T-shirt.

The park authorities warn for bears by big warning signs every kilometer or so. In the unlikely event of encountering a bear you have to curl up and lie still on the ground. That is:  if you haven't been able to scare the bear off, which is your first line of defence. 

I arrive at Yeonhacheon Shelter in the late afternoon without seeing any bears. There is no food at the shelters. You have to bring your own supplies for the duration of the hike. Instant noodles are cheap, weigh next to nothing and provide plenty of energy. I also brought some precooked Ottogi rice and canned spicy tuna.

Day 2: Yeonhacheon shelter -  Seseok shelter - Uisin village

This trip I was not able to climb the highest peak Cheonwangbong (1915 meters). I wake up in Yeonhacheon with the sunrise. I have no more reservations for a shelter so I need to make it back to my guesthouse in Gurye in the evening. I decided to continue along the Baekdu Daegan and walk far as possible.

The first stop is Byeoksoryeong Shelter. The hike between Byeoksoryeon and the next shelter, Seseok, is simply beautiful. This part of the hike is black labeled as "expert level" and at times you are really hiking on the ridge. When I arrive at Seseok Shelter I have run out of time. I am still on the Jirisan ridge and have to make it down to a village. I opted for Cheonghakdong but somewhere along the scramble down, the signs for this village disappeared and after many hours and many rocks I ended up in Uisin.

Uisin is a tiny village and there were no buses so I ended up taking the longest taxi ride in my life - 50 kilometers back to my starting point.

While I didn't hike the full Jirisan ridge, I still had a feeling of personal accomplishment. In the early springtime of 2018 I discovered why I had been feeling so tired after working days. A blood test unveiled a dust mite allergy and since I work in a very dusty environment my physical condition had been severely compromised. This was my first longish mountain hike in quite a while (18 hours in two days) and there was no trace of tiredness, just very sore muscles due to lack of training.

Finding a Tokyo address

One day my 4G mobile internet connection refused to work and my battery had almost drained to 0% while looking for an address in 台東区 (Taitō-ku), one of the 23 special wards (kanji: 特別区; tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo, in English referred to as cities. I had just gotten off the Odeo Line at Shin-Okachimachi Station and I quickly memorised the address but then my trouble began: how to read a Japanse address?

Japanese addresses start with the largest geographical entity first. But in this case I got the address from a website written in English and the address was adapted to western style: 4-25-10 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo. I knew I was in Tokyo and to be more specific in the city of Taito (台東区) so then I had to look for the next geographical entity, which in this case was the number 4, which refers to the city district 4 or 4-Chome (四丁目). Luckily I was already there.

Next is number 25, which is the banchi (番地) or city block followed by number 10, which is the gō (号) or house/building number. This can be written as follows: 25番10号 (25-ban 10-gō) or simply 25-10 on the gaiku-hyōjiban 街区表示板 or town block indicator sign. Sometimes this is followed by another number, which is the apartment number, necessary in big apartment buildings.

In this case that number was missing and I soon found city block 25 with the help of a kind lady in front of Takecho Park. Now all I had to do is find building 10. In the photograph below you see I'm standing in front of building 3. Very close! All I had to do is walk around city block 25 to find building 10.

From large to small. City of Taito, 4-Chome, City block 25, House/building number 10. For administrative purposes a postal code (〒) and prefecture is added in front of the full address. In this case the prefecture is 東京都 (Tokyo-to). The address I was looking for is written in Japanese as follows: 〒110-0016 東京都台東区台東4-25-10.

Taito-ku 台東区

4-Chome 四丁目

City block 25 番地.

Building 10 号.

Why was I looking for this particular address? I wanted to visit Shinohara Maruyoshi Furin, a small glass blowing and glass painting studio that produces Edo period furin, or wind chimes (fu=wind, rin=bell). During the Edo period (1603–1868) the Dutch introduced the technique of glass blowing in Nagasaki and in the 19th century glass furin became quite popular in urban Edo due to the low price. I bought two Edo furin. One with a painting of a brown robed Daruma and a bright red furin with a painting of a ship and the character 宝 (treasures) written on the sail.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Next to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market, where tuna and many other marine species are being sold wholesale, there is an outside market for the public with plenty of fresh fish, pickled vegetables, knives and kitchenware. My hotel was practically around the corner of Tsukiji so I headed to the market for breakfast every single day. There were plenty of restaurants catering to locals for a hot breakfast soup.

Some days I preferred raw tuna. The more fatty the tuna, the lighter color of the flesh and the more expensive the fish will be. The fatty part of the tuna is called toro, which is divided in two cuts: chutoro and otoro. Otoro, the fattiest portion of the tuna, is found on the very underside of the fish. 

I was just as impressed by the selection of pickled vegetables at the outside market.

From Otoro.com

Akihabara (秋葉原)

The district of Akihabara in Tokyo has its fair share of adult stores. These stores are intriguing, the higher the floor, the more adult the merchandise. The first floor is basically family friendly Studio Ghibli merchandise. One thing, which struck me was the noise of hardcore porn soundtracks being played on the adult themed floors. I resisted spending any money in these stores. Outside the leaves of the trees were golden. December can feel like autumn in Tokyo. The figurines interested me, though.

The figurines are sculpted in 3D before being produced. I am still upset for not preordering the below figurine based on cosplayer Iiniku Ushijima (うしじまいい肉). Illustrator ERIMO drew up the concept art, and model sculptor Sakurako Iwanaga brought that concept art to life in 3D.

2D concept art by Illustrator ERIMO

3D sculpture by Sakurako Iwanaga.

Miso 味噌 heaven

In Tokyo I decided to bring back one recipe back to Amsterdam. I chose miso soup (味噌汁 misoshiru). It is a deceptive simple soup.

First you need to make the stock called dashi (出汁, だし). It is a stock made from kombu (kelp) and kezurikatsuo, shavings of preserved, fermented skipjack tuna (katsuobushi).

I bought two types of kezurikatsuo. One made from 100 percent katsuobushi for a clear (ceremonial style, I was told) broth, and one made from a mix of skipjack tuna and cheaper unknown fish. The latter makes dashi for miso soup since the miso will mostly overpower the dashi. For each batch of 1 liter stock you need 30 grams of shavings. There are many variations. You can add niboshi (煮干し) or shiitake.

Basic dashi recipe
Clean a postcard size of kombu with a damp cloth without removing the white powdery "umami" substances. Put the kombu and 1 liter of water in a saucepan for at least 30 minutes up to half a day. kombu’s flavor comes out naturally from soaking in water. 

Slowly bring to a boil over medium low heat. Just before boiling remove the kombu. Turn off the heat to let the dashi cool down.

Add the katsuobushi and bring it to a boil again. Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for just 30 seconds, and turn off the heat. Let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Strain the dashi through a sieve lined with a cheesecloth set over a bowl.

Furikake
You can use the left over kombu and katsuobushi to make furikake. Chop up the kombu into small pieces, combine with katsuobushi, and cook it in a saucepan. Optional: once the katsuobushi separates, add in a mix of sugar, mirin and soy sauce. Cook until the liquid evaporates and the flavor is absorbed, then sprinkle in sesame seeds before removing from the heat.

Miso
Miso comes in many forms. In Tokyo I found the shop Sano Miso which specialises in miso.

Sano Miso address:
1-35-8 Kameido, Koto-ku.
東京都江東区亀戸1-35-8.

I bought three types of miso. One made from uruchimai (粳米; rice), one from genmai (玄米; brown rice) and a miso paste from several grains including barley.

Below you can see the suggestion for each particular miso, which solid ingredients to add in the soup, like: potato, clams, fish and mushroom.

Garden of the Six Principles of Poetry

Rikugi-en (六義園) is a park in Bunkyō, Tokyo named after the Six Principles of Poetry. The poet-monk Shinkei's 'six principles' are: Allegorical Mode, Direct Mode, Panegyrical Mode, Mode of Precise Delineation, Metaphorical Mode, and Symbolic Mode.

Matcha 抹茶 for two.

Land Bar artisan

Walking into Daisuke Ito's Land Bar in the Shinbashi 新橋 district in Tokyo must feel like walking into an original 1920s speakeasy. A narrow staircase leads to a door in the basement of 3 Chome-15 Shinbashi.

The bar is tiny. Three guests were already sitting at the bar. Two empty seats remained. Daisuke Ito became a bartender to learn how to make the gimlet he tasted in Hisashi Kishi's Star Bar when he was visiting Tokyo from his native Sendai. Ito persuaded the master barman to hire him and learned the trade working 10 years under Kishi. Because of this reason I first ordered a gimlet. It was fun to observe Ito make my gimlet. While mixing he carefully tasted my gimlet twice to make sure the balance between the gin and the lime juice was just perfect. A gimlet can be sweet with added syrup. I was pleased Ito made my gimlet with just lime and gin.

For my second drink I asked Ito to recommend me what to order. Since I told him I was from Amsterdam he made me a cocktail with London Dry Gin No 3. This gin is distilled in The Netherlands in one of the oldest Dutch distilleries. For this cocktail he used two use huge blocks of clear ice, which has brought me to Land Bar in the first place. I wanted to observe this ice from close by. It takes 48 hours to make this type of ice. You have to freeze the water very slowly.

Notice the bottle on the right. Because I told Ito about my fondness for German wines he pulled out a bottle of Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin. I never heard of German gins and even though I didn't drink Monkey 47, I sniffed from the bottle and this gin smells amazing!

The complementary glass of water also contained the clear ice. It is a beautiful sight. The roasted almonds and rice crackers complemented the experience. Ito pays attention to even the smallest detail. Perfection in 12 square meters.

Address:
東京都港区新橋3-15-6 村上ビル B1F.
B1 3-15-6 Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo.

Standing sushi bar

You can eat sushi in many ways. Famous are the conveyer belt sushi restaurants, you can get take away sushi at convenient stores and railway stations, and then there are the sushi-ya manned by the itamae 板前 or sushi chef. Eating in a sushi-ya can be very expensive. But then there are local standing sushi bars, where the itamae might concentrate less on presentation and more on taste. I was invited to eat in such a local sushi-ya. Since there was only space for six people, we had to wait outside for 15 minutes or so. Behind the counter were two itamae. The powerful smell of fresh fish made my mouth water.

We ordered okonomi style: a few pieces at a time. The itamae prepares the tane 種 (topping) and takes the sushi rice, moulds it into shape with his hand and puts the tane on top and serves it - up to two pieces at a time - one a wooden geta 下駄. This process repeats itself until you are completely satisfied. We ordered a sake taster with three different kinds of sake and we managed to drink six glasses of sake each.

I didn't even photograph half of all the sushi we ate. I concentrated mostly on the experience. Also, I cannot exactly tell the names of all the sea food. I was told the name of the fish or shell fish with each order but I couldn't remember everything. Trying to name different types of fish you can find yourself in a bit of a quagmire anyway. There are already 20 terms for members of the mackerel family. You really have to be an ichthyologist to name all the fish correctly.

Most sushi we ordered was nigiri 握り, which means 'shape by hand'. It is hand moulded sushi rice with a piece of (mostly raw) sea food on top. If the nigiri needs wasabi the itamae will add a little wasabi between the rice and the topping. The nigiri below looks like it was topped with Japanese seabass 鱸 Suzuki (Lateolabrax japonicus) but I cannot be sure. There is plenty of amazu shoga 甘酢生姜 or gari ガリto eat between the courses - ginger slices aged in rice vinegar and sugar.

The type below is called gunkan maki 軍艦巻き (battleship maki) which is sushi rice wrapped with nori 海苔 and a topping. In this case salty baby sardines. Fish eggs are also a popular topping.

Below: Kujira 鯨 nigiri. Illegal in most countries except Japan, Norway and Iceland. 

A small saucer with shoyu. Soya sauce can also be referred to as murasaki (紫) in a sushi-ya. It is good custom to quickly swipe the nigiri - fish side down - through the shoyu just once. Don't draw circles in the saucer with your nigiri.

We also ordered a cloudy rice wine which reminded me of makgeolli 막걸리. I am not sure how I should refer to this rice wine in Japanese. Is it simply unfiltered sake called doburoku (どぶろく or is there a more specific name?

Bowl of Sushi by Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese: 歌川 広重; 1797 – 1858).

Bamboo Nest

Living in an apartment with no garden in the inner-city has made longing for a house in the countryside. I have been following the tiny house movement with interest. In Thailand I stayed in a little bamboo hut west of Chiang Rai. The place is called Bamboo Nest and is located above a small village. The owner Nok picks you up in Chiang Rai and after a smooth ride along the river Kok the last few kilometers are so steep her 4x4 drive could barely handle the road.

The huts have one room, the only furniture being a double bed with mosquito net, a separate shower and toilet in the back and a spacious veranda with a hammock, also completely made of bamboo. There is no kitchen, so these huts are mainly constructed for sleeping. 

A tiny house is a residential structure under 46 m2 so I guess these huts could be considered tiny houses. Personally I think a living space smaller than 46 m2 is too small for permanent residence unless you downsize your stuff radically.

Chiang Mai night food

The main attraction of Chiang Mai is certainly the many street stalls and night food markets. I choose to ignore the usual three meals a day routine for a new five meals a day regime. Just to name a few: clear beef broth soup, deep-fried garlic fish and koi neua (ก้อยคั่วเนื้อ), which is a raw meat salad of Isan origin.

Chiang Mai is a very colourful city at night.

And yes, I did spent one night on the toilet of my hotelroom. Probably a plate washed with dirty water. But even then my inner Cartman-voice was going: "Awesome!"