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Sunday, July 22, 2007

Terette’s Top Ten List

Terette Andaya (George Washington University, Washington, DC) loves to travel. She compiled a list of her top ten travel experiences and food experiences from her various adventures around the globe. Try out some of the stuff she’s done if you find yourself in that part of the globe:

ACTIVITIES:

1. Bathing in the public Hamam in Istanbul

The hamam is the marbled steam bathhouses in Turkey, better known as the Turkish Bath. The Turks built beautiful, elaborate bathhouses to serve their communities because of Islam’s high standards of personal hygiene and the absence of bathing facilities in private homes. For a fee, one can choose the bathing option with or without a massage. The ritual begins upon entering a steam room which has a raised marble platform in the center where the patrons (bath rooms are thankfully segregated by gender) lie down in various states of undress (either fully naked, in a swimsuit, or one piece of underwear – there is no dress code really). The purification process begins when you literally feel beads of sweat coming out of every pore of your body. If you feel you can no longer take the heat, there are water faucets (with tabos) at the sides of the room to cool yourself off with cool water. A little later, one of the big women in black bikinis approaches and douses you with water before giving you a rather perfunctory and rough “massage”. You’re then lathered all over with soap—enough to cover you in a cloud of bubbles, followed by a head-to-toe scrubdown with a loofah. This exfoliation process must have been quite successful since I recalled entering the hamam with a nice, desert-exposed tan and leaving the place as pale as a sheet.

2. Visiting museums in Japan: the Sword Museum and the Ninja House

Because of the country’s culture and history, Japan has some gems to offer in terms of museums. The Sword Museum in Tokyo provides a glimpse into the samurai’s weapon of choice—including a thinly-crafted blade that could slice a man’s head off his body with one clean sweep. The Ninja House in Kyoto displays loads of impressive Ninja trickery like trap doors and secret entrances, but alas, no disappearing star explosives. Since these places are located in obscure areas and the guides and signs are in Japanese, they are rarely visited by tourists, thus ensuring a more authentic (although less comprehensible) Japanese experience.

3. Visit the Sex Museum and Marijuana Museum in Amsterdam

Speaking of more unique museums, at the other end of the spectrum are the Sex and Marijuana Museums in Amsterdam. These establishments are a reflection of the liberal and tolerant attitude of the Dutch, who have legalized prostitution and the leisure use of marijuana. You can either be shocked, revolted, or amused by the exhibits in the Sex Museum, but the impressive plant collection of the Marijuana Museum’s growing room at the back is one to surely wow you—but sorry, no free samples.

4. Stand in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at the same time in Quito, Ecuador

La Mitad del Mundo—The Middle of the World, as the equator memorial park in Ecuador is called. A thick, yellow line clearly marks the Northern and Southern demarcation of the earth where Frenchman Charles Marie de la Condamine and his expedition made the measurements in 1736 to determine that this was THE equator. My cheap thrill involved going to the bathrooms to check out the clockwise and counterclockwise flow of the water in the respective hemisphere.

5. Stand in four states simultaneously at the Four Corners Monument in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

In the same spirit as standing in the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the earth, one can venture out into a Marlboro tour and find in the middle of a vast, sprawling desert in the American southwest a monument commemorating a unique geographical position. Nowhere else in the United States will you find four states converging into this one corner where visitors (including myself) contort themselves into awkward positions in order to touch all four states at the same and have their photo taken.

6. Riding a camel in Giza, Egypt -- riding an elephant in Siem Reap, Cambodia

To be carried by more than the usual animal (like a horse) is an experience in itself. Tourist services near attractions such as the Great Pyramid in Giza and Angkor Thom in Siem Reap offer rides on their respective local beasts of burden. Riding on a camel makes you want to race across the desert sands a la Lawrence of Arabia; and there’s nothing like viewing the ancient ruins at a languid, almost royal pace and higher perspective of an elephant’s back—the only thing missing was someone referring to me as “Mrs. Anna”.

7. Feel like Indiana Jones in the Ta Prohm temple complex in Cambodia

Among the scores of temple complexes found in Siem Reap, Ta Prohm is the only one that remains largely unrestored by the French archaeologists who excavated the area in the 1860s. By leaving the temples in the almost-original state they were discovered in, gives visitors a genuine explorer’s feel while walking amid the ruins. The humungous roots of twenty five-foot tall Banyan trees have broken through the floors, walls, and even roofs of some of the temples, carpet-like moss covers some of the walls and rubble, and the encroaching jungle overgrowth helps bring out your inner archaeologist/adventurer. And don’t forget to visit the seldom seen sculpture of the big giant head, which can be reached via a separate pathway from the main temple complex. Ask some of the kids selling film, bottled water, or T-shirts in the area to show you the way (for a fee, of course).

8. Bartering for souvenirs in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Yes, the practice still exists (sadly) in a country that was reportedly suffering from food shortage and other goods. With an official exchange rate of US$1 to 65 Zim dollars and a black market rate of US$1 to 500 Zim dollars, the value of items wildly fluctuate. Thus, armed with some decent old T-shirts I was planning to get rid off anyway, I used these to bargain and exchange for souvenir items such as a handsomely-carved wooden jewelry case and a miniature serpentine sculpture of the Madonna and Child. Other things which we take for granted like old shoes, pens, and even tissues have some barter value for these goods, so stock up before shopping and be ready to trade.

9. "Soroche" (i.e. altitude sickness) in Cuzco, Peru

Breathlessness, severe migraine, nausea. Some of the symptoms that will tell you that you’re just too high up for your own good. Cuzco, the archaeologically breathtaking (literally) heart of the formerly powerful Inca empire, is situated 3326 meters (10,912 feet) above sea level. It is almost always everyone’s first stop before heading on to Machu Picchu. Part of experiencing this city with its multitude of Inca ruins and lack of oxygen is suffering through a headache that just won’t go away. The symptoms of soroche usually disappear within a day of rest and adjustment—you’ll be advised that aside from rest and avoiding overexertion on the first day, to drink up the ubiquitous coca tea which helps in digestion and adjustment to the new environment. Yup, coca—the very ingredient used to make cocaine.

10. Going through immigration in Havana

Cuba seems to have a genuine immigration method. You approach the immigration officer one by one (no groups of friends to avoid confusion) in a cubicle that has a door at the other end, so you don’t know what lies beyond. A video camera is clearly visible behind the officer who scrutinizes every page of your passport, demands for other forms of identification, and throws you a series of questions in Spanish (thank goodness for those college language lessons!). Only after the officer is fully satisfied with your interview will your documents be returned, and with nary a smile, the officer offers a Bienvenido (welcome) while pressing a button that opens the mystery door….and presto! It’s the baggage claim area. Welcome to Cuba.


Sidebar:
Food and Drink
1. Crispy, Aromatic Duck and Curry, London
2. Haggis in Scotland (sisig, anyone?!)
3. Chocolates in Belgium (pralines and truffles)
4. Real Mexican food (forget Cancun cuisine)
5. Chi-cha in Otavalo, Ecuador
6. Plump breaded mussels from the street stalls of Ortakoy, Turkey
7. Darjeeling Tea at Fortnum & Mason (grocers to the Queen), London
8. Langosta Prohibido at a private home, Varadero Beach, Cuba
9. Franco-Asian cuisine in any restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia
10. Churros in Cuzco, Peru OR freshly-baked pide bread from the side of the road in Cappadocia



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