cigar Archives - Page 22 of 25

Asia South East Asia 2013 Vietnam

Journey up the Mekong

We left Ho Chi Minh in the morning on a minibus bound for a town on the Mekong river, where we joined about two dozen others on a small boat which took us out further onto the river where we boarded our proper boat – the “Mekong Eyes”, a lovely wooden converted rice barge turned into a fairly posh cruising boat. It was simply lovely. We had a well appointed room and the boat had a dining room and a wonderful top deck with places to sit and take in the view. It almost felt too fancy for me, but I guess sometimes it’s nice to travel in style.

We began sailing and we relaxed on the top deck watching the lush, green jungly landscape pass by, with its occasional small, ramshackle houses on the shore. Various other boats passed by – mostly fishing boats and small sampans rowed by women and men standing atop them and rowing with long oars. It was very peaceful and pleasant (and perfect for cigar smoking).

After a delicious lunch, we took small boats to a village along the river where we were able to wander past rice paddy fields dotted with above ground graves, tiny houses with open air rooms and families resting in hammocks, chopping wood for the stove, and cooking and eating meals, and past trees growing papayas, jack fruit, coconuts and bananas. After returning to the big boat we spent the rest of the day watching the shore slip past until it was dark and the sky was dotted with migrating bats.

We had a wonderful sleep on board, delayed only slightly by a fantastic lightening storm, which lit up the night sky.

This morning after breakfast we again took a small boat to the floating market, where countless boats crowded together on a wide part of the river to sell all manner of produce and hot coffee and tea. The boats, which ranged from small canoe-like contraptions to larger boats displayed their wares by way of tying them to masts on their boats – the pineapple vendor, for example, had a pineapple hanging from a stick, high above the boat so that others would know what was for sale. The market was so lively and colourful as the boats all paddled and motored their way amongst each other to connect vendors with buyers. Along the shores we had excellent views of people’s houses and could see people going about their daily lives on the water.

After the market we took in some other sights on foot and then after a meal of delicious fruits, we left our boat and travelled by bus about three hours to Chau Doc; a small but busy city near the border with Cambodia.

Our hotel in Chau Doc is ridiculously fancy. It is the Victoria hotel and is this posh establishment on the water with a beautiful outdoor pool, restaurant, and beautiful rooms. We went for a walk though the city, which was buzzing with motor scooters and has a bustling, colourful market. We walked though the market, looking with wonder at the many unidentifiable fruits and vegetables and taking in the sights and (pungent) smells. The evening has wound up with a cigar on the hotel grounds, looking out over the water.

In the morning we are catching a speed boat to Phnom Pehn, where the second leg of out trip shall begin.

Asia South East Asia 2013 Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh

What can we say but…

We arrived yesterday late morning after two flights and a layover in Taipei. We were greeted by the roar of motorcycles and horn honking as we took a car and zoomed to our hotel through the chaotic traffic – mostly motorcycles/scooters, often with multiple passengers (the most we saw on one was a family of five). Our hotel – the Bich Duyen – is on a quiet back lane off one of the main streets in the backpacker area. It is a great location and the hotel is clean and cheap and pleasant.

We went out yesterday walking through the city. We quickly learned how to cross the street against the traffic, which seldom stops. The key is: just step out into the street, keep your eyes open, but just walk ahead and trust that the hundreds of motorcycles will just part around you. So far it has worked. One time though we must have hesitated too long before crossing, as a tiny, old woman crossed the street towards us, took me and my mother by the hand and walked us back across, me laughing with fear the whole time.

The city, for the most part, is not attractive, but is very interesting. We wandered down narrow back lanes lined with what appeared to be one room houses and people cooking on the street over open coals, all manner of meat, vegetables, and tofu. There is a wonderful assortment of street snacks here – all of which looks delicious, but little of it vegetarian. Women are everywhere in their conical hats, carrying food for sale and other trinkets.

We visited the Ben Thanh market which was a maze of items for sale, including textiles, clothing, household items, and food. We sat at the low, plastic (child-sized) tables and stools outside one of the food stalls and had a bowl of vegetables and noodles, and a thickly sweet iced coffee.

We also visited a couple of temples/pagodas. The Jade Emperor Pagoda had ponds outside teeming with fish and turtles, which people fed with needlessly large amounts of bread, which floated on top of the water appetizingly. The inside was beautiful though – small and dark with carvings of Buddhas and tigers, with two altars of gold Buddhas and dozens of people making offerings of flowers and incense. The incense was thick and filled the room with an atmospheric haze. We visited a similar temple in the Cholon (Chinatown) neighborhood where we were charged by a brave rat, which sent us off on our way prematurely.

In the evening we went out for dinner and sat on a patio on a busy street, with a cigar, watching the traffic and people. It was a pleasant evening. The weather has been nice; it is hot and humid, but not oppressively so. i think it is nice.

We have just had breakfast at our hotel and will now go on a walk in the neighborhood before catching a bus to the Mekong, where we will tranfer to a boat, taking us north.

Colombia South America Venezuela

Wrapping things up in Colombia & Venezuela

On my final night in Cartagena I went out for dinner and then to a La Casa del Habano cigar shop/bar in Gethsemani. It was fairly quiet when I arrived but I had a decent chat with the Manager who showed me bundles of tobacco to be rolled into Colombian cigars.

The smoking situation is Cartagena has been better than in Bogota. You still can’t technically smoke inside, but with the weather being so beautifully tropical, there is no shortage of patios to smoke on; plus, you can smoke in cigar shops and there are at least three in the old city. There are lots of “Cuban” cigars being sold on the streets here and they are all fakes. There are real Cubans for sale in the shops, but they are very expensive – as much as in Canada.

Here’s a few more Cartagena pictures from my final day:

The next morning i flew back to Bogota and sent many hours walking around, doing a bit of shopping and finally killing time in doors when it got too cold and wet to be comfortable outside. That night i flew to Caracas.

I had a nine hour layover in Caracas, which would have been great had it been during the day, but we arrived at about 12:30 am. I thought initially i might stay at the airport and sleep on a row of chairs, but i realized that i probably needed some sleep if i was to be at all functional when i returned home and went right to work – plus, the airport in the middle of the night feels pretty sketchy. Not the sort of place i would feel comfortable sleeping in public. This is also what i determined reading accounts by other people who had been in the same situation. Indeed, the whole area around the neighborhood seems pretty dodgy at night.

Earlier in the day i did some hotel research and discovered that there are only two hotels near the airport and they are both very expensive. There are other hotels in downtown caracas of course, but they are quite far from the airport and transportation is expensive. Anyway, I was too tired to look for creative or alternative options so i got a room at a fancyish business hotel about 10 minutes from the airport. I took some colorful Venezuelan Bolivars out of the ATM and the next thing i knew i was in a tinted-windowed SUV being driven to the hotel. (the taxi ride: also expensive)

I checked in and had a restful, but brief sleep. The next morning i saw that the hotel was right on the Caribbean and had lovely pools and patios. So i ate a an overpriced breakfast taking in the view before taking another taxi back to the airport. From what i saw of the neighborhood on the drive back; it looked poor and unremarkable, but had lots of colorful Chavez graffiti and beautiful mountains. That was my brief foray into Venezuela.

Colombia South America

Cock Fight

Yesterday morning, before it got too hot, i went for a walk around the walls of the old city. The walls are fairly high and thick and hold numerous cannons, pointed out at sea. The walk is quite pleasant and offers great views into the streets below.

After my walk i hung out at the hostel in the hammock for a bit and ran some errands and had dinner with an Australian girl and then i headed to one of the squares where i was meeting someone who had promised to take me to a cock fight.

This all started the day i arrived when i met this guy, a local, and we were chatting about what i was going to see and i asked him if her knew where i could see a cock fight. (I had originally wanted to see a bull fight but they only happen in January and February.) The man said, you have no idea who you are talking to–i have 48 chickens for fighting. And so he said to meet his at 6:00 on Friday and we would go.

On the face of it, this seemed like an exercise in poor judgment on my part. I was going to go to a dodgy part of town with a guy i just met to see a cock fight. My instincts said do it, but be cautious. So i met the guy and his two cousins at 6:00 on Friday. I was happy to find out that a young couple from Australia (a girl and a boy) would be joining us. (The Australian cuople told me they had been mugged at knifepoint the day before at 5:00 right in front of their hostel in the touristy neighborhood, but they said they only gave the guy about $5 and he went away.) We hopped in a taxi and went about 15 minutes out of town to a much, much poorer neighborhood.

Before we went to the arena, we went to the patio of this bodega on the corner and had beers (well, i had water) and chatted and took in the people watching. Although it was not an area i would go on my own, i really enjoyed it. Loud salsa music was playing and people were out walking and shouting at each other jovially and dogs were playing in the street. The whole area was really run down and dusty, but it had a friendly feel.

At about 8:00 or so we went to the arena. It is an arena dedicated to cock fighting and in one of many in Cartagena. It seats people in the round on three levels (the admission fees vary depending on what area you sit in). Just outside the arena is an open area with a bar and placed where they keep the chickens on fight day, where they prepare them, etc.

the spikes are applies to the chicken legs

So people have chickens and they have their chicken trainers bring them to the arena. The chickens have their feathers clipped in particular ways and underneath and on the legs the feathers are removed. The chickens are weighed in a special scale to see what weight class they belong in, and then the spikes are attached. A cut is made in the back of the chicken´s leg and a metal thing is inserted and it is bandaged to the leg, then into the metal thing a spike is screwed in – a spike about 2 inches long. Then the lower part of the chicken’s leg is wrapped, kind of like how boxers wrap their hands.

While all this is going on, men are standing around drinking beer, smoking, chatting, and checking out the chickens who are to fight.

The fight began and we took our places. The two chickens are brought into the ring and the betting begins. Some of the betting is organized and some of it is just guys betting with the guy next to him. The whole process is really chaotic with everyone shouting names and numbers all at once and waving money around. The minimum bet is 20,000 pesos (about $10 or $12 dollars), but bets go into the thousands i am told.

The fight starts and the chickens start pecking at each other and flapping and the crowd goes crazy yelling. Above the ring hangs a clock, counting down from 15 minutes and a sign with each chicken’s name and stats (wins, losses, weights, village of origin). Also in the ring are two judges. If one chicken takes the other down for a period of time, that chicken is the winner. If 15 minutes goes by with no big wins, then it is a draw. Judging by the reaction, the crowd doesn’t like draws. Most of the fights lasted about 10 or 12 minutes and ended with one chicken dead or nearly dead. The quickest fight lasted about 5 seconds.

the winning chicken and the dead chicken

I found it all quite fascinating and i enjoyed yelling at the chickens: Come on Chino, don’t be a pussy, take that motherfucker chicken down! Or sometimes, if i was rooting for chicken number 2 (when both chickens had the same name, which happens more often than you would think), i would yell: Numero dos es numero uno! The fighting was interesting, but the best thing was just the experience of being there and knowing it was something not a lot of people get to see. Also, i liked that you could sit in the arena, watching the fight and smoking cigars. That was pretty cool.

We definitely stood out, the Australians and I. We were the only gringos there and the Australian girl and i were the only girls, aside from the one selling the beer. We hung out there for a couple of hours and then took a taxi back to the centro historico. After being dropped off i went to the Casa del Habano and had a cigar and mojito with the manager while watching Romancing the Stone on the tv. The manager says it is his favorite movie.

Over all, it was an awesome experience. A definite first for me – and maybe a first for them, as i am not sure how many cigar smoking, tattooed, pale, blonde vegetarians they get at the cockfight.

Colombia South America

Smoking Cigars in Bogota

The smoking situation in Bogota is the only this that has been disappointing. It seems that it is illegal to smoke indoors and the law is followed. Despite the lovely courtyards at my hostel which are technically outdoors, they are also smoke free. There are also virtually so outdoor eateries, cafes or patios here – probably due to the rainy and generally cold climate. This means that my cigar smoking has been done walking, sitting on steps of churches, or convincing a cafe or bar owner to bring a chair outside. It is not the end of the world, but i would have liked more options. I look forward to seeing what the situation is in Cartagena.

Also, i am very glad i brought lots of my own cigars, as i have seen no where selling them and no one smoking them.

Still, it is easier to smoke in public here than in Vancouver, so i am not complaining.

Colombia South America

Rainy Afternoon in Bogota

This afternoon, after my trip to El Mercado del Paloquemao i set out from the hostel and walked up to the Museum of Modern Art. On my way i stopped for lunch at cute and charming little restaurant filled with plants and bric-a-brac.

I managed to explain the vegetarian situation and received bean & barley soup, rice, beans, plantains, salad, potatoes, and lemonade for $3. The Modern Art Museum was small and the art was mostly only ok, but there were a few good photographs and paintings. It wouldn’t call it a ‘must see’ but it was decent and admission was only $1. (Generally, of all of the churches and museums i have visited, all of the churches were free and this was the only museum that charged.) I then walked farther north to the Museo Nationales, which had a good selection of Colombian prehistoric artifacts right up to 20thC paintings. None of the descriptions were in English, so it made for a quick walk through, but it was a good museum.

When i left it had started to rain and i was about 30 blocks from the hostel so i sat at the only cafe with outdoor seating that i found and sat under an umbrella and smoked a cigar until the rain stopped. Of course once i left it started to pour and i got soaked and have been cold and wet ever since. The first two days here were very warm and sunny but the second two days have had intermittent showers and rain.

On the way back to the hostel i was passed by a group of about three dozen soldiers in full combat camouflage, helmets and boots, and carrying machine guns. I don’t know what it was all about but the people on the street did not pay any attention, so i guess it is a usual occurrence.

After resting back at the hotel with yet another cup of hot coca tea in the kitchen by the wood burning stove, i went out for dinner. I think I’ll stay in for the rest of the evening, as it is warm here and i have an earlyish flight to Cartagena.

Bogota has been great. Four days was perfect. If i had any more time i would have done more day trips out of the city but i feel quite satisfied.
Buenos Noches.

Europe Italy

Arreverderci

Last night in Venice was delightful. I went out for a night time walk by myself, down the quiet streets and past the nearly silent canals before settling in a reasonably calm piazza for a glass of wine and a cigar. It was wonderfully warm and dark and peaceful – such a contrast to the day, which was marvelous, but loud and hot and colorful. I took great delight in the fact that i had mastered my way around our area of Venice. Able to make my way from point a to b without a map made me feel like a genius.

This morning, after a coffee and croissant we took a boat back to the train station and took the train back to Rome (it was a fancy high-speed train and got us to our destination in about 4 hours). We are now staying in the Piazza Farnese at the Casa D Santa Brigida convent, which is indeed a proper convent filled with a gaggle of nuns, but they also offer some simple rooms for rent. It isn’t cheap, but it is a great location and it is cool to be in a convent. This afternoon we poked ourheads in the chapel during one of their many masses or prayers (or whatever they call them). There is a beautiful rooftop garden from which we have lovely views into the piazza where we can see people sipping wine and espresso, children playing ball, and dogs sniffing about.

Tonight really is the final night, so there will be dinner and a wine or negroni and probably one final celebratory cigar before heading back to Canada tomorrow.

Europe Italy

Venice

Venice. We arrived yesterday morning on the train from Bologna (about a 1.5 hour journey). The first glimpse from the train station was amazing and it has continued to be so. It has water for streets! I know, everyone knows that, but to actually see it is amazing. There are the gondolas, of course, shuttling tourists lazily up and down the waterways, but more amazing are the other boats: the water taxis, individual motor boat, boat delivering office supplies, produce, hauling away recycling, etc. It is quite remarkable how the whole city operates on the water.

Water aside, there are streets. There are however no cars or motorcycles and very few bicycles, just pedestrians making their way down the streets, both normal sized, and those barely big enough to pass single file, between buildings and over foot bridges, past the glittering canals. It is phenomenal. Walking through the city is like walking through a beautiful maze. Walking down each street one is not sure whether it will end in a brick wall, courtyard, body of water, or connect to another street or piazza. It is possible to use maps, but it much more fun to just follow one’s whims.

We took a vaporetto (a type of transit boat) from the train station to our hotel, which is charming, with a front door on the street and a back door that opens right up onto the canal. Our tiny room is on the third floor and looks down onto the canal.

We walked yesterday around the San Marco district, down to the Piazza San Marco, where we stood in the magnificent square and took in the sites, including a hitchcockian mass of pigeons circling overhead, and visited the stunning basilica.

We then walked to the Rialto Bridge and aimlessly through the streets and squares. The evening was beautiful. Quiteish (compared to the day) and the streets were dark and decidedly less crowded. I enjoyed a cigar by the canal and watched the boats.

Today we walked back to the Rialto Bridge and through the market where they were selling produce and an array of seafood. After that we walked up through the Santa Croce and Cannaregio areas, and through the Jewish district before catching a vaporetto to the island of Burano.

We picked Burano because it was supposed to be a colorful, quaint fishing island and it did not disappoint. The streets on the tiny island were lined with small houses, each painted in a vivid color, different from and in contrast to the houses on either side of it. I don’t think there was a single brown, beige, or grey anywhere. It was all bright chartreuses, fushias, yellows, blues… running through it were canals and along side were cute little shops and eateries. Betty-Lou was in heaven. We ate a delicious lunch after our walk and then caught a boat back to the mainland.

Tonight is our second and final night in Venice and tomorrow we head back to Rome for one more night before returning to Canada.

Europe Italy

Hams and Arches

Today we arrived in Bologna, a mere 40 minute train ride from Florence. We are staying at a lovely little pensione on the 5th floor of a non-descript building. We have a beautiful view of the red rooftops of the city – particularly picturesque at sunset we discovered.

Bologna is (not surprisingly) another attractive smallish city with cobbled streets lined with inviting cafes and shops and dotted with churches and piazzas. What sets Bologna apart is that most of the sidewalks are covered by arched porticos, apparently about 40 kilometers of them. This makes them particularly nice for walking in the hot sun. The other notable thing about Bologna is the hams, which are everywhere. Every second store seems to be a deli of sorts and the ceilings, stair rails and windows are all hung with enormous hams – the sort that an Italian Tiny Tim would have stared at hungrily through the window (had A Christmas Carol been Italian, that is). There are fewer vegetarian items on the menus and decidedly less pizza than in the other towns we have visited, but i think we will get by.

We arrived and did the requisite walk about to get our bearings. Betty-Lou encountered a group of jazz buskers with which she was particularly taken and we had lunch in one of the streets of the Quadriletero district.

Betty-Lou then took the afternoon to rest in the room while i pounded the pavement seeing what there was to see. I visited a few churches, including several simple, medieval ones and walked through the lively university districts which was crawling with students and lined with bookstores and noisy cafes. The walls of the buildings around the university were covered in graffiti, mostly of a political or economic nature (a lot of ‘occupy’ themed stuff). I picked up a book at an international book store and settled in the Piazza Maggiore with a glass of wine and a cigar and watched the street scene and began reading my new book.

reading ‘ham on rye’ while looking at arches, bologna

Just now we have returned from an excellent dinner of salad, risotto and pasta and are going to call it a relatively early night. The weather here is beautiful, as it has been all through our travels (except for that one night in Gubbio). With one exception all of our meals have been al fresco.

We are in Bologna for three nights, which is remarkable, because in slightly less than one day I have seen nearly everything i wanted to see. We will likely do some day trips in our remaining time here.

That’s all for now.

Europe Italy

Cinque Terre

Today we took another day trip from Florence. We had a free day with nothing scheduled (however did i let that happen?) and Betty-Lou suggested that we visit Cinque Terre. She had raised this as an option months ago, but i thought it seemed too far to visit in a day from Florence and we had heard that a couple of the town had been destroyed in mudslides…or earthquakes. Anyway we made the trek and are pleased to report that the towns are restored and it is possible to see it all in one (long) day.

Cinque Terra is, not surprisingly, five small towns clinging to the rocks above the sea on the west coast of Italy. The first town is about an hour an a half from Florence (via Pisa and La Spezia). The five towns are joined by a train but also by a ridiculously picturesque walking trail that winds along the cliffs. To walk the whole thing would take several hours (and one stretch of the path is closed due to the slides), so we mostly took the train between the towns, but along the part that we did walk it was lovely. The water was a perfect Mediterranean blue and the views were breathtaking.

The towns were similar to each other in that they were all beautiful. Tiny clusters of colorful buildings seemingly piled on top of each other, on top of cliffs, heading down to the sea. Each town had at least one tiny church and the hills above were covered by grapevines and fruit trees. As we walked up to one of the towns we ate some purple grapes from one of the vines. They were magnificent. Betty-Lou wants me to say that the grapes ‘even tasted purple’. I will simply say that they were delicious. Each town had narrow, hilly streets lined with touristy shops and inviting eateries, and atmospheric sea ports where small, colorful boats bobbed in the surf and locals and tourists alike swam in the sea.

It was all pretty great. It was very busy with tourists – being Italy, and Sunday, and such a great destination, but the crowds did not detract from the atmosphere. We spent several hours visiting the five villages and snacking our way through them.

Wandering North

Tag: cigar

Journey up the Mekong

Ho Chi Minh

Wrapping things up in Colombia & Venezuela

Cock Fight

Smoking Cigars in Bogota

Rainy Afternoon in Bogota

Arreverderci

Venice

Hams and Arches

Cinque Terre