This time-lapsed video by Piotr Wancerz allows viewers to see the different personalities of Laos in South East Asia as well as the different events that occur in the country from morning to night. Watch as tourists and locals gather to Give Alms to the monks at dawn, people gather to swim and relax in nature during the day, and the bustling and lively markets come to life at night. The best part is that the timelapse effect makes it feel as though you are watching an entire day as it is happening instead of in pieces. The equipment used to shoot the video includes a Sony Alpha 550, a Samyang Fisheye 8mm, a Sony 35mm, a Tamron 18-200mm, a Velbon P-max, and a Pixel intervalometer.
Boulder’s mixology scene the place for holiday spirit(s)
By now, we’re well into the Third Wave of the mixology craze. Cosmopolitans begat new types of martinis begat the revival of pre-Prohibition-era cocktails (which begat bartenders donning suspenders or dapper suit vests).
The revival of classic cocktails and trending toward intelligent, seasonally-driven mixology made with craft-distilled spirits has been driven by America’s mania for all things artisanal and/or local.
Ignore the pretentious b.s. that muddies the waters of the food and wine et al. industries. You’ll find that most consumers, chefs, farmers, and food artisans are merely interested in the provenance of certain ingredients, and the traditional methods used to produce or prepare products like cheese, charcuterie, boutique wine, craft beer, and distilled spirits. This is a good thing. And, I might add, who doesn’t appreciate a great meal or well-made beverage?
That, in a nutshell, is why Boulder, Colorado has been making headlines as one of America’s most progressive dining destinations. As a former resident, (I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I move. A lot.), I can attest that Boulder is on the cutting edge of conscious eating. But where it really shines, in my opinion, is its mixology scene.
Bonus: Boulder’s best drinking spots are located on or just one block off of Pearl Street, which runs through the heart of downtown and the pedestrian mall. This time of year, Pearl is aglow with fairy lights adorning the trees, and (if you’re lucky) snowfall: it’s a wonderful place to spend the holidays. If you like to imbibe, try a glass (or three) of good cheer at any of the restaurant/bars following the jump.
When I first moved to Boulder in 2006, I lamented the shortage of decent watering holes (meaning, places not overrun by frat boys; it is, after all, a college town). Fortunately, the two best restaurants in town, nationally-acclaimed Frasca, and The Kitchen, (in this instance, I refer to its adjacent, second-floor sister spot, [Upstairs]), put the same thought and care into their beer and wine lists and the crafting of cocktails as their food. Thus, I happily spent many nights cozied up to the bar of one or the other.
Frasca has since undergone a remodel and expansion, and last spring opened Pizzeria Locale next door, which has its own impressive beer and wine list. The cocktail progam at Frasca–overseen by bar manager Allison Anderson–is still fantastic, as are the selection of apertifs and digestifs, including premium grappas. For a light, festive holiday drink, try the Promessa d’Italia (Luxardo Maraschino Cherry Liqueur, Blue Gin, and Prosecco).
Former Frasca beverage program director Bryan Dayton opened OAK at Fourteenth with chef/co-owner Steven Redzikowski in November, 2010. The restaurant immediately attracted attention for both its localized New American cuisine focused around the oak-fired oven and grill, as well as Dayton’s stellar mixology program. Sadly, a kitchen fire destroyed the restaurant several months after opening.
But, as they say, every cloud has a (Don Julio) Silver lining. In September, Dayton won Bombay Sapphire’s “Most Inspired Bartender of 2011,” and is currently gracing the cover of 5,000 copies of the December issue of GQ as part of his handsome reward (his winning drink: a “Colorado-inspired blend of juiced pears: simple syrup infused with sage, fennel and juniper; blackberry; Bombay Sapphire East; yellow chartreuse, and lime”).
OAK just celebrated its reopening on December 14th, with a revamped design and slew of inspired takes on classic cocktails, featuring Dayton’s passion for craft spirits. On the menu for the holidays: Oaxacan Winter (Sombra mezcal, Antica Carpano, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, Navan, molé bitters, and agave), and the Oak Martini (Death’s Door Vodka or Gin, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, and grapefruit bitters). New to OAK’s beverage program are house-created and -bottled sodas, in flavors such as kumquat and tarragon or cucumber and basil.
Last June, The Kitchen opened [Next Door], a “community gastropub.” There’s more of the same rustic, localized fare The Kitchen is known for, but you’ll also find an abbreviated selection of beer, wine, and natural sodas served on tap. It’s part of The Kitchen beverage program director Ray Decker’s ongoing commitment to source the best craft beers, boutique wines, and distilled spirits available.
At The Bitter Bar, located around the corner from The Kitchen, you’ll find a short, appealing American bistroish menu, but mixology is the star of the show just as proprietor/manager Mark Stoddard intended. Thumbs up, too, for the “staff picks” section on the menu listing cocktail and entree pairings.
If late night cocktails are your thing, I suggest making The Bitter Bar your last stop, but be prepared: these drinks pack a wallop. Friendly, informative mixologists serve seasonal cocktails (in warmer weather, some ingredients are sourced from the property’s own herb garden) in vintage crystal stemware–a nice touch. There are always seasonal specials, but don’t dismiss “Bitter Originals” such as The Gunner’s Daughter (Eldorado 5 Year Rum, Smith & Cross Navy Strength Jamaica Rum, Domaine de Canton–a ginger liqueur– Cynar, and Allspice Dram) and the Hokkaido Highball (Yamazaki 12-Year Single Malt Japanese whiskey, elderflower cordial, and apple drinking vinegar). Happy holidays indeed!
Tip: Boulder is located at 5,430 feet, so if you’re not used to the altitude, you should be more concerned with drinking water than alcohol. Remember that one drink is equivalent to two at this elevation. Pace yourself, drink lots of water, and pop a couple of aspirin before you turn in for the night.
From Mark Stoddard at The Bitter Bar comes this sophisticated upgrade on eggnog.
Tom & Jerry
serves 1
1 egg
1 oz. aged rum
1 oz. Cognac
1 oz. hot milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 allspice berry, ground
1/2 clove
4 oz. hot water
nutmeg, for garnish
Separate the egg white and yolk into two bowls. In one bowl, add rum and brandy to the yolk and beat together until frothy. In the other bowl, beat the egg white until it forms a peak, and then add milk, sugar, ground allspice, and clove. Fold the rum, Cognac, and yolk into the egg white bowl, and stir. Strain into a tall mug or tempered glass and top with hot water. Garnish with grated nutmeg on top (a microplane zester works well).
[Photo credit: Tom & Jerry; Bryce Clark]
Bowermaster’s Adventures: Learning how to breathe in the Maldives
LAAMU, Maldives — A fast-moving rainstorm blew over the small atoll late in the afternoon, briefly cooling a humid day just 100 miles north of the equator. But within twenty minutes the sun was back hot and bright, the air even thicker with dampness. Aaaaaah paradise!
I was desperate for some cooling off, having spent the morning learning something I thought I’d mastered long ago: How to breathe.
The lessons had taken place in a pool behind one of the guesthouses at the new Six Senses Laamu resort where I’d joined a dozen superstar water athletes from around the world — surfers, kite boarders and wind surfers — learning not so much how to breathe, but how not to. My skimpy personal best for holding it while hanging onto the edge of the pool was about two-and-a-half-minutes; a couple guys went to five minutes and nearly blacked out.
Our task-master, standing waist-deep in the pool as we dunked our heads, stop-watch in hand, was German free diver extraordinaire Anna von Boetticher, one of the world’s best at holding her breath. While we were experimenting in the relative safety of a four-foot-deep, suburban variety chlorinated pool she has dived to record depths wearing just a pair of oversized swim fins and mask to more than 270 feet.
She was most enlightening when debunking the “Baywatch” notion of saving near-drowning victims by pumping violently on their chests and blowing spittle into their mouths. She demonstrated the preferred method, which she said most are actually “saved” by, which involves light blowing on the cheeks and a little slap. Of course if that doesn’t work, she admitted, then move quickly to the chest pumping and spit swapping.
A one-of-a-kind inaugural crowd — the event was dubbed WaterWoMen, co-sponsored by Six Senses and +H2O — had gathered at the newly opened resort, equal parts coming out party for the remote resort and a conference that included a bunch of world-class athletes as well as some of the planet’s more thoughtful thinkers on ocean issues.
On the athlete side were surfers Layne Beachley, Buzzy Kerbox and 20-year-old Bethany Hamilton (the subject of “Soul Surfer,” the recent feature film about her being bitten by a shark and losing her arm when she was 13), windsurfers Levi Silver and Keith Teboul, kite surfers Mark Shinn and Alex Caizergues and extreme wake boarder Duncan Zuur
The less-active-yet-super-committed contingent included biologist and oceanographer Dr. Callum Roberts; aquatic filmmaker and 3rd generation ocean lover Fabien Cousteau; Carl Gustaf Lundin, director of the IUCN’s Global Marine Program; Bollywood producer/director Shekhar Kapur; Chris Gorell Barnes, executive producer of the film “End of the Line;” and Water Charity co-founders Dr. Jacqueline Chan and Averill Strasser.
The Maldives is a perhaps the perfect place for such a meeting since warming sea temperatures have put its coral reefs at risk, thus endangering both its local population, its reputation as a diving paradise and the very tourism industry that supports it economically. It was prudently also a fundraiser for a trio of ocean non-profits: The Blue Marine Foundation, created by Chris Gorell Barnes, a recent initiative that is pushing for ten percent of the world’s ocean be placed into marine reserves by 2020 (today less than one percent is thus protected); Plant A Fish, Fabien Cousteau’s hands-on marine education and restoration effort to engage local communities around the globe through schools, businesses and government agencies to “re-plant” aquatic plants and animals in environmentally stressed areas; and Water Charity, focused on providing safe drinking water, effective sanitation and health education to those most in need via the most cost-effective and efficient means.
After learning to breathe, I had lunch with Callum Roberts and Carl Gustav Lundin and the main subject was what to eat. Not just this day, but everyday, a common subject among ocean lovers. “To eat fish, or not to eat fish?” is the unending question.
Lundin, whose IUCN has been instrumental in helping set aside the world’s largest marine reserve in the Chagos Islands, suggests that in the Maldives tourism has actually been good for local fish because like most island nations local fishermen see the impacts of overfishing first hand. And here all tuna must be caught by pole, thus it’s a safer bet for consumers than most places.
The agreement we make is that if you know what you’re eating — where it’s from, when it was caught, what the impact of taking it may have had on its ecosystem — then a grilled fish is the perfect choice. The challenge — even for the fish savvy joined at a conference focused on how best to protect the ocean — is that it often requires a boatload of detailed information in order to make a wise choice.
[Flickr image via notsogoodphotography]
Go ice climbing in Cody, Wyoming
For the first time ever, the National Forest Service has issued permits for commercially guided ice climbing expeditions into the Shoshone National Forest, located near Cody, Wyoming. Those permits open up the spectacularly scenic region to adventurous travelers looking for a winter-time challenge unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before.
For the current ice climbing season, just two permits have been issued. One of those permits was given to the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, from Jackson, Wyoming, and the other went to Southwest Adventure Guides, which operates out of Durango, Colorado. Both companies will be hosting multiple excursions into Shoshone, giving new climbers an opportunity to learn the sport first hand, while experienced climbers get the chance to take on some of the most iconic ice climbing routes in all of North America.
When it comes to winter climbing, Shoshone is one of the top destinations in the U.S. The national forest features the highest concentration of frozen waterfalls in the country and has often been called the “Yosemite” of ice climbing thanks to the high number and quality of climbs that are available there. Additionally, the region sees very little traffic during the winter months, which means that climbers enjoy plenty of seclusion in the backcountry, seldom having to share a route with others.
For those who haven’t had the opportunity to experience the sport before, ice climbing involves ascending frozen waterfalls or rock faces covered in ice, by using climbing axes in both hands and crampons on both feet. The climber then proceeds up the vertical face using the axes and sharp points on the crampons to hold themselves steady and make progress on the ice. It can be a great physical workout and a fantastic way to get outside in the winter months, when the weather isn’t always favorable for other kinds of activities.
If you’d prefer to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground, but would still like to check out ice climbing for yourself, then you may want to consider attending the Waterfall Ice Festival, which will be held in Cody from February 17-20 of 2012. The festival features plenty of ice climbing clinics, competitions, and demos, mixed in with lots of good food, music, and drinks as well.
[Photo credit: Hohum via WikiMedia]
Photo of the day: bonfire in Pennsylvania
If you’ve ever dressed in layers during December, with snow piled on the ground, and set fire to a spare wood mound just for the fun of staring into the bursting flames beneath the twinkling stars, then you know about one of the greatest joys of the bonfire: entrancing warmth. No matter where you are, no matter what time of year, a bonfire is an age-old pastime that brings people together in silence, sing-song, and story-telling. This photo was taken during December in Greensboro, Pennsylvania. Greensboro, Pennsylvania is a tiny country town on the border of West Virginia. And by tiny, I mean, the population of Greensboro is 295. Recreational options are considerably limited in a town this small and a blazing bonfire is a wonderful way to chisel away the evening. Taken by photographer Ben Britz, this shot captures the flame and burning wood with intricate detail.
Want us to feature one of your photos for Photo of The Day? Just upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool.