Photo of the Day (1/2/08)

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the most stunning places I’ve traveled was Taroko Gorge in Taiwan. When I saw the photo LadyExpat posted to Gadling’s photo pool on December 31, I thought, “Yes! I know that place. I’ve walked along that very trail to this very shrine. As LadyExpat notes, it was built to honor the people who died building the highway through these mountains. She picked the perfect time to go here. The photo was taken December 24. This time of year in Taiwan, you won’t drip sweat hoofing it up the trails like I did in August the year I went.

If you have your own stunning shot, post it at Gadling’s Photo Pool on Flickr. We’re so excited when we see such finery and yours might be posted with our gushing praise.

Cultural sensitivity and conference travel

by Jamie Rhein on

My dentist told me all about her trip to Dubai for a dental conference when she was replacing a crown. Although my questioning capabilities were hampered by a few dentist gadgets, I wanted to get her impressions. It’s a habit. Whenever anyone tells me of a trip, I want the details.

Heading to a conference in Dubai was not like heading to a conference to many places. Before she arrived in Dubai, there was some cultural sensitivity training about how to dress as a female and how to talk with men. Since she couldn’t quite remember the details, and she wasn’t there for a long enough time to catch on to the nuances of the culture, she didn’t look up at the men at all. She figured that was the easiest tactic. Despite that, she enjoyed the experience and was happy she went.

Her details about discomfort with cultural differences reminded me of when my husband accompanied a delegation of employees of a battery company in Hsinchu, Taiwan to CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany. He sort of went along to help them with their English. They weren’t quite so interested in seeing Germany on their moments off since they wanted to eat instant noodles and pocket their per diem, so my husband went off to see some sights in Hanover his own.

The only time he really had to help the people he was sent to help out navigate the culture had to do with toilet paper use. In Taiwan you don’t put toilet paper in the toilet, you put it in a trash can. The plumbing can’t handle the paper, I was told. The guest house owner where they were staying pulled my husband aside, made a face, and asked him why people weren’t flushing the toilet paper but putting it in the “bin.” “Oh, I’ll take care of it,” my husband said. My husband told the leader to tell everyone else to not put their toilet paper in the trash anymore. Goodwill was redeemed with each flush afterward.

Travel experiences via medical care

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve had a filling replaced in The Gambia, a root canal and a crown put on in Taiwan, a root canal in New Delhi, and stitches taken out in Great Britain. When I was living in Denmark with a family as a college student, I hurt my little toe at a swimming pool and went to the emergency room just to see what a Danish emergency room would be like. It’s not like I was, or I am falling apart–or that I’m one of those people always on the prowl for medical care thrills. But, if you travel and live overseas long enough, going to the doctor is probably a given–even for the healthiest of people. Or, if you don’t go to a doctor, you’ll be hunting down medication for some ailment.

Ask Justin. He found this one out when he trolled the streets on his trip to Poland looking for drugs for his girlfriend. She had a wicked cold and his aim was to help her ease the symptoms. (see his post)

In his column that he writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Thomas Swick describes his traveling in another country medical experiences. He points out how such traveling interludes offers insight into a country one might not get otherwise.

For the most part, I’ve found medical care good to excellent–and easily accessible wherever I’ve traveled, providing I wasn’t in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps, a doctor’s office has not looked quite as swank as what I have been mostly used to in the United States, but whatever help I’ve needed, it’s been there. Even when I was on a Rotary Club exchange program to Nigeria, when the leader of our group cut his hand, he was given stitches in a very simple clinic. The doctor was a whiz and the resulting scar was minuscule.

Of course, there was that time in Vietnam when my husband had a terrible itchy rash. A pharmacist gave him a collection of pills. One kept making my husband so sleepy he couldn’t stay awake. Since he wasn’t sure which one was the sleeping pill, he quit taking them all. Eventually, the rash went away.

The Toilet Restaurant

by Jamie Rhein on

I once heard that you shouldn’t eat in the bathroom. I don’t know if that’s true, but here’s a twist. How about eating out of a bowl that looks like a toilet while you sit on seat that looks like a toilet? If that’s not enough toilet for you, dishes are also shaped like urinals and bathtubs. My friend Tom Barlow over at Blogging Stocks gave me the heads up on this one.

Leave it to someone in Taiwan to think of this and open a chain of them. The restaurants named Marton–Chinese for toilet–are popular with families with kids and young people. I can see the attraction. Novelty is key. Apparently, the food is also worth going back for. And if you like the idea of toilet dinnerware, you can pick up a ceramic toilet bowl on the way out. Unfortunately, the chain opened after I moved so I’ve never had the pleasure. I have some friends who still live in Taiwan who have probably eaten there. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hsinchu, the city I lived in, doesn’t have a Marton in a couple locations.

Here’s another post with wonderful photographs I found at 2dayBlog.

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Interactive Map of Regional Foods: Where is Goetta?

by Jamie Rhein on

Almost every time I head to northern Kentucky to visit my aunts I swing by Kroger for oatmeal sausage. It’s one of my childhood favorite foods that my grandparents served. The quest for oatmeal sausage, also called goetta, has been a lifelong venture. When we used to live further away, I would freeze it and wrap it in newspaper to bring it home. When I lived in overseas, I’d bring packets of Skyline Cincinnati-style chili mix with me. To my delight, White Castle cheese burgers were sold at the American Club grocery store in New Delhi. We rarely bought them, maybe twice, but they were like an old friend to call on if need be. Then there’s Hatch green chile that is roasting in various spots of New Mexico this time of year. I used to buy a bunch and freeze it to use throughout the winter.

When going to Vietnam, one reason to head to Hoi An is the Cau Lau noodles. This particular style is only made here. In Taiwan, the town of Beipu has a tea that you grind up with seeds and nuts in a mortar and pestle. It’s the town’s signature beverage. No matter where you live there are regional dishes that you often can’t get elsewhere, and when you can, it feels as if home has followed you.

This month’s National Geographic magazine has an interactive map of the United States that you can click on to find out about regional favorites. In Ohio, it’s Buckeyes, a candy made with chocolate and peanut butter made to look like the state nut. Here’s a past post I wrote about them for Blogging Ohio. Sometimes the state’s entries have a story that goes with it. Click on New Mexico and you’ll find Elaine Thatcher’s chile verde story. Restaurants in New Mexico that sell Mexican and New Mexican food (there is a difference) have green chile and red chile options. Go for the green–or get both.

I’m sure you all are brighter than me, but to get the interactive map, you need to click on continue at the bottom of the page. Not all states have entries, but there is a new blog, Pop Omnivore at the bottom where people are adding stories about their regional favorites. Thanks, dear friend, Marilyn Terrell at Intelligent Traveler who sends us lovely tidbits to blog about. She sent this one our way.