Veganizing "Friends": The Joey Special!!!by Randi / September 9, 2013
Leaving Bagan like the horsey
When our time in Bagan ended, it was pretty hard to leave the natural wonder of the region. However, Mandalay and the ancient cities in the Mandalay region were up next with their own wonders and amazing sights. I was also secretly most excited about Mandalay because Rudyard Kipling’s poem about it has the most perfect rhythm ever:
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea,
There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
“Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!”
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay:
Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!
U Bein Bridge
Upon landing in Mandalay (after, if I remember correctly, the scariest flight yet), we drove to our first destination, Amarapura. Once (actually, twice) the capital of Burma, Amarapura is most known for U Bein Bridge, the longest teak bridge in the world. Walking along U Bein Bridge is the thing to do. It’s a nice stroll, guaranteed warm and sunny, and buggy – make sure to use extra mosquito repellent.
A few boaters off of U Bein Bridge
The line for lunch at Mahagandayon Monastery
Amarapura, besides being the most fun name to say, is also home to a pretty happening monastery, Mahagandayon. Actually, I’m pretty sure all the monasteries in Burma can be called happening; it’s pretty common for young sons to be sent away to study, and they all seemed pretty crowded.
I’m (almost) on a boat
Next, we took a boat across the river to visit the ancient imperial capital of Inwa (or Ava). Inwa is a very lush, unkempt place, very much for travelers to visit and not so much for living. A few monasteries, pagodas, and other sights await.
WARNING: Due to the whole ‘for visiting/not for living’ setup and the whole rural, unkempt land thing, Inwa has no roads, no cars, and isn’t very walkable. The only way people get around is by horse cart. Upon landing on the Inwa riverbank and seeing what our guide was leading us to, I was vehement about absolutely not forcing a horse to cart me around. I tried to find a bike or something, anything else to use to get around. But after some effort, we learned that the choice was either to use the horses or to skip the visit. So, we went. Hard decisions regarding cultural clashes with veganism always come up when traveling, and I guess I was lucky that this was the worst one I faced in Burma. I still feel badly about it, but I’m not sure skipping Inwa would have been the right decision.
The guide didn’t speak English and didn’t understand what my problem was, so she thought I was scared of horses, and throughout the day kept holding my hand and stuff. It was weird.
WARNING: Due to the whole ‘for visiting/not for living’ setup and the whole rural, unkempt land thing, Inwa has no roads, no cars, and isn’t very walkable. The only way people get around is by horse cart. Upon landing on the Inwa riverbank and seeing what our guide was leading us to, I was vehement about absolutely not forcing a horse to cart me around. I tried to find a bike or something, anything else to use to get around. But after some effort, we learned that the choice was either to use the horses or to skip the visit. So, we went. Hard decisions regarding cultural clashes with veganism always come up when traveling, and I guess I was lucky that this was the worst one I faced in Burma. I still feel badly about it, but I’m not sure skipping Inwa would have been the right decision.
The guide didn’t speak English and didn’t understand what my problem was, so she thought I was scared of horses, and throughout the day kept holding my hand and stuff. It was weird.
Inwa’s rice paddies and pagodas
Maha Aung Mye Bon Zan Monastery. Much bigger in real life
Inwa was home to one of my absolute favorite buildings in Myanmar, the Maha Aung Mye Bon Zan Monastery, or Me Nu’s Brick Monastery. Huge and colored with age, the imposing building was really beautiful. And, you get to walk around and explore all the tiers (barefoot, of course. Everything is barefoot).
The last great sight in Inwa was the Bagaya Kyaung Teak Monastery, another teak wood wonder.
The last great sight in Inwa was the Bagaya Kyaung Teak Monastery, another teak wood wonder.
Bagaya Monastery This beautiful monastery had a little classroom inside! We spied on some future monks as they learned. So cute.
After Inwa, we visited Mingun, one of my favorite stops in this region. I like to think that I loved Mingun for its wondrous temples and monuments and not just because it’s where I ate my first custard apple, the most delicious thing in the world. |
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Mingun’s Unfinished Pagoda
No, Mingun’s sights really are astounding and almost as great as a perfect custard apple. The Mingun Pahtodawgyi, the unfinished pagoda, is freaking massive. It would have been the largest stupa in the world, but astrologers predicted that the king would die upon its finishing, so the work stopped. Astrology causes so many problems.
Hsinphyumae Pagoda
Near the enormous unfinished stupa is Hsinphyumae Pagoda. I love the facade of this one because it looks like waves in the ocean. It’s named after a princess who died in childbirth.
Mingun also has the world’s largest uncracked bell, a distinction I appreciated as a Philadelphian. Visitors can ring the Mingun bell by smacking it with a big piece of wood. It’s harder than it sounds, and when you do it you look ridiculous, hence no pictures.
Besides perfect custard apples, Mingun’s other culinary claim to fame is its spirulina beer on tap. As a vegan, I’m pretty hip to the spirulina, so I had to try this even though I despise beer. You know what? It tasted like kombucha!
The sign for spirulina beer After my spirulina hit, it was time to see the lovely Sagaing, known for its hill facing the Ayerwaddy River. The hill is literally covered with monasteries and pagodas.
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The only time you’ll catch me drinking beer |
Sagaing Hill from across the Ayerwaddy
One of these is not like the others
My favorite pagoda up on Sagaing Hill was the U Min Thonze Temple. It’s known as the Thirty Caves Pagoda because it has 30 Buddha statues with a little cave-like entrance in front of each Buddha.
This was not our boat, but ours was pretty similar
After seeing all of these wonderful ancient cities, we crossed the Ayerwaddy River to finally see Mandalay. I loved taking all these boats; it’s cooler on the water.
Women washing in the Ayerwaddy
Center of Mandalay
Welcoming sign
You might recall from the first post about Myanmar when I said something about the Tatmadaw crushing all who oppose the military government. It’s because of this frightening, enormous sign warning all to obey the Tatmadaw or, well, be crushed.
Thankfully, the rest of Mandalay was pretty welcoming, although not very comfortable. It’s a very dilapidated city, with makeshift sidewalks built by laying stone planks down over holes in the ground. I near sprained my ankles multiple times. So, in summary, tread carefully around Mandalay!
You’ll likely visit the Mandalay Palace, the royal residence of the last two kings of Burma. Most of the grounds were destroyed during World War II, so this is a replica.
Thankfully, the rest of Mandalay was pretty welcoming, although not very comfortable. It’s a very dilapidated city, with makeshift sidewalks built by laying stone planks down over holes in the ground. I near sprained my ankles multiple times. So, in summary, tread carefully around Mandalay!
You’ll likely visit the Mandalay Palace, the royal residence of the last two kings of Burma. Most of the grounds were destroyed during World War II, so this is a replica.
Mandalay Palace
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My favorite pagoda in Mandalay was Kuthodaw Pagoda, better known as The World’s Biggest Book. Separate little huts house single (huge, stone) pages of the book, and with more than 1000 pages, you probably won’t get to see all of it. Biggest book indeed! This is such a cool sight.
One row of many housing the book’s pages |
One page of the book |
Mandalay had great food. We found this insanely delicious Nepalese place called NVC, that had unlimited thali for about a dollar or something insane. (It’s probably what eventually made us sick.) Also, Mandalay had a truly vegetarian restaurant! The food at Marie Min restaurant was delicious, and more importantly in this country, the produce was washed with boiled water! I could have salads! We had a variety of curries and vegetable spread, and of course whatever raw produce we could get. If you go, order the eggplant dip. So good. I loved this place, especially the sign that hangs out front:
How amazing is this!
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A very famous pagoda in Mandalay is the Mahamuni Buddha Temple, home to a very important Buddha that pilgrims can touch and coat with pieces of gold leaf. NB: pilgrims are only men, obvs.
Rude |
Mahamuni Buddha |
After a few days in Mandalay, we embarked upon one of the scariest adventures of my life. My boyfriend loves epic train rides, so when he learned there was one in Burma, we had to go on it, no matter how insane the idea. This ride was famous because it crossed the Goke Hteit Viaduct, a treacherous pass.
That skinny little track across the cliffs of insanity is the pass we just had to cross! So scary, isn’t it? Here we go…
I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
How petrifying is that view! Oh my goodness! You can bet that I had my seasick bands around my wrists and I was gorging on ginger chews during this! Obviously, we made it across, but man alive was it scary! And pretty cool. It was built in 1902 by the Pennsylvania and Maryland Steel Co., so that’s pretty neat! We met really nice Burmese people in our train carriage (which rivaled the Bosnian trains) who helped make the ride more pleasant despite the language barrier. That’s always the best part of traveling, meeting great locals. (And getting to the other side of this viaduct.)
The takin
The last place we visited in the Mandalay region, before flying to Inle Lake, was Pyin Oo Lwin, which used to be called Maymyo when it was a British hill station. Pyin Oo Lwin’s biggest draw is this huge fancy nature park, the Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens. We saw so many incredible plants and animals, including my first black swan, and this guy, the takin. I’m not really sure what kind of animal he is, but he’s cute! They kind of just roam around in the forests and we probably shouldn’t have been so close.
We also saw this peacock! How gorgeous is that! I had never before seen a peacock do its dance before. Love it!
Stay tuned for the last leg of my travels through Myanmar, to come next week.
We also saw this peacock! How gorgeous is that! I had never before seen a peacock do its dance before. Love it!
Stay tuned for the last leg of my travels through Myanmar, to come next week.
Last sunset over Mandalay
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From Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan: The Hardest Border Crossing Yet
After our perfectly lovely time in Almaty, Kazakhstan, it was time to cross into our final ‘stan, the one most believed of Herman Cain: Uzbekistan. There was no easy direct way to go from Almaty to our first destination in Uzbekistan – Tashkent – so we had to take an overnight train (but of course!) to Shymkent, Kazakhstan first, then get a taxi to the border, cross the border, and then get another taxi from the other side of the border to Tashkent. It was exhausting just to think about, but considering how relatively well our travels had gone so far, I was optimistic that it wouldn’t be too troublesome. I think I’ve previously shared on this blog that IQ quote about being an optimist and fool? Yeah.
To relish our final moments of Almaty’s modernity, we got an Uber to the train station instead of arguing with taxi drivers. We would have enough of that the next day, oh boy, would we have enough of that. When the car was due to arrive I shut down the little baby laptop and prepared to put it away and get my giant pack on…and true to chitty, chitty form, Windows decided to install updates then. DO NOT SHUT OFF YOUR COMPUTER. You think that maybe it was one of those quick ones since they didn’t ask first? Here’s the picture I took.
150 UPDATES. What in tarnation is that about! This is the kind of bullshit that can put me off Windows forever. I had to hold my computer open in the car, in the train station, as we waited for and then boarded the train. Can you even picture how ridiculous this crap made me look? I had a giant backpack on my back, my stuffed daypack slung on one arm, my ticket in one hand, my passport open in the other, my purse hanging cross-body, and the laptop nested in the crook of my elbow. If I thought people had stared at me before in these parts just for being a Western female traveler, hoo boy, was I in for some learnin’.
Fortunately, this train helped to balance out the fury that the computer caused me. Because of some of the less-than-stellar experiences endured on the Chinese overnight trains, we decided that our first night back on the rails after so many weeks merited an upgrade! We got a private berth instead of sharing with 2+ randos (not to be confused with randis which are usually good) and it was GREAT. And clean! The little compartment had one set of bunk beds against one wall and a little vanity table with a (clean!) mirror and small table on the other side. I thought there was a closet but the inside door was a connecting one to the next compartment, for families I guess. Our neighbors were none-too-pleased when they realized someone was trying to open the door but they had a crying baby so it’s a draw. This little room was so nice, as was the train in general. The bathrooms weren’t horrifying, AND – there was a water cooler! Guysssss! I could refill my bottles with potable water! My baby nephew says to me “drink agua!” every time he sees my water bottle and you know what Huddybear? I did!
We placed the still-updating computer on that little table and left it to finish. When we went to sleep, it was at number 9. Of 150. In the morning, when it was at 33, we just shut it down and used up ALL of our restraint to not smash it into a thousand pieces.
As we waved goodbye to the European-style cosmopolitan vibe of Almaty, we knew we were saying goodbye to civilization in general for a good while. Our time in Uzbekistan would comprise experiences on the more raw, less modern side of things, as our itinerary tracked ancient Silk Road stops and historically important towns and landmarks that are more or less untouched since the old days. Meaning, it would be like stepping back in time, especially considering how modern the city we were coming from was. Bye civilization!
But we didn’t realize at first just how drastic the contrast would be and how quickly it would materialize. When we got off the train in Shymkent, we needed to get a taxi to the border with Uzbekistan, and it was quite the ordeal. We asked several drivers for prices but all were oodles more than they should have been according to literally every piece of information – internet, books, hostel employees, previous travelers. We talked to a woman at an information desk by the side of the road (I don’t know if it was official; it looked like the Bluth banana stand without bananas, which I wanted even more than information) who told us in Russian to take this bus that was there and that would do the job. We were about to board but with a little more questioning, we figured out that that bus just would take us into the city center, where we would have to find the bus that would actually take us to the border, or get a taxi. The extra step seemed incredibly unnecessary and unwanted, especially if we would end up needing to negotiate with a taxi there anyway. We might as well just do that now, we thought. So back we went to argue with taxi drivers. Finally we found one who offered a not too bad price, so we agreed and unloaded our stuff and got in and…didn’t leave. The driver instead started filling the other seats with other people. We sighed but this was to be expected, right. Finally the car was full and the driver starting driving and took us to…the other side of the train station. What’s going on, we asked, not actually wanting the answer because we knew there was some bullshit about to come our way. The driver indeed spewed some bullshit, telling us to get into this other van that was there, already full of people. So this driver we had found wasn’t actually going to ever take us to the border. He was taking us to his friend with a van. He actually had the gall to agree to something he was never intending to do and then DRIVE US 15 SECONDS TO ANOTHER PART OF THE STATION.
Oh man this shit was just the beginning.
We said are you kidding me, no f-ing way, we are not getting into another stuffed mashrutka and paying the price we agreed on as if we were getting a private taxi. So we went back to the front of the station and started all over again negotiating with drivers in Russian the best we could. One driver promised he would just take us and not fill the car with others and we said great let’s do it. We left the station, drove for five minutes down the main road…AND THEN TURNED BACK TO GO TO THE STATION. What the HELL is going on, we asked? OH – he had to pick up another person. At the station. That we had left. You said it would just be us and ALSO WTF, we said. That’s it just this one more, the driver promised. JFC, fine, we said, come on let’s go. We again left the station, and then the driver stopped the car along the side of the main road where a crowd of people were standing. He wanted to pick up another person from this crowd! And not someone he knew about, he was just going to ask if anyone needed a ride. FFS. We yelled HELL NO! Just take us to the f-ing border right now! He reluctantly left and started driving the three of us to the border — at the fastest speed I’ve EVER witnessed any car go, race cars in Talladega Nights included. I was petrified. This guy was such an asshole AND he was a dangerous driver?? Oh my god. We sped down the roads passing every car and weaving through lanes and cutting off EVERYONE else on the road and just holding on as tight as we could, terrified.
When we were sufficiently in the middle of nowhere, nowhere near anything we could see or walk to besides highway and desert, the driver pulled into a gas station along the side of the highway. He said he needed gas, and didn’t have money to pay for it, so we had to pay for it. Are you KIDDING ME? I started screaming at him in English, I knew he could understand my hatred and disgust at him even if he didn’t know every amazing curse word I used. We are not paying for your gas, you crook! But then he popped the trunk and started pulling our bags out, threatening to strand us along this highway in the middle of nowhere if we didn’t pay up. As much as I despise giving in to people like this, we really had no choice, so I gave him a little money. But no, that wasn’t enough. Apparently gas is very expensive in Uzbekistan or something because he kept asking for more. I really didn’t want to give any more and set a dangerous precedent in case he kept stopping along the way and demanding more money, but luckily that didn’t happen. Just this one instance of extortion so I guess we were lucky. He got back in the car — I don’t even remember if he actually pumped any gas — and flewww down the highway for another hour while I sent him death ray stares from the back seat. He drove mostly in between the two lanes, stopping anyone who dared even think about passing him. I continue to wish him very ill thoughts, naming him like Arya except I don’t know his name but the universe knows who I mean. Get ‘em.
Finally, finally, he dropped us near the border. We walked up to the gate, took a deep breath to get over the horrible experience we just miraculously survived, and then another deep breath to prepare for one we expected to be equally terrifying. See, the Uzbek border brings with it a lot of rules, and a lot of horror stories. We never heard anything as strict and scary as the stories about Uzbek border guards. They can delay travelers for hours, going through every single nook and cranny of their luggage, opening every container, going through pockets, everything. Worst of all, Uzbekistan has a VERY STRICT and VERY SERIOUS no-drug policy, and their list of banned substances includes things that we can get over the counter in many Western countries. So we had to be careful about every substance we were bringing in, and make sure we had prescriptions ready to show. But the banned substance list is serious, and it’s not something you can get around with a prescription. If you try to bring any of them in, you could go to jail. One of the substances on the banned list? Ativan. I know. Because we did our homework (do your homework!), we knew about this trouble before we left for the summer, so I only packed about as much Ativan as I thought I’d need up until this day, so I wouldn’t have to throw much out. I still had a few extra I had to toss back in Kazakhstan, but nothing worth crying over. It’s just so funny and perfect that the one thing that would have helped me deal with the shitshow that was this country was the one thing I had that they outlaw. COOL GUYS.
When we got through Kazakh exit, we were given the forms. We knew we had to declare every kind of currency we had on us and in what amounts, so we had counted up all our shiz on the train. This is more annoying than it sounds when you have traveled to 10 countries! We had dollars, we had euros, we had pounds, we had soooo much Chinese yuan that converted to like just a few dollars but takes up so much space, we had Mongolian money, we had roubles (a significant amount since we would return to Russia after Uzbekistan), we had Kyrgyz money, Kazakh money. Man alive this really makes one appreciate the euro zone. We wrote everything down and then had to declare our valuables, including our phones, readers, and the baby laptop. We had read about other white travelers who had to unpack everything and who were detained for hours so we were super nervous. But, luckily, the border guards on duty for us were SO excited to meet Western tourists that they were pretty much just friendly and trying to ask us all sorts of questions, not about what we were carrying but about us and the west and whatever. We SO lucked out. I mean there were no toilets anywhere to be found but still, quite lucky. I guess I could have brought my Ativan in after all but better to be safe than to end up in an Uzbek prison in the driest desert with no toilets, right.
Oh but then we had to find another taxi to take us to Tashkent. Guyssss. I never want to take a taxi again. But there are no buses! There’s no other way! You just find a guy with a car and you hope that they are trustworthy. Ish. We found an old man with an old car and mistakenly thought ‘hey maybe this old guy will be more legit and somewhat decent than the younger asshat men are.’ We showed him the name of our guest house in Tashkent and he said ‘oh yes I know that place!’ We were relieved. The guy drove us through the nothingness and into the city, where he immediately stopped, got out, and started chatting with two young women. What is going on NOW, we wondered. Then the two women got in the car with us. I know. What’s going on, we asked?? One of the women spoke a little bit of English and she explained that the driver didn’t know where the hostel was, so they were going to help them. Let’s go over this again. The man who told us he was familiar with the hostel not only lied about that and didn’t know it, but DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THE ROAD IT WAS ON. And here’s the kicker – neither did the two women. They were just helping by using their phone maps –WHICH WE HAD TOO. And they showed us that they didn’t know how to read their phone maps, because WE were the ones who ended up instructing the driver on where to turn and how to f-ing drive. It was ludicrous and so frustrating and like, are there ANY taxi drivers in central Asia who aren’t complete assholes?
Finally, after we screamed NO, LEFT – NO YOUR OTHER LEFT about 40 times, we found our guest house, yelled at the driver to get out of our sight for ever and never come back here again, and entered the house eager to shower and relax. Naturally, the room wasn’t ready yet.
We’ll talk about that guest house and about the rest of Tashkent in the next post. Until then, I need to go take an ativan.
Lisbon, Portugal: Towers, Music, & Chestnuts for All
Strolling in Lisbon, in view of the 25 de Abril Bridge
A few years ago, I traveled all through Portugal. This post will focus on my favorite part, Lisbon.
Lisbon gives you excitement and attractions of a big city but in a smaller, calmer (and cheaper) package than, say, cities in Spain. In fact, it reminded me a lot of certain parts of Spain, but on a smaller scale. It’s like how New York compares to Philadelphia, although I don’t think Lisbon could match Philly’s crime rate if it tried. Anyway! It’s a lovely city to visit, with great sights, nice people, and good food. In fact, Lisbon is where I learned to love olives! Prettayyy cool.
Lisbon gives you excitement and attractions of a big city but in a smaller, calmer (and cheaper) package than, say, cities in Spain. In fact, it reminded me a lot of certain parts of Spain, but on a smaller scale. It’s like how New York compares to Philadelphia, although I don’t think Lisbon could match Philly’s crime rate if it tried. Anyway! It’s a lovely city to visit, with great sights, nice people, and good food. In fact, Lisbon is where I learned to love olives! Prettayyy cool.
Torre de Belem
One of the coolest parts of Lisbon is the Torre de Belem, or Belem Tower. Overlooking the Tagus River, Belem Tower was constructed in 1515, commissioned to be a part of the defense system of Lisbon and a gateway to the city. The gray stonework cuts an imposing figure against the often cloudy view of the water, providing a real Medieval feel, separated from the modern city life. You can climb all through the tower and see various examples of canons and other weaponry. And, of course, there’s a gift shop, where you can buy a 3D replica puzzle of this Tower with about 3000 teeny tiny little wooden pieces that all look alike and your boyfriend can buy it and spend months trying to construct it all over the living room and you can find wood fragments in random places nearly two years later if you want. It’s a nice puzzle. (And he finished it, go him!)
 Torre up close  Me in a chimney. I was quite silly back then. Good thing I outgrew that. I’m just kidding. I really didn’t. Really really. |
 Nothing I love more that photos taken through holes in walls  View of the Belem Tower as we leave towards the Monastery |
Near the Belem neighborhood of Lisbon is the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, the Hieronymites Monastery, originally built in 1459 for monks of the Order of Christ who helped pilgrims in the region. It was also the site of the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon, which provided for reform of the European Union. Like the Belem Tower, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and boasts a beautiful courtyard.
Monastery from below
Praça do Império (Empire Square), in front of the monastery
Also in this area is the Monument to the Discoveries, representing Portuguese exploration. It was built for the 1940 Portuguese World Fair, but was destroyed shortly thereafter. Luckily, in 1958, the government decreed that a permanent monument should be rebuilt. The one standing now is larger than the original model. As monuments go, this one has a pretty interesting facade, with 33 statues positioned along the lower ramp, honoring important people from the discoveries, including Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Pedro Escobar, and lots more I didn’t learn about in elementary school.
After exploring the Belem section of Lisbon, it’s definitely time to climb up to the Castelo de São Jorge, the Moorish castle that overlooks the city of Lisbon. It’s considered a Medieval castle, but fortification of this hill in some form dates back to before the 2nd century. As the major tourist attraction, the castle will likely be crowded. Try to visit it at the end of the day, so if you spend enough time there, you get to see the view before and during sunset. It’s so beautiful. Instead of sunset pictures, however, we have more silly pictures of me in the light at the castle.
 O’er the ramparts we walked |
 I am in a tree |
Measuring for when I move in?
You may have noticed in some of the early pictures that the 25 de Abril bridge looks an awful lot like San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge. In fact, this bridge was built by the same company that built SanFran’s Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate! The Bay Bridge and the 25 de Abril are thus considered sister bridges. Perhaps the Bay Bridge people wanted to prank its rival Golden Gaters and decided to make a copy in Portugal? Good one! This bridge is called the Ponte 25 de Abril in honor of the Carnation Revolution, the military coup that overthrew the regime of Estado Novo in 1974.
Lisbon has old-fashioned trams! You must take one. It’s pretty fun.
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One of my favorite things to photograph when traveling is street art. How cool is this graffiti I saw around downtown Lisbon?
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Ok, now we’re getting into nightlife in Lisbon. First and foremost, you must – MUST – see some authentic fado music. Fado, a cultural staple of Portugal, dates back to early 1800s at least. The music is depressing, haunting but beautiful. It’s kind of the European version of the Southern blues. Fado is often described by the Portuguese word for loss and the resulting personal damage. This is all very depressing, but the music is lovely. You’ll see signs outside of establishments advertising that they’ll have fado some nights, so keep your eyes open. Do that anyway if you’re walking around.
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Praça de Dom Pedro IV, the main square downtown
There’s also a vibrant nightlife in downtown Lisbon, with people about as late as I was out (which isn’t saying much but still). Our favorite thing to do downtown at night was get ginjinha, a liqueur made from sour cherries and sugar. It’s served in little shot glasses with a few sour cherries at the bottom. I actually drank and enjoyed this (it is bitter and strong!) because I wanted to get to the fruit, obvs. There was this adorable stand frequented by locals called A Ginjinha, where you queue up behind a single counter and get your drink.
 In line for ginjinha Well, that was boyfriend’s favorite thing to do downtown at night. Mine was to buy paper cones full of plain roasted chestnuts from the plethora of vendors all over the main squares. Oh my goodness, these chestnuts were amaaaazing. I miss them. I’d go back to Lisbon just for the chestnuts. Speaking of food, I didn’t do much restaurant research before going, but we did have a great meal at Terra Restaurante Natural, which has a vegetarian buffet with many great vegan options. This was before I blogged, and before Instagram made taking pictures of your food cool, so all I have is a picture of the ice cream. Suffice it to say, they had vegan ice cream.
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I really enjoyed Lisbon overall. It felt relaxed but still hip, and I would love to go back (and get more chestnuts). Stay tuned for posts about the rest of Portugal – we saw it all!
