Travel With a Passion

If you really love to travel, you have to have a passion either for it, or behind it. Being on the road or in the air on a constant basis can be tough—umm, just ask Steven Slater, my new hero. (BTW, people who stand up out of their seats right after the plane lands are as contemptible as people who constantly kick the chair in front of them, and people who don’t understand the concept of personal space—ewww. Feel free to share some of your top travel annoyances, too.) 

Anyway, that’s why I really admire people who pursue travel, even for the most obscure of reasons or passions, simply because (a) they love to travel or (b) they want to do something with their travels.

Doing something doesn’t have to necessarily be something like stopping world hunger and finding a way to bring peace to the Middle East—although those two passions would definitely bump up your chances of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. You could be like the guy who travels around the world, just so he can say he’s eaten at every McDonald’s on the planet. (On second thought, maybe I’ll take that one back since that’s actually a little sad).

Or you could be like Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson. They took their love of proper English grammar, punctuation and style to the streets—literally—traveling cross-country in an attempt to correct misspellings, typos and bad subject-verb agreement. Eventually, of course, they turned this into a book, The Great Typo Hunt. 

When I found out about their endeavor earlier today, I had the following immediate thoughts: (1) Good lord, there really are other people out there who are as obsessed with good grammar and style as I am, people who probably still have tattered copies of The Elements of Style on their bookshelves and must always repress their urges to correct other people’s bad writing and/or speech; (2) I’m not alone!; (3) Was the use of “its” vs. “it’s” the most common error that they encountered on their travels?; and (4) Geez, why didn’t I think of this? (Photo (c) Benjamin D. Herson)

In thinking about my own reasons or passions for travel, however, I was sort of at a loss. I couldn’t identify one single thing about travel that I loved most, or one single motive for traveling that I held near and dear. After sorting through all of those reasons, however, I think I came up with a common denominator, of sorts: I travel because I want to learn.  That, and eat—really well.

It’s one thing to open up a book and read about something. By the end of it, you might be knowledgeable enough about the subject to win on “Jeopardy!” but, the truth is, you don’t really know it firsthand. Even though some of the personal experiences that you get from traveling might be universally shared—who can forget the first time they see the Eiffel Tower or the first time they ever boarded a plane, for example?—your individual experience of that travel is always different—it’s always your own. And what’s more, you always learn something from it.  

So, for whatever reasons you may travel, whether for work or leisure, or because of a highly developed intolerance for misspellings or an insatiable hunger for Big Macs, keep on doing it.

Eat, Stay, Sleep...Read

Thanks to a nearly 10-hour wait at the Honolulu Airport last month (thanks a lot, Delta), I was forced to do something I had long been avoiding: I started reading Eat, Pray, Love. (Photo (c) Barnes & Noble)

Now, mind you, I have nothing against Elizabeth Gilbert and, having read her book, I thought it was fairly enjoyable—a little self-indulgent (you were totally right, Justina) but not all that bad. This is especially true when you’re stuck at the airport’s Kona Brewing Co. and your only friend is your waiter, Mark, a man who’s kind enough to even watch your stuff during bathroom breaks. (BTW, the Fire Rock Pale Ale is pretty awesome.

It’s just that, well, I’m a bit of a book snob. If Oprah and her book club are reading it, I probably won’t be. It’s for this same reason that I still haven’t read any of the Twilight books (I’ll save that for my next marathon airport wait, I suppose).

Reading Eat, Pray, Love, however, got me to thinking about how some of my favorite books have inspired me to want to travel. The Italy section (Eat) made me long to return to Rome—just for the gelato—and the Indonesia section (Love) only made me want to go there even more. I also realized that most of the books I’ve read this past year all have ties to places that I’ve either (1) gone to or (2) really, really want to go to. And, they all made excellent airplane reads (that’s the only time I ever get any of my reading done). So, here they are…be sure to check them out if you get a chance, or if your next flight gets cancelled.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
One of my favorite books, it chronicles the life of a self-described “love-sick ghetto nerd,” weaving in pieces of Dominican history and folklore throughout. It might be a little difficult to jump into at first but, once you do, it’s hard to put the book down.

Last year, I traveled to the Dominican Republic on a press trip and stayed in Punta Cana. While Punta Cana was altogether lovely, beachy and sunny, it wasn’t the D.R. that I read about in this book, which focused mainly on Santo Domingo (the capital, located way on the other side of the island). One of these days, I’d love to go back and see that side. (Photo (c) Barnes & Noble) 

My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’Homme
My friend Justina let me borrow her borrowed copy of this memoir, made even more famous now thanks to the film, “Julie & Julia.” Reading it made me truly regret not having taken that solo trip to Paris after my fall classes at Oxford wrapped up—think of all the bread, butter, cheese, wine and sole meuniere I missed out on! Oh well, all the more reason to make it a point to travel to France sometime soon. (Photo (c) Random House) 

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee
The Chinese-food lover in me was fascinated by this book. I mean, who knew that the dude who invented General Tso’s Chicken couldn’t even recognize the Americanized version of his famous dish? Or that the Japanese actually invented fortune cookies?

Reading this book also confirmed my sentiments about Chinese food here in the rest of the world versus Chinese food in China—it’s just not the same—really. But, no matter where you eat it (or what you’re eating)—it’ll be delicious nonetheless. (Photo (c) Barnes & Noble)

The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman
Okay, so “reading” this book would be an overly broad statement (it’s practically all photos and even the paperback edition weighs a ton) but hey, sometimes you just want to look at pretty pictures. If that’s what you’re in the mood for, this book is perfect. While it also captures one-of-a-kind styles from folks around the world, it also gives you a glimpse into those places, too, including Beijing, Milan, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and more. (Photo (c) Amazon.com) 

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Before my cousin Christina left on her whirlwind trips around the world, filming instructional English language videos for students around the world, she gave me this book and told me, “Read it. It’s good.” She was completely right; it's now one of my all-time favorites.

I won’t go too much into the plot details but, suffice it to say, this book is not set out on making you want to go to India and live like a maharajah. Quite the contrary—this bildungsroman reveals a side of India that is very well heart breaking and even disturbing—and not at all sugar coated in a Slumdog Millionaire kind of way. Still, it made me want to go to India and see the country for myself. (Photo (c) Penguin Australia) 

Next on my shelf? Lost Over Laos. Let me know if you have any good recommendations, too. I’d love to hear about them. (Photo (c) Barnes & Noble)

Local Perspectives

As much as I love being a travel writer, I must confess that there are, in fact, a few (mostly minor) downsides: (1) Not being able to travel with your loved ones. (2) Having to travel with people you don’t necessarily love (or even like). (3) Not getting to experience the destination as a local would.

Number three is a tricky one because, quite frankly, it can be difficult to get an authentic meal in some parts of the world, let alone a uniquely local perspective from start to finish. And, when you’re on a press trip, you have to pretty much stick to the plan. The plan, while usually jam packed with activities, doesn’t always leave enough time to let you wander and explore, meet the residents or even taste the regional specialties. (Also, I especially love encounters with friendly "wildlife"--like Jasmine from the North Shore Cattle Co. on Oahu--an absolute sweetheart of a dog. That's her drool on my leggings.)
 

My encounter with Jasmine from the North Shore Cattle Co., a family-owned cattle ranch on Oahu. //(c) Deanna Ting 2010

Fortunately, though, I’ve been lucky enough to benefit from the expertise of passionate and knowledgeable residents in a number of places that I’ve visited. I was reminded of that most recently on a trip to Hawaii just last week. Were it not for Candice and her team at Starwood Hawaii, I would never have known that Oahu’s North Shore grows some of the best coffee I’ve ever had, nor would I have ever tasted the meaty deliciousness of kimchee sausage on a stick.

Candice introduces Margery to some fried green tomatoes at the KCC Farmers' Market. Note the kimchee sausage on a stick in her hand. //(c) Deanna Ting 2010

Hawaii, in particular, is a place where there are locals and there are tourists—there’s a big distinction. Although I’ve been to Hawaii at least four times now, I am in no way a local and I would never dare aspire to be. Thanks to friends (and especially my boyfriend and his relatives), however, I’ve been privy to some of the best local spots on Oahu—places you won’t likely see in your Lonely Planet guidebook. And while I’m all for doing touristy things, traveling from a local’s perspective is always much more memorable and—let’s be honest—it comes with much better-tasting food, too.

Here are some of my favorite low-key (and mostly local) spots on Oahu:

Aki no-No: A little-known izakaya (Japanese-style pub) located in the Manoa neighborhood, near the University of Hawaii. Try the roasted gingko nuts--they're like macadamia nuts but chewier.

Diamond Head Market & Grill: Although I’m a sucker for any baked good, I’m not the biggest fan of scones because most of them tend to be hard as a rock. The blueberry and cream cheese scone here, however, was a revelation—soft, moist, creamy and tart. Another bonus? You can even buy beef bourguignon to take home—how ingenious!

Kailua Beach Park: My favorite beach on Oahu, hands down. I can never get over how beautifully blue its water is, or how fine the white-sand beach is. Even President Obama—an Oahu native—agrees. (Photo (c) WhiteHouse.gov)

KCC Farmers’ Market: KCC, short for Kapiolani Community College, is home to my favorite Saturday farmers’ market. Where else but in Hawaii can you find kimchee sausage, kalua pork sliders (right), barbecued abalone, taro poke, shave ice and strawberry mochi all in one place? (Photo (c) Deanna Ting 2010)

Like Like Drive Inn Restaurant: A classic local-style diner that’s light on ambience but heavy on the helpings of pipikaula (Hawaiian-style dried beef) and loco moco (white rice topped with a burger patty and an over-easy egg smothered with butter brown gravy).

Liliha Bakery: Two words—coco puffs (left). I dream about this old-time bakery’s decadent chocolate cream puffs topped off with a buttery, salty, sweet Chantilly frosting—they’re just that good. (Photo (c) Liliha Bakery) 

Waiola Shave Ice: Shave ice is a must on any trip to Hawaii and Waiola’s is one of the best I’ve had (I’m hoping to try Shimazu on my next visit). Don’t skimp on the good stuff—go for the ice cream, azuki (sweet red beans), condensed milk and mochi balls. Remember, calories don’t really count when you’re on vacation.

Zippy’s: Okay, so they’re everywhere on Oahu but I have to admit that this Hawaiian version of Denny’s is good—always satisfying and, even better, open 24 hours a day. While they’ve got great oxtail soup and saimin, they also make a mean chili, believe it or not.

Here’s to new additions from future visits...