Monkey

One of my favorite pictures from our travels, this picture was taken on Observatory Hill in Darjeeling, India.
(Also, one of our favorite places in India.)

Takayama, Japan

Written on 24 August, 2010 - decided to post it today...

Per the Lonely Planet, the train-ride from Nagoya to Takayama is "gorge-ous". LP, we strongly second that statement. Over the river, through the woods / mountains....to Takayama we go (or went...back on August 14th, 2010). The misty opaque-hued river that cuts a gorge through the surrounding elevations is dubbed the 'Japanese Rhine' and was dotted with fly-fisherman; the train ached and groaned at every ascent / descent / tunnel. The ride alone was worth the visit.

We arrived at our hostel - our first dormitory stay... Devin with 7 strangers (boys and girls), Emily with 5 (girls only). Each bunk had curtains for privacy. which was nice...and the crowd was very 'Japanese' (that is to say: respectful).


Takayama itself is a small-ish city on the doorstep of the Japanese Alps... While there, we wandered, saw a couple shrines, hit a morning market...and had our first Japenese toast. It is normal bread, but ~ 2 inches thick...perfectly toasted...with butter and an option of honey...

Again, a place worth spending more time... But the beat goes on.

(Awesome magazine cover.)

Ironicness

We think it's funny that we posted about ENCA farm and eating local and organic foods, and followed said post with a note about eating at Burger King. Whoopsies...

Have it your way?

Date: December 22, 2010

We've eaten a lot of FANTASTIC food on our tour of Asia thus far, but here, I thought I'd share a couple of photos of our most expensive meal.

These were taken at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport. And 450 baht translates to about $15. Pretty steep for these parts. Actually, pretty steep anywhere. We were searching excitedly for a Subway, after seeing one near the check-in counters, when instead we wandered into a Burger King and noted that they had a veggie burger. Do they have veggie burgers at BK's in the States? I can't tell you the last time I was in a Burger King, but do know that the faux meat patty was not on the menu. Anyway, it pulled us in...and was seriously AWESOME. I am not kidding. Nor am I kidding about the expense. We shook our heads all the way to Cambodia once we realized that the meal cost more than our previous night's lodging, breakfast, and transportation to the airport combined. Whoops-a-daisy!

Local & Organic

6 November, 2010

Devin and I spent two weeks in the Philippines. Of that time, one week was spent with our friend Sherry Manning and her Filipino family, the Cosalans, in and around the small city of Tublay. Sherry met and lived with the Cosalans while serving her Peace Corps term from 2006 to 2008, and became involved with the family's organic farm at that time. Now, adopted into the Cosalan clan, Sherry is back in the Philippines, helping them further organize ENCA.

Devin and I still haven't quite figured out the neighborhood-city-province structure of that area yet, so this is taken straight from the ENCA website:

Nestled in the quiet municipality of Acop, Tublay, in Benguet Province, ENCA Farm is found in the heart of the Cordillera Mountains in Northern Luzon, Philippines.

Overlooking the farm on the hike to the farm.
Even though we'd seen many rice terraces throughout Asia,

it took me a while to realize that this farm was terraced on a mountain too.
Not much flat farmland up there.

The family is wonderful and the farm is awesome! Not only do they produce organic... ah, produce, they also provide community education on sustainable farming, host environmentally focused youth camps, and provide a great volunteer experience through WOOFing. We got to go there and just hang out, but I did pick a few weeds to feel like I contributed something.

Me weeding a row of paco (an edible fern) - hey, it's something!

One of ENCA's main crops is coffee and we sampled their product, often in large quantities, throughout the mornings during our visit. (There's nothing like waking up with a Milo coffee, eh Sherry?)

Again, from their website:

In 2008, ENCA Farm helped start a 20-member Arabica Coffee Growers Cooperative in the Province of Benguet. Members of the cooperative grow organic Arabica coffee beans and each week deliver them to ENCA Farm for roasting and delivery to local organic markets. “ENCA Kape” is one of the largest grossing products in local organic markets and these coffee sales serve as an important livelihood for farmers throughout Benguet Province.

We were able to see most aspects of the coffee-making process while there...

Unripe coffee "fruit" on the tree.

Coffee "fruit" that will be picked soon.

We missed the shelling, but these beans are shelled and waiting to be roasted.

Shiosa helping Lola (grandma) Carmen Cosalan roast coffee beans.

Roasted beans.

Coffee grounds.

(Stored in a Graham Cracker container, of course.)

The finished product!

ENCA farm is a wonderful place with incredible potential, producing a great cup of coffee, environmental education, delicious paco and other organic veggies, but the real charm here are the Cosalans - all of them! Devin and I were welcomed with open arms into this family: sleeping at Auntie Evelyn's house, listening to Lola Carmen talk about old days on the farm, laughing with Uncle Peter as he and Devin took a shot of something strong, wishing I could eat food that Dimples made every day, and spending All Saints and All Souls days with them - a party involved for each, of course.

Some, but not all, of the Cosalans at the All Saints Day party.


The girls.

Devin and I visited other cities in the Philippines and enjoyed each place, but when we look back on our time there, our week with Sherry and the Cosalans is, by far, the highlight. We are so grateful to have had some "family time" while traveling; a different kind of experience than what we'd get on our own.

More pictures of the farm.

The End.

P.S. Buy local and, if you can, organic.