Minneapolis Life: August 2012

In late July, Lori and I had a chance to take a week long trek through the Himalayas. We flew into the city of Leh in the Ladakh region of North India on a Saturday morning and from there I kept a 'micro journal' - one word and one photo to accompany each day.

Day 1 - Rest

A view from our Guesthouse in Leh

Recently someone at work mentioned the importance of "taking rest when your body is tired". As logical as this concept is, I do not think it is often followed as much as it should be. Especially from a western lifestyle perspective. I started this trip exhausted and was looking forward to doing exactly what my body was asking for - rest.

Day 2 - Spiritual

Leh Palace (Buddhist Temple behind to the right)

In the city of Leh, there are many Tibetan refugees. The majority of the population is Buddhist (nearly 80%) and there is a strong spiritual energy throughout the town. Many prayer flags line the streets, a temple sits at the top of town overlooking the valley and in general a it is a very warm and welcoming culture. Lori and I took the second day of our trip to continue acclimating to the altitude of over 3500 meters (this is compared to the less than 1000 meters of Bangalore and less than 300 meters of Minneapolis). We walked around the town and took a 'day trek' up to the temple which sits on top of the town, showcasing the best view of the city.

Day 3 - Explore

Rested and ready to go!

Ahhhh. Two days of rest and fully (or close to) acclimated to 3500+ meters. Lets do this Himalayas, bring it. Lori and I were packed up and ready at 6:30 a.m. to take on a 5 day trek through the Markha Valley.

Day 4 - Determination

Attempting to capture the beauty of Markha Valley

Yes, even one day into the trek, Lori and I needed to reach deep down and find our determined spirits. It doesn't take too much for us to do that, we can both be stubborn and determined people. I think that is what we love about each other and what can drive us crazy. Two perfectionists in a pod. We had a crew (with ponies) to carry our stuff and a guide to lead the way. All we basically needed to do was walk - and yet, we still had our work cut out for us. High elevation, various weather climates and a difficult and rocky terrain.

Day 5 - Light

Look real close to see a house with a view (top left peak)

On the fifth day of our trip, Lori and I were getting a bit tired and run down. This trek was known as a 'moderate to challenging' level of difficulty. And challenging it was at times. Nonetheless, we kept moving. One thing that helped me were the countless photo ops. Everything was incredibly picturesque. By focusing on capturing the breathtaking views through taking photos, I was able to keep my mind away from the physical challenges of the trek itself. Lori and I recently took a photo class with some friends in Bangalore. We learned the basics of the camera, how to stay away from flash/auto settings and how good light helped in taking great photographs. We were lucky to have great views and amazing light each day.

Day 6 - Sight

Glacier Reflection

Another long day of trekking...we were averaging about 8-9 hours per day by this point. As mentioned, the photography was a huge help in preoccupying my mind versus thinking of being tired or weak. Another game I started to play was pretending we were in the Olympics (Lori was not a fan of this one). We had met some great people, from around the world - France, Austria, Slovenia and England. I quickly found out, the French are amazing trekkers. Somehow, each day (no matter how early us eager Americans left camp) the French would come in first. I wanted to take my time, enjoy the views and not push it too hard. But I also wanted to win. I mean, come on, its the gold at stake here!

Day 7 - Finish

I'm still waiting for the Olympic Committee to send us our Gold Medal

The second to last day of the trek, we were scheduled to reach the summit. 5130 meters. Lori and I were tired, but we were feeling fairly good. We were the first to leave camp and made a great start. Our goal was to take our time. We didn't want to push it too hard and we had all day to accomplish our goal of reaching the top. In all seriousness, we were not trying to 'win' however I did start to realize we were not being passed up, even by those speedy French. By the time the peak was in sight, I started to realize what may happen. The gold may be ours. And it was. A freezing cold victory.

Day 8 - Home

Relax and recharge complete.

I love to get away and disconnect. I don't wear a watch, I shut off all technology and fully reset and recharge. Its a great way to clear my mind and refresh. However, even after a great vacation; a week on a beach, a week in the mountains, wherever or whatever it is; its great to return home.

So here it is. One of peoples’ favorite things to twitter, instagram, pin,and FB about is food. For the most part, I have yet to do so. Perhaps out of fear of needless complaining over the world wide web. I will leave out all names to protect my fellow Bangalorean chefs and restaurant owners. Just a few anecdotes on the Bangalore food scene.

Self admitting, I am a bit a of a picky eater. (I know, a bit is an understatement, mom and dad!) I have been since childhood. In the glorious days of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when travelling on family road trips (the back seat clearly divided with a pillow between my sister and I after fighting over the viewfinder), we would do what every American family does. Eat not at, but through a McDonald’s drive-thru. At my pre-foodie stage in life, I would refuse everything on the menu except 2 or 3 hashbrowns (more if monopoly game cards were on it), a small orange pop, and occasionally if feeling daring I would ask for a plain biscuit with honey. Ok, nasty.

Now at 28, I continue to be picky, but McDonald’s is not a word in my vocabulary. Pickiness moved into health conscious. I choose to fill my palate with what some may deem “hippy-esque” in nature. Local, organic, healthy, lots of green stuff. Not sure where this transition occurred, but over time it is what feels good to every sense in my being.

Living in Bangalore means I need to compromise some desires. As the saying goes,When in Rome…stay in Rome and eat good pizza, dammit! Generally speaking, the best food I have eaten out in Bangalore, is local cuisine. Dosas, idyll, sambar, rice, dal, roti. I have even found one, self proclaimed organic local veg. joint to appreciate. My favorite meal to make for myself for lunch is red rice, green gram dal, steamed veggies or salad, an indian pickle and a homemade greek goddess dressing. (Perhaps I will post my favorite tweaked South Indian recipes for my fellow foodies, soon!)

However, some days you need a break from Indian. I love to cook other meals at home, but washing all the vegetable and preparation takes ages, much less being able to find all the ingredients at one store, or any stores. One day, rice vineagar is available, one day its gone. You see frenzied ex-pat women stocking up on imported food items such as buffalo mozzarella and Oreos like it is the return of Tickle-Me- Elmo at Christmas time. For me, I rock my "super market sweep" strategies when I find arugula or mustard greens! It does make it like a treasure hunt and make that evenings meal more appreciated.

So that brings us to eating out- and to be frankly pessimistic, finding a favorite spot is like searching for the diamond in the rough. Everything is sub-par in my opinion. Most recently, I have be yearning for my Minneapolis stomping grounds. Especially after coming back from our trek in the Himalayas in not-so-cleanly-desirable conditions. (I will spare the nitty gritty, but lets just say the nitty gritty found its way into my bowl a few times).On the airplane ride home, I painfully reminisced how within a short bike ride or drive from our 3732 home, I could be chowing down on a “grass-fed” gyro from Gardens of Salonica or at Wise Acres savoring organically raised/grown something or rather. Or organic pizza at Luce’s, or a turkey burger at Birchwood, or Sea Salt or Seward or Lucia’s or trying out Butcher and the Boar or…..or or or or or ! Aghhhh! I cannot wait to come home in a few weeks and savor a Wedge fresh juice that is not made with contaminated water and with fruit seeped in pesticidal chemicals.

Ok, sidetrack rant. When entering any restaurant in Bangalore often deemed “Continental Cuisine," you are seated and handed a bible of a menu, which lists their specialties of Chinese, Tex-Mex, Leb-Mex, Mexican, Vietenamese, Italian and the obligatory North and South Indian cuisine. Sorry, but I don’t know of one restaurant that succeeds at all 108 menu items. In addition, they might as well not describe what’s in it, cause most the time you are left with what’s not in it.

But I have gotten ahead of myself- first beverages. On innumerable times, I am handed a hefty wine list. My eyes peruse the extensive tasting notes and my mouth begins to water. Why do I always fall into the same trap? I say to the waiter, “which rose’ do you recommend?” The response is, “sorry m’am we are all out of Roses.” Okay, which Sauvignon Blanc (out of the 5 on the menu) is available? Which is ofen followed by “Ma’m we have the Sula Chardonnay” I am slowly learning to be satisftied with ordering a “glass of white.” That's the other thing though about dining out, it isn’t really worth it to drink that less than satisfactory glass, because it costs more than your app, dinner and dessert combined for two people. Guess that's where you can eat local for 50 rps. all you can eat buffet ($1) versus the $10 splurge for one glass of vinegary vino.

Onto a food story. My favorite is most recent. We enter a new chic restaurant in our neighborhood. Ambience is amazing, except the music is so loud it is suitable for the club or a rave versus a dimly lit French café. That aside I open the menu and I see it. The craving is so strong. I have been mostly veg for 7 months with the occasional bacon allowance. And now, my vision narrows to one thing only-a pulled pork sandwhich. Ah, what I would give for succulent bbq pulled pork! So forgetting where I am, I order it. The Salad beforehand is a huge success actually- when I ask for dressing on the side, it is actually on the side and not a dressed salad with additional dressing on the side. And it is actually green, not a side of tomatoes with cumin on it, not iceberg, but the real deal. So my expectations remain high. Lesson no. 1, when dining out, keep your expectations low and you may be pleasantly surprised. When delivering the sandwich, they proudly state that they have achieved my dairy free wishes on the sandwich, no cheese, no butter, no milk. The cow is holy but cow products aside from beef reign over every dish. (and typically, if I say no dairy, they serve something covered with cream.)

So back to the pork. Or not. I take one bite. Huh? I lift the bun. Um, yeaaahh.. so it appears to be the other white meat-chicken? In a white mayonnaise sauce with a fried egg, and a few measly pieces of bacon. So, calmly I say to the waiter- I think I may have the wrong sandwich. He regards the sandwhich and says, “no, mam, that is the pulled pork sandwich. See it has bacon on it?” Yes. bacon is the "same, same" to pulled pork. check. literally, check please.

So, aside from food rants, I am learning once again to go more with the flow. And simply relishing in a few gems I have found here. And tipping like crazy when I get a correct order.

My favorite beverage mishap came a few days later. I go into a coffee shop and I see mint tea on the menu. I ask the waiter, is the mint tea with black tea? As I learned that most beverages are caffeinated, which I like to avoid. He said yes, but assured me that he could serve it with just mint and hot water. I was wary when he handed over the cup with tinfoil on the top for takeaway. He said, just confirming "you wanted only mint and only hot water, correct" I smiled and said, “YES!” that is correct! I was so excited it was not a bout of rig a morale in ordering and he was happy to get exactly what I asked for. I get in the car and wait for the hot water to cool before removing the foil. Once I do,I smell a something pecularily like “Aquafresh”. I peer over the cup and see electric green liquid. I did not taste it to find out, but I assume it was crème de menth syrup in hot water. Delicioso!Boun Appetito!

Or as I learned to say in Hindi "mai naheen katti"- or "I don't eat that."