travel – morestomach

travel | charleston, south carolina

Published on February 16, 2017February 15, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach7 Comments

speaking of celebrating:
we spent a long weekend away!
the thing about travelling with dw
is that the man likes to walk.
our first day in Charleston,
a trip we planned months ago
due to some crazy airline sale,
we walked 13 miles,
the 2nd day, 8 miles
and 3rd day, about 5 miles.
i’d complain, but we discovered a few gems.

|sleep|
airbnb **

|eats|
the park cafe
leon’s oyster shop
bakehouse bakery cafe
husk ******* (it was an emotional meal, the pigs ear salad wrap was a revelation, and i got teary-eyed over the duck entree)
poke tea house ** (we went TWICE, gimme all your salmon)
king street cookies
xiao bao biscuit ** (their special: fish balls + congee was delicious, i’m already thinking about recreating it)
hominy grill
glazed gourmet doughnuts

|sights|
hampton park
the citadel
old city market
waterfront park *
rainbow row
the battery *
old city jail
college of charleston
natural history museum of charleston
halsey institute of contemporary art
charleston library society
old slave mart museum *

3 years ago: soy sauced chocolate chip cookies – dairy free
2 years ago: chocolate meringue kisses – gf
1 year ago: chocolate chip cookie dough + coffee ice cream – gf and vegan
other travels: adventures galore!

travel | boston, massachusetts

Published on October 9, 2014October 6, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach8 Comments

hihi!
i wanted to sneak a
very quick post
about our jaunt to
boston last month.
it was our first time
travelling to this area of
the country together.
southwest had a sale
early in the year
so we booked
our anniversary trip
while planning our honeymoon.

tips:
public transportation – boston is a great city for walking and hopping on the bus or metro. i only threw up ONCE due to my motion sickness; as a result, we walked 2.5 miles home after our anniversary dinner. no worries, it was a lovely time spent in the city with dw.

if you’d like, more pix below, as well as some links to the places we visited. stars are the ones that i highly recommend.

the elephant walk
eastern standard*
cafe beirut
the salty pig*
FoMu*****
harvard museum of Natural History*
Neptune Oyster
The Blue Nile*
Fiore Italian Bakery
dumpling cafe
b&g oysters*
airbnb apartment (the neighborhood, Jamaica Plains, is wonderful. not exactly central, but super easy to get around on the bus and metro lines)

travel | chiang mai, thailand & elephant nature park 2014

Published on April 17, 2014April 20, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

we traveled north for a few days
to get out of the city
to see a dear, dear friend
and to walk with elephants

i looked up at the night sky,
the same night sky
that is usually invisible
to our eyes —
what with the urban lights
and smog
and lack of time to pause,
i looked up at the unending expanse,
with its innumerable exploding stars
and gigantic galaxies,
i felt the earth spinning
and i felt dizzy
and small

walking with these elephants,
these intelligent beasts
with their faultless presence
i also felt dizzy
and small

and i will tell you:
it was exhilarating

additional information for Chiang Mai, Thailand and Elephant Park
accomodations: private townhouse
dining: the Riverside, we dined here twice
day trip: sukantara, an eco-boutique resort
shopping: night bazaar
elephant nature park: 2 day, overnight visit

*note: pic of me with my hand in the elephant’s mouth courtesy of dw. he really does capture me at my most random….

we’ll go back to regular food + dream stuff soon …

travel | bangkok, thailand 2014

Published on April 14, 2014April 30, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

i’ve been trying to write this
for awhile
from many places
— while walking sidewalks brimming with food vendors
— crossing a busy street, clutching dw’s hand tight
— from cramped airplane seats, recycled air pressed down on me
— early morning thoughts while combating jetlag
— dreary late night musings, preparing for reality

there is a heat in bangkok
that seizes you
it gets caught mid-breath
and you’re left gasping
for some it’s oppressive
for me,
it’s joyous
i don’t mind the heat,
or the slick tendrils of hair at my temple
or the pit stains
i’m 16 again
wearing slippers, dusty toed
and ignoring hawkers as they
implore & vie for my attention

i’m caught up in the magic
of travelling
of wandering a foreign city with my love
never mind the blisters on
both feet
and
the stink i’m sure i’m emitting

all i know is
i am in love with everything:
dw
being lost
the dirt
the heavy air
dw
even the lack of soy milk for my coffee

and i am dreaming of our next adventure

bangkok information and resources:
i’m sorry, i won’t be able to highlight every place we went to, i don’t remember & most places were on a whim

accommodations: 1 bedroom condo we found on airbnb. we kept the place even when we went to chiang mai for a long weekend.
dining: no lie, i think we had khao man gai 7-8 times. i asked the landlord for recommendations and then i asked shesimmers, and if i saw a joint that had it, we’d stop for it. i’ll list just the two leela endorsed cus they were gooooood. Khao Man Gai Monkhon Wattana (ข้าวมันไก่มงคลวัฒนา) and Khao Man Gai Heng Heng (ข้าวมันไก่เฮงเฮง). if you really want to know more about those places, email me & i’ll send you the info.
urban kitchen: we met up with dw’s cousin and he took us to this great cafe. i’m now obsessed with bruised cucumber salad and drunken chicken. i will eventually recreate that meal
Methavalai Sorndaeng: dw’s parents visited thailand after their stint in india with the peace corps. they dined at this restaurant, so we did too!
shopping: we hit up most of the shopping malls, whole sale and retail, and bazaars. i could not tell you where i bought the cutest tea cup set, cus i don’t know, and cus it was by luck. i did hit up all these and the weekend market
sights: the grand palace, adhere to the dress code