Ethiopian Shopping and Food

Shopping in Ethiopia is limited, but what you can get is bright, beautiful and versatile. The scarves and cotton in Ethiopia are unique and bold, which makes it irresistible to pass up. One is never enough.

Did you know that the Rasatari Movement all began in Ethiopia? The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, was considered a reincarnation of Jesus. As a result, there was a movement that took place in Jamaica to support this belief. In addition to this, if you are a true follower of Rasta, you smoke weed. This is considered a sacrament for the soul. How many teenagers would quickly convert on that principle alone?

My handsome man amongst all the overpriced African junk a tourist could want.

If the trip didn't go as well as planed, I could have come home in a fancy casket. Luckily, all was well and I have a photo to share with the mortuary when my day finally comes.

The spoils of our trip modeled by my sweet children. They made quite the entrance to church this Friday. I believe Sedona wore her dress for at least 4 days straight.

FOOD

Ethiopian food is incredibly unique. I honestly can't think of a similar food out there. It has such a distinct, different taste that it is hard to liken it to any other culture. Injera is served every day, all day long. It is a flatbread that is spongy and sour. It has a vinegary acidic flavor, which is definitely an acquired taste. The Ethiopian people are true to their food and don't deviate much from that. I don't think you can buy another type of food in all of Ethiopia. It is injera on the bottom, injera on the side, topped off with a little more injera.

I was skeptical at first about the food. It may have been that it was served with a raw meat dish that is typically eaten with the injera. It didn't do much for me, but Axel was sold. The 'wat' (stew) that you eat with it was delicious though. I grew to like all of it. The whole meal came with a nasty orange drink that tasted twice as bad as any horrible tasting cough syrup that you have ever choked down. Rarely do I spit anything out, but that drink was just not my friend. I later found out it was because it was basically highly concentrated alcohol. Glad to know my taste buds are still working.

Ethiopia is also well known for its coffee. From what I understand, it is one of the best producers of coffee in the world. This was evident with all the peudo-Starbucks shops throughout Addis. Even the inside of the coffee shop was trying very hard to convince you that it could just try to take over the Seattle giant. Maybe.

Our favorite night in Addis was at a cultural center where they served you injera with all sorts of different shades of poop dishes. Poop looking or not, it was delicious. There was also plenty of African cultural dancing to keep you from remembering that the beef was not cooked and there are still starving people in Africa.

Sitting with a few less dollars in our pocket, a bag full of clothes and scarves, and a full belly. Two very happy tourist!

Fishy Night

Who wants to come over for dinner?????

Dinner Anyone????

This photo was taken from an Indian menu I got in Dubai. I love mango with my barfi. How about you???

Chinese Take Out

Although I knew Chinese American food was very different from Chinese Chinese food, I wasn't expecting it to be completely tasteless. Isn't that what MSG is for? Aren't the Chinese known for their love of MSG? Now I am confused.

Even the crazy food had no flavor. It was disappointing. I don't have a heightened sense of taste, but to merely feel texture and no flavor in my mouth, was just plain boring. I can do weird, gross, spicy, or sour, but nothing? Meh. The only exciting part of Chinese food was perusing their menus. I have come to realize that the Chinese will literally eat anything to stay alive. Also, they have no English friends who can help them with the translation on their menu.

'Shannon bacteria dry shrimp beef'

'The shop sign makes an oxtail secretly'

'Balled salty chicken feet'

'marinated chicken green sauce'

And my all-time favorite:

'Donkey of doing boiler Hunan'

'Monolithic dual-crisp pickles'

You would think I went out of my way to find such a yummy menu, but not so. You can find these gourmet meals anywhere in the city. Turtle heads, duck tongue, and chicken brains, can all be found at pretty much any restaurant in town. You can also choose your favorite fish from the tank:

You can choose the live fish, the barely alive fish, or the ones floating at the top. Your choice.

We did find a meal on Wangfunjing St. that wasn't half bad. The other options were the following:

Which I had already eaten in Arizona. Rattlesnake, in fact, killed by my husband. Grandma has the belt to prove it. Not bad, like chicken.

Foreigners have to pay $2.50 for a sample and I was too cheap to pay for my stomach to be pumped. Plus, I paid too much money to get to China than to only spend time with Chinese toilets. I would rather see the Summer Palace. I am not a food wimp and the usual Terah would say 'heck yeah', but since it was the end of the day and the smells were high, my stomach and head were saying no. Therefore, disappointingly, I did not try many of the unidentifiable treats. It will be saved for the next visit to China, I promise. The only one I nibbled on was the starfish. It was grainy and tasteless and I know next time if I am offered one, I can pass.

I even suckered squeamish Amber to try it out.

The only food that was slightly appealing was this assortment of caramelized fruit. Haw fruit even grew on us.

Truthfully, the only good food we ate the entire time we were in China was at Da Dong Restaurant. Uh-mazing. The menu also consisted of its fair share of crazy concoctions, but our dishes were carefully picked and out-of-this-world.

The sampling was not just food, it was art. Like this sweet pork rib snowy island:

...and carefully craved Peking Duck with all of the tasty condiments...

...and a mere side order of asparagus with rose petals and bamboo wrapped ends:

My final report on Chinese food: 'Starve yourself, or chew ice chips while in China. It is more flavorful and less gut churning. That is, unless you can visit Da Dong and then gorge, baby, gorge.'

Malaysia

The fun didn't stop from the second we entered the plane. Heavah was such a delight to be around. Who knew that kids grow up and they become real people? I found myself having time to nap and read while on the plane. What? No bottles, puke or pooh? Lucky me.

Our trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was a spontaneous one. I knew I wanted to take Heavah on a mother/daughter trip but I wasn't sure where or when. Axel's work is chaotic right now but not as bad as it will be in the coming weeks. This was our opportunity to go. I decided to leave on Sunday and we were flying by Tuesday.

Here are the necessities for a perfect mommy/daughter getaway:

1. Stay in a sweet, chic hotel that is perfectly located.

We stayed in the Trader's Hotel which was across from the Twin Towers. It also had a serious playground and pool that astonished Heavah when we arrived. Don't skimp on the hotel. It is never worth it.

Outside the doors of our hotel

2. Eat more than your body can handle.

I think I ate my weight in food. There are so many good restaurants in KL and there was not enough time or hunger to partake of them all. It wasn't rice or dahl and we were happy. Yeah for excess calories!

Aunt Annies

Sticky rice and mango in Thailand (we spent a day there)

Chilis

Traditional Malaysian food (Nasi dan Ikan)

Fish and Chips

California Pizza Kitchen

Sushi in a modern, chic establishment

3. Visit the coolest bird park.

The enclosed aviary in KL is the largest in Asia, I believe. It does make the chances of getting pooped on much higher but it was worth it. Luckily for us there were no white surprises from above and we got to see some sweet birds. Very cool.

Feeding the Lories some ice cream. Are they intolerant? We didn't stay to find out.

One of Heavah's favorite attractions--the hachlings. Hun? A child in love with her rural life in Nepal. It makes her father proud.

4. Visit museum exhibits and watch the indoctrination begin.

Malaysia is a wealthy country unlike Indonesia. You can tell the minute you arrive that it is a stable, rich country. Why? They have the black gold and are proud of it. The museum we went to was oozing with propaganda. Rah, rah petrol. It gives life, love, AND happiness. I wondered what little liberal Heavah was thinking as she is an environmentalist at heart. Nepal does that to you. Or at least a VERY liberal school.

God bless the dinosaur for it giveth serious cash

5. Do death defying acts.

I didn't think children could do the Flying Fox (a zipline 30 meters up the length of a football field) but Heavah was determined to do it. She didn't falter at all, "Hey mom, I'll try that!" She did it 4 times. Who is this crazy child?

6. Visit with a friend.

Axel's mission companion (from over 20 years ago) happened to be on a business trip in KL while we were there. Our schedules overlapped for an evening. It was great to see him and catch up on the gang back in Utah. I was so sad Celina and Axel weren't there. They missed out on some great food and a revolving restaurant 500 meters high. Revolving while eating seems like a dangerous combination--especially with jet lag. But the view was amazing and so worth the risk.

7. See the main attractions.

Walking through the rainforest

The Batu Caves

Only 275 steps. Almost as fun as Monkey Temple.

But the real fun came in catching a pigeon freehand. Who needs to see another Hindu shrine when there are pigeons to chase? All that chicken chasing paid off.

Checking out the view on the skywalk in the Petronas Towers. Yet again, another reason why oil is fabulous.

8. Go to a dry and wet park and run from one attraction to the next until your feet fall off.

9. Shop, shop, shop.

Buying goods for the children left at home

(which inspired Heavah to make up this song:

Asa gets something,

Dona gets something,

Xa-vier gets something.

I get nothing,

You get nothing,

too bad for us.

But it's okay,

But it's okay,

'cause we're having fun)

Sampling all the good stuff

10. Have so much fun together that it is difficult to leave.