Hummus, mixed olives and red wine. That was our dinner on the first evening in Israel, and on pretty much every other evening we were there. Israeli cuisine is deeply rooted in Middle Eastern tradition, but it’s also so much more. Especially in Tel Aviv, where cultures mix freely, unleashing their tastes onto local foodies.
There’s not much to see here. Some bauhaus buildings, two markets, maybe one or two neighborhoods. But so much to do! Exercise, eat, party and spend afternoons lazily in one of the street cafes. It’s a perfectly livable city, with lots of variety, plenty of freedom and few annoyances.
Two kilograms each, and none of it is muscle. That’s how much weight we gained during the two weeks of eating Indian food. There’s so much of it, and so diverse, we wanted to try everything. And it’s often so good, it’s hard to stop eating, even when we know we should.
The lazying around continues. We moved away from the open sea and onto the backwaters of Kerala—900km of waterways spread along 200km of the Indian shore. Our home for the next two days is a kettuvalam—a houseboat with two bedrooms, a captain, and a cook—surrounded by water, small villages, palm trees and rice fields.
Sound of sea waves crashing against the shore. Their melody putting us to sleep and welcoming us to every new day. We’re in Kuzhupilly Beach, just north of Kochi. The moment we arrived we knew it was a most fortunate decision to spend a full four days and nights here, relaxing, recharging, looking out to sea.
We’re quite surprised at how comfortable we are feeling here. It’s hot, it’s hectic, there’s a billion people in the streets, there’s litter everywhere and we keep fending off rikshaw drivers peddling their services. Yet, we’re really confident walking these here streets. They’re familiar.
Nasi goreng comes with rice (it’s literally “fried rice”), Mie goreng with noodles (accordingly “fried noodles”). Both basics around here, the former local Indonesian, the latter imported from China. Lest you think if you order them “with chicken” you’ll actually notice the little poultry scraps. Meat in Bali is at a premium.