Author: pierreo

Posted in Food

MITRA – BRUXELLES – BELGIUM

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Restaurant Review – by pierreo

Name:            MITRA

Country:        Belgium

City:                Bruxelles

Address: Place St-Catherine 15
1000 Bruxelles – Belgium

Telephone: +32-2 217 9012

Map:

Review:

This is the best Thai Restaurant I have been to outside of South-East Asia.  I have lived 8 years in that region and visited most countries in and around Singapore.  I have had Thai food in most of them and really love it.  This is the first time I have experienced the same sensations and flavors outside of Asia.

MITRA can make authentic Thai food, but you have to ask for it!

We had the Green Papaya Salad and a Mango Salad that was made with fresh, sweet mangoes, not the green mangoes typically used.  Both were just as zingy as the real thing.  We asked the waiter, who spoke Thai to the chef, if this is the way they normally serve these dishes, and he admitted that they only did it this way because we asked.  So you have to ask!

We finished with Steamed Bar with Lemongrass, not Sea Bass, but almost as good.  The fish was not as big as the usual Sea Bass, but still plenty for us after the salads.  Once again, the spice level was similar to what I was used to, and it had all the flavors and smells that this dish is supposed to have.

I will come back – the cost was reasonable for two, with beers (Belgian beer of course!)

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Posted in Culture, Travel

Bhutan 4 – The People and the Festivals

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I am sure I have said so before.

When I travel, I still marvel at the architectural, natural and historical sites that I visit – those are usually the reasons why I travel to a particular place.

However, more and more, it is the people I meet, and those I just accidentally cross paths with, that I remember and who make the places I go to most memorable.  In that respect, Bhutan is no exception.  We saw, and met, and crossed path with wonderful people everywhere and only very few of these are represented in the photographs that follow.

We were scheduled to attend at least one day of the Paro Tsechu, and annual festival held just outside the Paro Dzong.  What we did not expect was to happen onto another festival in a small temple near Wangdue.  As we approached, we heard music, and what we saw after that was pure magic.  I will do my best to try and share these with you in the next photos – there are a few more than my usual posts, but I am sure you will agree with me that this was worth it.

Coming back from one of our very firsts walks, we ran into two school girls going home after class.  They were very impressed by the fact that they ran into foreigners I believe, but what I like the most about these is the expression of Lebo in the first and Kipchu in the second picture.

In another village in the Haa Valley, we ran into an old couple doing work in their “garden”.  They stopped briefly to look at us go by than he went right back to work.

In the same village, we ran into this lady petting he puppy in the local temple.

A constant theme for the whole trip was the devotion and superstition of the people we encountered.  We ran into several people who were walking with these “contraptions” which had been blessed at the temple and were to be located around the village to ward off evil spirits.

We went to the Farmer’s Market in Thimphu, which is an incredible mixture of sights, sounds and smells!  This lady had a great selection of vegetables of all different colours – however she was unimpressed by the fact that I was taking her picture …

Her attitude changed once her friends started to clown around to have their picture taken.  Look at her smile now.

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Posted in Culture, Travel

Bhutan 3 – Phobjika and Punakha

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We left Thimphu to go up to Phobjikha.
However, in between the two, there are two high passes and a very low valley; so this was to be the longest driving day of the whole trip.
We started by driving up to Dochu La, a pass at over 3500 m from where, on a rare clear day, you can see the Black Mountains and the high Himalaya, with several peaks over 8000 m. Considering that we had had a lot of smoke everywhere we went due to forest fires, we had limited expectations, until we arrived at the top and saw this!

The bus erupted in enthusiastic applause… These photos do not do justice to the spectacle that was in front of us. We could see many high peaks including the highest mountain in Bhutan, somewhere on the right of these photos.

Near the temple that was built by the wife of the fourth king to celebrate his victory against Nepali insurgents in the South of the country (this sounds like it should have occurred in the 1800 but actually was in the late 1990!), we were given access to high power binoculars that gave us an even better view. The person responsible told us that this was the first day in many where the view was this good. The previous day was totally blocked by smog!

A more limited view, but closer to some of the peaks – this is a single photo as opposed to the panoramas before which were made up of many photos.  This one shows the highest peak in Bhutan – flat top above and to the right of the trees.

Opposite the temple, the Royal Mother also built 108 chortens in honor of her husband.

Continue reading “Bhutan 3 – Phobjika and Punakha” →

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Bhutan 2 – Thimphu and Paro

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I am not going to try to cover this trip chronologically.  We made several passages through Thimphu and Paro and I will cover these as a separate topic now.

But still, this starts at the continuation of the previous post.  After Chuzom, we headed directly into Thimphu where we had lunch in Clock Tower Square, the center of town.  Compared to Paro, Thimphu is a very big city and growing quite fast.  A short walk in the city gave us much more of an urban feeling that we had seen anywhere else.

After lunch, we headed for “Monk University”, or Tango Gompa.  On the way there, we stopped in front of this huge rock painting of Guru Rimpoche.  Guru Rimpoche is a very important character in the history and folklore of Bhutan – there is not always a very distinct line between the two.  He is credited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan and in his travels across the country founded several temples and monasteries. The painting is relatively recent but already a very important location as evidenced by the number of prayer flags that surround it.

Tango Gompa (as the name indicates – Gompa is only used for temples and monasteries that are located on the side of a mountain with steep climbs to get there) is reached by hiking up for about 1 1/2 hour.  On the way, we see more rhododendrons in bloom.  These are very different than the ones I was used to in Belgium.

We are now used to climbing at this altitude and therefore are able to do it relatively easily, but still breathing hard.  It is very nice though when you finally get your first glimpse of your destination.  Here is the final approach to Tango.

Before going into the monastery, Kipchu explains more to us about the history of this temple.  It is a good opportunity for me to get a general view.  Tango Gompa is the oldest and largest college for Buddhist Studies in Bhutan.

Lebo and Kipchu have once again put on their more formal attire and we are ready to go in.

The main courtyard is accessed through a rather narrow passage.  The shoes are there because of a small temple on the left of the entrance – we did not forget to take ours off!

Continue reading “Bhutan 2 – Thimphu and Paro” →

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Posted in Culture, Travel

Bhutan 1 – Paro and the Ha Valley

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I do not know how to say this any other way. I have been in Shangri La!

I have just made the most incredible trip ever, and I am going to have a very hard time trying to help you share this with me with just a few of the most memorable sights that I was priviledged to see and just a few photos to try to make you enjoy these as I did.

We flew from Bangkok to Dakka (in Bengladesh) and then to Paro on Druck Air – the National Airline of Bhutan which boasts a grand total of three airplanes. On the road between the airport and the town of Paro, we ran into a goup of people playing ‘darts’ – but not the pub game most of us are familiar with. The darts are much bigger and heavier and the target is smaller and much further away. As you can see from this photo, it takes quite a bit of effort to throw the dart.

Whenever a player hits the target, which you can see below, all competitors do a short celebratory dance. You can see the target behind the player in the foreground – it is on the ground with a red and blue circle – yes, that is the target. You can also see a dart in his hand.

We continued our journey into Paro where we stopped for lunch. Paro is not a large town, just two or three parallel streets and 10-15 cross streets in all. Most of the budingsarerelatively new, but they are still built in the local, very distinctive style, like this house where we had lunch.

After lunch we went to visit the National Museum which provides an excellent introduction to Bhutanese history and culture. The entrance is very impressive.

The building where it used to be housed is even more impressive. This is the old watch tower of the Paro Dzong,  which is located a few meters lower down the hill. However, the building was significantly weakened by a strong earthquake that occurred in 2011 and can no longer be used for the museum.

It is very strange that I do not remember hearing about this earthquake. It was quite significant (6.8 or 6.9) but fortunately very few people died because it happened in a sparsely populated area between India and Bhutan – there was only 1 fatality in Bhutan. Unfortunately, it caused a lot of damage to many historical monuments and still now there are some that will have to be significantly rebuilt to be made safe.

It is sad, however, that the media does not seem to attach much importance to some event, just because not enough people died.

Continue reading “Bhutan 1 – Paro and the Ha Valley” →

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Posted in Food, Travel

Singapore and Bangkok

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On my way to and from Bhutan, you will see more on this later, I made whistle stops in Singapore and Bangkok.

I only stayed three days in Singapore, but had a great time thanks to my old Dragon Boating friends who all came to a party at Patrick’s Restaurant!

There have been quite a few additions to the team since I left Singapore!

We had a really good time, and before any of my (so called) friends make a regrettable comment about this picture, we did not, I repeat DID NOT do anything that we should not have – just having a good time.  Jessica certainly thought so …

Freddy does not need any instructions … but mother is watching carefully!

It was right around my birthday and so I was rewarded with a green cake! This is my skeptical look – wondering what it is made of.

The problem is that as you get older, the simplest things become harder and harder to do.  I am glad there was not the requisite number of candles on this cake or it would have (1) burned down the place and (2) taken me all night top blow them off!

I want to thank the photographer who obviously did not consider that memory, while cheap, still has a cost when you are traveling far from home and have to back-up each and every photo that is taken (with a size in excess of 30 mb each! in raw format)

I was a great evening that could only conclude with a family portrait with the whole (almost) gang.  Too bad that Ben and Vincent could not make it!

Patrick and Geraldine, you have a great place and the food is fantastic! Everything I remembered and better.  Please keep it up so that I can come again next time I am in town.

On the way back from Bhutan, I spent just one day in Bangkok, and one night at the Hilton right on the river.  The view from the room was great.  Too all the photography buffs out there, this is a composite of 10 shots taken late at night, though the hotel window and without a tripod or a remote control!

No other pictures from Bangkok as I spent most time shopping! Yes, I caught the bug (well actually not, but there were very important things I Needed to get while in Bangkok, and did get).  Had a really great meal not far from the hotel in a restaurant right by the river.  A mixture of Tourist and Local place with really authentic Thai food! Yum just thinking about it.  Just a very quick entry to keep you ‘amused’ while I sort and improve the picture from Bhutan.  They will be coming later … soon … when I get to it OK?

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Posted in Culture, Travel

Barcelona at New Year

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I have accumulated a little backlog keeping my blog updated.  I do apologise to all my readers.

My last trip was a short week (it sounds better than a long week-end when you talk about 5 days) in Barcelona for New Year.  After much considerations, Bee and I settled on the Hostal Goya as the right place to stay.  It is a high recommendation in the Lonely Planet, and is located right in the heart of Barcelona, just a few minute walk from the Barri Gotic, the historical center of Barcelona.  The hotel was a success but you have to know the exact address in order to find it as there are no visible signs on the outside.  It is one floor in a 5 story private building – never stayed at a hotel like that.  More details about it and the restaurants where we ate at the bottom of this post.

Here is a panorama of the city from Parco del Mirador de Migdia on Montjuic Hill.  We actually went there on the last full day, but it is a good way to start exploring the city.  In the forefront, you can see the top station of the cable car we took to get there.  The Mediterranean Sea is on the right, with the Marina District.  Barcelona is surrounded by hills and you can see some of them in the background.

Here is a more focused view with, in the center, the Sagrada Familia, without a doubt the most ‘interesting’ building I have ever seen!

Getting closer and closer, the rear facade of the Sagrada Familia, still being constructed more than 70 years after the death of Antoni Gaudi who designed it.  This is the “Nativity Facade” facing East.  Construction began in 1882 with the crypt under the direction of Francisco De Paula del Villar who had designed it as a standard gothic church.  Gaudi began work on it in 1883 and quickly replaced Villar. Needless to say, he changed the design somewhat.

The visit of the Church begins with a trip up one of the completed spires.  You can move up and down in staircases that are built around the hollow core of the towers.  This is looking down from about 1/2 way up.

The details are incredible.  There are fruit ornaments everywhere, in most cases, nobody will ever be able to see these.

Continue reading “Barcelona at New Year” →

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Posted in General

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

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It has been another year of events and adventures and there is a lot more in prospect for next year. Fortunately, I do not have to send you, my readers, and ‘end-of-year’ letter with what I have done this year, as the most important events are already listed in these pages.
It has become a tradition that I share with you my favorite Calvin and Hobbes snowmen at this time and I plan to continue the tradition. Here are a few that I do not remember seeing before …

To everybody out there in the wonderful world of Internet, I wish you and those you care for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of successes and, of course, great trips.

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Posted in Culture, Travel

Northern Italy – Part 2

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Unfortunately, I had to leave Venice.  While I was there, I discovered that a new exhibit about painters who lived in Paris in the twenties was opening soon in Ferrara.  I had one night of unplanned stay and so decided to head South.

I made my first stop in a town I first visited in 1971 and again in 1980.  Ravenna is not well known amongst international tourists and yet it should be.  There is a lot to see here.

I first stopped at the Basilica San Vitale.  This, I believe, is the oldest church I have ever visited.  It was consecrated in 547 (I did not forget the 1 in front!).  It’s design is octagonal as most early churches were and the walls are feet thick.  However, it is an unbelievable edifice!

The inside is sparsely decorated, but there is a very nice mosaic right over the altar.  In a place like this, it almost seems as if time has stopped.  I can only imagine the 1000’s of people who have come here over the many many years to pray, to gain some comfort, to believe and to admire.  One can easily understand the power that the church had at that time considering the available choices.

A detail of the extremely intricate mosaic over the altar.

Next to the Basilica is the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia – the half-sister of Roman Emperor Honorius who reigned between 395 and 423 and died in Ravenna.  I could not find out when it was built, but probably in the first half of 400AD!  It is small and cramped, and poorly lit, but quite exquisit…  Galla Placidia is not actually burried here (she died in Rome) and no one is sure who was intended to be in the three sarcofagi (their contents were apparently burnt in the 1500’s).

You know you are in a “special” place when the “New Church” was built in the 6th century!  That is the case of the Basilica di Sant’Appolinare Nuovo.

Continue reading “Northern Italy – Part 2” →

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Posted in Culture, Travel

Northern Italy – Part 1

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In September, it already seems like that was ages ago, I went on a 2-week trip to Northern Italy.  The first part of the trip gave the first opportunity my car has had to “stretch its legs” – I went down the German Autobahn from the Belgian border to the Austrian border towards Innsbruck.  Even with the traffic, there were opportunities to see how well it performs.  I discovered that at 220 km/hr, my fuel consumption goes up significantly, over 8 liters per 100 km!  When the road was clear, I would cruise at 180-190 km/hr, very comfortably and therefore I made it to Innsbruck in the early evening.  Even though I had driven through the city once or twice, I had only stopped there on a dark wintry day in 1969, the first time I drove with my parents back to Belgium for Christmas.  This time I had the opportunity to visit this very nice city a little bit.  The old quarter is very pleasant and from the window of my hotel, I had a great view on the Olympic Ski Jump, used in the 1964 and the 1976 Winter Olympic Games.

One of the reasons for me to stop in Innsbruck was to have the opportunity to do the ‘Old Road’ on the Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy.  There is now a highway and a tunnel that by-passes this road that did not exist in 1969.  I did not want to do this after driving 1000 km so I did it first thing in the morning.  There was not a whole lot of traffic and therefore I had good fun.  From the border, on my way to San Daniele in the Friuli, I decided to detour via Cortina D’ampezzo, coincidentally host of the Winter Olympic Games in 1956.  It seems that I was touring the Old Continent’s classic winter locations!  During a walk above the town, I caught a glimpse of the Ski Jump from the earlier Olympics…

I also had beautiful views of the valley and mountains around Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the most glamorous ski destinations in Italy – at this time of year, it is a sleepy little town, especially on a cold and cloudy September day.  This is the top of the Cable Car that takes visitors into the main ski area.

I took a short walk and found an even better view further along the path.

The town of Cortina is completely surrounded by mountains.  It is hard to get to as there are only a few, small roads heading there.  So I had a lot of fun driving in and out of it as well.  A closer look at the town itself.

Continue reading “Northern Italy – Part 1” →

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