The Best....and the Worst

We have been back home for about a month now, settling into our regular life in Boston. Benny is back at work, and Ali is getting ready to start graduate school in the fall at Boston College. This past weekend we went to Madison, Wisconsin to visit our niece Ella, who is a little over a month old. She is beautiful, energetic, and oodles of fun, and gives us another reason to be back in the US, close to family and friends.

We are still enjoying reliving our travels, and in that spirit bring you the Best of (and Worst of) Frugal Moon. Enjoy.

Places

Best Country -- Japan: What can we say about Japan that we haven't said already? We loved the food, loved the sights, and loved the overall feel of the country. The tra574nsportation network is second to none, and the people are warm and welcoming. And to top it all off, we discovered that the myth of Japan being an expensive country for tourists really is just a myth. A couple traveling on a budget can get by on $100/day, including accomodation, local transportation, and food.

Best Big City -- Tokyo, Japan: If you've been reading our blog (or the paragraph above!) this shouldn't surprise you. Wonderful parks, loads of cheap restaurants, great budget hotels, awesome subway system, towering modern skyscrapers -- and the serene Kamakura with its spectacular temples and shrines is only a day trip away.

Best Small City -- Matsumoto, Japan (Alison): Its wonderful castle -- one of the best in Japan -- would be enough to put it on any traveler's map (and the ginormous carp that live in the surrounding moat provide immense amounts of entertainment!). But on top of that, the surrounding town is picteresque, has wonderful restaurants and shops -- and the world's best ice cream shop. We were also lucky enough to visit the town with our friend and local guide Mary, who lives in nearby Okaya.

Best Small City -- Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Benny): Who says we have to agree on everything? Santiago, in Northwest Spain, is a wonderful and enchanting small city, with one of the most unusual -- and most visited -- cathedrals in all of Europe. And although the city is firmly entrenched as a sightseeing destination, it manages to retain its charm.

Best Town/Village -- Erice, Sicily: Although it was at the very beginning of our trip, Erice remains in our memories as truly unforgettable. Its narrow cobblestone streets are etched in our minds, and it had wonderful views from its hilltop perch. Not to be missed by anyone who happens to be near Palermo.

Best Park -- English Gardens, Munich, Germany: This was another unexpected treat for us. Munich was a late addition to our travels, but the perfect weather inspired us to spend several hours walking and biking through one of the largest urban parks in the world. Too add to its appeal, when you need a break from walking you can sit down in one of its many beer gardens to enjoy a cold liter or two of beer.

Best Hike -- Pigeon Valley, Goreme to Usichar, Turkey: This hike was absolutely magical,in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey.

Best Ruins -- Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily: Some people go to Greece to see Greek ruins. And, well, some people go to Sicily. This series of temples and monuments is perfectly preserved, and is an especially memorable sight around sunset.

Best Volcanic Site -- Vulcano, Lipari Islands, Sicily: Although the volcanic cliffs of Santorini and the towering majesty of Mt. Etna may be more famous, hiking up the small volcano and peering into its smoking crater was an incredible experience. Of course, it's always more fun doing things with your sibling and sibling-Picture_445_thumbin-law!

Best Religious Cave Site -- Ellora Caves, Ellora, India: To those of you who are wondering what this category is all about -- yes, we saw more than one religious cave site. Composed of Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu caves carved out of black rock, the caves are spectacular, and it can easily take a day to visit the nearly 30 caves. Our favorite was the Buddhist cave with the "wood beam" ceiling that was in actuality carved out of rock.

Accommodations

Best Luxury Hotel -- Renaissance Marriott, Mumbai, India: the only truly luxury place we stayed in, it was a wonderful stopover on our marathon, multi-day journey from Tokyo to London. The buffet breakfast was delicious -- fresh fruit that we could actually eat! -- and the mattress was super comfy.

Best Budget Hotels -- Kimi Ryokan, Tokyo, Japan; Elif Star Caves, Goreme, Turkey (tie): :Let's be honest here -- were it not for the generosity of someone who shall go unnamed, the Marriott would not have been on our list. Kimi Ryokan, in the Ikebukoro neighborhood of Tokyo, was awesome. A traditional Japanese inn, the rooms had tatami mats and futons and big fluffy blankets. And nothing beat using the traditional cypress bath. Elif Star Caves was a small pension carved into the cliffside in Goreme. The room was comfortable and romantic, with a nice view of the valley, and the bathroom was absolutely enormous. The owner -- a chef -- cooked up a wonderful breakfast every morning, and provided lots of useful information on local sights and transportation options.

Worst Hotel -- Johnson's the Nest, Alleppy, Kerala, India: Don't listen to what your guidebooks say about this place. Despite receiving favorable reviews in both Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, this place is a dump. Although the owner is nice enough, the shack we were given out back was dark, noisy, buggy, and overall really uncomfortable and unpleasant to stay in.

Food

Fans of our blog (do they even exist?) are probably wondering why we didn't put this category higher up. Well, that's because we were hoping you would get bored by this point and skip it over, thus not noticing how much we've eaten on this trip! But for those of you who are reading....

Best Fine Dining -- Oxo Tower Restaurant, London, England; Sushi with the Enomotos, Tokyo (tie): Thanks to our friends in Boston (Dave and Jessie), we had a wonderful lunch at this swanky spot overlooking the River Thames. It was a three course extravaganza (with cocktails to start, of course). Although we don't know the name of the restaurant, our k597 ind hosts in Tokyo (the Enomoto family) treated us to a wonderful sushi dinner our last night in Tokyo. The fish was fresher than fresh. Basically, if you haven't had sushi in Japan, you haven't had sushi. And what Benny wouldn't give for another piece of ankimo.

Best Restaurant in Our Budget -- Tanjoor, Aurangabad, India: Surprisingly, Aurangabad -- a small, rather nondescript city several hours east of Mumbai -- was full of culinary delights, this choice among them. The black dahl (lentils), veggies, and naan bread were all superb. And the whole meal came to around $7.

Best "Soup as a Meal" Meal -- Santoka, Kyoto, Japan (Benny); Seibu Department Store Restaurant, 8th Floor, Tokyo, Japan (Alison): We have a friend who insists, quite firmly at times, that "soup is not a meal." Our time in Japan shatters this proposition to pieces. As for Benny, his favorite by far was Santoka in K yoto, where he enjoyed ramen with tender (so, so, so, so, so tender!) pork cheeks (did we say tender?) It was absolutely stupendous -- probably one of the 10 best things he has ever eaten. Ali's favorite was tempure udon served in a noodle shop on the 8th Floor of the Seibu Department Store near Ikebukoro Station in Tokyo.

Best Street Snack -- simit, Turkey: You could call it a toasted sesame coated bagel or pretzel, but if you did you would be shortchanging one of the the world's greatest street snacks. Costing around $0.35, these healthy, crispy, moist, delicious treats formed the backbone of our Turkish snacking (it should be noted, however, that snacking is an entirely different activity from a meal, and oftentimes takes place several times a day).

Best Sandwich -- doner kebab, Turkey: We're not sure why, but the Turks sure have a knack for producing cheap and healthy sPictures_021_thumbtreet food. Doner kebabs follow in this enviable tradition -- tasty bread (pita or french style baguette type bread) filled with lean chicken or lamb roasted on a rotating spit, tomato, lettuce, yogurt sauce, and chili. Man, we could use one right now!

Best Salad -- Greek salad, Greece: fresh tomatoes, cool cucumbers, mild onion, and tangy feta. Delicious.

Best Restaurant Ambiance -- Goreme Restaurant, Goreme, Turkey: this small, quiet, and intimate restaurant had great food at reasonable prices and live music every night. Low tables and cushioned floor seats were comfortable and romantic.

Best Pizza -- White Pizza, Rome, Italy (Alison); Turkish pizza, Usichar, Turkey (Benny): Ali's favorite from Rome was a tasty concoction sans tomato, and with flavorful spices, cheese, and garlic. The Turkish pizza lacked cheese, but the spiced meat and fresh lemon was light and made a great snack.

Best Beer -- Pivovarsky Dum, Prague, Czech Republic: Wow! -- we never knew that beer could be this good. Both the dark and light beers had the perfect amount of carbonation – not too filling – and neither was too bitter or too sweet.

Best Ice Cream -- Matsumoto, Japan; Rome, Italy (tie): Folks may be surprised to see Japanese ice cream as one of our favorites, but the ice cream from Matsumoto was something special, with a perfect texture and flavor (strawberry, milk, and sweet potato flavors). And we're still singing the praises of the rice and pine nut flavors from Rome.

Most Special Dining Experience -- MaImg_0370uritzo's, Vulcano, Sicily, Italy: the food we had here may not have been the best of our trip (although it was excellent). The real pleasure here was the personal service provided by Mauritzo, with wonderful explanations of each dish, and heavenly homemade bread.

Best Coffee -- Italy: the Italian coffee was second to none. But what made it extra special was the price – a coffee at a bar could routinely be enjoyed for around $1.

Worst Coffee -- Japan: We loved everything – and we mean everything – in Japan, except for the coffee, which was weak and flavorless. But hey, no country is perfect.

Best Tea -- Chai, India: the chai in India was awesome – super sweet and milky, it was great with breakfast or for an afternoon pick me up.

Best Breakfast -- masala dosa & chai, India (Benny); wheat porridge cylinder stuff, Varkala, India (Alison): We were split on best breakfast (although both were Indian). Benny was partial to masala dosas – crispy pancakes made out of fermented rice flour batter, filled with spicy potatoes and onions, and served with chutneys (especially delicious with chai!) Ali was a huge fan of the wheat porridge cylider stuff. We have no idea what it is called, but it is wheat and coconut steamed in a tube, then served with banana, milk, and honey, and mashed together to make a sweet yet light breakfast.

Best Fish -- Trattoria Cavallero, Catania, Sicily: we can't remember the name of the fish, but man was it good. The whole fish was baked in salt, and it was sweet and flaky.

Best non-Caffeinated/non-Alcoholic beverage -- ayran, Turkey: A drink made of water and yogurt was cool and refreshing, and went perfectly with a kebab.

Transportation

We can't forget that traveling would be impossible without transportation, whether it be planes, trains, bikes, or boats. Sometimes we got places on time, and in comfort, and sometimes....well, not so much.

Best Long Haul Flight -- Air India, Tokyo to Mumbai: It probably had to do with the fact that we were on a 747 that was only 30% full, but regardless, this was a great flight. We each got to spread out over several seats, and the traditional Indian meals were delicious. Bonus? Bollywood for inflight entertainment!

Worst Long Haul Flight -- British Airways, London to Mumbai: This flight wouldn't have been that bad – BA has nice planes and decent service – were we not woken up in the middle of the flight by an announcement that our oxygen masks would soon be dropping. They didn't. The experience was a scary one, especially because it took the staff a while to tell us that it was a system error. Whoops.

Best Train System -- Japan Rail: There is no competition here. High speed rail. On time. Nationwide. Affordable. Clean and comfortable. Nuff said.

Best Overnight Trip -- Hellenic Rail from Thessaloniki to Istanbul: Sure, the 1970s French railcars were a bit dated, but the retro style was part of the appeal of this 14 hour train ride. We had a private cabin with comfortable beds, and the border crossing went smoothly (relatively speaking).

Worst Overnight Trip -- Bus from Prague to Munich: Not much to say except that this option should be avoided -- too short to get any sleep, too many stops, and noisy.

Best Aquatic Transportation -- Blue Star Ferries, Greece: Besides the awesome private submarine that we rode around in for a few days, this was the best aquatic transportation of our trip (oh yeah, we were kidding about that submarine....or were we?) The ferries were luxurious yet affordable, with comfortable seats and nice facilities, including DVD rentals and several restaurants.

Most Walkable City -- Tokyo, Japan & Paris, France (tie): Tokyo may have been huge, but it was surprisingly easy to walk around, with wide sidewalks and great pedestrian design. Paris was equally easy to walk, with every street and narrow alley containing architectural gems.

Best Metro System -- Paris, France: the Paris Metro and RER (commuter rail) go everywhere, and it seems like there is a station on every block. The only drawback? A lack of air conditioning makes some rides oppressively hot.

Well, that's all for now folks. Of course there are plenty of more things we could write, but we'll keep it to this for now. If any of you have questions about the places we visited, please feel free to get in touch with us. Our experience was amazing, and we would love to share any tips that we have. And we'll be doing additional postings every once in a while to keep in touch.