By Erica and Matt Chua, on Mon Aug 26, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET Most days on the road we spent the majority of time trying to meet our basic physiological needs. Finding safe food, water and a place to sleep often took the entire day with no time to climb to higher levels of Maslow’s Pyramid. However, some countries made it easy. In Bolivia we had no problem finding a good meal, cheap- we headed to the markets.
Eating local fare is key to understanding a place’s culture and traditions. However, this doesn’t mean you have to dive headfirst into the most exotic dishes or sample something that is sure to make you sick- it just means broadening your horizons a little bit. Ask questions and have fun at the market. Remember this is the perfect opportunity to hang out with the locals.
The markets in Sucre, La Paz and Tarabuco are bustling, bright and spark your curiosity to explore further. They offer a wide variety of fresh and prepared foods at affordable prices along with textiles, juices and plenty of coca leaves. Rarely was I let down by meals at the market because I didn’t have to rely on a complicated game of charades to ask for what I wanted. I could point to the chicken and know that’s what would arrive on my plate.
Bolivian food is basic at best, but it’s hearty. The women that get up early every morning to create pot after pot of bubbling stew, steamed vegetables and heaps of pasta are proud of their food and often have a loyal following of regulars. I often would take a stroll around the tables to see what everyone was eating before I made my decision. I found I could trust the locals taste, so if they were all favoring the mystery stew that’s what I ordered too.
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Erica and Matt Chua: Bolivian Markets
By Jason Atkinson, on Wed Aug 21, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Mon Aug 19, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET With several hundred cities around the world under our belt we have experienced many varied forms of architecture. From the swooping roofs of Asia to the domes of the Middle East and castles in Europe. Where have we enjoyed the skyline the most? We each share our opinion.
HE SAID…
During the worst times of rush hour, you can drive around the entire country of Singapore in less than two hours. The country can be described as a long bike ride because it is only 15 miles wide by 20 miles long, yet it is home to more than five million people. Housing, feeding and entertaining the 7,300 people per square mile requires creative architecture. While many cultures would approach the scale of the problem with utilitarian design, Singapore has made design a must, making it the modern architecture capital of the world in both quality and quantity.
This is the underside of a bridge. In the USA design like this is reserved for modern art galleries, but in design-orientated Singapore, even hidden places feature thoughtful design. That’s how it is here, designers run wild, making sure that there is no eyesore, that everywhere you look inside this forest of skyscrapers you will see creativity that leaped from paper into reality.
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Erica & Matt Chua: He Said/She Said: Best Architecture
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Aug 16, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET
An excerpt from The RP’s latest column in The Daily Beast:
The right is right: President Obama is waging a War on Coal. But his fierce, regulatory-based offensive was an inevitable consequence of the GOP’s unrelenting war on the President and his climate policy. Unless the two sides sign a truce — and put meaningful energy into breakthrough cleaner coal technologies — not only will rural Appalachia be devastated in the crossfire, but our planet’s long term health will suffer.
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Nestled into the Appalachian hills, hollers, and hamlets of my old Kentucky home, you’ll find a largely poor but proud people, mostly united by a passion for God, Wildcat basketball and a simple black mineral that serves as the bedrock of the region’s sense of self. Thanks to more than a century’s worth of deep family connections to the mining vocation, as well as a brilliant decade-long public relations campaign waged by the industry, most Eastern Kentuckians share a profound emotional tie to the black rock, and a jaundiced resentment toward those outsider elites who want to deprive them of their geological birthright.
So, as the coal business suffers markedly — just last week, a study revealed that Kentucky coal jobs are at their lowest level since the state started counting in 1927 — most locals follow the lead of their political leadership and level their fury against President Obama’s “War on Coal.” And while the resurgence of cheap natural gas is the primary factor in Appalachian coal’s declining competitiveness, there’s no question that a significant threat to the economic viability of the region has been posed by the Obama EPA’s increased regulation of coal powered plants and mining projects (only one permit has been issued in the past three years for new or expanded surface mining in Eastern Kentucky).
The good news is that a middle ground can be reached that helps boost the region’s economy, while promoting energy independence and a healthier global environment: development of affordable, cutting-edge technologies that enable coal combustion with dramatically reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge is that any broadbased employment of cleaner coal solutions will require both sides of the debate to reach for common ground. And that’s a daunting prospect given our hyper-partisan, polarized system.
Click here to read “How to End the War on Coal”
By Jason Atkinson, on Wed Aug 14, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET
By Lauren Mayer, on Tue Aug 13, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET That isn’t actually a rhetorical question – I’m at the age when many women are experiencing heat waves unrelated to the weather. But these days it seems like we’re not alone. So is menopause contagious, or is global warming real?
That one WASN’T rhetorical, because the scientific evidence is overwhelming – not just fluctuations in average temperatures, but polar ice cap melting and rising sea levels are hard to ignore. At this rate, before too long houses in Fresno will be considered beach-front property.
But yet again, there are some politicians who almost willfully ignore the facts. I can agree to disagree with people on the best way to protect the planet, cap-and-trade vs. government regulations vs. investments in smart energy, but it’s hard to have a rational disagreement with someone who claims that since lots of places had snowstorms this past winter, global warming is a liberal hoax. And those people tend to have equally delusional facts-be-damned views on things like Obama’s birth certificate or the benefit of abstinence-only sex education (see Palin: Bristol).
I’m all for gentle delusion when it doesn’t hurt anybody – e.g., I won’t complain when my husband tells me I don’t look a day over 35, and I’ll let it slide when my son insists his room IS organized. But there are real-world consequences toward sticking our heads in the sand when it comes to our environment – I’m hoping that eventually, climate change deniers will be as archaic as those old t.v. commercials where doctors are recommending cigarettes. So here’s a song in honor of debunking deleterious denials…
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Mon Aug 12, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET The period before time, before we started traveling together, we each did a lot of traveling in different areas. In multiple trips, thinkCHUA spent over a year in South America and LOCAVORista spent almost as long in Europe. This means each of us has “been there, done that”, so what do you do when one partner has “not done that, but wants to”?
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HE SAID…
South America is the first place on this trip that either of us had spent a considerable amount of time. I did the tourist circuit from Tierra del Fuego to Ecaudor almost 10 years ago. We returned because there are so many awesome things to do, many things I missed, and experiences I wanted to share with my wife. The other side of the coin is that there are many overrated tourist destinations that I have no interest in returning to…but they are considered the “must-dos” by fellow tourists and guide books. South America has made us make more compromises than anywhere else on the trip.
Some places I was excited to go back to. One of these was Madidi National Park in Bolivia and the nearby pampas. Containing a startling 44% of all mammal species, I have found memories of piranha fishing, swimming with dolphins, and watching alligators devour capybaras. Excited to go back we booked a trip (this time taking the 50 minute flight instead of the 20-40 hour bus ride). Arriving, we found rainy season had just ended, the pampas were underwater and the mammals had run off. The things I wanted to see together, weren’t there, letting me down and making me question my fond memories.
Then there are the places I don’t want to return to. The places that the Lonely Planet plays up, but having been there I know it’s just not that cool. Not going is hard, I am only arguing to skip something because I have been there, but if I hadn’t gone, I probably would go. So what to do? There is no easy answer, because compromising isn’t an easy answer. I don’t know for certain that LOCAVORista wouldn’t like something just because I didn’t, but I’m also not about to get on a 17 hour bus to check it out. Sadly I had to put my foot down on a couple places and say, “not this trip”.
There are no easy answers…it is so much easier if we just kept going to new places…
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SHE SAID…
Our first date was in South America when thinkCHUA was studying in Chile, we traveled through Peru and I fell in love. I fell in love with both my now husband and South America. I couldn’t wait for the day that I would return and see the amazing sights that thinkCHUA described, I wanted to see the grafitti-filled streets of Valparaiso, the rodents of unusual size in Bolivia and venture to the southern most point of Chile. Little did I know my return visit would be with him and that he wouldn’t want to see all of these things again.
I’m glad I saw the hills of Valparaiso, even though thinkCHUA spent months there. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this view.
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Erica & Matt Chua: He Said/She Said: When One has “Done That”
By Greg Harris, on Wed Aug 7, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Mon Aug 5, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET As I enjoyed the mountain views and cool breeze off the lake I had to remind myself I was in Argentina, not Switzerland. St. Bernard’s walked along the sidewalk and the A-frame chalet style buildings kept tricking me into thinking that I was in a Swiss ski village with plans to hit the slopes. The surroundings aren’t the only thing in Bariloche that reminded me of Switzerland, the abundance of chocolate shops had me convinced that somehow I had wandered into a portal that had transported me to Europe.
 You could easily be in a small Swiss ski village rather than the Lakes District of Argentina
It seems the European immigrants that brought chocolate to Argentina were not traditionalists. The chocolate on offer at the many shops on Mitre Avenue were not of the Lindt variety, the combinations were creative and distinct. Chocolate bars included fruit, nuts, liqueurs and came in a wide array of shapes and sizes. Just window shopping and drooling over the truffles and bars was enjoyable, the beautiful packaging and delicious looking ice cream were enough to keep me occupied.
However, the real fun began when I used my broken Spanish to request a sample at the first shop I went into. When I was rewarded with a generous taste I decided that chocolate tasting was the best way I could think of to spend an afternoon. I spent hours wandering in and out of chocolate shops trying everything from chocolate fondue to chocolate ice cream. After consuming an entire meals worth of chocolate I finally chose my favorite and purchased a box to eat later when chocolate withdrawal inevitably kicked in.
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Erica & Matt Chua: Bariloche Chocolate
By Jason Atkinson, on Wed Jul 31, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
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