So in the end we arrived safely but still a bit shaken at Cox’s Bazar, ready to settle in at one of the few waterfront hotels. The name is actually a bit strange for a town … its origin comes from Captain Hiram Cox; an officer serving in the British East India Company who defeated the Burmese Governour, Warren Hastings, and set up a Bazar (market) here and therefore was named after him.

We immediately hired a tuk-tuk and were on the way South to check out the area. We passed Himchari National Park from which you have an amazing view of the beach – which by the way is the longest beach in the world (approx. 120 km of pure sand) and continued to Inani beach, which is one of the very few spots with rocks.

Apart from the beautiful beach itself (not to be compared to paradise beaches in Indonesia though), the sight of the day were definitely the fishing boats along waters of southern Bangladesh. Every single boat can be described as a piece of art! You immediately recognize the great craftsmanship involved in building such boats. They protect the fishermen from any weather weather, storms and high waves.

It takes about two months to build one boat and it costs approximately 5.000 €. There are even bigger fishing boats along the beach, also with a very unique shape (photos will follow soon) that cost about 8.000 € (including an engine and the nets).

We spent the entire day here, watching & waiting for the next boats to arrive with the catch of the day…

For Bangladeshi’s it doesn’t get much better than Cox’s Bazar, the country’s most popular beach town.

Cox’s Bazar is an important fishing port in Bangladesh.

The fishing boats at Cox’s Bazar look really different and you can see that a lot of work has gone into their building.

Fishing boats at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

Cox’s Bazar sea beach is the longest sea beach in the world, 120 km long. The wavy water of Bay-of-Bengal touches the beach throughout these 120 km.

We also love to sit down at hairdressers overseas because of a couple of reasons:

1. It’s a lot cheaper than in Europe
2. You get all the attention from the trainee to the general manager
3. It’s a good way to step on the breaks when one is overly exhausted from sightseeing trips or monster shopping tours
4. Nothing comes above a nice long head massage before a good night sleep

Therefore we always try to pick a hotel in the vicinity of a hairdresser … one really needs a little bit of luxury and pampering once in a while.

If you’re travelling through India, you’ll notice that the hairdressers you’ll pass along the streets are barbers for men only. Lady hairdressers are mostly hidden behind closed doors or curtains. If you insist enough though, even a local barber will give you a nice wash and blow dry … and if you’re really lucky (and you’re up for it) even a haircut. Don’t worry, hair grows again… after all, no risk, no fun.

In other South-East Asian countries like Laos, you will come across makeshift hairdresser, who can pop up their gear straight away – a chair, a comb and scissors will get the job done.

Honestly, even when it came to the remotest places and the weirdest looking equipment, we always left the hairdresser with full satisfaction.

How about you? Any interesting hairdresser/barber experiences? Would love to get your stories on this.

A typical barber in the side streets of Varanasi, India.

This barber in Varanasi is still waiting for customers…

A barber shop in Varanasi at night.

A barber shop in the streets of Kolkata, India.

A barber shop in the streets of Varanasi, India.

A barber shop in Varanasi, India.

A man getting a shave at a local barber shop in Varanasi, India.

A hairdresser at the bus station in Laos.

Of course there are exceptions to be found – like for example only men sell tobacco – but the rest is in the hand of women. I guess that men rather tend to keep cattle than selling it. Why? I can only speculate :) Maybe it’s easier to walk around with the herds all day, lying under a tree and dreaming about the new cellphone … nah, I’m just kidding :D But I do have to say that during all of our travels, we’ve noticed that a lot of really tough work (carrying rocks in India and so on) is done by women. I’d really be interested on why this is the case. Input anyone?

Market woman in Laos selling vegetable.

Market woman in Laos selling fish.

Market woman selling meat.

Local business at a market in Laos.

Women selling goods.

Anyway, on a well assorted market (if you come at the right time in the morning) everything is in full swing; people are arriving and leaving … some of them even travel the entire night to sell their goods at the weekly market. It’s a place of gossiping – which is very women like of course – and chit chat. At least before the mobile phone was introduced to the even remotest area … So the markets are always a noisy affair and people tend to check goods which they are going to buy very thoroughly (whether these are veggies, herbs, eggs or meat).

Fried maggots.

Bugs at a market in Laos.

Fish at a market in Laos.

Yes, and at these markets you can find things that will never ever (!) appear in a (western) supermarket.

The photos below are all very bearable (in our opinion) but if you want the “real tough stuff”, you should check out our article about wet markets around the world (caution – this is nothing for veggies or vegans!!)

1. Bush meat (alive or dead).

Bush meat is still a common sight on many markets in remote areas – no matter if the animal is protected or not. One has to understand that these people are mostly not very educated and well, meat is meat … One of these protected animals is the Aguti. It’s a very rare endangered rodent. We spotted an animal on a market in Thakhek, which looked quite similar. We we’re only able to take one picture because the stall woman covered it immediately and it was gone when we came back to the stall after a while.

A dead Aguti at a market in Vientiane, Laos.

Bush meat at a market in Laos.

2. All sorts of other dead animals.

Whether it’s just a fish or a skinned bulls head – you’ll find whatever your heart desires (not desires for that matter).

3. Fresh vegetables.

The Lao kitchen is one of the best in Asia. If you know what not to eat (pork, etc.), you pretty much can’t go wrong with whatever is on the menu. Vegetables are always fresh and tasty!

4. Fresh fruits.

If you’re a fruit lover, South-east Asia is the right spot for you. You’ll get fresh papayas, mangoes, pineapples, water melons, rambutans and many many more at any market.

5. A lot of people.

As I already said, people come together at markets, so it can be a very crowded place. Especially if the market is only once a week. Then the entire village (and of course the surrounding villages) can be found there. So, if one wants a true experience of a country and their people, one of the first visits should be to the local market.

1. It’s Monday and my first day back at work.

Enough said right?

2. Dear Miss Maier, your bank account needs a fill up.

Since the last three weeks of my life consisted of buying Christmas gifts, a little vacation, eating, sleeping, and of course more eating, my bank account looked more than blank. And since I am a conscientious person, I wanted to make the “-” on my bank account into a “+”. Some of you might think that that was my second downer today, but nooo, just wait for it. So before I drove to the office, I stopped at the bank, hopped in to give my hard-earned money to one of these bank-sharks (or bastards as I like to call them). With the luck I already had, I was sure that there would be no damn parking spot available and of course I was right. So, I decided to just stop in the “absolutely no fucking parking” zone. For exactly TWO minutes! I came out of the bank, with no cash in my pocket and the lovely view of a police officer writing me a goddamn ticket! Seriously? I tried talking to the police woman (who was obviously also having a bloody Monday) but no chance this time. 60 € gone down the drain. Why don’t you super-smart police people try catching the thieves who get away with tax fraud in the amount of millions … or better, billions!?

3. I totally did a “Kevin alone at home”.

For those who have seen “Kevin Home Alone” a bunch of times, you might already know which part I’m talking about. After all the crap that has happened, this topped it off again (literally) left me crying in the streets. My 9-5 job isn’t exactly the most fulfilling. But anyway, that’s another story. Back to the actual subject: By now you know that my bank account shows a gigantic zero … and that’s the same with my fridge. My waist hated me but I couldn’t resist all those goodies that mum left behind before she flew to Southeast Asia. So, I had no choice but to go out to by milk, vegetables, bread, butter, cereals and all the other crap you don’t really need. Coming out of the supermarket, I was loaded with groceries. And because I wanted to stretch my legs a little, I decided to leave the car behind (bad, really bad idea). After 50 meters of walking, the bag ripped apart and that was it for me. I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. I did both…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

So here goes: Please, please just get me out of my misery and let this day come to an end. It’s been far too long already!

China is the place where noodles were produced first. Marco Polo brought them back to Europe from his travels through Asia. Yet, the difference comes with the noodle production, which makes a real noodle restaurant in China so unique. The base is the same all over the globe: flour, salt and water.

First step for the perfect noodles.

Second step for the perfect noodles.

As you will see in the video below, it’s important to get the right softness, otherwise the noodles will not turn out “the right way”. It really needs a lot of practise to become a real noodle chef. After waiting a while he takes a piece of dow and gently folds it into noodles just with his hands, folding and folding, as the dow gets thinner and thinner. It looks so easy, but for somebody who is not used to do it,  it’s nearly impossible because the dow cracks after the first or second folding.

The soup base (made from beef)  is boiled freshly every day. Then it’s your choice what you ad; some people love a lot of greenies, like Pak Choi or Coriander, others like to add a fried egg and some prefer the rather local version with chopped cartilage from the soup.

The chef knows how it’s done.

This dish and the knowledge of making these noodles originally comes from western China & most of the places are run by muslims. You can’t go wrong with this dish in China. It’s always freshly cooked and these restaurants all have a high turnover because locals love the noodle soup. It’s also one of the few dishes (that we) found in China which has a bit of a “western taste”. So there you have it! “Manmanchi” (I hope that’s the right translation for “bon appetit”!).