Moved: to Nawlins

27 Jun 2011, Posted by Kylie in awareness,do not use this category, 0 Comments

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“You don’t  know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”  Sometimes it means traveling to a different city, to suffer 95 degree heat, got burn, experienced with different cuisines, met travelers all around the world, and dozed off into the jazz swing: what I did in New Orleans.

The start of my adventure involved delayed subway, heavy rain, and catching a cab to catch a plane. Lesson learned: 5 am waiting for the A train to come = bad idea. No regrets, for every minute after was totally worth it.

I stayed at India House Hostel, a very chill, good place with youngsters from all over the world. I shared a room with 5 other girls, some from Germany, one from Australia. Ended up leaving New Orleans making one new friend from Maine. Funny how that happened huh?

One of the first thing I did was to walk around to see the art scenes. All the dedicating artists sitting under heat, all the jazz musicians playing in French Quarter. One of my favorite moments was when two different jazz bands sitting on two ends of the street, playing off each other’s tempo. Another one was when a Chinese violinist played with her African guitarist companion. There were no culture, no race, no age boundaries. Incredible !

Aside from Natchez steamboat, Degas house, and cemetery, Frenchmen St. is my favorite spot. This was where I spent most of my time, in jazz clubs and among musicians. It must be weird to see a little asian traveling alone, going crazy with jazz (they could not help but stare and greet me afterwards). For me, jazz is the closest to freedom.

Cajun foods have always been one of my favorites, but I would never have thought how different Cajun foods in New Orleans would be compare to other “Cajun” elsewhere. There’s something much more earthy about the food here. When you go to New Orleans, definitely try the Boudin PO-boys at Frankie’s, red jambalaya at Pat O’, and crawfish rolls at “the Three…” on Frenchmen St. The biegnets at Cafe Du Monde have always been a hit, and they lived up to the expectation. I made an effort not to have any burger and vietnamese food while I’m there (even though New Orleans has a huge vietnamese community.)

I hope you’ll have a chance to travel to New Orleans because you might come back a little more jazzy than you were before. My tribute to Dennis and Jennifer for hooking me up with some of the greatest spots EVER ! I can only do the same for you both when you come to Hanoi, so please do.