Is the world becoming more vanilla?

[NW-Bound]

With globalization, and the reach of the Internet, it is true that few places remain isolated. And with the mobility of people, the difference in cultures may get eroded. Speaking of food, one does not have to go to Belgium to taste many of its beers. There was a restaurant in Napa Valley offering Himalayan dishes. And if one wants to, he can learn to make beef tripe the Galancian way, or pay a lot of money to get jamón ibérico, but that's still cheaper than traveling to Spain.

Still, there are many dishes that one can only get by traveling to the locales. Roast suckling pig in Segovia? Loire River eel, or Loire Valley pheasant?

Quebec City and Montreal may not look too different than many US metropolitan areas, but they do have different food. Various pâté and terrines, and the wonderful Lake Brome duck?

And then, the traveler does not take a trek just for food. There's the scenery, of which there's plenty to enjoy and impossible to exhaust, even if one stays within the US border.

 

[ocdokie]

Quebec City and Montreal may not look too different than many US metropolitan areas, but they do have different food. Various pâté and terrines, and the wonderful Lake Brome duck?

Don't forget the poutine.

 

[imoldernu]

I don't think I'll ever come to grips with the world outside my own country. Since we don't travel, the deep seated images are of.. darkened streets of the Casbah... narrow, sinister and crowded, of mud huts, and camels walking the tiny streets... China, and Japan, buildings with paper walls, people in robes, or later, quilted parkas... Eskimos in igloos... "Nanook of the North", Rice Paddies, bars in Casablanca, dikes and windmills in Holland, and coal miner homes in Scotland. Hard to even imagine automobiles or multi story buildings.

It was when Beijing was Peking, Sri Lanka was Ceylon, Myanmar was Burma, Thailand was Siam, and Zimbabwe was Rhodesia... and there weren't any automobies there then, either.

So now, when I see the lights of Shanghai, the panoramas of Dubai, or the ghost cities of China... I see fields of rice, Coolies in grass hats, or people in robes and turbans in an outdoor market.

Literally thousands of years to bring the world to what I recall from the 1950's... to now, when these same countries are almost indistinguisable from the United States.

The only interim adjustment was a ride on the Bullet Train in Tokyo, in 1972.

Vanilla indeed... and I like that better than "the marshmallow world that we live in".

 

[bld999]

Don't forget the poutine.

Egad, now I have to start over.

 

[travelover]

..........
It was when Beijing was Peking, Sri Lanka was Ceylon, Myanmar was Burma, Thailand was Siam, and Zimbabwe was Rhodesia.............

So that explains it. I wondered where the heck those places went to.

 

[audreyh1]

I know there are McDonald's and Starbucks in major cities all over the world, but somehow I just don't notice their presence. I don't frequent either in the US, so I gloss over them.

I remember a guide book mentioning the Starbucks location in Vienna, and all I could think was - why would anyone go to a Starbucks for coffee in Vienna?

 

[Dash man]

I know there are McDonald's and Starbucks in major cities all over the world, but somehow I just don't notice their presence. I don't frequent either in the US, so I gloss over them.



I remember a guide book mentioning the Starbucks location in Vienna, and all I could think was - why would anyone go to a Starbucks for coffee in Vienna?

When I lived in Tokyo in the early nineties (Yokota AFB) it was common to give driving directions with references to McDonalds, Denny's, Dunkin Donuts and KFC.

 

[audreyh1]

When I lived in Tokyo in the early nineties (Yokota AFB) it was common to give driving directions with references to McDonalds, Denny's, Dunkin Donuts and KFC.

I guess for visiting Americans those are handy landmarks.

I so don't do fast food in the US, so those places mean nothing to me overseas.

I enjoy taking a break from the US now and then.

 

[FUEGO]

why would anyone go to a Starbucks for coffee in Vienna?

Wifi? That's the only reason I visited the Starbucks in Montreal. The apartment we rented had the wifi go out and we only had a dumb phone and all our trip planning info was stuck in the cloud.

 

[FUEGO]

Quebec City and Montreal may not look too different than many US metropolitan areas, but they do have different food. Various pâté and terrines, and the wonderful Lake Brome duck?

Quebec City also has the wonderful PFK - Poulet Frit Kentucky. Amazing stuff. Can't get it anywhere else in the world!

Though it's kinda weird. Their gravy is called "sauce".

 

[FUEGO]

Just a decade ago in Cambodia there were no shopping malls, cell phones, coffee shops, etc. Now I cannot even find a village where there is no cell phone service, or where you don't see young people with cell phones and internet access even Facebook. The capital city has modern shopping malls, with more planned. College students study in coffee shops with laptops and smart phones. Where they used to sell sugar cane juice and rice soup they now sell coke and pizza.

My in-laws' place in a tiny village in Cambodia.

They have cell phones, but charging them gets tricky without electricity. No running water. Dinner is usually plucked from a tree or plucked after killing it (plus rice of course). It's not quite tribal stone age out there but not too far from it. Needless to say, we hope to visit if we ever make it to Cambodia. Maybe just a day or two. I'd love to show our kids how mom and grandma and all their aunts and uncles lived not that long ago.

 

[audreyh1]

Wifi? That's the only reason I visited the Starbucks in Montreal. The apartment we rented had the wifi go out and we only had a dumb phone and all our trip planning info was stuck in the cloud.

Lots of the historic cafes in Vienna have free wifi.

 

[FUEGO]

Lots of the historic cafes in Vienna have free wifi.

Yeah, I know. But can you spend 2 euro on a cup of coffee and squat there for six hours without getting thrown out?

An acquaintance of mine is a starbucks addict. She studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence France. And commuted over to Marseille to hit the starbucks. I had the same reaction as you - "What, what? Why? You're in France and you go really far out of your way to visit a starbucks?" (edit to add: she's on the path to very early ER and she might read this forum. If so, hi T! ).

Though I kind of understand. I do like the comfort I get from visiting a McD's abroad. You know exactly what you're going to get and even if there's a language barrier you'll come pretty close to getting what you want.

At a local place, unless they speak English, ordering can be a chore. Sometimes you just want simple and familiar. The inattentiveness of the McD's staff means you probably won't be spoken to in a foreign language and you can sit there and read your guide book or surf on the net for a few minutes in your little pocket of America overseas. Step out the front doors and walk away from the Golden Arches and you're once again back in the urban wilderness of foreign travel.

 

[ampeep]

There are McDonald's in many countries, but there are some differences. Instead of filet of fish, it's filet of Lapu-lapu and something different in Manila - McSpaghetti.

And in Japan, there's the ever-popular corn pizza.

 

[braumeister]

There are McDonald's in many countries, but there are some differences.

To say the least.
I used to greatly enjoy a beer with my hamburger at a McD in Rio.

 

[EastWest Gal]

This may be our perception that everything is more Americanized with the fast food. However, another aspect of this is that the entire world has been brought here. When I was growing up there were two ethnic restaurants within 10 miles-Mexican and Chinese. This was in the East Bay. Going to San Francisco to was going to another world-Chinatown, Japantown, and Russian cuisine, and a few others. Indian food and dress we're halfway around the world.

Now in semi-rural PA, we have just about every kind of restaurant except Ethiopian, which can be found not too far away. I have met more people from more parts of the world here than I did in the 90s in Silicon Valley. Just about every part of the world has come here. And they bring their cuisine, their music, there festivals. If I need Indian spices and exotic vegetables, there are two markets within 5 miles. Afghan cuisine-no problem. There is a store specializing in Halal foods and one store of our local chains has been formally dubbed the Kosher store because it is located near our large Orthodox community.

In the last 15 years I have met people from many countries in my work. Bhutan, Nepal, Tunisia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Mali, Somalia, and many other African nations, Ecuador, Southeast Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.

So it may seem more vanilla, but it's also that it's more truly mixed, though not blended. Our culture has been enriched by these influxes but so have many others.

As far as technology reaching places, there is a shanty town outside Naples where most of the shanty houses have satellite dishes!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[grasshopper]

While Burger King has a pretty good veggie burger. At McDonalds you have to go to India.

While McDonald’s may be known for its Big Mac containing two “all-beef patties” in its nearly 33,000 worldwide restaurants, a pair of forthcoming restaurants near religious centers in India will go completely meatless — the first all-vegetarian restaurants in the chain’s 57-year history.

McDonald’s Goes Vegetarian in India | TIME.com

 

[audreyh1]

Though I kind of understand. I do like the comfort I get from visiting a McD's abroad. You know exactly what you're going to get and even if there's a language barrier you'll come pretty close to getting what you want.

At a local place, unless they speak English, ordering can be a chore. Sometimes you just want simple and familiar. The inattentiveness of the McD's staff means you probably won't be spoken to in a foreign language and you can sit there and read your guide book or surf on the net for a few minutes in your little pocket of America overseas. Step out the front doors and walk away from the Golden Arches and you're once again back in the urban wilderness of foreign travel.

This is just so strange to me. I don't get homesick overseas. I find the change so refreshing. I usually have my computer and any familiar things I need are on the Internet which I use at the hotel. Since I don't care for McDonalds or other US fast food restaurants, they don't do anything for me overseas other than clutter the cityscape with their signs.

Ordering food is usually something I learn very quickly overseas and I'm usually looking out for the regional specialties. We're looking forward to sampling the goat cheeses from the Loire valley, and cremant (sparking wine) from a couple of AOC regions. Will take the train to Munster in Alsace to try their famous stinky Munster cheese.

In Vienna when I needed a break from the heavy Austrian food - my tummy wasn't 100% one evening - I headed for a Vietnamese place and had a really nice bowl of pho. In France when I need a break I imagine I'll eat Italian or Asian.

 

[W2R]

This is just so strange to me. I don't get homesick overseas. I find the change so refreshing. I usually have my computer and any familiar things I need are on the Internet which I use at the hotel. Since I don't care for McDonalds or other US fast food restaurants, they don't do anything for me overseas other than clutter the cityscape with their signs.

Ordering food is usually something I learn very quickly overseas and I'm usually looking out for the regional specialties. We're looking forward to sampling the goat cheeses from the Loire valley, and cremant (sparking wine) from a couple of AOC regions. Will take the train to Munster in Alsace to try their famous stinky Munster cheese.

In Vienna when I needed a break from the heavy Austrian food - my tummy wasn't 100% one evening - I headed for a Vietnamese place and had a really nice bowl of pho. In France when I need a break I imagine I'll eat Italian or Asian.

+1 Even though I don't travel overseas now, when I did we always ate the local food 24/7/365 no matter how long we were away from the US. I see little sense in traveling if one is going to try to simulate the US wherever one goes, eat US food, stay around other US tourists, and so on.

Living in Hawaii in the 1960's and later we noticed that phenomenon a lot. Sometimes people would come there from the mainland and then get all upset because it was different in some way from what they were used to; they brought their hometown with them, in their minds. Often they would just do a few tours with groups of tourists and not much else. They'd never get off the beaten track to explore the amazing aspects of Hawaii that they possibly wouldn't find at home, because they were too busy looking for things they missed from back home.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

This may be our perception that everything is more Americanized with the fast food. However, another aspect of this is that the entire world has been brought here. When I was growing up there were two ethnic restaurants within 10 miles-Mexican and Chinese. This was in the East Bay. Going to San Francisco to was going to another world-Chinatown, Japantown, and Russian cuisine, and a few others. Indian food and dress we're halfway around the world.

Now in semi-rural PA, we have just about every kind of restaurant except Ethiopian, which can be found not too far away. I have met more people from more parts of the world here than I did in the 90s in Silicon Valley. Just about every part of the world has come here. And they bring their cuisine, their music, there festivals. If I need Indian spices and exotic vegetables, there are two markets within 5 miles. Afghan cuisine-no problem. There is a store specializing in Halal foods and one store of our local chains has been formally dubbed the Kosher store because it is located near our large Orthodox community.

In the last 15 years I have met people from many countries in my work. Bhutan, Nepal, Tunisia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Mali, Somalia, and many other African nations, Ecuador, Southeast Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.

So it may seem more vanilla, but it's also that it's more truly mixed, though not blended. Our culture has been enriched by these influxes but so have many others.

As far as technology reaching places, there is a shanty town outside Naples where most of the shanty houses have satellite dishes!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

+1 Very well put! Maybe in some ways we are not all becoming more vanilla, but rather, we are all becoming more colorful.

 

[FUEGO]

I just realized today I:

• video chatted for 1.5 hours with a friend in Taiwan about his experiences living in Mexico (in preparation for our trip down south)
• hung out as a family with our friend and her kid who are Japanese nationals
• FB chatted with my Venezuelan national friend about their kids coming over to play with our kids
• cooked pad thai for dinner with ingredients imported from Thailand
• have these sort of international experiences daily and don't really think much about them

Home life is pretty un-vanilla I guess.

 

[Alan]

This is just so strange to me. I don't get homesick overseas. I find the change so refreshing. I usually have my computer and any familiar things I need are on the Internet which I use at the hotel. Since I don't care for McDonalds or other US fast food restaurants, they don't do anything for me overseas other than clutter the cityscape with their signs.

Ordering food is usually something I learn very quickly overseas and I'm usually looking out for the regional specialties. We're looking forward to sampling the goat cheeses from the Loire valley, and cremant (sparking wine) from a couple of AOC regions. Will take the train to Munster in Alsace to try their famous stinky Munster cheese.

In Vienna when I needed a break from the heavy Austrian food - my tummy wasn't 100% one evening - I headed for a Vietnamese place and had a really nice bowl of pho. In France when I need a break I imagine I'll eat Italian or Asian.

+1 We also love to eat the local food and go to the local eating places.

You are going to love Munster, and not just for the cheese,. We stopped there for a couple of hours in 2013, mainly to buy cheese as we were staying in a gite a couple of hours drive away in Lorraine. Beautiful city, and when we were there there were stork nests everywhere on the rooftops, with chicks in the nests. (This was in July)

 

[CaliforniaMan]

My in-laws' place in a tiny village in Cambodia.

They have cell phones, but charging them gets tricky without electricity. No running water. Dinner is usually plucked from a tree or plucked after killing it (plus rice of course). It's not quite tribal stone age out there but not too far from it. Needless to say, we hope to visit if we ever make it to Cambodia. Maybe just a day or two. I'd love to show our kids how mom and grandma and all their aunts and uncles lived not that long ago.

Great photo! How long ago was it taken? Things are changing there fast, but more slowly in the provinces. Cambodia is certainly worth a trip, we just came back from 3 months there. Will be especially interesting for you if your wife still has relatives living there. About the plucking and eating, we sometimes see a chicken in a small inverted basket in the front yard, the kids playing with it in the morning, and having it for dinner in the evening. In many ways life is more real there, we are not so separated from all the aspects of food, living and dying there as we are here. Very worthwhile trip when you can make it, and in the off season (the best months actually in my opinion) you can get airfares half what they are otherwise. As I mentioned we were there 3 months, we wouldn't have minded staying there another three or more (except it started to get into the hot season).

 

[Marita40]

Oh yes you can order one coffee and squat at a traditional Viennese coffee house for hours and hours and hours. People were doing that long before Starbucks and the current coffee house craze. Whole books have been written and revolutions planned in Viennese coffee houses by now famous or infamous people That's why they have all those newspapers on the long sticks, for leisurely reading. However, that said I am also guilty of sitting in a Starbucks in Vienna and loving every second of it. Amazingly there is now one on Kartnerstrasse across from der Oper. I was there three weeks ago and sat for several hours just people watching and enjoying the amazing view and amazing location!

 

[FUEGO]

Great photo! How long ago was it taken? Things are changing there fast, but more slowly in the provinces. Cambodia is certainly worth a trip, we just came back from 3 months there. Will be especially interesting for you if your wife still has relatives living there. About the plucking and eating, we sometimes see a chicken in a small inverted basket in the front yard, the kids playing with it in the morning, and having it for dinner in the evening. In many ways life is more real there, we are not so separated from all the aspects of food, living and dying there as we are here. Very worthwhile trip when you can make it, and in the off season (the best months actually in my opinion) you can get airfares half what they are otherwise. As I mentioned we were there 3 months, we wouldn't have minded staying there another three or more (except it started to get into the hot season).

It was taken within the last 5 years. They are way way way out in the sticks. Only about 80 miles from Ankgor Wat but they had never visited until my BIL and FIL and MIL went over with some money so they could afford to go visit.

My BIL totally scored and brought back a wife 10 years younger than him from their village (who's not related as far as we know lol).

Just after she arrived here in the US, she learned the world wasn't flat. It's incomprehensible that adults can't know that, but when you've never traveled much more than 80 miles from home, and your reality is a rice field, I guess it doesn't really matter whether the world is round or flat, since it's very flat in your locality.

I didn't know there was an off season for the heat. My BIL just said it's hot as hell all the time there.

Were you in Phnom Penh or traveling around the country? Do you know Khmer or did you muddle by with English? My wife doesn't know any Khmer (just a dialect of Thai that's closer to Laos but spoken pretty commonly in the NW of Cambodia in the border region).

My in laws didn't have a lot of nice things to say about the place after they went back for the first time in a few decades. Although that's a pretty common response from a lot of immigrants from all over once they get accustomed to the niceties of laid back life in the US (or at least laid back life down here in the South, ya'll). My BIL is a bit of a fancy resort person (champagne tastes on a light beer budget though), so I could see how Cambodia doesn't suit him very well.