The Sunch Spot - Indian American Girl Poetry and Fashion Blog

Hi All

This holiday I spent a ton of time in Detroit. I was born and raised in Detroit, but I really hadn’t “toured” it. I had gone away to Purdue for college and moved to Chicago. Also, I had this negative perception of Detroit that there was nothing to do! This time, I was surprised at all the fun things I did over the weekends! Here’s my Detroit travel guide for general and holiday (for next year) to dos:

Museums:

The Henry Ford Museum and Mansion is a must to do on my list. If you’re here you must visit. You’re in the big three auto state, so why not?
Greenfield Village is next to the Henry Ford Museum and it is these set of historic houses, and such that are fun and interactive. I went there both as a child and adult, and I loved it both times. It is especially fun when decorated for the holidays.
The Detroit Institute of Arts: The DIA is regarded as of the top 6 museums in the US and the Egyptian artwork is amazing.

Cool Architecture

Guardian Building: I don’t want to give too much away, but this old financial building has some beautiful orange and yellow decor. I decided this is going to be an engagement shoot area for me.
Fox Theater: This old movie theater has been restored and it is just stunning. If you can’t go inside, at least take a picture at the stunning sign! My sister got married here!
Masonic Temple: One of a kind place for music and concerts!
Fisher Building: This is another stunner that is made almost exclusively of granite and marble!

Things to Do:

Eastern Market: This market has everything from flowers to groceries, to fresh foods. It is massive and very cool.
Rainbow City Rink: If you want to go back to your child hood, go to the Rainbow City Rink in downtown Detroit and have some roller skating fun!
Detroit Riverfront: Capture an image and walk along the riverfront. Wave hello to Canada on the other side, literally!

Holiday Exclusive Activities:

Here are some holiday activities that you can do next year!

Campus Martius: Check out the tallest Christmas tree in the city all lit up and surrounding Detroit. Then ice skate at Campus Martius and go grab some local hot chocolate after that
Holiday Markets at Cadillac Square and Shain Park: These are cute little greenhouse glass huts, each filled with a different store that you can walk to and shop at. I was absolutely in love with this market. At the end of the market in Cadillac Square there is a room you can go to play games and have drinks that is so beautifully decorated. It kind of reminds me of Chriskindlemarket in Chicago, but WAY better.
Park Bar: This bar is all decked out for the holidays. Enjoy a drink there and bask your self in holiday decor.

Dinner and Drink Spots

Bakersfield Detroit: This place has delicious tacos and small plates, and my family is addicted!
Takoi: This is a thai experimental cuisine place that has an over 2 hour wait on the weekends. My advice is to get there early and get your name down
Bad Luck Bar: This is an experimental cocktail place, and they have two bar tenders who will make you anything you want or you can try some of their amazing cocktails yourself! I had a lavender drink non-alcoholic and it was amazing! I can’t imagine how good the alcoholic one is!
Buddy’s Pizza: Grab Detroit style pizza here! Did you even know that Detroit has it’s own type of pizza? It’s know for the crispy crust!

That’s all for now! I’ll be adding more as I discover more of Detroit.

PS: Thank you for going to so many places with me mom, dad and BF!

Hi All,

I realize it's been quite a while since I wrote my last post, but that's because I've been in between finding a new apartment, packing for my trips to Japan and Thailand, and then just trying to finish up everything I've for work! In this post, I'll write a 5-7-5 Haiku poem, which is originally a Japanese style of poetry.

Then I'll go over my Japan travels and some recommendations on places to eat, things to do and places to stay. My next post will be about Thailand!

Here's my Haiku below:

Tokyo People

Tokyo night lights
The young working, dawn till dusk
with respect, kaizen

Places to Stay:

I'd recommend staying in Shinjuku or Shibuya. These are the young and happening areas. I'd also recommend staying in these areas close to a train line, as Tokyo is accessible anywhere by train line.
Be prepared to understand that space is a luxury in Tokyo and hotels rooms will be SMALL! We stayed at the E-hotel Higashi Shinjuku and it was REALLY compact.
I'd also recommend trying one night at a traditional Japanese Inn, or Ryokan. This is a small in with hot baths, and futon beds, serving Japanese and Western style breakfasts. The service is delightful! We stayed at one in Asakusa right next to the Sensoji temple!

Things to Do:

Shinjuku:

Go to an Owl Cafe or a Cat Cafe: We went and had some green tea and then pet some cute owls. Linked is one you could go to
Robot Cabaret Show: All I have to say is that you just need to do this wild crazy, experience. YouTube it.
Nightlife! Though we didn't do too much on the nightlife front we did visit the Golden Gai, and it was really cool! The Golden Gai is basically this area in Shinjuku where there are tiny drinking dens that fit usually 5-10 people and are a really cool experience

Shibuya

Shibuya crossing: Walk across the famous intersection in Shibuya crossing and see it packed with lights and shoppers, and take a snap!
Takeshita Street: This is a small street lined with shops where you can purchase clothing and souvenirs
Ometesando: This area is an avenue lined with classy shops, and kind of reminds me of Michigan avenue! You can also visit Koen Dori and find posh shops as well.
Meiji Shrine: Visit the Meiji Shrine, Fill out a wish votive tablet to put in a prayer, and walk through the gardens.
Nonbei Yokocho: This is another area with tiny drinking dens similar to the Golden Gai
Dogenzaka: Walk along this street to head towards Tokyo nightlife
Go to a Karaoke Bar!

Harajaku

Go to the OK mart, and have a ball at the grocery store! I really enjoyed doing this! Buy Matcha kit kats, check out all the other snacks, green teas, sake, plum wine and more!

Asakusa

Sensoji temple: Visit it early in the morning before all the tourists get there
Nakamise Shopping Street: These are all the shops along the street to the Sensoji temple. You can get souvenirs and desserts
Get a picture in front of the Golden Turd and get a laugh out of it
See Geishas come out (We didn't get to see this). Apparently they hang out on the weekends and there are shows
Get a free view of the Tokyo tower from the Asakusa Tourist Information center
Ueno Indian restaurants: If you are craving Indian food, go to Indian restaurants near here. They are located about a mile away from the main Sensoji area. We stumbled upon Indian restaurants nearby, but didn't get a chance to eat there!

Chiyoda:

Go to the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Palace Gardens. Make sure that you get tickets online ahead of time or get same day tickets by going in at 8:30 am for the Imperial Palace tickets. You don't need tickets for the gardens.

Minoto:

Tokyo Tower: Go visit it and take a snap, as it looks like the Eiffel tower!

Otherwise just wander the streets of Tokyo and get lost in the lights and action!

Anyway, for those wanting to travel to Tokyo, here are some of things we ate as vegetarians:

Vegetarian Ramen: Our favorite place was this tiny restaurant in Tokyo Station called T's Tan Tan.
Pancakes: The Japanese are really really into American pancakes. We waited 30 minutes in line to go to Rainbow Pancakes
Tea: I had to have tea when in Japan. Although, I did this city style and in a pretty little flower market called Ayoma tea and flower market. I loved their herbal relax teas and dessert!
Experience Dinner: We went to this Ninja dinner place called Ninja Asaka! You have to go through small stairs and a secret room to get in but it's a beautiful set up place :)
Desserts & Drinks:
- Melonpan Bread: The bread is called melonpan, because it looks like a melon or cantaloupe, but it is really a sweet dough bread, that's crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Linked is some more information about this dessert. We found it on the streets in Asakusa near Sensoji temple
- Dorayaki: is a type of Japanese confection, а red-bean pancake which consists of two small pancake-like patties made from castella wrapped around a filling of sweet Azuki red bean paste.[1][2] (Source: Wikipedia). This was SO delicious! We also found it in on the streets in Asakusa near Sensoji temple
- Daifuku: This is mochi with various fillings like red bean paste or white bean paste
- Dessert Like Drinks: This bar called the bar code name mixology had amazing drinks including one called the Mascara Tiki with Prune Chai Vodka that appealed to my Indian roots! Additionally, it had a very cool and classy vibe!
- Get Sweet Sake somewhere! It's delicious!