223: The Spicy Episode
THANKS PODCAST MOVEMENT EVOLUTIONS 2022!
Lulu and Alison had a blast in LA!! They learned a lot and met some of the coolest podcasters around!
A GREAT time was had by all at our inaugural PodCastaway Retreat with these amazing humans! Saying goodbye was bittersweet, but the retreat weekend was only the beginning of Team 10K helping these new podcasters amplify their voices in the world of podcasting! And our Discord group has kept us right there by their sides for feedback and assistance ever since they left!
Lulu is obsessed with cheese and jam sandwiches! I bet she’s enjoying some of that fabulous Amy’s Garden Jams by our incredible PodCastaway, Amy Fagan! She also loves searching for the perfect cheese to pickle combination. I, for one, can get behind that!
Alison is obsessed with Double Dark Chocolate Milano cookies. You just can’t go wrong with Pepperidge Fahhhhhm!
Lulu wishes for this week to be an amazing week, as this is the beginning of rehearsals for her FIRST Broadway show, 1776!! Broadway, baby!!
Alison wishes that jeans didn’t get bigger when you wear them throughout the day while that’s Lulu’s favorite thing about wearing jeans!
Having been to Chongqing, China on her Madagascar tour, Lulu knew this was a perfect city for The Spicy Episode! She began the trip by staying at the Bolian Resort & Spa where rooms are available w/private hot spring tubs and of course, Lulu’s favorite…the hotel breakfast! Another favorite whilst she’s in Asia is the 7-11 snack foods & Lulu is game for trying them all! So, she stocked up for the day on puffed goodness!
Next on the schedule was a Viator tour of the Dazu Rock Carvings and the Fengdu Ghost City. This temple complex is atop a hill overlooking the river, offering a vivid representation of the ‘three tests that the dead must pass to enter the netherworld.’ Test #1 is the ‘Nothing to Be Done Bridge’, which is the Ming Dynasty bridge that’s considered to be a link between the real world and the netherworld. “Protocol for crossing the bridge depends on your age, gender, and marital status. According to local lore, virtuous visitors can pass over the bridge without trouble, while villainous individuals will fall into the pools below.” So, of course, Lulu prepared by buying a Mustang Survival inflatable life jacket. It automatically inflates when submerged in 4 or more inches of water but not inadvertently due to rain, spray or humidity. How cool is that? And how DO they do it?
With all the photo-worthy sites along the way, Lulu had the foresight to purchase Rayban Stories meteor glasses so as to prevent using up her iPhone battery. These glasses include:
— dual 5MP camera w/auto light adjustment and stereoscopic photo depth
— touch control for music or video recording
— 3 built in microphones
— charging case, if fully charged: 50 videos or up to 200 photos
— includes prescription lenses… you can get reimbursed by provider!
They also say, “Facebook View is your smart glasses operating system and content sharing companion. Once you’ve downloaded the app and set up your Ray-ban Stories you can import and edit captures, create and share unique content, and manage settings. Download it from App Store or Google Play⁽²⁾.”
One of the best things about living or traveling in Asia is their spas! When I lived in Tokyo, we’d go to Kenko Land for all the spa treatments, relaxation, baths, karaoke and great beer & food! Lulu chose to go to Golden Impressions massage lounge, listed as another unique thing to do in Chongqing, China. One small price ($15) gets you room rental (with up to 5 people in it), individual recliner chair, comfortable outfit to lounge in, unlimited movies, food, & drinks (non-alcoholic), AND an 80-minute full-body massage! Wanna know the best part? There is NO time limit on the amenities, “so wake up early, come eat breakfast, lounge around, watch movies all day, eat some more, and get your massage whenever you feel like it.”
Lulu couldn’t remember the name of the soup dumpling place she loved there, but she decided that food from there and some egg tarts from KFC would do for her lunch. Sounds pretty amazing to me! I mean, you had me at dumplings…and also at soup.
Looking for the perfect place to take some great pics for social media, she went to Yi Hua Li. Overlooking Chongqing, it's known for it's "Instagram-worthy" props for photos like a bird's nest, a clear hanging bubble chair, and more. And of course, Lulu chose a made to order Glinda bubble dress with a hand-chiseled Imperial scepter, so she can say, “It’s nice to see me, isn’t it”, as people pass her!
With websites not being easy to find for restaurants in Chongqing, Lulu decided she’d find a super spicy Hot Pot for dinner to close out her super spicy 10K day. You’ve gotta listen to her story about how her friend almost made a really bad choice with some super spicy oil at a Hot Pot place!
Alison chose Incheon, Korea because this is where Jjamppong was created in the 1800’s. The spicy Korean noodle soup is known to ‘bring the fire.’ “It’s loaded with seafood like squid and mussels, pork, heaps of noodles, and carrots, zucchini, and cabbage. The red broth is flavored with kelp and gochugaru, Korean chili powder made with sun-dried Korean red chili peppers that imbue the dish with a sweet and smokey spiciness.”
She stayed in an Airbnb with great reviews and cozy rooms to chill in. And wanting to be a respectful guest in Korea, Alison looked up TripZilla’s guide on Korean manners and etiquette. Once she was well-versed in all the do’s and don’ts, she headed to breakfast at the Brunch Bazar where you can enjoy uniquely named dishes like Brangelina’s Morning, Madame Paris and Victoria Beckham’s Plate.
With this episode’s word being ‘spicy’, it only made sense that Alison go to the Jjajang Myeon Museum, which immortalizes the birthplace of an another iconic Chinese-Korean noodle dish, jjajangmyeon. “It’s also the dish that South Korean singles eat when they meet and drown their sorrows every April 14, the country’s “Black Day” for the unhappily unpartnered.” Heck, we only get chocolate and roses here in America for Valentine’s Day! I’d prefer soup. And I prefer to be labeled as Deliciously Dateless, thank you very much!
Speaking of eating, it was time for her to eat at Daechang Banjeom before going to relax at Spasis Jjimjilbang. It’s very similar to the spa Lulu went to as it’s a place to relax, get massages, enjoy baths and so much more. And there were plenty of rules to adhere to there as well! Look at you, being the respectful traveler, Alison!
Now, since by this time, Alison’s 10K $ level was pretty low, she realized she’d have to get creative, and boy, did she!! She dialed that spice meter right up by renting out one of the baths and she gave the spasis $2000 to drain the tub, clean it, and refill it after she’s done. Her idea was to create a deep cleansing bath where her instructions were as follows: Run a bath with water that is a hot temperature you are comfortable sitting in. Put the tub soaking herbs in a clean cotton sock, tie the end closed and put in the water, squeezing often to release the herbs. One of the benefits of adding the "hot" herbs is they will continue to help your body release toxins, sweating them out with artificial heat even after the water has started to cool down. Trust me, you will be sweating!
But, this is where it gets freaky! Alison chose to fill her ‘soaking sock’ (thank God I don’t have to say that out loud!) with the most expensive pepper in the world, Aji Charapita, valued at $25,000 per dried kilogram or $11,300 per pound. Famously nicknamed “the mother of all types of peppers,” the Aji Charapita is grown in Peru but is rare in most parts of the world. She ordered up a 1/2 pound for her bath. GULP! Now, Lulu had the same pressing question I had…what do you do about your jiggly bits or hoo-hah, as Lulu put it! I mean, you’re SOAKING in the hottest pepper juice in the world!!! The ‘apparent’ solution is to slather your nether regions with Vaseline. I know Vaseline can do a lot, but NOT sure I’d trust it to protect my ‘innerds’ from a spicy revolution!
And, while she was at it, Alison thought, why not put more spicy stuff in my innerds by having some tasty jjamppong to close out my 10K day! This all sounds great, in theory, but I feel like I need some TUMS after typing this whole blog episode!
After 2 years of career uncertainty, Lulu is happy to be EMPLOYED! Look out, Broadway, our Lulu is comin’ for ya!!
Alison bought some new underwear! That’s always a good happy!
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
HEY, FRIEND! IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, FOLLOW US!:
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. For a full understanding of how we use affiliate links on our site, please visit our Policy Disclosures page. Thank you!