Galloping Horse: USA Trip: Of Train Ride and Gastronomical Quest

Amtrak Train Ride (San Francisco, California - Portland, Oregon)

Waking up to this view first thing in the morning after long night sleep.

When we wanted to book the train tickets, there were few options; seating coach or sleeping coach, or even a room. The journey from San Francisco to Portland was about 17 hours so we were contemplating to get the sleeping coach, since the only schedule was overnight train. The price difference was so glaringly far apart (at the time, 75 dollars vs 400 dollars), and we immediately went for first option. As we boarded the train and got to our seats, I would say it was considerably a good bargain to get the seating coach for budget travel as the seat was quite spacious with enough leg space. Luggage was left at lower deck and passengers' deck was on the upper level, it also came with power points which was definitely helpful to keep your devices juiced enough, although it didn’t come with WiFi. Toilets and lounge area were available for the necessary toilet break and ergonomic stretches. This was definitely way, way ahead than my train experience back in Myanmar from Yangon to Bagan, and that I was on the first-class coach. The train departed on time as the clock struck 940pm. Long night and day ahead of us.

We slept through the night and woke up to snowy scene outside the window as the train was cruising through mountainous area. We were still in the state of California. After a while, we couldn’t help but overhearing argument between two passengers few rows before us. Unsure what was the trigger but the guy seemed to be bothered by the lady passenger next to him and keep saying something about being an adult. The other passengers appeared to be on the lady side by asking the guy to “shut up”, not long after officers came and escorted the guy away to other coach.

The train did a quick stop at Klamath Falls, which meant we have finally crossed the state border and we are now in Oregon. We got off the train for the fresh air before popping back in. The night before we bought some food at Target for our breakfast and lunch on the train. There was restaurant coach onboard in which me and my friend decided to skip. There was viewing coach so we had our meals there and to chill. Supposedly there was mini bar right below the deck should you wanted to buy snacks and coffee, however, it wasn’t open until much later. Got our hot water from the restaurant for free to cook our cup noodles, although the waitress kept diverting us to the still-close mini bar. It was 3.30pm as we arrived at Union Station, Portland.

Brief stopover at Klamath Falls, stepping on the state of Oregon for very first time.

Contemplating about life. Was feeling under the weather.

Frozen Klamath Lake as our train crossed by.

The cottage covered in thick snow, view from the train for another brief layover.

Viewing lounge for better view from our coach, no reservation required.

Portland, Oregon

We booked Lyft to get onto our hotel and the driver or “Glamma” was very friendly as we were vibing to her music, even telling us which area to avoid and places to go. Why “Glamma” you might wonder, she told us she was from New York and moved to Portland to be with his 29 years old son and that was her youngest who was about to have his first baby. She looked like only in her late thirty or early forty. We checked in at Courtyard by Marriot and rested for the evening before going for our dinner at Kachka. At this city, we didn’t choose to rent car and relied on public transport as we intent for short stay before going further up north. Most of the shops, not the eateries at least, closed rather early so it was a quiet walk as we walked towards the restaurant. It was my first time having Russian meal so we ordered what being recommended by other customers’ review. Drink wise, I tried Moscow Mule and I was struggling to finish it due to strong ginger flavour. The restaurant exercised no tipping and service tax was included in the final bill. It was 22%.

Herring under a fur coat

Palmeni & Vareniki Dumplings

Me with my Mocsow Mule and Golubtsi.

Day 2 in Portland and off we went to another local coffee roaster, Stumptown. At that point, I would rank Stumptown second after Blue Bottle for my favourite coffee, at least in the west of America. We bought day pass that cost 5 dollars which can be used on their light rail, buses, any other public transports as long as they are under TriMet. We commuted to Washington Park for our first point of interest. The light rail stopped at Oregon Zoo and from there we hopped onto free purple bus to get around the park, which was scheduled for every 15 to 20 minutes. We did quick tracking at Hoyt Arboretum and the surrounding was covered in thin snow. There were multiple trails and could see the locals doing their jogs. Next stop was the International Test Rose Garden, but since it was winter so no roses were spotted during our visit and there were all just bushes. Apparently, Portland is known as city of Roses for their love (or obsession) over the flower. There was Holocaust Memorial nearby which was driven by the local community to remember the tragic event.

Cute coffee cup from this local roaster.

My first snow encounter for this trip as we tracked within Washington Park.

Barren Rose Garden. Not in season, obviously.

In memory of Holocaust victims.

It was way past lunch time when we were done with our strolling at the park and we walked towards Salt & Straw at Nob Hill neighbourhood for quick sweet street, locally founded ice cream parlour. They have pretty unique flavour options. I went for honey lavender and pots of gold and rainbow (seasonal flavour). We walked along the 23rd Avenue before taking the bus back to the city. The plan was to have lunch at Pine Street Market but most of the stalls were close for lunch by the time we were there and we diverted our plan to Lardo, local chain of sandwich restaurant.

I'm a Simmer so these houses fascinated me.

Honey lavender and pots of gold and rainbow.

Came across this store that was opened by Singaporeans.

Boba lover, I was ecstatic seeing this outlet at this part of the world.

Pork burger for 12 dollars. The portion was just sufficient for an Asian stomach.

Other than being a foodie city, Portland is also famous for the largest independent used bookstore, in America at least. We went to Powell's City of Books, the one located at Burnside Street. Three-storey high building, the bookstore was divided into multiple sections by the name of colours such as Red Room, Purple Room, Green Room etc. At the top floor there was rare book room which limited the number of visitors access at a time. The options of books appeared to be boundless at the store. We spent a fair amount of 2 hours before deciding to have Vietnamese dinner at Luc Lac to conclude our second last day in Portland. At this point, whenever we craved for soupy meals, we couldn't go wrong with Asian cuisines.

Books and more books at this bookstore.

Couldn't leave the place without a pose like this. This was the Orange Room.

Main entrance to the bookstore; it was already dark the moment we left the bookstore.

Warm filling my stomach with Pho for dinner, and a bottle of Mexican coke.

Yes, there was gym at our hotel so might just as well... take a seflie.

We started our day early by grabbing our routine morning coffee at Coava and had donut for breakfast at Blue Star. Most of the sites would recommend having donuts at Voodoo for tourists but my friend and I decided to be more, local. Instead of the usual fluffy texture the one I had at Big Apple, there were more like butter cake donuts with flavored glaze. To catch our train at 12pm, we packed our lunch at Hunnymilk before walking back to our hotel to check out.

Mocha from Cuava Coffee.

The O.G. and Chocolate Bergamot Old-Fashioned.

Array of flavours at Blue Star Donuts.

Mural of roses, with the flag of the USA on top of the building.

I found this parking signage cute with the kitty.

Checking out from the hotel and waiting for our Lyft. It felt like I was staying for business travel for the last 2 nights.

We boarded Amtrak Cascades this time around, which was only single deck train as compared to the previous train that got us to Portland. I supposed this was due to much shorter journey as our next destination was only 3 hours away. With that said, this is the end of Oregon chapter and I was very looking forward to the next one.