Boston's Chinatown is a nice place to visit, especially if you are after some good food and drink and/or historical places. This Chinatown is pretty similar to Chinatowns around the country (and quite frankly, around the world.) There's a gate welcoming you into the area and quite a few other other Chinese inspired decorations in the area. I loved a lot of the murals and street art that lines the streets. There also seems to be a few places to sit and hang out if you'd like. There are quite a few stores and the Chinatown signature produce lining the streets. I love seeing people shop and pick their perfect veggies. If you get the chance, walk through Chinatown. It's a vibe. read more

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I've visited Chinatowns in several cities over the years, including New York and Philadelphia, so I was looking forward to exploring Boston's Chinatown again. While the entrance gate is beautiful and makes a great first impression, I have to admit that once we walked farther into the neighborhood, we were disappointed. Our biggest concern was cleanliness. Many of the streets and sidewalks appeared dirty and, in some areas, bordering on filthy. A neighborhood with so much history, culture, and tourism deserves better maintenance. Regular street sweeping, power washing, and general upkeep would make a tremendous difference in how the area is experienced by both visitors and the people who live and work there. Just a short distance away, the North End is noticeably cleaner and feels much more inviting, and places like Quincy Market have a much more vibrant atmosphere. Boston's Chinatown has tremendous potential, but during our visit it felt worn down rather than welcoming. I truly hope the city and local stakeholders continue investing in the neighborhood because it has the history, culture, and character to be a destination that's every bit as memorable as the other Chinatowns I've visited. read more

" Chinatown fever " Since I was a child . I love going to Chinatown. Not much has changed as an adult . I still love it. The welcoming atmosphere. The lovely culture . The authentic Chinese food . What can I say ; I just fell in love with this culture since a child . My visit today made me very happy. It made my day . read more

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So, I've been to Chinatowns in San Francisco, NYC, and Seattle, and this one in Boston is not what I expected. The entire area is pretty much restaurants. There is little to no retail, which was what I was looking for. If you want Chinese food, come. If you want anything else, don't bother read more

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Mostly restaurants, other than a small children's play area near the entrance and the group of senior citizens playing chess on the side. A bustling area of activity this was one of our first stops on our tour of Boston. Only Chinatown I've been to, but t was a fun experience and worth a visit if you're touring the area. read more

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As Chinatowns go, this was one of the biggest, most populated Chinatowns I've seen. So many shops, restaurants, and services offered here. Plenty of places to grab a nice, authentic bite of Chinese food in any style you might be seeking. Very walkable too. read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

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If you are craving for Chinese and Taiwanese foods to bakery goods and boba, this is the area you want to be. Eight to ten minutes walk from Boston Convention Center. Worth a visit. My first time visiting this area. Parking can be a pain and would take awhile to find street parking. read more

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I have visited Boston many times but this was my first stop in Chinatown. The food was great and they have a number of shops, all are unique. read more

Chinatown - Chinatown, Boston, MA - Public Services & Government Near Me

I try to visit every Chinatown in America just to see what the difference is and for Chinatown Boston, it felt so empty. Not that many people were walking around and the inside of many restaurants was not busy. The parking was super easy to find and we were able to walk found Chinatown within a few minutes. It's only a few blocks and the area itself was quiet. Came to one of the best clay pot rice stores I have ever eaten in America! I'm so glad I stopped by Chinatown and gave this place a try! I wish more people would check it out because so many businesses are for sure hurting and the future of them staying open might be dire. read more

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trying to visit every chinatown in every us city and this was so cute! i can see the community all together from the grandpas gambling, music being played, hot warm food sold, etc. read more

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Boston's Chinatown is like Boston itself Quality over quantity. Authentic Szechuan and Cantonese fare and Bakeries and Vietnamese and HotPot restaurants do yourself a favor and go. read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

Solid selections of classic old school Chinese and Taiwanese and Asian cuisines. While the bakeries are a bit hit and miss, the food and meat ships are good and you can find plenty of new and old style food from the Waffles and Bubbles to the Taiwan Cafe. Parking on the street is two hours and the sidewalks can be a bit run down or dirty, but still can get your classics here. read more

Chinatown - Gate - Public Services & Government Near Me

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Not to be confused with the one in Virginia (VA China town), to which I like to go down all the time, usually to eat out, and I can spend hours eating out down at the VA China Town, but this one is great too. Since coming here in the old days I have found out that Boston's Chinatown is even better than I thought. There's great Vietnamese sandwiches and wonderful bakeries (especially if you like Wife Cakes aka Winter Melon cakes) and some of the best sushi I've ever had for some of the cheapest prices. There's some great two or three a.m. late night places and it's just a few blocks walk from some of the sexiest nightclubs in the area. Lots of hot people watching at night around here. And they have a brand new bubble tea shop which absolutely delights me, it's called Royaltea, it's a chain but a great one. And Tea Do is an excellent chain, also here. Beardpapas here is one of the better ones I've had, sharing a space with a great Chatime, same owners. 2 KFT locations, a good Gong Cha, and literally the very best sushi I've had at Avana, and the cheapest too. Brilliant. Oh, and the original egg puffs, in the same little plaza as the sushi! Avana Sushi https://www.yelp.com/biz/avana-sushi-boston Egg Puffs https://www.yelp.com/biz/egg-puffs-boston My old review: Not as good as VA Chinatown (as in Virginia, you dirty thing) but it's awesome. Boston's Chinatown is perfect. Tiny, fun, busy, bustling, lively, lovely, hilarious, unpredictable, and perfect. There are amazing bakeries and places for drinks, excellent restaurants and parking tickets aplenty, and little malls that you never expect to find yourself in, selling things you've never seen before or imagined. It's not as extensive as Manhattan's Chinatown, or especially the amazing Flushing in Queens, but it is a little more lively than the counterparts in DC and Philly. Be very careful with parking when in this Chinatown. In some spots, you can get away with all kinds of illegal double parking. In others, you will be ticketed almost instantly. Be very aware and vigilant. You can get a ticket in 20 seconds here. Check these places out when in Chinatown Boston: Top Bread - for Wife Cakes New Dong - great name - for Avocado Smoothie So get down! Get down to Chinatown! read more

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Not too bad of a walk from the park st or Boylston stop on the T if using public transportation. A couple of blocks with plenty of shops, bakeries and restaurants to try! There's a kids park right by the front gate as well. Definitely worth checking out if you're visiting MA for the first time or Boston and want to experience some of the local culture. Or even if you're wanting to try some new foods like myself always up for an adventure of flavors ! read more

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We took the trolley and exited to walk through China town. It had many restaurants and stores, but not the market type vendor stands that I'm used to seeing in other large cities. It was pretty subdued here and didn't have much going on. The stores and restaurants seemed nice, but it wasn't time for any meal for us to try out a restaurant. The stores were what we were hoping for. It was still a nice visit and place to walk through. read more

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My parents loved taking a day trip with us here a couple of times a month. We live in Rhode Island so it's about an hour drive. We would find parking in a parking garage for the day usually for $20 and we would walk around Chinatown. My parents were pretty strategic; we would stop by Chau Chow City for dim sum then we would walk on over to the Chinese bakery and order a box full of sweets to go. We would walk around and sightsee. I've always loved Chinatown whether it is in Boston or New York. However, this particular place holds a spot close to my heart. The traffic is crazy busy here and people don't look when they cross the street. I love the bright lights of all the restaurants. There are bars, restaurants, karaoke places, and you're in walking distance to other parts of Boston. I have yet to try all the restaurants here but I look forward to doing so when I come back! read more

Chinatown - Chinatown gate - Public Services & Government Near Me

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Yikes! 3rd largest Chinatown in US? You sure? Maybe that factoid predates the internet. It's not large by any scale. Maybe the flavoring of the dishes but nothing more. Food is good. Typical Chinese stuff like boba, bakeries, noodles, rice, dim sum and then some. The 'then some' is when the sun sets and ballers are creeping in. Pimps let their ladies of the night post up there. During the day the place does not look like US. It looks 3rd world or like your teenagers room. It's damp, dirty, chaotic and thank goodness I've got martial art skills. Don't know if a dragon lady or thug will be doing a back flip triple summersault off a car to threaten me for my Eggpuffs. Mel M Yelp 17:110 read more

Chinatown - Boston's Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

Chinese is my 2nd favorite cuisine . Hence I make sure to visit chinatown if there is one in town.I even figured out few spots to check out before going there. It was lunch time and after walking a lot around freedom it was time to rest and even my phone needed some charge. This chinatown is no different from other chinatown's with lot of street vendors selling produce, feet massage centers, dim sum places,some wall murals and the mandatory Arch at the entrance. There is a small park( Named as park but it is not) with few tables and people playing cards in open definitely a thing probably from Asian culture. Pros: -------- Good Dim sum at winsor Dim sum Cafe Inexpensive food Lot of options to choose Close to downtown MBTA orange line stops at chinatown station. South station is served by Red line Boylston station is served by Green line for north east corner. Get some Dim Sum and Boba guys!!! read more

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We've been to Chinatowns in several cities, including New York, and this compares with any of them. Lots of dining and shopping options, and you see lots of Asians patronizing the establishments (always a good sign). We weren't here to eat but to look around. We did pop into a few markets and found some white tea, which we had been looking for and which was very inexpensive. This area is also near the theater district. Apparently, Chinatown has some of the best dining bargains in town. Go and soak in the culture and atmosphere. read more

I really enjoyed visiting Chinatown in Boston! My fiancé and I always visit the local Chinatown when traveling. We stumbled upon Boston's when driving through to get to our hotel. We noticed the many restaurants and bakeries that lined up the street and around the corner. This Chinatown is big! We went to Shabu-Zen Hot Pot which was delicious and also went to Bao Bao for Thai Iced Tea w/Boba, bao, and macarons (yes, French but they were delicious). I would definitely come back to this Chinatown again. read more

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Not as big as some of the other Chinatown areas We've walked about. This was a small area but i like the vibe and always find it interesting. We looked around and went into some shops. read more

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Love the increase in police activity here. Definitely makes the community and visitors feel safe and secure on the streets. read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

First time attending the Chinese New Year celebration in 2016! So much fun and lots to see. Love the lion dancers and fun to walk around after the main performance and watch them dance in front of the shops with firecrackers. Follow them on Facebook to find out when they have celebrations/festivals. Limited street metered Parking. Big paid parking garages across the street by the big gates. read more

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China town in Boston was wonderful . It was very cute and there was tons of little shops everywhere as well as great food restaurants . Definitley recommend for other tourists . read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

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One of my travel mates always have this urges for Chinese/Vietnamese/Asian soup noodles whenever we travel.. Taking her around Boston's Chinatown, I asked her to just pick one restaurant to go in. Maybe it is the vibe, or it was in the afternoon when you can see all the greasy windows and smell the dirty streets.. She ended up asking me "Can we go have a beer with some oysters?" read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

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Boston's Chinatown hasn't changed since 40 years ago the only thing that changes here are the names on the restaurants. If you want Asian fare this is the place to come anything from Chinese bakeries Teufel hundred percent says one dishes that will light your mouth on fire and everything in between planned to spend the day if you drive-in you either have to get lucky with a parking spot or head into a garage that'll cost you $30 $40 minimum Boston Chinatown deserves five stars for staying authentic I'm taking one *Away just for the packing factor alone Other then that head over to Chinatown and enjoy read more

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Good food Bakery in every corner Great imported beer Crowded No parking This is the smallest Chinatown I've ever visited. I didn't see many tourist, not very entertaining but what won me over was the food. They have Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian and Malaysian food. Bakeries on every corner and the best: imported Japanese & Chinese beer! I went back to my hotel room with a pack of beer and a sorted amount of pastries :) Street parking is horrible but I do recommend parking in a lot to save yourself from a hit and run. Totally recommend. The bubble tea is very delicious and so is the beer. read more

Chinatown - Phó and bubble tea in every restaurant. - Public Services & Government Near Me

I am a dedicated Yelper based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the things that I have been passionate about on Yelp is trying many of the Chinese restaurants in Las Vegas. From the time that I was a toddler, Chinese food as always been up there as one of my favorite foods. It's saying something that I cherish wonton soup as much as I do now as I did in 1976. When we visited Boston it was obvious that I was going to pay myself a visit to its Chinatown. Bostons Chinatown is not just any Chinatown. It is the third largest Chinatown in the United States trailing behind San Francisco at #1 and New York City at #2. And according to Wikipedia, Bostons Chinatown is also the only surviving ethnic Chinese area in New England. According to me, Chinatown was a nice way to spend a couple of hours in downtown Boston. The best way to describe Chinatown in relation to the rest of downtown Boston is to compare it to a clock. On the clock, Chinatown would be at the 5 o' clock position where the Waterfront would be at 3 o' clock, North Beach at 1 o' clock, the Esplanade and Beacon Hill at 10 o' clock, and Back Bay with Fenway at 9 o, clock. This clock comparison makes a point that Boston Chinatown is in the heart of the action instead of off the clock such as in Chicago and Washington DC. On a second day in Boston Chinatown was a nice walk from the Beacon Hill Wyndham that would be at the 12:00 o' clock position. It was the southernmost point of a Boston walk that took me through Beacon Hill, Boston Commons, and the Theatre District. Today, Chinatown is contiguous to the Boston Theatre District where traveling Broadway shows perform. Chinatown is exit stage right for off Broadway Theatres. The sundry of restaurants make for a fitting authentic meal before a Broadway show. Chinatown wasn't always off Broadway neighbor. Years ago this area was known as the Combat Zone, a district where the word red light doesn't mean stop. What did stop were people visiting Chinatown at night. Through revitalization, the Theatre District is bringing more nightlife to Chinatown. Originating from the Theatre District to the west is Beach Street-the Main Street of Chinatown. From Washington Street to Surface Street (above I-93), Beach Street is a bustling street housing Chinese restaurants, Vietnamese restaurants, and numerous Asian restaurants. What differentiates Boston's Chinatown from San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, and other Chinatowns that I have visited outside of Las Vegas are that there aren't primarily Chinese restaurants. Although the variety is a good thing, it creates less Chinese restaurant choices. Walking along Beach Street some of the restaurant choices include Pho Hoa, Gourmet Dumpling House, East Ocean City, Great Taste Bakery and Restaurant, Ho Yuen Bakery, and Hot Pot Buffet. The perpendicular streets including Harrison Avenue, Tyler Street, and Washington Street extend the dining choices. USA Today describes Chinatowns as cities within cities. When I visited Boston Chinatown I felt as if I was in a city within a city. It was a city with its own distinct languages, cruisine, culture, and architecture. The landmark architecture is the Chinatown Gate at Beach Street where it intersects Surface Road above the Interstate 93 tunnel. After walking the busy streets of Chinatown trying to pick up a vibe on the right Chinese restaurant we'd sit on a bench at Chinatown Park overlooking the Chinatown Gate with the foo lion on each side. Chinatown Park with its prime view of Chinatown Gate is a nice amenity. Owing to the fact that Chinatown is one of the densist neighborhoods in Boston, it is rare to find a place to sit on the sidewalk. Chinatown Park provides a shady spot to relax on a bench in Chinatown. It is the lungs of Chinatown. From my understanding if I stood in this spot years ago, I'd be standing on top of a fan building for the tunnel. Today I could sit in this spot and look one way to see the activity in Chinatown and another way to see the skyline of the Financial District. Boston Chinatown is historic. The buildings and urban design seem to have changed little in 130 years. If you took out the Chinese and Asian letters, Chinatown gate, and decorations; it resembles a typical historic Boston neighborhood. After spending time by the Chinatown Arch, Ocean East City was the restaurant that gave us our best vibe and subsequently served us our Chinatown Chinese food dinner. I'm sure we wouldn't have gone wrong at any of the other Chinese restaurants. After dinner, it was time to leave Chinatown by way of Washington Street and explore the Downtown Crossing area north of it. As I headed toward the Paramount Theatre, I thought to myself that the third largest Chinatown in America is 4 stars. In my opinion it is better than the ones I visited in Chicago, Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver yet not as nice as the one in San Francisco. read more

On our last day in Boston we had visited all the famous landmarks I had scheduled and dined at all the seafood places we wanted to see. We had a few extra hours and decided to add in a few stops. On any trip that I plan I always put a big question mark for the last day to eat in their respective chinatown. Some major cities we visit, we have time others we skip. The reason is, we know we can always find some good eats, and it's interesting to compare what we have here in Houston vs other places in the US. Boston's chinatown seems very old. It is dirty, but not as bad as NYC. The best way to describe it is a smaller, cleaner, less crazy NYC version. But it's compact and very walkable. read more

Does it smell the best in the summer? No. Are the grocery stores all spic-n-span? Not exactly. Is there some tasty food to be found? Yup. Not the best place to wander at night. read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

Work, live and play here!!!! It's sad to see industrialization and affluence become the dominating part of this once working class but impoverished community. Although I do not miss the combat zone, I'd like to see the working class living here not just coming to work. The revitalization of the area is amazing. I work on the border of Chinatown and Downtown Crossing. 20 years ago no one would go out at night in this area, slowly it is changing. When the theaters are going, it is hopping. After work is a great time to go out and of course there is Shabu Zen, House of Dumplings and the China Pearl, to name of few of the great places to eat. All in one area. The Chinese New Year in February is a celebration not to be missed. Look on your local calendar or do a quick google search. If you have never been, it is a Boston experince that you must do!!! read more

When I first came here about 8 years ago I really wasn't a fan. It seems desolate and nothing was opened. After coming here this past weekend, I am beginning to wonder if my mind was playing tricks on me. That or if I was in another world and didn't realize it haha. We had a really good time coming here. There are tons of restaurants, shops, and even a really cool park. There are lots of people out and about and it seems like a nice little mini NYC Chinatown. They have quite a few bakeries which is a staple in any Chinatown and even when it was cold out the lines were long. I swear I have no idea how it was so different this time, but I am so glad we came back. The only issue is parking is pretty bad, but Boston is notorious for that. Boston flat out has the worst parking in any city I have been to. That is another story though. read more

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Chinatown is Chinatown. Not sure what else to say. Good food (if you like Chinese...) and, depending on the shop, always changing or always there. Make sure you've got GoogleMaps up on your phone... read more

Chinatown - The gate! (Which none of these people knew existed, and two have been here for a year! ) - Public Services & Government Near Me

Ah. Chinatown. It's not the biggest, and it's not the best. But the food is amazeballs. Pros: Ho Yuen bakery has black bean cakes. Bao Bao Bakery has yummy bubble tea and pastries. Pho Pasteur has ahmazzzzing pho, and Hong Kong Eatery is tasty and cheap. New Jumbo Shrimp has great seafood and family style dining. At night, there's karaoke and entertainment in and around the area. Cons: Chinatown is up and coming, but still needs work. An elderly housing building is going up as well as a brand new apartment/condo building on Surface Road. Chinatown could use a bit more cleaning all around because it's right in the city and just needs a facelift. Other than that, I'm cool with Chinatown. It's not as suffocating as NYC's Chinatown which I appreciate :) read more

Boston Chinatown is like choosing, door #1, door #2, or door #3? You never know what you're going to get in entering a restaurant. There is more selection of restaurants in Chinatown; I've noticed that Shabu-shabu, Malaysian and Japanese cuisines are evolved in popularity. I ate at this Chinese restaurant for breakfast, I ordered shrimp shumai and I noticed older adults sitting next to our table are eating enjoying chicken feet. If you are truly adventurous foodie, you might consider tasting the popular dim sum - chicken feet. As for me, I was not brave enough to try it and I don't think I can stomach it. Whatever your taste palette desire, it will get fulfilled. There are a lot of choices of ethnic food that you might enjoy and even Chinese pastry! read more

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It must be imprinted in my genes but wherever I am I will invariably find my way to Chinatown or wherever my people congregate. I do because of the awesome food to be had and simply to fellowship with the descendants of the Dragon. Ok, that's just bull. I'm a bloody tourist and I do what I want. I just like to eat good inexpensive food and I know I will find that in Chinatown. I like Boston's Chinatown. It isn't as awesome as Frisco's or New York but it's infinitely better than what we have in L.A.....that one is a damn joke. read more

Street fest twice a year is fun to go to. Many people still think Chinatown is a scary place to go but it has been cleaned up over the years and is actually much smaller than you would think. There are only a few main streets within Chinatown with lots of places to pick from to grab a meal, some pastries, a bubble drink or some trinkets. It is more fun to go with a group so you can order and buy things to try and not get stuck with something you don't like. Customer Service can be a bit different based on the culture. If you want something be sure to step up the counter and place your order. I am not suggesting you need to be rude but really just don't be shy. Sometimes if you are waiting for service someone else may step up and place their order in front of you which wouldn't be uncommon. Dim Sum, Hot Pot, Dragon Dances are just a few highlights. I've brought a few groups here to visit and tour around and its lots of fun. read more

The Boston Chinatown, while quite small relative to NYC or SanFran, gets the job done. There are a variety of restaurants (Pho, DimSum, Hot Pot, etc), grocery stores, and sketchy massage places (yay for happy endings). The location is also very convenient to the T (Chinatown stop, duh) and is within walking distance to several other Boston neighborhoods. I only give it 4 stars because you can't buy veggies and fish off the street, NYC style (although I did see turtles......) read more

Chinatown - Public Services & Government Near Me

Chinatown is super fun. They have a bunch of Vietnamese (4 restaurants I noticed) and Japanese food in addition to Chinese ones. There are multiple boba spots (Chatime, Gongcha), dessert options (ex: Beard Papa for cream puffs, Sakura Sunnaku for crepes), gift shops, and much more. The crepe store is located in a small food court that has other stuff like ramen, shaved ice and sushi. The streets are super busy. The markets sell exotic fruits like mangosteen, lychee, rambutan, durian, jackfruit, and longan. It always seems to be bustling and exciting. There aren't a ton of bright red lanterns or fun lights like San Francisco's Chinatown but there is still the pagoda-shaped entrance way that marks that you've entered Chinatown. I even saw one store that sold live chicken (poor chickens in the cage). read more

We had a blast spending the afternoon in Chinatown! Yesterday we spent the afternoon exploring Chinatown. When we first arrived we were afraid that parking was going to be a pain, but we quickly found meter parking a stones throw from the Chinatown gate. Walking through this community was a blast, and we loved popping into the shops, buying fruit from their street vendors, and eating out in the park by the gate. We enjoyed all the stores we entered and not once felt like outsiders even though we do not obviously identify with the dominant cultures here. Overall, this was a fun day out. Yes the streets were a bit dirty, but I will take the dirt and grim for some delicious cuisine and amazing cultural experiences! read more

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