You Can't Nguyen Them All

Sometimes you have to go back home to America. What a fast and wonderful trip. I will miss my terrific travel partner, Sarah and my new friend, Nguyen. 

Three great comrades all week, taking inspiration from Vietnam's own communist party.

Thank you for showing us around your beautiful country, Nguyen! And good luck to Sarah on the rest of her trip through Southeast Asia! XO

Da Lats of Canyoning

Today we went canyoning. It's a popular activity here in Dalat that involves hiking, swimming, and repelling down waterfalls. All the non-locals are obsessed with it.  

 We booked with Dalat Passion Tours, but there are several companies that do the same day trip. It's about 5 hours of outdoor fun with too many other humans, most of whom have been cropped or otherwise unrepresented in these photos. 

Below, Sarah is about to tackle the "washing machine," a 14 meter repel in a waterfall that ends with being forced out of a crevice by water pressure. She is qualified for such a maneuver based on her prior (8 min) of thorough training. 

Check me out in the washing machine's "dry clean only spin cycle."

We also experienced rock-based waterslides down the river. Here's a backwards friendship run. 

Some cliff jumping happened as well. We were told to remove our helmets before jumping which is counterintuitive x100. Below, Sarah is about to hit the water off a 11 meter jump. "How deep is the water?" someone asked the guide. "Deep enough."

The best one was 25 meters long and had flat spots mixed with drop offs. There was a severe struggle by a member of our group that is now extremely hilarious because she is alive. Frankly, the guide should have expelled her from the rest of the adventure. 

At the end you just have to let go and drop into the water! Sarah was a pro. Cool shadow.

We were pretty much athletes in ill-fitting life jackets.

Adrenaline and Fish Sauce

Last night in Vietnam means last supper so you better get all your tastes in. We did a Saigon on Bikes tour so Sarah could experience the rush/terror of being on a Saigon scooter and I could consume my final 3,500 calories of the trip. Both goals met.

We spent 5 hours buzzing around on the motorbikes of Saigon locals, Phuc and Vi.
Here you see 2 out of the 18 million scooters in the city. 

Sarah and I were the sole non-Vietnamese at every restaurant, which I interpret as meaning we had authentic fare. There is a 0% chance I would be able to find any of the places again independently. All were down side alleys, not necessarily with signage and definitely not in English if it did exist. Here is a nice look at what Saigon traffic is like.

First stop was grilled rice paper with cabbage and chicken -- I plan to make this one at home.

We tried yet another version of the spring hand roll, this time "net cake with BBQ pork" and "steamed baguette with stir fried beef." BBQ pork won that round.

The midway stop had the most delicious lemongrass & chili steamed clams and tamarind crab claws, but we also consumed balut (steamed poultry embryo) and prawn brains. 
I suppose that made it a wash. 

If I had to guess, I'd say with 100% certainty that the final stop for dessert was Sarah's favorite. Somehow we polished off the coconut jelly, pomelo and green bean soup, coffee flan, and homemade yogurt. Thanh was happy to learn the expression "clean plate club." 

Self Guided: Dalat Food Tour

Nguyen treats Dalat as his regular weekend retreat so he gave us his top picks of street foods. We had one evening to fit it all in (our stomaches) with hopes of not disappointing him when reporting back. He had high expectations for us. Exhibit A, email: 

Here is what we managed to accomplish:

1. Nem Núong "Bà Huńg" - grilled meat DIY spring roll. 

Cost: $3.25 for 2 servings that is actually 4 servings. 

We just sat down and within a minute all the food was put down with zero communication. I assume this small establishment sells only this food. Wrap-your-own spring rolls. So dangerous for a first stop due to over-consumption potential. I had 5 and then Sarah made me stop. 

2. Bańh Cân - small fried pancake with egg. 

Cost: $2.75 for 2 servings. Again, a full meal on its own. 

This is also a place where you just sit down and the food comes, no ordering required. The idea is to dunk them into spicy broth and meatballs. We didn't know so the man demonstrated for us.

3. Bańh Khot "Cô Nàm Vuńg Tāu" - fried rice pancake with shrimp. 

Cost: $4.50 including a fresh strawberry shake (which was $100 of delicious on its own). 

This was our second "please demonstrate how to eat this" stop so the waiter showed us how to place the little pancake in a lettuce leaf with herbs/veggies and then roll her up. By this third stop we were already very full so we had determined to communicate 1 human's worth when ordering instead of two. We were successful. 

4. Vietnamese Pizza - same. 

Cost: $1 for 1. 

The night market has these stands everywhere. It's basically rice paper grilled with some veggies, beef, and an egg cracked on top. Then rolled up like a burrito eaten as such. Honestly we almost skipped this due to complete lack of hunger, but we are resilient.

5. Hoa Sua - bread with hot soy milk.

Cost: $2 for two milks and two breads. 

Dalat gets cool at night so the hot drink was welcome. This was a small stand in an alleyway with tiny communal tables -- nearly every seat was full. 

Here is the original list from Nguyen should you find yourself hungry in Dalat. 

Where Islanded Last Night

Last night we stayed with a Vietnamese family in their home (#homestay). They live in a small island on the Mekong Delta so we rode a tiny boat to reach it.   The boat ride was peaceful despite the apparent fight between Nguyen and me pictured below. 

Here you can see the family's home. The older woman (Tu) grew up here, but now her son, his wife, and their two small daughters also live here. Plus a couple dogs that aren't theirs and tons of fruit trees. Not shown: in the photo below, Tu is palming my right butt check. 

We made dinner together in their traditional outdoor kitchen. The Mekong River water is approximately 4 feet behind the stove. The stove is basically a Sub-Zero, you adjust the heat moving small sticks from either side. 

Here is the small feast we prepared and consumed. My first Vietnamese omelette pancake is at the bottom. I'm sad to report not one plate was emptied.

The family was lovely, but my true friend was the stray dog/sort of their dog, Ki. She received lots of belly pets from me, and in return she did not give me rabies. 

Ki also loves the old lady Tu, even though Tu only pets her with her foot. Tu means "4" in Vietnamese and we were told many Mekong families call their children by their birth order. 

After a wonderful experience on the island, we left in the morning to make our way back to Saigon. River ferry transport switch shown below. 

Cycle Selfies

Please enjoy 3 days' worth of bike selfies and appreciate the danger in which I put both myself and my friend Sarah.  

The first one below was the last one taken. Nailed it. 

Side street, twinsday:

Lagoon path, Mekong Delta:

Cow vibes, countryside:

Countryside, farm road:

Mekong River island, town pathway:

Day 2, in and out of the jungle:

Rice paddy, Vietnam flag: