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. 

Vietnamese Coffee: How To

Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil.

Start with medium-ground beans -- Nyugen tells me there is corn and small green beans ground in with it also to make it smoother, but I can't see them so I'm just trusting him. 

Next you pour a small amount of hot water -- just under boiling -- to get the beans wet and let it sit for a minute. You add water a couple more times over the course of several minutes. 

Two quotes about this dripping process as stated by Nguyen. 

1. The slower the better.

2. The only thing slower than Vietnamese coffee is Vietnamese wifi. 

The final and crucial (and most delicious) step is the sweetened condensed milk.  You add as much as you like and then.stir it since its heavy and thick and sinks to the bottom. 

It's always hot here so often you'd put it over ice at this point. Typically, you just have one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Not 8 cups each morning because the caffeine would make you crazy. Also, more men than women drink coffee. "Tea is for ladies!" Thanks, Nyugen. 

Back in Bangkok

...for less than 24 hours. Nan wanted to see the sights so here's what we crammed in:

Chinatown for street food and general experience. Chinese New Year just happened so the laterns were hung everywhere. 

Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha, is a few-minute walk from our hotel. Cool story: during wartime some monks covered this solid gold statue in mud/plaster so it would be ignored. It worked! Many years later when it was being moved some mud broke off and the golden Buddha was (re)discovered! Lots of people go there everyday to pray and make offerings. 

Next, we took the river boat up to Wat Pho to visit the Reclining Buddha. Love Wat Pho - went 3 times.

The highlight of the day was a dinner party invitation from Bo and Pack in their Sukamvit condo. We arrived to a true Thai feast:

Pack spent the day cooking enough food for 40 people. 

About ten others were there and they all got to take home doggy bags. TSA doesn't allow bags of fish soup or pork lab so I had to stuff my person at that moment. Luckily we stayed for 4 hours and the feast spread was there the whole time and nobody judged me (out loud in English at least) for having 5ths and 6ths. 

Thank you Bo and Pack!

Siem Reap Snapshots

The city of Siem Reap seems busy at first, but the action is confined to a geographically small area and even a baby on a scooter can navigate it easily within a few days. 

There are all kinds of restaurants here; we stuck with Khmer food as much as possible but if you need a pizza or taco you can find it. Below is a green mango salad from Peace Cafe, a super chill Khmer vegetarian restaurant set in a outdoor garden. Also a good spot to watch lizards eat moths around the laterns once the sun goes down. 

Here's a delicious lotus flower salad with peanuts and basil. This is from a Khmer restaurant close to the temples with tourist prices, which reminds me: bring plenty of $USD and small bills. Everyone wants $USD. 

Our last night, we stumbled onto a parade going to Pub Street. The floats were wild and it every child in Siem Reap seemed to be there, too. 

Scooters are common here, so that means the ubiquitous street side gas stations stay busy. They look like lemonade stands (or maybe a cash bar), but those are bottles of fuel to gas up! Below, a tuk-tuk waits in the back.

We stayed at the Petit Temple. Funny story, we booked at the Petit Villa and stayed the first night at Somadevi, but I can get into detail on that for any interested parties. 

The Petit Temple was a cool hotel and Maraini at the front desk was a great lady. I wish I had more time in Cambodia.  

Faces & Places on Phu Quoc

Here are some highlights of the previous 24 hours, afternoon to afternoon. 

Yesterday we were at the Duong Dong fishing pier. These fisherman saw me taking a pic and began waving and yelling "hello!" which is always a green light for snapping a picture. Bless the fisherman (what a life) because the seafood here is fresh and plentiful. 

By 3pm we were at the Phu Quoc prison. It's an interesting place to walk through, but it gave me heavy boots. Tens of thousands of prisoners were held here during the war and it's now set it up as a self-guided walk with informational signs and prisoner statues in the various bunkers and buildings. The torture techniques outlined were too horrible to recount. 

For dinner we walked to Mrs. Kiem's restaurant. It's technically named Sakura, but Mrs. Kiem clearly runs the show. Here she is counting cash, before she goes to exchange it on the black market. 

She is responsible for some of the most delicious food I've ever had. The chili and lemongrass fish (don't even know what kind of fish--doesn't matter) is top seafood meal ever for me. Also squid curry and papaya salad, natch. Not pictured: fried banana pancake with chocolate sauce, as recommended by Mrs. K.

In the morning, Mario from Mexico pulled up on a long tail boat to take us scuba diving for the day. The dive boat is in the background. 

After diving it was beach relaxing time. A very interesting and delicious 24 hours. Everything mentioned in this post would be under the "recommend" category. 

Roy G. Biv Island

The view from Phu Quoc Eco Beach Resort is all the blues and greens. Tomorrow we'll go scuba diving and see what's going on below the surface. 

The sun seems to set quickly here so you have to stop to catch the sky turn a gorgeous warm peach before it disappears. We're on the more isolated and peaceful Ong Lang beach, which faces west for prime sunsets. 

An edible rainbow is served at most meals in Vietnam. Lunch consisted of fresh spring rolls, watermelon juice, and papaya salad-- all as healthy as they are colorful. The bottom plate was listed as "staff meal-whatever the staff is eating" on the menu, which I found funny so I ordered it. It was: fresh sautéed veggies, steamed rice, morning glory soup, and a soy glazed pork chop. Makes you want to apply for a job! 

Tet, the lunar new year is a huge celebration here and it's in 2 days. Gold and red--the colors of prosperity and luck--are hung up all over the place. 

Turquoise fishing boats with red Vietnamese flags in Duong Dong are below. The women squatting on the pier are covered head to toe from the sun. They're working on untangling the massive fishing nets. 

All the colors are beautifully showcased at Phu Quoc's Cao Dai temple. 

Ho Chi Minhy-Moments

Some snapshots of things in Saigon... Quick tip: most sites close shop over lunch from 11:30am - 1:30pm. For example, the Notre Dame Cathedral below which I saw only from outside.

Plenty of history here and one stop I enjoyed was where time stands still. It's frozen in April 1975 inside the Reunification Palace. Cool for history and cool for visual on what high-class life looked like in the mid-70s. 

Street side markets. The live animals add an element of interest (and bad karma). Many markets sell all the knock-off junk, but I find the food-based markets really cool. 

As mentioned before, the traffic and scooter scene is unbelievable. Watching what people carry on their scooters is a great sport. You can buy a delicious coffee and do it on any street. Check this guy with all the balloons--much lighter than the man I saw with a refrigerator strapped in. 

Noodle soup is all over this town. Pho and so much more. Say yes to noodle soup. 

The public parks are a great break from the street chaos. We stumbled into a Festival of Floral and Bonsai and wandered for hours. 

Coconut products. Cold fresh coconuts are easy and cheap, but the coconut water tastes delicious, not like dirt like the ones at home. It's a shame I've been alive for 28 years and just now had coconut jelly for the first time.