It's raining... Again

Howdy,
It's Thursday afternoon here in Da Nang.

This post is gonna be pretty boring. The last few days have been pretty boring.

On Tuesday I didn't do alot. I walked around Hoi An some more. It's a pretty small town and I had sen most of the stuff there.

In the afternoon, I boarded a bus for Da Nang. An hour later I arrived in Da Nang. I walked to a hotel where I found a room for $7/night, the cheapest they had available. There's no hot water for the shower in my room. The showers for the shared bathrooms (for the $5/night rooms, none of which were available) have hot water though. I use those.

I'm near the riverfront of Da Nang. I wandered around the area, saw the riverfront and such. I had Banh Mi with spicy pork belly for dinner. Later in the evening I statred feeling sick. It was some kind of stomach bug, like a mild case of food poisoning. I won't go into details but you can probably guess my symptoms.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the weather was beautiful. My insides weren't though. I wanted to go out and see some sights and such, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I guess I could've, but it was probably best to stay in. Generally, it wasn't too horrible, not nearly as bad as when I got sick in Singapore. I started to feel a bit better in the evening, but still took it easy.

Today, Thursday, it's been pouring rain. It hasn't stopped and doesn't look like it will stop soon. I guess I'm not accomplishing anything today. Hopefully, I'll do something tommorow. I want to see My Khe Beach (the part of China Beach where the soldiers hung out for R&R), Marble Mountain and Monkey Mountain. After Da Nang I'll go to Hue, the old imperial capital. Hue is a few hours away by train. I'm not sure if I'll leave tommorow afternoon (after a morning of sight-seeing) or on Saturday.

That's about all I have to report to you.

So, to fill up some space, and to stick to the food theme of this blog, I'll give you a list of some of the foods I've been craving from back home. I've been making a list as I've been travelling recently, thinking of what I'll be making sure to have when I get back home.

In no particular order...

-Anchovy pizza
-Johnny M (don't ask)
-Meatloaf
-Tuna Salad (with lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and extra mayo) on well done toast with a cold apple (this was a really common lunch for me when living alone in college)
-Hamburger with ketchup, mayo, dijon mustard, horseradish, onions, pickles on a toasted bun
-Grilled hot dogs
-Apple cider
-Tex-mex style tacos
-Iced tea, the way we make at home
-Baked potato with butter, salt and sour cream
-Some good blue cheese like Gorgonzola, Roquefort or Stilton
-A Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts with bacon, and pumkin pie

Well, I'm out.

Take it easy,
Mike

Make it stop!

The rain that is.

Howdy,

It's Monday evening here in Hoi An.

After i put up my last post, I wandered around Nha Trang for a few hours. I didn't intend to visit there, but I had to wait 5 hours for the bus, so I made the best of it. I walked to the beach and around town a little. That's it.

In the evening I boarded the sleeper bus to Hoi An. Why didn't I listen to Andrew's advice of avoiding sleeper buses? They suck. Even though I think this one caters primarily towards foreign tourists, there's quite a few Vietnamese on board as well. And the bunks are built for Vietnamese people. Every Western male on board, myself included, looked uncomfortably cramped. The beds are super narrow, as there's 3 beds across the bus, with 2 aisles. At least I got the bottom bunk. Oh yeah, even though this is a company that gears itself towards foreigners, they play Vietnamese movies and music videos and such. They play it loud too. And they play it to about midnight. And they start it up again around 4:30 in the morning. My earplugs kinda worked, but not well. Oh well, at least I can sleep on my back...

When I got to Hoi An on Saturday morning it was pissing rain (as all the other travelers I meet, who are from the Uk and Australia and Ireland etc, say). I found a hostel and checked in. 7 bucks a night. Not bad. I did very little that day as it poured all day. I had some food. Bowls of pho, plates of meat and rice. I did have one really good snack. A woman was cooking it (she had one of the yoke setups) under a pavillion near the river, which flooded later. She was grilling pork on a stick. It was for spring rolls. You order the number of sticks of meat you want, and it comes with all the fixzings. There was herbs and lettuce and the wrappers and sauce. Take the pork off the stick, place it in the wrapper with herbs and lettuce, wrap, dip and enjoy. It was very good.

They next day, Sunday, it poured rain again. The river flooded, though it wasn't a disaster. I think the river flooding is not an uncommon occurence. It mostly just covered the road that goes parallel to the river and up some streets nearby. A few people were on boats on over where the streets are. Good thing I was wearing my sandals. I was about a one-third-the-way-to-my-knee deep in water at points. I eventually gave up, though. I didn't accomplish too much during the day.

Hoi An is famous for its tailors. There's something like 400 shops in town (the populaion in about 80,000). It's just ridiculous. They cater to the huge tourist trade here. Well, anyways, one can get high quality clothes made for really cheap. So on Sunday evening I went to get measured for a suit. For $60 I ordered a tailor-made pin stripe suit and a shirt. That's the only thing I really accomplished on Sunday.

Today, Monday, the sun was shining in the morning. It rained a touch later in the morning, but barely. It was cloudy the rest of the day, but the rain held off.

For breakfast I had a bowl of Cao Lau, a local specialty. It's a special kind of noodle, only found in Hoi An. It's made with water from a well found near town. They're chewy and quite good. It was served with some greens, some braised meat, and some little crispy wafers. It wasn't a soup, but there was a bit of really flavorful broth in the that had been poured over the top that collected in the bottom of the bowl. It was definitely tasty.

I went to go try on my new suit. They needed to make a a few adjustments. Coming back after a bit of sightseeing, it was ready. It fit well and I was happy with the results.

During the day I did a bit of sightseeing. Hoi An is an old town, largely spared by the bombings during the American War, and has many old buildings. One buys a ticket for 75,000 Dong and is allowed to enter various buildings around town. One chooses 1 of a few temples, one of a few old houses and so forth. There's a lot of Chinese influence as the town, as they were some of the settlers of the area.

I visited the Phuc Kien temple. It was interesting and ornate.

Another stop was the Tan Ky Old House. It had been in the family 7 generations. The surviving generations, 3 of them, still live there. The "tour" was basically restricted to the front room. Honestly, it was pretty lame.

The Museum of Say Huynh Culture was ok. The Say Huynh lived in the area around 2000 years ago, a group that pre-dates the current ethnicity. There were lots of clay pots and a few tools. Upstairs there was an exhibit about the American War, which wasn't really cohesive with the idea of the museum. I dunno...

I crossed the Japanese Covered Bridge, built by the Japanese who had settled in the area. There's a little prayer area inside connected to the path. That was cool.

My lunch was quite interesting. I stopped at a street vendor. She hd a set up of these pans with deep half-sphere shaped molds (roughly the size of half a golf ball) in them. They were filled with oil and were over a flame. In a bunch of them she poured some batter, which formed little cups. There were bits of scallion and such in the batter. She also fried 2 little meatballs. She unwrapped a package made from leaves, and took out the sausage inside and put that on top of the mold, essentially shallow frying it. On a plate she put lettuce and all sorts of herbs. On top of the herbs she put a bunch of shredded green papaya. Around all that she placed the little fried cups and put the sausage and meatballs on top. She served it to me, and put a big jar of nuoc cham (the fish sauce-lime juice-sugar-chili concoction) on the table. She ladled huge amounts of nuoc cham over the whole ordeal. She left it on the table if I wanted more.

A young girl nearby, also having a plate, seeing my confusion, demonstrated how to eat it. Put a bit of the chili paste (in a jar on the table) in the cup if you like. Then, using the chopsticks, pick up some of the herbs and lettuce and put them in the cup. Then,pick up some of the shredded green papaya and put that in the cup. Pickup the little cup, fulls of the herbs and lettuce and green papaya, and pop in your mouth. Add a meatball to a cup when you want (though there were 2 meatballs and many cups) or some sausage. How was it? Absolutely fantastic. It was really fresh and had great textures. The little cups were crunchy, the meatballs were firm and a bit chewy, the green papaya was crisp and the generous amounts of nuoc cham made it moist. It was perfectly sweet and spicy and delicious. And, it only cost 10,000 Dong, which is about 60 cents US.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the Old Town some more. I did a little souvenir shopping.

This evening I had a bowl of noodles with grilled meat. I didn't really like it. It was a cold noodles dish which I generally don't have much in liking.

That brings us up to now. Tommorow afternoon I go to Danang, one of Vietnam's largest cities. It's only about 18 miles from Hoi An. I should be there for just a couple day before going to Hue. Danang is a major port. It was also an important an important base for the US during the war. It's the home of the famous China Beach. It's airport was the place of the infamous World Airways incident.

One more thing...
I've been asked when I'm coming home. I was originally planning to come home on October 28. However, I am changing my plans. I've really grown to like Vietnam quite a bit. Today I extended my visa for another month (it was originally a one month visa). I'll be home in time for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure where I'll be going in my time, I'm sure I'll find plenty.

Take care,
Mike

Am I really in Vietnam?

It's actually chilly outside!

Hello from Dalat,

Right now it's Thursday evening.

After a a good night's sleep after my last post I awoke refreshed on Tuesday morning. This was my last whole day. I had no particular sights to see. I knew I would walk around a bit, I wanted to see a bit more of Saigon. There was one thing on my mind more than anything. Street Food.

My day started back at the street stall where I had that pork rib previously. It was just so good. I went and got a plate of rice with the pork rib. This time there was another item in the window calling to me. Ihad only seen it after I ordered, darn. Much to my delight it was included along side the pork rib! "What was it?" you may ask. Pork fat. Pure, glistening, juicy, glazed, sweet pork fat! Little pieces of deliciousness. Sure, it's extraordinarily bad for me. It was just soo good though. It was calorific! The pork rib was also perfect. The pork rib and pork fat were over a steaming bed of rice. Yum.

I started to make my way over to see Notre Dame Cathedral (which was closed when I visited first). It was closed when I got there, too.

On my way I saw a bit of the riverfront and the posh area of Saigon with its huge hotels and business district.

Early on my way I had a snack. I saw two women who had set up on the sidewalk. They didn't have a stall. One was selling drinks (I think). The other was cooking on a little hearth right there on the ground. What was in that pot. Stewed organ meats. All kinds. You know I couldn't say no. I asked for one and she pulled out a plastic cup and began preparing my food. She had a pair of scissors with which she would snip off pieces of the various items contained in the pot, and put those pieces in my cup. So, what was there? Well, in addition to a little bit of pork meat (the muscle), there was skin, stomach, intestines, liver, and a few items that I honestly have no clue what they were. I know they were organs, just not sure which ones. It was all in a thick spicy broth. The plastic cup full of pieces came with a little skewer with which I ate as I made my way down the sidewalk. How was it? Offalicious. Very tasty. It was a lot of strong flavors which I like. There were a lot of interesting textures, too.

I had a little dessert, ice cream. Durian ice cream with sweetened condensed milk drizzled on top. Good.

After more walking and chilling in a park, I tried some food on a stick. It was simple, grilled pork on a stick. Delicious, crisp, tender and smoky.

More walking. Saw some cool stuff. The picture below is with a statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of an important looking building.

Lunch was on a the sidewalk at another stall. It was on the corner of a busy intersection. There were a few friendly people hanging out there. I had a fried chicken legs and mustard greens over rice. It was served with some soy sauce with chili. Very good.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but people love it when you take pictures of the food. Everyone crowds around to see the image on the screen. This often leads to everyone getting their photo taken (or at least the kids) so they can see the picture. Always good fun.

I went back to the hostel and crashed for an hour or two. It was late afternoon by this point. I wandered out and soon I found spring rolls. There was a woman operating a stall, where whe was wrapping them to order. Inside was slices of sausage (a really small, dry, spicy kind) with herbs and little dried shrimp. Those dried shrimp packed a punch! They were very pungent. Iliked it though. I can't remember the dipping sauce.

I only had 3 rolls, and they weren't too big, so I continued. I came across a stall cooking various kinds of shellfish. First thing I ordered was a large sea snail. It was removed from it's shell and sliced and cooked with this sweet, thick sauce. It also had little cubes of fried and very crispy pork fat (seems to be a recurring theme for the day.) It was pretty chewy. Nonetheless, it was very tasty. The pork fat added a nice touch.

Next I ordered some clams. She steamed these in a lemongrass broth. They were served with nuoc cham for dipping. These were very good, and the nuoc cham made it awesome.

I walked pretty far, as it was beginning to cool down a bit. I happened upon an area where seemingly all the young Saigonese hang out. It was quite lively. I got lots of hellos and smiles. I didn't see a single other tourist in the area.

I stopped at a street side restaurant. I had a hard time figuring things out there. One of the guys working there saw my onfusion and motioned for me to sit down, it was obvious he would choose. Sounds good to me. There were 2 guys cooking woks, going at lightning speed. I received my food which was beef stir fried with green peppers and onions. It was served with fried rice and lettuce and tomatoes. It was quite good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I made my way around some more. I had to force myself to eat more. I had some Bun Ca, a type of noodle soup. It came with all sorts of stuff like squid. The best part was pork belly that had been crisped on both sides then sliced and used to garnish the top. There was a special dipping sauce for that. It was excellent and full of flavor.

I made the long walk back to the hostel. I didn't realize how far I had walked away. I had eaten a ton of food. Wayyy too much. But I needed to try one more thing. I would up having some really tender, juicy grilled chicken with lemongrass over rice. It was served with nuoc cham. An excellent way to end the day.

Ok. I know, I know. That was a ton of food. It was a ridiculous amount. Saigon is the culinary epicenter of Vietnam, though. I wanted to try it all. I knew that's impossible. I tried my best.

Yesterday, Wednesday, consisted mostly of a bus trip. I left Saigon around 8 in the morning. There were only 7 of us going to Dalat. However, we were put on a full size coach bus, not a mini-bus. the 7 of us had 49 seats. It was really excessive. I knida felt bad, a mini-bus would've burnt a lot less gas. i guess its just standard to use a coach bus, maybe they normally have mroe people. Who knows. After we got a little ways out of Saigon there was a problem with the tire. I guess it was flat. The bus driver tried to explain through miming (he spoke very little English). I don't know what the problem really was. Anyways, we made it to the repair place and waited about half an hour for a new tire. We continued on, stopping for a bathroom break and a lunch break. Then we really started to go up in the mountains. It was quite steep and slow going and bumpy. We made it to Dalat around 4:30 pm.

What's going on here? It's actually cool outside! It's below room temperature, maybe in the high 50's/ low 60's farenheit. For me, it was quite refreshing. Everyone else around me was actually bundled up. I guess this is cold for them. Wimps.

Dalat is a popular travel destination. It's located in the Central Highlands. It's mostly geared towards domestic travel, though there are a handful of Westerners here too. I made it to the hotel, taking a ride from one of the Dalat Easy Riders (more on them later). My hotel room, which has a queen sized bed, satellite tv and hot water (none of which are necessarily standard in Vietnam) costs me $5 US a night! I didn't do too much that night. I had a little snack of grilled pigeon and grilled chicken feet. Later I had dinner, though I can't remember what it was. The food in Dalat, while good, doesn't come close to the rest of Vietnam.

This morning, Thursday, I took a tour with Hien, a Dalat Easy Rider. I met him yesterday when he drove me to the hotel. The Dalat Easy Riders are a known group around here. Hien, my guide, was the founder of them (and his story checks out). Basically, they're guys who give personal tours while you ride around with them on motorcycle. They do overnight trips, as long as 7 days, going through the Central Highlands, heading to other destinations. I just did one day, though.

First we visited the oldest pagoda in town. Nothing thrilling,but it had some interesting stuff.

We cruised out into the countryside. There were great views. It's a very mountainous area. The Frenchhad the idea to build this up as a resort for themselves. The weather is more comparable to Europe than the rest of Vietnam. That idea was cut off when Vietnam gained independence, however.

Hien dropped me at a base of a hill and told me to climb up it for some good views. He wasn't coming. So, after a 20 minute exhausting climb, I made it to the top. Spectacular. I could see for miles.
Then, continuing further out intot he countryside, we stopped at a few different farms. Onewas a coffee farm. That was rather unexciting; we just walked past some bushes of coffee growing.

We also stopped at a flower farm. Dalat is famous for their flowers.

Aditionally, we went to a silk worm farm. It was ok, but I had already seen that in Cambodia. Later we stopped at a silk factory. They start with the cocoon and work it all the way to finished products.

Next stop was the Elephant Wateralls. Once again, Hien pointed me in the directionand told me to walk while he stayed behind. After going up and down (more down than up) a bunch of precarious "steps" (I use the word loosely) that were carved into the rocks, I arrived. It was a good view of the falls.

Near the falls was a large temple. I quite liked this one. There wasn't anyone there until the time I was leaving. It was very large and very quiet. There were a few huge statues inside and more things to see on the grounds, Including a verybig, very fat Buddha.

We had a god lunch. It was a large spread of food with all sorts of barbecued and boiled meats and vegetables.

We made our way back to town. Along the way Hien showed me mountains that had been deforested by Agent Orange, which is still showing its effects today.

In town, we stopped at a Catholic Pagoda. That's right, a CatholicPagoda. Supposedly a Buddhist monk converted to Catholicism and became a priest. We built this pagoda/church. It was a bit bizarre.

Notice the crucifix at the very top.

No, that's not Buddha inside, It's Jesus. There was another similar one of Joseph with baby Jesus

Our last stop was at the Crazy House. Some relative of a South Vietnamese President built this after going to architecture school. It was extremely bizarre. The rooms had weird shapes, stairs were everywhere and in odd patterns. Who knows?

UPDATE:

Now it's Fridayafternoon. I was unable to publish this yesterday,when I wrote it. So here's what's happened since...

Nothing much else happened that day. Had a boring dinner.

This morning I boarded a bus to take mt to Nha Trang, where I am now. In a few hours I catch an overnight bus to Hoi An, an ancient town that's supposed to be really cool. The bus ride to here was very uncomfortable. The bus didn't seem to have shocks and the mountain roads were very steep and twisty.

Well, that's about it. I'll try to update you soon.

Take care,

Mike

Saigon!

Excuse me, I mean Ho Chi Minh City.


Xin chào (hello),

It's Monday evening here in Saigon.

The rest of last Tuesday was pretty uneventful. I wandered around the town quite a bit. It's a really easy-going place. I thought I was walking back to the hotel, but I walked too far. I kept walking thinking I'd find it. Wrong. I got pretty darn lost for a while and had to resort to using a taxi. It was pretty dark by that point.

The hotel was located right by this "pond". It wasn't really much of a pond, it was contained by concrete on all sides and had a big fountain in it. It's all lit up at night. It seems to be a popular place to chill out at night.

The hotel itself was pretty crummy. The bathroom door wouldn't close and the bolt lock had fallen off. The closet door had fallen off and was just there leaning against the closet. Though I don't really care for it, the tv got about 1 clear channel. The bathroom smelled a bit funny, and the tank was missing its cover. The flush didn't really work, I used a bucket of water. Oh well, it was pretty cheap.

The next day, I went out for breakfast at the market. I had a big, delicious bowl of pho. I then hired a boat. We bounced around the canals for a bit. By bouncing around, I mean we kept crashing into the trees and stuff on the sides of the canal and had to push against the trees to get the boat straight again. The driver wasn't very good at his job. There was a really friendly dog on board, though.

I visited a coconut candy factory in Ben Tre. Ben Tre is famous for it's coconuts, boats filled with coconuts are constantly going by in the river. I tried the candy which was great and bought a few packs.

All the friendly women at the factory, wrapping the candies.

The rest of the day was spent chillin. I visited a park. There, like other parts of the city, had some interesting statues. They're very much the communist style, power-to-the-people kinda artwork.

I'm really glad I visited Ben Tre.

A few guys at the river wanted me to snap some pictures of them working

Ben Tre coconut, a refreshing drink

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go...

The next day, Thursday, I caught the mini-bus to Saigon (officially known as Ho Chi Minh City). The bus ride took a few hours, including crossing the river via the ferry. By early afternoon I was in Saigon.

This place is so cool!

This place is so nuts!

This place has got to be one of the most amazing cities in the world!

I really like Saigon. I can't begin to describe how chaotic it is here. There are so many motorbikes. I mean, there's lots of motorbikes in SE Asia in general, but Saigon is just crammed full of them. It's a ton of fun riding on one (on the back, there's no way I would dare to drive one in the city).

That's a lot of motorbikes!

Even the power lines are crazy!

After checking into the hostel I wandered out in search of food. It was pouring rain. I took a seat at a street stall. They had rigged up a tarp to protect from the rain. It was very busy, always a good sign. I had a few fresh spring rolls (not the fried ones) which were spectacular. They were filled with herbs and shrimp and bean sprouts. They were served with a spicy dark brown hoisin-like sauce with peanuts. I also had a glass of fresh squeezed sugarcane juice. I was still hungry so I ordered some awesome grilled pork. It was ground pork with lots of seasonings pressed onto a sugarcane skewer and grilled with a sweet glaze. It was taken off the skewer and plated and garnished with scallion and peanut. It was on of the best things I've had on this trip. It was really juicy and tender and perfect in every other way. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Best pork in the world

It continued to pour rain so I made my way back to the hostel where I took a nap. Later, I got talking to some other people in the dorm. There were 2 Irish (traveling together) and 2 Brits (not traveling together). In the evening we made our way out to find some dinner. They were all eager to try street food, too. We wound up at a 'upscale street stall". It was the same basic, little stools and tables out on the street, but with a menu. It was buzzing with locals, so it had to be good. Surprisingly, they had an English menu. We ate family style (that's the way to do it here when eating in a group). We had pork in sweet and sour sauce, a beef dish, a shrimp dish, frog in fish sauce dish(I chose that one), and a cabbage dish, along with plenty of rice (I can't remember all the sauces). Everything came with lots of vegetables, too. Everything was really delicious. It was the first time everyone else had tried frog, and though a bit weary of it at first, everyone really enjoyed it. We all had a lot of fun at that meal.

Frog leg

The next day, Friday, the 5 of us went on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels (we booked the night before). The Cu Chi tunnels are located about 70 km outside the city. They were a network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the American War (as it's called here). Cu Chi was a strategic area during the war. Being very close to Saigon, it was considered to be a dagger pointing at Saigon. The local population supported (and was) Viet Cong. Therefore, the area was a major hot spot.

The tunnel system was very complex and allowed the Viet Cong to launch attacks on the American and South Vietnamese military. They were able to live in the tunnels, complete with offices for military, wells for water, kitchens, field hospitals, and bunkers located at different levels to escape gas attacks.

The tour consisted of a a variety of things. It was VERY much in favor of the Viet Cong, of course. Needless to say, it was harsh towards the American gov't/military of the time. There were a few exhibits of some very gruesome traps used by the Viet Cong. We saw a few bomb craters from B-52s. Of course, we could go through a tunnel as well. The tunnel was built for the tourists. The tourist tunnel was wider than the real ones. It was still amazingly cramped. We were completely bent over and squatting as we walked, and it wasn't much wider than body with. I am so glad I don't get claustrophobia. Even though the Vietnamese are smaller than Westerners, I have no clue how they actually spent the extensive amounts of time in those.

Oh yea, we got to fire guns! Near the end of the tour is a shooting range. They had a bunch of guns you can choose from. You go up to the counter, you make your choice, tell the guy which gun and how many bullets you want (in multiples of ten) and pay. I thought he would've handed me a voucher to take to the actual range where they would've loaded the bullets. No, they just hand you the bullets which you carry over to the shooting range. I wound up doing the Ak-47, the M-16 and the M-60. It was a lot of fun! The AK-47 was really loud. The M-60 is a machine gun, so that went off in no time.

AK-47

M60

I had a late lunch of a small fish and a bit of pork on rice. Simple and good.

That evening we all went out for bowls of pho. I had a spicy, thick one with beef. It was delicious as always. We all went out for a night on the town which was a lot of fun.

On Saturday I headed out in the morning to see some more of the city. I happened upon a large street market nearby, buzzing with activity. There was countless varieties of produce, fish and meat. I find it a lot of fun to walk through the markets. It really gives insight into local life. I had a great bowl of pho for breakfast near the market. I also enjoyed a ca phe sua da (that strong iced coffee with lots of sweetened condensed milk).

I went back to the hostel and the 5 of us from the dorm headed out together again. We went to Reunification Palace. Reunification Palace used to be the headquarters of the South Vietnam government and the home of the president. As chronicled in famous images, during the Fall of Saigon, North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates and troops stormed the palace, placing a North Vietnamese flag for the 4th floor balcony. It was at that time that Vietnam was unified as one country under control of the Communists. We went on an official tour, included in admission. It was very informative, and surpisingly, very unbiased. The place hasn't really changed since the seventies, including the decor. It was fascinating to see it for its historical significance, moreso for it being the headquarters of South Vietnam than the Fall of Saigon. It was a bit of an eerie feeling walking around, imagining what it must have been like. This was an extraodrinarily important place for the Americans since we were working so closely with the South Vietnamese. It only got eerier as we walked into the basement, which was a bomb shelter. It was under thick concrete and was equipped with all sorts of radio and secure communication lines and lots more.

After the palace we went to a really boring market.

We walked back towards the hostel. Along the way I saw a street stall. Something caught my eye. I wasn't sure, but something made me think it was what I had in mind. After the woman at the stall retrieved a guy nearby who spoke English, I had confirmation. They were a special kind of egg. Inside the egg was a partially developed duck embryo. I had heard about this and had wanted to find it. So I ordered one, with my new friends sitting around watching me. It was boiled (in the shell) and served standing up on a tiny cup. On the side was a bit of salt with black pepper, a wedge of lime, a type of herb, and a bit of chili paste.

I wasn't sure how to eat it, but out of nowhere appeared a Vietnamese fellow, probably in his fifties, who spoke English. Turns out he had studied in Nashville, Tennessee. He was very funny. In addition to telling me how to eat the egg (which I'll get to in a minute), he kept joking around. He, upon finding out I'm from Massachusetts, joked about being a rebel from the South. He did a Southern accent. Very entertaining. One of my new friends got it all on video on my camera, which I'll post when I get home.

For the egg, I cracked the top with the spoon, and removed it. There's liquid in there which is drunk. Then you dig in with the spoon, seasoning the spoonfuls with the pepper-salt, chili, herb and lime. a bit tedious. A lot of it was yolk. There is definitely a recognizable duck fetus in there. you eat the whole thing. Yes, there's little feathers, but they disintegrate as you eat it. You can see the little legs and head and eyes and everything else. How does it taste. Honestly, it's really tasty. It tastes like a really rich, meaty egg. Sorta halfway between an egg and a duck (go figure).

I didn't really do a ton the rest of the day. I can't remember what I had for dinner, but I'm sure it was good, I've liked everything so far. The 5 of us from the hostel went out again. We all said goodbye as the rest of them were leaving that night or early the next morning.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling a bit hungry. I walked back towards the street market and found a food stall. It was rice porridge. I've tried rice porridge before and haven't liked it, but I figured I'd give it another go. This rice porridge was delicious. It had all sorts of stuff in it. There was squid tentacles, bits of chicken, scallions, onions, and pieces of pain cruller that soaked up the porridge as they sat in there. It was a great, filling meal and a great way to start the day.

I got a xe om to take me to the War Remnants Museum (all about the American War). Well, the driver took me to a museum, but it was the wrong museum. By the time I realized that I was at the wrong museum, I had paid the driver and he was gone (he dropped me around the corner of the entrance, I should have known better). I hired another xe om to take me to the proper museum, which he did. I went around the museum for a while. It mostly consists of posters and pictures, along with a few war machines (like tanks and helicopters and artillery), and a few other exhibits. It's all about the acts committed by the American military, as well as its allies. It's very anti-American. There's also a temporary exhibit highlighting the friendship of Cuba and Vietnam. The museum is quite gruesome with the photos, enough to make anyone think. It doesn't really mention anything about North Vietnam and the Viet Cong's actions though...

I was halfway through the last exhibit, which was about the anti-war movement (where I think a bit of positivity is directed at Americans). However, as I was halfway through, they anounced the museum was closing for lunch, come back in an hour and a half. Yea, right. I left on xe om to go to Notre Dame Cathedral which is supposed to be beautiful. Once I got there, my xe om driver told me it was closed until three (it was 12:30 at the time). I had to pay him, he did drive me, but I was really pissed off. I just wished he would have been honest and told me beforehand that it was closed. Grrrr... At that point I refused to let him take me anywhere else (he would've made more money off me). He kept following me, trying to offer to take me to other sights. I was getting pretty ticked. He finally gave up and drove off. I unwound in the park nearby which was pleasant.

I walked back to the hostel. On the way I picked up some waffles. They're common here. They're sold by women who carry a yoke over their shoulder, one end has ingredients and equipment, the other has a little hearth with hot coals. They plop it down on the sidewalk and cook waffles in the little iron press over the coals. It's so French and so Vietnamese at the same time.

After, I made my way to another indoor market, selling a whole bunch of things. I wandered around for a bit but didn't buy anything. I did have a ca phe sua da, though.

I went back to the hostel and chilled for a bit. I met the new people who were coming in. I and 2 others (a Canadian guy and Swiss woman) went out for a walk and a bite to eat. I showed them the duck embryo place. They both tried them, one more hesitantly than the other. I had 2 embryos for myself. What are you making that face for?? They're good!

That was just and appetizer, and we went in search of a proper meal. We walked around quite a bit, finding a cool street market on the way. We wound up at a street stall that had rice and fried chicken, served with chili sauce on the side. That was cheap and tasty.

Later that night I went out with 2 others from the hostel (Australian and Swedish) to some of the bars in the area.

This morning, Monday, I woke up and found a great bowl of pho. After I did some boring work, running errands, booking a ticket and other stuff. It was just general upkeep for traveling.

It began to rain. I was feeling cold (yes, I actually felt cold here) and cranky and hungry. I then had an awesome meal that warmed me up just right. I was walking down this alley (which is full of small fronts of houses and shops and such), and happened upon this little street stall. It was someone who sets up in front of their house. But, since it was raining, they opened their front doors and put the tables inside. I had heard that they do this in bad weather, but hadn't seen it yet. Anyways, you're eating in someone's living room. It was very comfortable and the people there were very friendly. The food was just awesome, the perfect cure for the chilling rain. it was rice, some juicy chicken leg that was just so flavorful. I also had a bit of pork rib. That was just so awesome. It was really fatty (you know I love pork fat) and tender and so good. It was slightly sweet, and almost smoky. It came with a few pieces of really fresh tomato and cucumber. There was also some rich soup with all sorts of vegetables like potato and carrot.

After that, I did some souvenir shopping for a while. I also went on a nice walk again.

A little after I got back, some of us from the hostel (the Canadian and Swiss I had met before, as well as two New Zealanders) went to a restaurant. One of the guys from New Zealand had been there before, on a suggestion from a local. It was a proper restaurant and very good. It was very busy. I had a papaya salad with sliced pig ears (nice and crunchy). That was refreshing. I also had noodles with snails. The snails were quite a bit larger than the ones that the French have. They had a really strong flavor. It's a flavor I really enjoy, but is very off-putting to others. It was kinda like clams x 10 and chewier.

Tomorrow is my last whole day in Saigon, not sure what I'll do. I definetely make an effort to try a bunch of food before I go.

Wednesday morning I head out. I'll be going to Dalat by bus, about 7 hours away. I originally wasn't planning on going to Dalat, but I've heard many good things. Everyone who has been loves it. It's in the Central Highlands and is quite a bit cooler than the rest of the country. The scenery is supposed to be really nice, too. It's a wine producing area. Additionally, it grows produce that can't be grown anywhere else in the country. It's also famous for its flowers. It's a popular domestic tourism spot, particularly for honeymoons. Anyways, I'm really looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading,
Mike

I found this sign in the streets of Saigon.
It's a PSA promoting HIV prevention

Through the Delta

Howdy Ho,

It's Tuesday afternoon here in Ben Tre. I know I've been slacking on updating the blog, I'll try to update more often. I tried to update yesterday, but the oh-so-friendly people at the internet cafe felt it was a good idea not to tell me when they closed. Instead they just turned off the computers in the middle of me writing. Man, was I ticked.

I spent the rest of Friday (when I last updated) chilling around town. I spent a few hours at the cafe I've been going to, everyone there is very welcoming.

Later, I went to the Banh Mi place. It's close to the hostel, and Teung, the guy who works there, is always saying hello and calling me by name as I walk by. I had Banh Mi and a Bia Hoi there.

(This second hand smoke is really getting under my skin. It seems like every male smokes.)

I took a nice nap at the hostel.

I went out and explored the market (again) and walked around. Later in the evening I made my way to the riverfront. I had a snack of corn on the cob. Nowhere even close to as good as home, I didn't like it at all. After, I took a seat on the bench, watching the people walk by and the boats go past.

Not after long 2 young ladies sitting on the bench next to mine began talking to me wanting to practice speaking English. It turns out that they were recent college graduates, like myself, who had majored in English. We talked for a long time, about Vietnam, where I'm from and so on.

I've found that it's particularly easy to meet people here in Vietnam.

It was getting late and before we parted they showed me a great street snack. It was a thin, flexible waffle (like a soft pizzelle) wrapped around black sticky rice, a big spoonful of sugar, and a small fistful of shredded coconut, capped with a small, thin, round edible shell. It was fantastic. It's always best to get somebody who knows the area to show you the food.

I had planned on going to the floating market the next morning, Saturday. I overslept though, it's best to go early in the morning, before 7.

When I finally did wake up I went to the cafe again and had some coffee and chilled out with my new friends.

For lunch (I knida missed breakfast) I went to a restaurant nearby that was suggested by Teung (the guy at the banh mi/bia hoi place). They gave me a ton of food, though it was very tasty. I got a few pieces of baked fish and a huge plate of rice. That was served with soy sauce with chili peppers. I was also served an enormous bowl of soup filled with cilantro and cabbage and pork meatballs. The soup was ok, very light. The fish though was fantastic and very fresh.

I poked around for a bit and organized my bus ticket for the next day.

Walking around the city I was convinced by a family to sit down at their sidewalk cafe and have a beer. I sat down on one of the tiny plastic stools. They brought me a Saigon Beer, and they hung out at the same table as me. The son and daughter (around my age) spoke a bit of English. They beganto prepare dried squid, which means grilling it and shredding it. They also snacked on it as they went (it seems to be an ingreident they just keep around). They kept giving me pieces to snack on as well. It tastes great. They instructed me to dip the shreds into a bit of very spicy chili sauce they had in a little dish on the table. Very hot, very good.

That evening I chilled out on the riverfront again with one of the people I had met the night before there.

I woke up early the next morning, Sunday, to go to the floating market. For $10 I hired a boat to take me there from the city, and cruise around the Delta for 4 hours. The market was cool, a really bustling area right there on the river. There's lots of boats carrying all sorts of produce to be distributed. We went through all sorts of tiny canals. The scenery was great. For a while the boat driver turned off the engine and rowed, standing up. She was very friendly, pointing out all sorts of intersting things around. Then she made me row for some time, while she chilled there in the seat. She would motion me to go over to the side of the river/canal so she could collect the ends of these plants that were growing in the water, floating on the surface. I guess she thinks they're really delicious, she took a ton. After I got tired, we switched again. Along the way we also picked up some dragon fruit to eat. Also, we stopped at a little cafe where I had some delicious coffee with condensed milk. Nearby the cafe she showed me a place where they make rice noodles. That was a really neat to watch. Basically they take this thick liquid (made from rice) and pour it on this fine cloth screen, which is over boiling water. They put a lid over it, and it steams. they remove the lid, pick up the now solid (though soft) round of batter and place it on mats to cool. It all happens very fast. Later, they cut it to make noodles.

Making the noodles

Can Tho

After getting back to Can Tho I went back to the guesthouse. I got my stuff together and was picked up to go to the bus station. I got on the bus to Vinh Long. I talk with a fellow named Ty, a government environmental worker, from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). He had been visiting parents and was making his way back to the city (Vinh Long is a stop along the way). As the bus got onto the ferry across the Bassac river he told me abou the Can tho Bridge. It is under construction, and will eliminate the need for the ferry. However, there was an accident in the bridge's construction recently, killing 52 people.

After about 2 hours riding on the bus, including about 15 min on the ferry,I arrived at the Vinh Long bus station. I got a xe om to the Cuu Long tourist agency, which is state-run, to organize a homestay. Within a short time I was on a boat going through the Delta again. First was a visit to a fruit farm. I didn't really get to see the farm, but was able to try some of the fruits. There was pomelo (a favorite of the group I was with in Laos and Cambodia...), jackfruit, longan and something else I can't remember. It was all very good. It was my first time having jackfruit even though its so plentiful here. They also served tea. Additionally, a bottle with some of the local whiskey was put on the table with a small shot glass, so I could "sample". They started to do some really cheesy singing and acting. At that point the whiskey really came in handy...

We cruised around some more through canals. A new refrigerator on a little boatWe ended at where I would be staying. It's a small place run by a family that has some extra rooms at their place. I spent quite a bit of time lazing in the hammock. I took a bicycle out and cruied around the area for a bit. It was very serene there. The area has plenty of scenery, lots of bridges over small canals, fruit farms and more. I was going to get pictures on my way back but the sky started getting very grey. I booked it back to where I was staying. I was just in time, it started pouring.

I had a great dinner there. A whole fried elephant ear fish. It was served with rice paper wrapper, lettuce, herbs and cucumbers. The idea was to take some fish with the lettuce, herbs and cucumber and wrap it up. It was dipped in nuoc cham (fish sauce, water, sugar, lime, garlic and chili). That was spectacular. It was amazingly fresh and clean tasting. The fish was cooked perfectly and was moist. And the vegetables were great too. The sauce was excellent as well, I love fish sauce. I was also served a couple of huge, head-on shrimp which were great. The obligatory rice was there, too. A few grilled pork cutlets were served as well. I also was served a huge bowl of soup with greens. It was a lot of food. I wasn't quite able to finish, though I must say I thinkI did a pretty good number on it.

I spent the rest of the evening hanging out,playing with the friendly little dog there.

Early the next morning, Sunday, Hui, the boat driver, picked me up after breakfast. First, we went to Cai Be, another flaoting market.

That's a lot of dragonfruit

After the market, we went to a candy factory. That was insteresting to see. It's just a family run operation. That day they were amking some puffed rice candy which was fun to watch them pop the rice.

We headed back to Vinh Long. I picked up a Banh Mi for my bus ride which I had previously organized. I hopped on the bus to My Tho (pronounced Mee Tao).

Less than 2 hours later I arrived. I got a xe om to a hotel where I checked in. I explored the town some. There's nmot much to see, kinda boring. I had a tasty dinner though. It was grilled duck with pepper-lime sauce. On the side was some herbs, lots of cucumber, and plenty of sweet pickled radish and carrot. Mmmm.

That brings us up to this morning. Brunch (I slept late again) was rice with grilled pork, a slice of pate, pickled vegetables and some unrecognizable stuff that tasted good. For some reason there were some enormous boa constrictors in cages on wheels sitting out on the side walk nest to the restaurant. I'm talking big ones, like 6 feet and fat. There were 2 cages, with 2 snakes in each.

After checking out of the hotel I walked over to the dock. I got on one of the ferries to Ben Tre, across the river. The ferry is a vehicle carrying one. People on foot, such as myself, get to ride for free. The ferries go constantly all day long.

Ben Tre is a triangular island (its own province), seperated from the mainland by rivers on 2 sides, with the ocean on the third side.

I got a xe om to take me to the hotel in the main town. It was about a 25 minute ride. The town is pretty chilled out. It's not crowded like the other towns/cities I've been to in vietnam either. Not a ton of tourists come here. Today I walked around some,checked out the market.

That brings us up to now. I should be in Ben Tre for 2 nights. I hope to get a tour of the area by boat tommorow. The next day I hope to catch the bus to Ho Chi Minh City. I'm really looking forward to that.

Well that does it for now.

Take care,

Mike