Impressions

I wrote this several days ago, but haven't had time to correct and proofread it. The last few days have been either very busy, or I haven't had access to a computer. Sadly, our trip with Truc and Van just ended. It was wonderful, and ended with a day at the beach today (during which we built a huge sandcastle). Tomorrow I'm heading to Cambodia on my own, and Ankor Wat. I hope to have at least a little time then in which to do a full update with pictures.

Anyway, previous (unposted) post:

So, first of all, The last post was rife with errors - what I get for a hurried update early in the morning. So, we were in Hoi An, not Hanoi. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. I won't be visiting it this trip. Hoi An is a city that used to be a prominent trading city, but is now seems to survive mostly on a tourist economy. I've correct some other minor errors (such as referring to Zane as Van at one point), and would apologize in advance for some others.

So, my favorite experience so far in Vietnam has to be riding a xeom outside of town. The countryside is simply breathtaking. I've often seen this: acres of green rice fields underneath a sky that somehow seems larger than the sky at home. Several mountains are visiable on the horizon. Though such scenery is common, I have yet to grow tired of it. Add to it the feeling of wind rushing by while riding a motorbike along a rough country road, and it makes me feel very glad to be alive, and here, at this moment.

The food in Vietnam is very good, though I'll admit that the mint that seems to be common in many dishes is not really suited to my taste. However, so long as I keep the mint (and hot spices) to a minimum, I really enjoy the food here. There are many dishes that I would very much like to have on a regular basis at home. How I wish that one of the five sandwhich shops within walking distance of work were replaced with a vietnamese restaurant (Or, honestly, anything else). A not insubstantial benefit over eating at most restaurants in the US is that, after finishing my meal, I often feel satisfied rather than full to bursting.

(apologies in advance for this crappy food description - I don't know the name of stuff, and Zane isn't here right now) We ate at a place called "Bala Well" in Hoi An. Our meal consisted of some spring-roll like objects, yellow pancakes with shrimp and a variety of vegetables cooked in the batter, beef (or maybe pork?) on sticks, various greens, some garnishes, rice paper, and a peanut chili sauce. We were eating the food ala cart when the propreitor, a middle aged woman, came over. She picked up one of the pieces of rice paper, put some of the greens and garnishes on it, and placed one of the spring rolls on top of that. She put one of the sticks of meat on top of this, wrapped it up slightly, and slid the meat off the stick. Tossing the stick away, she then expertly wrapped everything into a tight roll and gave it to Zane. She indicated that he should dip the creation into the peanut sauce. She later made another for me, and then made us each one using the pancakes instead of the spring roll. All were excellent.

Later on, we got a dessert of fresh fruit with a side of some granular dipping substance. She picked up my hand, led it towards the watermelon, and then pointed back to the dipping substance (we all laughed at this rather explicit instruction). I followed her advice, as it proved so enjoyable previously. Instantly, my mouth was on fire; the dipping substance I had taken to be some sort of sugar or salt was extremely spicy. I was still feeling it several minutes later. And then several more minutes after that. I may still be feeling it now, two days later.

Hoi An is very much a tourist town, filled with mostly aussies and europeans. The benefits to this are that many people speak English to some degree. The drawbacks are overly aggressive touts, increased prices, and massive crowds.

The touts can range from merely annoying to overly ingratiating and aggressive. Zane asked a woman in the market where to find some lunch. She pointed him in a direction. We were called at by every street food vendor we passed, the woman who helped Zane following us the entire time, telling us to visit her clothing shop in town. We finally picked a spot, and she sat next to us, trying to convince us to visit her shop. Zane finally told her something about how we were leaving the next day.

We were on a tour yesterday to My Son (a set of ruins built by Champa kings and inhabited from the 4th to the 14th century). The tour honestly was kinda crappy - we rode a bus to the ruins, the price didn't include the tickets to the ruins or a tour of them, and rode a riverboat back. The guide overcharged Zane when he paid for Truc and Van (who were sleeping when the ticket money was collected. Tourists are more than native Vietnamese at most hisotircal sites), so we had to ask him to give us some money back. They gave us a lackluster meal of rice and vegetables for lunch on the boat. I mean, the boat ride was nice, but it really was just a boatride. I've had plenty by this point, and nothing stood out. The boat ride went to a "traditional village," where we were led to workshops to see craftsmen working. Conveniently, the workshops were filled with plenty of tourist goods to purchase. The guide heard Zane was interesting in scuba diving, then persisted in asking Zane to arrange a tour through his friend.

I can't really fault the people for trying - stuff is cheap for westerners here. The wonderful food I've been having rarely costs more than 2 dollars. Also, the entrepenurial spirit definitely has its charming side. Street food often consists of cooks coming out with their ingredients, supplies, and a couple of helpers. They set up shop on a corner, and sell food until they run out. Another time, a man didn't have something we wanted in his store (a deck of cards), so he quoted a price to us, we agreed, then he ran down the street to another store (abandoning his shop) to pick some up.

Anyway, tonight I'm in Danang. We just rode the longest cable car ride in the world (Guinness Certified!) to Ba Na mountain, and had lunch at the top of the mountain. Acording to Zane, most Vietnamese eat at set times, so we had a patio facing from the mountain to Danang and the ocean all to ourselves for a little over an hour. We're heading out to dinner now, and will be heading to the beach tomorrow. After that, Phnom Penh and Angor Wat for me!