Last Day in Saigon/The Long Flights Home

Lived the dream today - ate lunch at the Lunch Lady. Many thanks to gastronomyblog.com and Bourdain, who helped put this incredible lunch spot on the international foodie map. They have written about it much more eloquently than I will, but that's okay, as this again was an experience that I really just wanted for myself (we forgot to bring a camera, and that's okay, too). Long story short: the most delicious fresh spring rolls in real-ass hoisin sauce, followed by the best bun bo Hue, beef tenderized by pineapple, with pork forcemeats and fresh banana flowers. I was smiling like an idiot the whole time, from the moment she came up behind us and smiled, showing us the way to her tables, right on until we left to decompress in the Cucko's Nest cafe (nice wooden treefort). She looked just like the lady on TV. She IS the lady on TV!

I need to get to the airport at 4 am Saturday morning, so I think I'm heading to the 24 hour Boston Sports Bar down the road to wait out the weird pre-morning. I'll be home sometime around 8 pm, making a cup of coffee, and starting storytime with the family.

Well, this blog has been fun. I don't feel particularly talented at blogging, but I've also been too tired to make it count as of late. I hope you follow me in a new blog of sorts, where I'll be building kegerators, brewing beer, making mass quantities of food for my late nite college snack stand, and working with organic foods and farmers. Check back here for a link, or on Facebook. And of course, pictures up in a bit.

Vietnam was great. I'll probably come back. Now, though, I want me some hearty Massachusetts and green New York.
Bye!

Dogfish Head on Discovery Channel

A nice way to start my reentry. Ready the Cheese-its.

Ask Me How I Know

I've been in Vietnam for 4 months, traveling eating and collecting clothes, souvenirs and more on a student's budget. I've had to learn a few things to make sure that I made the most of my limited funds and to avoid getting swindled. I hate being swindled. This is my first time abroad in any substantial capacity, and so some of these suggestions are probably obvious to seasoned travelers, but I'll list them anyway.

1. You don't have to buy things on the first day. If you can only spend a day in a city, well don't do that because you're not seeing anything that way. Chances are that many vendors have the same/better products at similar/better prices, and they are probably close by. It's funny how the rule of  'shopping around' is so easily forgotten on vacation.
2. When picking a place to eat, go to where the locals are. This is especially true of breakfast in the cities - street breakfast in Vietnam is incredible for the flavor, people watching and general cultural understanding, so don't waste the opportunity eating a 'Western' breakfast or eating out of some hotel buffet trough. The best soup of your life and a cup of tea or coffee is at most $1.75. The caveat is that you need to eat when the locals eat. Breakfast is early here (partially due to the afternoon naps), so get up on time, otherwise the food isn't as fresh, you lose the 'good meal' indicator as people go to work, and you miss the opportunity to be outside in relatively cooler weather. 
3. If a restaurant has people outside calling you in ("Hello! Come in please! Sit down!"), don't go in. They are fishing for less astute and adventurous types. Go somewhere else. [This may only apply to places on the Western tourist strips. When we've eaten at places with domestic tourists, meals have usually been great]
4. There is a fair amount of playful pushing and cajoling when it comes to purchasing items from a store or market, but if the place is really good, they know when 'no' means 'no' and won't keep hounding you to buy more. In some situations, both you and the tailor know that you actually do want and need that second fitted dress shirt, and it's okay to splurge, but never get into a situation where you feel pressured to get more. If you feel cornered, walk out and go someplace else. Leave that trap for some other sorry Westerner :) On that note, for items that require a deposit, never pay more than half. If you are friendly and can establish a good rapport, go for less, because once you pay it all, you lose your leverage. Again, pretty basic advice, but somehow easily forgotten in the heat of the moment.
5. It is okay to barter. In fact, you have to. If you're like me and are fairly non-confrontational, hopefully you have an assholeish friend that can give you the friendly backbone you need to pay prices that are fair for both you and the vendor. Visitors won't get the same price as a local, nor should they, but nobody deserves to get ripped off.
6. It is okay to buy a lame tanktop emblazoned with one of the five beer company logos. You'll look like an idiot but they are wicked cool anyway.
7. For men, wearing jeans or dress pants seems like suicide because it is so hot, but it buys you a lot of respect. There's nothing wrong with wearing baggy linen pants or Patagonia field clothes, but you stick out as what you are: a tourist. Your tattooed girlfriend, while wicked cute, also stands out. Just be wary of the kind of attention you'll attract when you label yourself a 'yobo'. If you can dress fancier, you might be mistaken for the NGO type, i.e. not a sucker.
8. Depending on the length of your trip, it is probably in your best interest to avoid Western food. There have certainly been times when I've need KFC (and it is better here than at home... the Zinger burger! ah!), but beyond that, it just isn't good here. Menus that feature Vietnamese favorites, burgers, pizzas and burritos are bloated and tacky - stick to the local food. That's why you came here, and your Italian place back home is a million times better than the Italian place here (and the Vietnamese food is a million times better than what you can get at home, duh). You'll have to make the decision for yourself if crappy nachos is better than no nachos. That said, when you can find an expat place with homestyle classics (like the Dingo Deli in Hoi An), splurge. Yesterday, I got a sandwich on ciabatta with pastrami, mango chutney, brie, lettuce and onion. Good God.
9. Lonely Planet has been completely useless except for finding accommodations. It isn't up to date, lists the most boring, polluted and pedestrian attractions, and channels all would-be explorers down the same backpacker streets, producing the same acultural experience for everyone. If you need a good American-style bar night and a hookup with a cute Belgian girl, please, give it a go, but you'll have the more 'authentic' experience by following your nose. Tripadvisor is usually more up to date and geared toward younger travelers; we used that a bit.

That's all I got so far. Going to get a late lunch.

Surprise! Hoi An

This really stinks

We've been in Hoi An for three days and besides a little outing to turn in our passports and grab lunch, we've barely left the hospital. Did I say that Adam has dengue fever? Flying out of Saigon was miserable for him, and the first morning here we got up early and went to the hospital. He's stable now, which is great considering how there are four strains of dengue and at least one is usually lethal, but Eliza and I are joining in on the yucky GI party (in addition to dengue, he has a bacterial infection of the gut, something that at least 8 of the 9 students (myself included) have also felt the symptoms of - even those who have already returned to the U.S are feeling it).

So luckily we have a hospital room to ourselves with wifi and a flatscreen tv (that's what the 'International Department' gets you), which is great to spend all day napping in. We all have fevers and feel pretty crappy, but what better place to feel crappy that a hospital room? Many places, I know, but whatever...

We have at least a few more days in Hoi An, and because we have a return flight booked for Thursday, we're staying in Central Vietnam until then. Hue is so close, but if we keep feeling like this, I'm not sure we can convince ourselves to make the trek. I'm not making any decisions either way; we make the lamest decisions while sick.

So far, one stateside report of the GI readjustment being as miserable as the adjustment our first week here, but even so, I'll be so happy to be home.

This blog has been petering (?) out for a while, and for that I'm sorry. I'm getting fatigued in more ways that one, it seems. Like I said, there will be a final post with tons of photos once I'm home (and off the can).

Back to Pirates of the Caribbean III: At World's End. I'll get my pants made tomorrow...

Deja Vu

I'm in the same room, the same bed even, as I was my first night in Saigon. That was over three months ago.  I'm still processing how weird it is to be back in the same hotel where it all started. It seems like yesterday, it seems like forever ago.

We have just returned from our final group dinner, and Andrew has said his final goodbye (I'll see him in two weeks when I pick up my bag from his house). Four more friends leave for the US/Australia tomorrow, and four of us stay here for a few more weeks. To be honest, I could happily be going home tomorrow, too, but Tony went to Hue and liked it, so...

I can't wait to remember how to be articulate. Working around language barriers has reduced our capacity for expressive thought and grammar, as well as sarcasm... we will have a reentry learning curve, for sure.

Photos later, please excuse the surreal mental state. Documentation of the journey of Harry, Ron and Hermione (Adam, Gordon and Eliza) to follow, you'll love it, I'm sure.

"IT. IS. DONE!" [Splat]

Boondock Saints quote and a sharp-lookin' PDF.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hdjlkcs2g8gwqfs

Maybe that will work.

Can Tho: Reloaded

After having been on the road for the past two months, living in budget hotel rooms like an "Up In The Air" George Clooney without the Executive Platinum status, I'm back to where I started. I dropped my bags off at my homestay, showered and then went to the Book Cafe for some serious last minute homework. The presentation is tomorrow and the paper is due Wednesday night. After that, we have a few days in HCM again to evaluate the trip and talk about how it will be simultaneously difficult and thrilling to return to the US.

Then it's over. I will begin a life of extremely well-budgeted luxury, see a bit more of this very cool country and then return home to begin my summer as the most thrifty version of Gordon you have seen yet.

I am very busy right now, but it doesn't feel like finals week or anything. This project is a distant responsibility. I'm just trying to enjoy the abundance of mangoes and the anticipation of getting my silk bathrobe from the tailor on Wednesday.

Crunch Time

I've been in Mui Ne for the past few days, sitting by the beach and writing this paper. I'm done with everything except the introduction, formatting and the presentation, so I'm feeling pretty good, but it's like shoveling the last bit of mulch in the pile: it is incredibly difficult to want to finish. Plus, the 7,000 words or so that I've got built up for the introduction is too much to wade through, and not much of it applies anymore. Why is that?

I might as well give you the big finding from my research: farmers are not trying to intensify production. So there goes that hypothesis. I'm not at all bitter. This is research and it isn't like the hypothesis is supposed to be supported all the time. It also means that farms here are in better shape that I expected. Right?

Wrong. They say they are semi-intensive farms but they don't act like it. It's like if that Czech bodybuilder from dinner a few nights ago told me that he was a ballet dancer - not a chance, buddy. They are borrowing techniques from the intensive farmers but don't have the proper framework, nor the training, to make those techniques truly effective.

That's enough spoiler (i.e. that's enough academics for this travel blog...)

Back to the carrot smoothie and fresh Word document. I will be glad when this is all over Tuesday night and I can get back to being wowed by everyday life.

Sai Gon tomorrow for a change of pace and the ability to walk places (Mui Ne is a quiet beach strip and you need wheels to get anywhere worth getting to).

I'm still digesting the Phat Phatarella burger from this cool Australian burger joint (sirloin beef, mozz, cashew pesto, lettuce tomato and FRIES). That was something killer.

Still in Da Lat

And loving it. I could be moving on to the next city, but we've done everything that there is to do here, so now it is really easy to stay in the hotel and work on this paper (which is why I'm here/it's due in a week). If we go someplace new, then I'd want to explore. So maybe it is best to stay here for now.

But really, we've done everything, and it has been so fun. The second day here we rented motorbikes and hired an Easy Rider to take us around the countryside. I'd recommend an Easy Rider tour to anybody traveling here - the guys wear leather jackets, ride motorcycles, not motorbikes, and speak great English, plus they know all the good spots. So he took us to a flower greenhouse, a coffee plantation, a rice wine distillery/oyster mushroom operation (learned a TON there...), a silk factory, a waterfall, a pagoda and the famous Crazy House. That's 5 people being taken around for 5 hours for a whopping $15, and you've done Da Lat in a day.

Plus, we got to drive motorbikes on country roads (shh).

The Nuovo. It's no Airblade, but it's still a beast.

A few days later we went on an 18 km mountainbiking trip through the northern mountains, seeing ethnic minority villages with gorgeous terraced cabbage and carrot patches. Biking was really tough but so fun, and the downhills were a blast. We got muddy, sweaty and full (they packed fruit and lunch for us, banh mi with avocado and tomatoes, all local...). We didn't get pictures because we didn't take a camera, but it was so gorgeous. Little mystical gardens popping out of the mountains... wow.

The food is great, obviously. We've mostly stayed away from Lonely Planet recommendations after a few disappointments early on in the trip, and have been much better off for it. The only rule (Bourdain lesson #14) is go wherever is most crowded. It works every time. The hu tieu is my current favorite, as it has some deep, brown spicy flavors going on that work well with the chilly mornings and evenings here. It's one of those dishes that makes me excited for the fall in upstate New York (here I go with the application again... stay in the present, Gordon!)

Photos stolen from Adam's blog because I don't have any of my own! And I think I've said this before, but the final post on this blog will have a link to all the good photos from the entire trip, so stick that in the back of your head for a rainy day in July.

Actually that's all, but watch this video of the silk factory taken by some other tourist. Pretty rad.

Delight (Da Lat)

Apart from the weird rash that just appeared and the high potential for little licelings hatching within the week, I am doing alright. More than alright, in fact, because I have left the heat of Nha Trang for the cool, herbal, mountainous retreat of Da Lat. I am also reunited with Izzy, Adam, Meg, Lydia and [tomorrow] Eliza! I'm very excited to see them. It has only been two weeks or so since we all split up, but we have a lot of catching up to do. Over dinner tonight (we're going big, something French...), we can share stories of ripoffs, wonderful people, horrid sleeping situations, cultural observations, the effects of lingual isolation, and more.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past few days. Although, since I am not a very talented photographer, it might be best to refer to these as my favorite moments, which excuses the actual craft of photography. And Chon, my host in Nha Trang last night, has a few more that he will email me soon.

Two weeks of Da Lat and maybe some more coast, then Can Tho to present the "findings"...

Onwards

Finished interviewing today - 30 farms in 5 days, pretty intense. Tri has been absolutely magnificent to me. Yesterday was a boys day out, with a hot pot picnic and beers in the river. Tomorrow morning I leave my sleepy little homestay for a bigger city, and I'm going to miss it. I will, however, appreciate a mattress.

Lee Marvin?

Yes it really looked like that.

Another First

I have lice! Sweet. Anybody have a good home remedy? I have no conditioner, no fine toothed comb, no olive oil, tweezers, or the ability to buy any of those things, so please be creative. I do have a bottle of Label 5 scotch.


On the plus side, we are interviewing farms on Saturday, which means I'll be on my own one day sooner. While I love my homestay, I also enjoy deciding things for myself. The facewashing, forcefeeding and 9:00 bedtimes have been great, but I'm 21.

Hospitality is exhausting.

The real reason you read this blog:

Go to bed at 9, wake up at 5, see this... Ok

Lunch with Uncle Bay and his wife, who is ruining any plans I had for losing weight this summer

This is where your cocktail shrimp comes from. Dispel any notions of hand nets or early morning boat rides.

What's for dinner? The ground up byproduct of an inefficient marine fisheries operation, you say? Ngon!

Da Lat, Mui Ne (?), Sai Gon, Hue and Hoi An to come...

Commencing/Commencement

ISP starts today, finally. And classes have ended at Skidmore, so that means a bunch of my friends are graduating. Cool/bummer. Good luck with finals/finding yourselves. May I suggest Jamie Cullum's "Twentysomething". Here's the blog post I wrote yesterday:

I am blogging now because I am feeling a lot better as of today. I’m happy that I’m feeling happier, and so it keeps building. I’ve been turned into a man of routine, which was probably startling after being on the road for a month straight. I wake up at five thirty, walk to the porch and watch the sun rise while drinking tea with Uncle Bay. Then, I eat breakfast and drink more tea. I sit in the hammock, watch the tide go out, and maybe go get coffee with Tri.  I come back to eat lunch at 11:00, drink more tea, and nap until 2:00, when it is cool enough for a New Englander like me to be in the sun again. Dinner, tea, hammock, some mangos… I don’t know what I was complaining about. Perhaps it is that the ISP finally starts tomorrow and I start to ask some questions, which is why I came here. I have no idea what to expect, but I’ve also (tried to) learn(ed) to just go with the flow in Viet Nam. This will work out fine. 

Also, I’m in Asia. HELLO!? I love rice. I now know why all of the overseas students in the Skidmore D-hall always ask for more rice when we have it at Global. It is the ultimate friend and food. It is plain when my belly is in revolt, it is a wonderful canvas for every flavor, it can be had in soups, as paper, fried, crispy, sticky, rolled, burnt, and more. We eat communally, with the various dishes on the floor in front of us, and get our little bowls filled with rice. You’re not judged to be full until you’ve had at least your third bowl. It requires pacing. I’m learning, and I’m excited to stage my first Vietnamese family style meal back in the US.

Just want to shout out to Grammy Nellie and Uncle Bruce: Grammy, I miss you a lot and think that you would like it here. I know that you follow my blog, which is wicked awesome! There is a nice breeze here and the couple that I’m staying with feed me great food, like you do. I’ll be down to see you soon! And Uncle Bruce, I’m on the bay getting salty, and I know how you don’t like salt. Neither do I. But I’m learning to like it. Also, fresh water is hard to fine here so I don’t have much choice. Just reaching out to a like soul. Need any help this summer? Ian and I will be home…

I’ve finally got some pictures, which are below.

I'll be studying these - they aerate the water and allow higher densities of shrimp to be grown in the same pond.

Homestay

Grandkids and cousins. They make me flower necklaces.

View from front porch

When in Asia... Laptop decal. Less permanent than a tattoo, Mom...

One of two good friends who don't speak any language. True solitude.

Soccer and cockle collecting in the mudflats.

Huge News!

Wow. So that's what a historic NYT front page looks like.

Rare wifi access - lap it up! Today, I woke up at 5, ate soup, sat in a hammock, watched "Just Go With It", played with some kids, ate lunch, napped for two hours, walked in the bay, and drank coffee.

More later.

Forced Relaxation

The Vietnamese are very good at relaxing. I am not. At least, not when I have work that needs to get done. It's hard to truly enjoy a freshly picked coconut in a hammock on the beach when I have a term paper and 30 farms worth of interviewing to do hanging over my head. Really.


But Van Hung and nearby Van Gia are great, as are the people. Tri is carting me everywhere; to coffee, to streams for bathing and picnics, to his friends' houses. We had lunch at his house yesterday and his father has adopted me as his own. I met Morris, a Vancouver native who is traveling with his Vietnamese wife. It was nice to speak some English at top speed again. I had to remind him who Bruce Cockburn was.

I ate dinner last night with four couples at a restaurateur/chef's house. I love chicken and rice soup. I will actually have pictures of that night for you all. Soon. The NGO is letting me borrow a camera.

We start interviews Wednesday, after all the holidays are over (Liberation of the South, International Labor Day, compensation days from the NGO), and then it's a mad dash to be as productive as possible before the 16th, when my report is due.



I'm sorry this blog is all over the place. I'm in a funky place right now, I shower next to huge pigs, eat cuttlefish all the time... it's interesting, I promise, my head just isn't in it. I'll be back to myself soon enough.

Wearing the Moneybelt

So today I ship out of comfy Phan Rang to Van Hung commune by way of Nha Trang to start my ISP. I move in with a homestay for 16 days, do some (a lot of) interviewing, and hang out on the very beach that inspired Jacques Cousteau to pursue marine biology.

I have my passport and money tucked into this stupid Rick Steves belt, and it actually making me feel more prepared. Ok then.

Electricity is a given, but wifi is less certain, so this blog may be sparse. However, if I'm lucky, I can borrow a camera from MCD.

Wish me luck.

To the No Reservations Crew:

http://www.priceoftravel.com/201/the-best-vietnamese-banh-mi-sandwich-in-the-world/

I'll add that to the list of things to do while spending the first two weeks post-SIT in Hue and Hoi An, eating great food and getting some tailor made clothes.

Grandma Bao makes the best banh bao, by the way. Mushrooms, caramelized onions and such a sauce - the new favorite.

Phan Rage

I had a blog post written in a Word document, but I forgot to put it on my USB drive. So forget about it. It has something to do with Top Gear, productivity and the fear responsibility of actually being in charge of my own passport for the first time in months.

All the pictures below come from my good friend Izzy, whose superior Powershot is still kicking it. All credit to her:

Ha Noi - we really liked it here. Four partial days is not a way to see this city; I'll come back.

Style is very important.

A shot from the infamous Bia Hoi Ha Noi. Fresh beer, i.e. kegged pilsner, comes at about $0.25 USD for 400 mL. WIth salty peanuts, ginger chicken and pomelo salad, I mean come on, wow. It just keeps coming.

Rice paddies outside a H'mong village. Places still look like this, apparently. Thank God.

Inside out H'mong village homestay, preparing for lunch. Very nice rice wine here, which is consumed from a large clay pot through bamboo straws. The women and children can drink, too. The fresh forest vegetables were delicious.

Ha Long Bay, oh joy. It's not that I don't like fog (I do - remember the Great Britain post earlier in the blog?), but that I don't like tourism. At least, not the kind of tourism they do here. You'll see what I mean when you see...

The caves. Supposedly a UNESCO World Heritage site, but more like a poorly-done Disney ride. No sense of the mystic. The best part of Ha Long Bay were the haircuts/dyes and the second ride on the Immodium Express (just kidding about the last one.

Remember that train ride I was whining about? This was the impromptu 'cultural exchange' (an SIT-approved euphemism for imbibing in alcohol). Because honestly, when you're on that train for 36 hours, what else is there to do? 

On top of the Red Rock in Nui Chua National Park - the campsite that night were hammocks in trees next to a gorgeous mountain stream. Showers were Dr. Bronner style and intensely refreshing. Pictures of the waterfalls to come once Eliza uploads her photos and I can steal those...

The inlet near the Raglai village.

Cham pottery - notable for being made without a pottery wheel.