Vietnamese Food

One of the delightful things about travelling is enjoying the local food. Food tells you a lot about the local culture and their history. What the locals eat comes from the availability of local ingredients and other influences.
In Vietnam, there is an abundance of vegetables and rice so you see a lot of food derived from rice on the dinner table. Vegetables, cooked or raw, are very common as well. Raw vegetables are not common in Asian cuisine but they are in Vietnam. This influence probably came from the French, who also introduced baguettes to the locals.
Most people, myself included, assumed that Vietnamese food is very much like Chinese food because of the Chinese historical influence. Instead I find it quite different. Chinese food uses a lot of stir-fry, which uses a lot of oil. Vietnamese food, in general, is not greasy. Rice paper are common at dinner tables. You wrap a lot of vegetables and a few pieces of meat with the rice paper and dip it in a fish sauce-based sauce.
Soup is also common at lunch or dinner tables. Usually a big bowl is shared by everyone at the table. Most of the meals are eaten family-style.
Don't expect ice-cream or cake for dessert. It's usually some kind of fruit. I was once served sugar-cane for dessert. The sugar-cane had been peeled and cut into small chunks. You chew on the sugar-cane and spit out the pulp. Water-melon, pomeloes, pineapples, papayas, are fruits that are commonly served for dessert.
There are some regional differences in Vietnamese food. Those from the north tend to be a little bland. Food from the south tend to have stronger flavors, perhaps because of the warmer climate. In the central regional, where Danang and Hue are located, food tend to have a strong flavor and spicy as well.
How much do I typically pay for lunch or dinner? I've spent as little as US$1 for lunch. But when I go with my friends as a group, we typically spend around US$4 to $5. For dinner, I spend anywhere from US$3 to $6. If I go with my friends and they order a ton of food, my share is usually less than US$10.
The best part about Vietnamese food is it's healthy. There is very little greasy stuff and almost no sweet dishes (what we'd call dessert). Families buy their ingredients in the morning at the local market and cook them the same day. After I was in Vietnam for only 3 months, I noticed a visible change in my weight. My pants were so loose that I could have gone back to a size smaller.
I hardly saw any fat Vietnamese when I was there. Some bulky ones yes but absolutely no obese Vietnamese. Sadly, I am starting to see some overweight kids. Probably too much KFC and Pizza Hut. Luckily, they don't have MacDonald's in Vietnam.
Below are some pictures I took of Vietnamese food that I was able to enjoy while in Vietnam.

Note: I noticed the captions on the slideshows sometimes appear in large fonts. I don't understand the reason why but if you hit the refresh button on your browser, it should go back to its regular font.

Home in the US

If you are wondering why I have not posted anything the last 2 weeks, it's because many things were happening at work.
My contract expires on March 31 and they decided not to extend it.
So, I decided to come back to the US on March 26 and is now home in Arizona.

I still have a few posts that I want to put on the blog.
However, I need a new computer.
When I left Vietnam, I returned my laptop to my employer.
I have an old computer that is very, very slow.
I will wait until I get a new computer before adding new posts to the blog.

Please bear with me for a few days while I shop around for a new laptop or deskside computer.
Thanks.

Ecotourism

Living one floor below me in my apartment building is a Spanish NGO (Non-Government Organization) that focusses on ecotourism. The project is called Ngoc Son Ngo Luong Project. This organization is trying to help the local population better their living standard by helping them promote ecotourism. It is building hiking trails through the area and building the infrastructure to support it. It is training the locals to be eventually self-sustaining.
The project is about three hours south-west of Hanoi in Hoa Binh province. Most of the people in this area are ethnic minorities: Kinh, Muong, Thai, Tay, Dao, etc. The people here are mostly farmers and very poor. Earning the equivalent of US$10 a day is a lot of money.
I was invited by the staff of the NGO to go with them to another ecotourism project in a neighboring province that was completed by another European NGO. They want to see how it is operating so that they can apply some of the same successful practices. Our guide is Hai (in blue jacket in pictures above) who worked for the other NGO and is now working for this project. Hai grew up in the area and knew just about everyone as we walked through the mountains and villages. He worked with these villagers to help them understand ecotourism and how to be part of it.
The main focus of ecotourism is enjoying the environment without destroying it. One of the features is homestay. You stay with a local family and eat with them. You have a local guide with you who will take you trekking (or hiking) in the area. You can also do local things like what the farmers do every day. This type of tourism is not for everybody. The homestay hosts probably have never stayed in a hotel, not to mention a Hilton or even Motel 6. They have their own standards of cleanliness and hygiene. Expect a very primitive stay.
Our hosts for the evening was a very nice young couple with one daughter. He is Thai and she is a Moung. His mother also helps out. The house is on stilts (standard in the area). We all mingle and ate dinner in a large room. The couple cooked in a kitchen area towards one end of the room. At night the couple set up mattresses spread out over the room. Each sleeping area has a mosquito net around it. The family slept in the kitchen area.
This kind of tourism is gaining in popularity. Sometimes you want to go somewhere where there are not a hundred other tourists and every hotel room looks the same. People everywhere are concerned about the environment and helping those who are not as fortunate. This is the perfect type of trip if you belong in this category.
You can see chickens pecking around. Ducks swimming in the ponds. Touch a rice stalk. Listen to the cock crow in the morning. Hear the rush of water in the stream next to the house. Sit next to a papaya tree. Eat vegetables grown by the hosts themselves. Well....you've got to try it.

Temples

Temples are very common in Vietnam. Some are very big, like the ones I saw in Danang and Hue, and some are small, hidden among houses on a street. Some of them I miss completely even though I've walked the same street many times. I didn't realize there was a temple there until I saw tourists coming out of the building.
If I ask my Vietnamese friends what religion they belong to, they almost always say Buddhism. I also have some Catholic friends, by the way. However, when I visit the temples, I hardly see any statues of Buddha at all, like I would see in the temples in Cambodia or Thailand. What I see are mostly idols, the same kind that the Chinese worship.
I see many similarities between what the Vietnamese worship and what the Chinese worship. I would call this a blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Confucianism and Taoism are not really religions. They came from two famous Chinese philosophers, Confucius and Lao Tze, respectively. However, they have been so intertwined with the daily lives of the people that they become part of their religion. Somewhere, Buddhist doctrine is mixed in to form the religion of the Vietnamese.
You see a lot of ancestor worship, like burning joss papers, paper money and other paper objects as offerings to their ancestors. It is common to see a small altar for the "kitchen god" in homes and even restaurants.
I often get confused when my friends say they go to the pagoda to pray. So, what's the difference between a pagoda and a temple? From what I gather, a pagoda is a place where you go to pray and worship. It does not necessary have to have a pagoda, as in a building. A temple is a place to honor someone important in history. For example, one of the famous temples in Hue honors the Nguyen dynasty.
The slideshow above shows pictures of many temples or maybe pagodas that I took while walking around the streets of Hanoi and some from Danang and Hue.

thịt chó

Warning: If you are a dog lover, you might want to skip this post.



thịt (meat) chó (dog) means dog meat

I've been asked many times by my friends in Hanoi whether I've tried dog meat. I always tell them no and I don't plan to.
Eating dog meat is very much part of the Vietnamese culture. I guess it's relative - what is a delicacy to some may be repulsive to others. They eat dog meat just like they eat beef or pork. However, there are some significance to eating dog meat.
Vietnamese believe that eating dog meat drives away bad luck so they tend to want to eat dog meat at the end of the month, starting around the 20th of the month. This drives away bad luck for the month so that they are ready for the new month. It is very popular just before the Lunar New Year, so that they can start out fresh for the new year.
Black dogs are especially popular because they represent bad luck. Eating the "bad luck" will drive it away.
Where do they get the dogs? Dog buyers go around neighborhoods looking for dogs. They will ask the dog owners if they want to sell their dogs. So, they are not specially bred dogs but someone's pets.
One day I asked a good friend of mine about his dogs. He said he is sad; he can't eat dogs for two months. I asked him why. He told me that his father just sold one of his dogs. So, it's okay to eat dogs but not your own dog.
Below are pictures of a typical dog restaurant. They are not as common in the city center but more common as you go to the outskirts of the city. Some of the restaurants would display an entire dead dog to attract customers.

Again, if you find this story repulsive, please skip the pictures below.

Chinese New Year in Singapore

After a few days in Hanoi, we flew to Singapore to spend Chinese New Year (CNY) with family and friends. I have not been back to celebrate CNY for almost 40 years so this is definitely a nice treat.
CNY is typically a time for families to get together, so called reunions. It's almost like Thanksgiving or Christmas in the US. It's a major holiday in Asia.
Through the generosity of one of my close friends, we stayed at the 2500-room Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Hotel for 3 nights. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The MBS Hotel is Singapore's latest hotel and landmark. It's architecture is unique. It has 3 towers; on top of which sits a Skypark. The Skypark has an "infinity swimming pool." It looks like water is flowing over the edge of the pool down the side of the hotel. The view from the room is simply gorgeous. Here is a link with more information on the Skypark:
http://www.marinabaysands.com/SandsSkypark/Sands_Sky_Park.aspx
We also spent some time at Sentosa Island, a small island south of Singapore. This island was originally a British military base. The Singapore government recently has developed it into a tourist island, with a golf course, hotels, Universal Studios, museums, another casino, etc. We took the cable car there, although you can drive there or take a short train ride there.
Between all these interesting things to do, we did a lot of eating. Since this is Candy's first visit to Singapore, my relatives made sure she tries all the popular local delicacies. We also walked a lot so that makes up for all the eating.
I also had a small reunion of sort with some of my close high-school friends. We have known each other since we were 13 or 14 and amazingly, we still keep in touch and see each other occassionally.

Note: I don't know why the captions show up in large fonts when you first get on this website. But, if you hit the refresh button, it will reset to the correct size.

Halong Bay Revisited

My daughter, Cynthia, and girlfriend, Candy, visited me in Hanoi the last few days. We booked a 2-day/1-night cruise on Halong Bay on one of the nicer cruises. This is my third visit to Halong Bay. The last two were one-day trips. The overnight trip allows you to experience Halong Bay in the evening and at a more leisure pace.
Our boat is called the Indochina Sails. It usually costs around $200 a night per person but since this is the low season, it was cheaper; about $150 a night per person. The boat has 15 cabins and each cabin is furnished like a nice hotel room. It has individual bathrooms and showers. They also served some very nice meals on the boat. If you can afford it, this is definitely the way to experience Halong Bay.
Like in my previous trips, we also saw the caves and a floating village.
You can refer to my other post on Halong Bay in August 2010.

Calligraphy in Hanoi

Vietnamese are getting ready to welcome the Lunar New Year.
One of the activities in Hanoi, besides all the frantic shopping, is a gathering of calligraphy artists outside the Temperature of Literature. Sometimes called Van Mieu, it's Vietnam's first university, built in 1070.
The calligraphy here is very similar to Chinese calligraphy. Not surprising since a lot of Vietnam's history and culture were tied to the Chinese.
The calligraphy are for sale and there were many tourists and locals watching the artists.

Note: If the slideshow stops, move the cursor to the picture and press the "Play" button.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

Happy New Year!
You can see and feel that something important is happening in Hanoi.
Vietnamese celebrate the Lunar New Year on February 3rd this year. It changes every year because it's based on the lunar calendar. It is also called Tet.
This is also the same date as the Chinese New Year and the celebrations and customs are very similar.
In Hanoi the shops are stuffed with things related to the occassion - candies, gift baskets, decorations, etc. The streets have been jammed with traffic because businesses are going around presenting gifts to their customers and shoppers are out shopping.
There is a lot excitement and anticipation, just like Christmas in America.
I will be spending Chinese New Year in Singapore. This is the first time I am celebrating Chinese New Year in Singapore in almost 40 years. Below are some pictures of what's going on in the streets of Hanoi.




The balloon says it all "Happy New Year!"

A lot of the shops selling decorations are on Hang Giay street. Hang means product, Giay means paper. The Old Quarter in Hanoi has 36 streets with the name "Hang." Similar businesses will be located on the same street.





Candies are popular for guests visiting homes.







Gifts shaped like old Chinese money.








A shop selling all kinds of New Year's gifts.









Gift baskets are popular with businesses







More New Year's decorations. Red and gold are popular colors.

Red envelopes for giving money to the children.

Snake Meat

A group of about 11 of us went to have snake meat for lunch. There was no special occassion but someone decided to organize a snake meat lunch. Since I came to Vietnam, I've been asked many times whether I've eaten snakes. Eating snakes is not such a gross idea because some restaurants in Arizona serve rattlesnakes for appetizers. But, this seems to be a delicacy here in Vietnam.
We took a taxi about 45 minutes to the outskirt of Hanoi. This area has many restaurants serving snake meat.


Entrance to the restaurant, which is reached through some narrow streets and alleys.







A view of the courtyard of the bustling restaurant.









Members of the staff preparing the snakes for cooking.






We had a 12-course meal but not all were snake dishes. Here are 3 snake dishes, cooked in different ways. It came to about 250,000 dongs each, or about $12.50.








One of the dishes, which includes the skin. It's kind of chewy.








A dish of snake hearts, which no one ate.
Thank God.

Is It Safe There?

I've been asked this question many times whenever I am ready to take on a trip to Asia.

My usual response is, "Of course it's safe. They don't have guns there."

In all my years of travelling all over Asia, I have never been robbed. Being robbed at gunpoint is unheard of because owning a gun itself is illegal, let alone using a gun to rob someone.

If you are caught with a gun, you can expect a very stiff sentence, likely a few years in prison.

In Singapore, I've gone out and have a late-night dinner at a street restaurant at 3 am and feel totally safe. I can walk anywhere in the city at night and feel safe.

In Vietnam, I've walked alone at night many times and I feel safe. I've seen young foreign women backpackers walking alone carrying a big backpack and they feel safe. Just because the people are poor here does not mean that they are ready to rob you or shoot you.

I've often been overcharged when I buy things but that's normal everywhere when you are from out-of-town.

This is why I don't understand how a 22-year old man can just walk into a store and buy a Glock semi-automatic pistol. How that person can walk into a grocery store with that gun and start shooting innocent defenseless people. Or, in the case of Arizona, he could've walked into a restaurant with that gun and if he is not happy with the service, start shooting everyone in the restaurant.

I can understand if someone wants a gun for hunting. But, what else would you need a gun for if you don't use for hunting? Shooting people, of course. I know I will upset some of my friends who are anti-gun control but I don't see any reason to own a gun unless you want to hunt or shoot people.

I pray that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and other victims get well soon. I pray for the friends and families of those who were not so lucky and did not survive the shooting in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, January 8th.

For those who are not familiar with the background of this story, please go to this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/us/10reconstruct.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Hue-Danang-Hoi An

After returning to Hanoi on New Year's Eve, a group of friends and I went to Central Vietnam on New Year's Day. We flew to Danang and then took a 2-hour drive in a van to Hue (pronounced Hway). Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty in the 19th century until the French colonized Vietnam. It is known for its palaces, pagodas, tombs and temples. It also has its unique Vietnamese cuisine, especially "cakes." They are rice cakes in different variations and stuffings. They have names like banh beo, banh loc, banh nam, etc.
The most famous tourist site is the Citadel. This is where the king lives and also has temples and pagodas.



Arriving at Danang Airport








Eating special Hue noodles for breakfast at a roadside restaurant.







The entrance to the Citadel








On a boat cruise on the Perfume River

Inside one of the temples with altars to the 14 kings in the Nguyen Dynasty







Giant urns outside the temple

Another part of the Citadel







Another outside view

Entrance to the Minh Mang Tomb. Minh Mang was one of the kings in the Nguyen Dynasty

Inside the tomb







Mother and child selling drinks and snacks outside the tomb







A nice lunch after the tour.











Another building inside the tomb

Another part of the tomb

After Hue we went back to Danang and visited some local popular spots there.

Steps leading up to the Kwan Yin statue






We got around Hue and Danang by renting motorbikes. There were 5 bikes for the 9 of us. It costs about 100,000 VND to rent a bike, about US$5 a day. You have to wear mask because it's dusty on the country roads. We often lose each other because of the windy roads and many intersections. If not for cell phones, it'd have been very difficult to stay as a group.

A temple next to the Kwan Yin Statue in Danang

A big Kwan Yin statue that was built only a few years ago. It's a prominent landmark next to the beach in Danang. At night it is lit so you can see it from far away.

In the late afternoon, we rode our motorbikes for a 30-minute ride to Hoa An. Hoa An is a seaside resort that is known for its ancient Chinese architecture.

This is where the tourist come. The shops and restaurants cater mostly to tourists.





One of the buildings with its old Chinese architecture

A brightly-lit dragon on the river.

Stuck in Hong Kong Airport

I had a wonderful time in the US. It was nice to be in my own house, sleeping on my bed and doing routine things that I've done for years.
It was nice attending Cynthia's graduation and then spending Christmas with friends.
It was great to talk without thinking about the words to use.

At last, I have to make this long journey back to Asia. A trip like this typically takes at least 24 hours from door to door. My flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong took 15 hours non-stop. That's a lot of time to be on a plane. Fortunately, Cathay Pacific Airways has a very nice entertainment system in front of every seat. The service was good but not as good as Singapore Airlines, which has been voted No. 1 airline for the last 2 decades, I think. If you have to make a trip across the Pacific, forget about the US-based airlines. Their food is bad and their service is lousy. Also, the Asian countries don't have any age-discrimmination laws so the Asian-based airlines pick the best-looking flight attendants.

Unfortunately, my flight from LA to Hong Kong was delayed taking off and I missed my connecting flight to Hanoi. I ended up spending 9 hours at the Hong Kong Airport. Good thing the airline gave me a hotel room to shower and rest up. But, I still had a lot of time to walk around the airport. Below are some pictures I took while walking around.




This airport is huge. It is an airport and shopping center. It replaced the old Kai Tak airport in the early 2000s'. It is built on an island about 20 minutes by train from the city.
The picture on the left shows the waiting area for the gates.









Here is a map of HK's subway system, called MTR. It is a very clean and efficient system.












Burger or Wonton noodles?































Here are the check-in counters.

























One of the small restaurants selling local snacks.

Well....how can you not have a Starbucks. There is also a McDonald's restaurant somewhere in the airport.