Vietnam Part III

Nha Trang and Mui Ne (Beaches)

One of the moments when I started becoming grouchy was when we had to get up at 4 AM to catch a 7 AM flight. We got to the airport 2 hours early, I was not a happy camper, quickly blaming Mom when the travel agency was just as guilty! Regardless, it was becoming apparent that there was going to be some upheaval with me soon. Nha Trang was nice but commercialized as we fell into a tourist trip and spent the day at the local amusement park with private beach, called, Vinh Pearl. The cable car ride was lovely along with drinking canned Saigon beers and coconut juice on the beach. We introduced Gerlyn to Nem Nuong, grilled pork sausage with veggies and herbs wrapped in rice paper. I keep on forgetting to mention the Continental breakfast at all the hotels. Some hotels were better than others with their hodge podge interpretation of ‘Westernized’ food alongside Vietnamese porridges and noodles. Not sure if one of these breakfast or the snails I ate was the culprit for my food illness for 2 days.

2 days in bed while we were at the one of the prettiest of beaches, Mui Ne. Gerlyn was in for a treat, as she spent much time with my family who spoke mainly Vietnamese and witnessed first hand Mom indenting a not so cute fish on my back. Yes, this is the prerequisite for every Vietnamese mom; to ward away the sickness, you must rub Tiger balm resembling a scale of a fish on your child’s back until they are red with blood spots. Needless to say, I couldn’t eat for days, gagged at any faint smell of fish sauce, and happily resorted to eating Spaghetti. My aunt’s beach house was terrific though, at least the confines of my room! To my dear aunt; please don’t be offended my sickness had nothing to do with your comfy home J Highlights include the Sand dunes and my mom getting money pic pocketed by these little girls.

Saigon

My Grandparents where forced to move South to Saigon in 1946 when the Viet Cong came through. Hence, half of my aunts and uncles grew up in Hanoi, the others including my mom in Saigon. The city had great energy and seemed to be filled with affluent Vietnamese. Maybe it was also my attachment towards the city, touring it with my mom and aunt. They showed me their old high schools, their old walking routes, where their friends used to live, and even where my grandparents would take them to eat ice cream if they were good. We passed by their old home and were sadly greeted by guards as it is now owned by the government and cannot be viewed.

Gerlyn and I toured the Cu Chi Tunnels one morning and were astonished by the intelligence of the VC and understood how the war was lost. I have heard the story a many times before but listening to my mom re-tell of how she fled the country had new meaning. How young and scared she must have been to leave a country, move to another and start a new life. She sacrificed everything for a better life, my whole family did and it paid off, 30 grandchildren later, my grandparents’ legacy lives on in us in America. Educated, independent, and adventure seekers we all are. I have never been so grateful after this trip. Thanks Mom, I did have a good time despite my ‘princess’ like attitude this will be experience I will never forget!

Vietnam Part II

Ha Long Bay

They call it the 8^th wonder of the world, a destination every country boasts about. A 3 hour drive from Hanoi and another 4 hour boat ride, we were there with the cutest tour guide. Affectionately, I called him ‘Anh’ translating to a young ‘Mr.’ We flirted our way through the day with his broken English and my hesitant Vietnamese. The tour provided lunch where we were able to pick out live fish from floating markets. We chose Crayfish cooked with Salt and Pepper and were served other goodies such as Tofu, Fish, Soup, Egg omelet, and oddly enough, French Fries. Ladies selling baskets of fruit at a dollar for livelihood amazed me; one young lady was 17 with 2 kids already. I could have been her Mom for god sake!!! A different life indeed!

Hue

Did I mention we had drivers everywhere we went? It was apart of our package for a very small price. Mom had booked in advance and did not realize that most of the tour guides could only speak Vietnamese. “Joe”, we called him because he resembled our close family friend would spew volumes of history to Mom for 2 full days. She desperately tried to translate but gave us the short 1 sentence abridged version. He spoke in some sort of Central accent which I had a hard time understanding; about the history of the Nguyen Dynasty, the 13^th emperors of Vietnam, the meaning of all 3 of the Vietnamese Pagodas we visited, and even Central Vietnamese cuisine. We ate Bun Bo Hue, a specialty of spicy noodles (fat) and beef, not to mention my favorite dish of the trip, Mi Quang, egg noodles with all sorts of fun; spring roll, peanuts, cilantro, bean sprouts, pork and pork broth.

Hoi An

This City was my favorite, maybe because it was bit more westernized, action packed, and very walk-able. We had our best meal there, at stalls but with wooden tables right by the water. All the specialties of the Central; ‘White Rose’ which I initially thought was wine (see how my mind works) instead white dumplings shaped like roses (filled with pork), fried wontons with shrimp, Calamari spring rolls, and more Mi Quang. Our hotel was quaint and tranquil, reminiscent of an Island resort. A scene and moment that is captured in my mind forever on this trip; walking by the River at night an inexpensive fresh meal, colorful lanterns, in the country of my roots with my mom. A ‘take my breath away moment’ for sure.

Vietnam Part I

31 days later, I arrive to LAX and am greeted by my best friend, Carly, ‘Thank god, you are home. Thank god too,’ I say.

Not to say the trip was terribly bad NOR great but about smack in the middle good and it was certaintly an adventure! I failed 31 days of local, organic, food, well that’s not entirely true, maybe a week when I was in New Zealand…..that is a later post.

Rewind to Thanksgiving day, 31 days before; stuffed with a true send off of Organic Turkey and Sangiovese by family, I arrive to LAX to find myself amongst a sea of Asians. EVR, the Taiwanese airline carrier would be where I’d spend the next 18 hours of life. I check-in to find that the connecting flight from Taipei to Hanoi was cancelled. I needed to get in touch with my mom pronto already in Vietnam. Well, turns out she gave me the wrong cell phone number. Oh well, I will figure it out.

Fast forward.... a day and a half later, exhausted and delirious, I arrive to Hanoi, greeted/harassed by Vietnamese ‘Taxi’ drivers offering to take me anywhere. With my choppy Vietnamese skillz, I manage to fend them off until a gentlemen walks up with a sign that reads, ‘TU, TRAM-ANH”, (my Vietnamese name), sent by Mom!

As we drove into the center city, moped drivers wearing colorful surgical type masks surrounds us; literally in front of us, beside us, and behind us. Dusty air, unfinished facades of buildings, endless fields of rice paddies, and mopeds filled to the gills are the first images. I get to the hotel to find Mom standing by the window in anticipation of my arrival! The next few hours were great, exploring the streets with Mom in her country, seeing my roots, and even a cyclo ride around the city. I had the best spring rolls that night which utilized the freshest rice paper, crab, pork and herbs. Followed by crispy ‘cakes’ of shrimp straight out of the sea, and a new dish to me of Green Mango, Papaya, and Calamari Salad.

The next day, my friend Gerlyn arrived and it went downhill from there, we’d travel from the top of the country to the bottom, barreling our way through Ha Long Bay, Emperors’ palaces, beach resorts, the ‘city of lanterns’, and finally, my mom’s home town of Saigon. Most importantly, ambushing our way through the food specialties of each region so much so, that I got sick on Day 7 and ate ‘Westernized’ food, also forcing me to skip many meals the rest of the trip! But I still have a few highlights….continue reading friends.

More Coming Soon!

Sorry people, I had absolutely no time to blog on this trip! Frankly, it just takes up so much time and thought :) 12 air planes, 4 boat rides later, I'm back in LA safely. Anyways, here is what I brought, 2 backpacks, not bad, right? And a meal on EVR (Taiwanese). If you look closely the packet on the right says, 'Tuna Floss', not sure what that means but it was basically dried Tuna flakes. I think I was supposed to sprinkle it on my, 'Porridge'. I'll be back with more stories....