{"id":35,"date":"2015-10-14T12:07:03","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T12:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/?p=35"},"modified":"2018-12-08T22:46:11","modified_gmt":"2018-12-08T22:46:11","slug":"2015-vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/2015\/10\/14\/2015-vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4>Cocktails, Cooking and Cycling<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" data-header=\"true\" data-footer=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/161278951@N05\/albums\/72157702210357324\" title=\"2015 Vietnam Highlights\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1923\/45309513921_d09317e03e_z.jpg\" alt=\"2015 Vietnam Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/a><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong><\/strong>14th October 2015 \u2013 22ndOctober 2015 (9 days)<br><br><strong>Getting started<\/strong><br>It was an early start to catch the day time flight from Sydney to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) in South Vietnam. Getting to the airport just became a bit trickier as our local buses had stopped terminating at Wynyard Station. Instead we got a scenic trip over the Cahill Expressway followed by a bumpy suitcase run downhill to Circular Quay Station. Arriving at the airport inplenty of time we found the departure lounge areas were being extensively rebuilt. The \u2018improvements\u2019 meant that we had trouble finding anywhere to complete our breakfast. We finally ended up with a big breakfast and a squashed ham and cheese croissant. It was good to start the holiday on a gastronomic low.The Vietnam Airlines flight was barely half full; as soon the doors closed Megan moved across the aisle so we both had two seats. The in flight service was uninspiring and lunch didn\u2019t move us far from the gastronomic low, but we both enjoyed watching Far From The Madding Crowd on the small screen. <br><br>Eight hours later we were dodging thunder clouds and making our approach to Saigon airport. Adrian entered Vietnam on his UK passport as it didn\u2019t require a visa. Megan came armed with an expensive stamp in her Australian passport. We followed the \u201carrival at Ho Chi Minh\u201d Trip Advisor guide, changing money ready for a cash economy. Ignoring the touts offering overpriced transfers to the city, we handed our hotel name to the taxi rank supervisor, and got a cheap metered taxi ride to the Liberty Central Riverside.<br><br>Although it was late afternoon when we checked in to the hotel it felt a lot later as we had lost four hours, so we had to push ourselves to go out to eat after unpacking. We ended up in a chain Vietnamese restaurant directly below our window \u2013but we had to walk round the block to get there. We could only muster the appetite for soup. Adrian had a kumquat and tamarind soda which was the first of many interesting refreshing drinks on our holiday.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Our itinerary<\/strong><br>\nWe sampled South Vietnam with two contrasting segments. Our short \nholiday started with five nights in the heart of the city, District 1, \nright by the Saigon River.  After seeing the sights, learning about \nVietnamese Cooking, and sampling the cheap cocktails we then moved to \nthe rural Mekong Delta for two nights, staying by the Mekong River.<br>\nSegment 1: Ho Chi Minh<br>\n[14 Oct] Sydney \u2013 Ho Ch Minh (Hotel Liberty Central Saigon Riverside)<br>\n[15 Oct] Street Food<br>\n[16 Oct] Cu Chi Tunnels<br>\n[17 Oct] Cooking School<br>\n[18 Oct] War Museum<br>\nSegment 2: Cai Be<br>\n[19 Oct] Ho Chi Minh \u2013 Cai Be (Mekong Lodge)<br>\n[20 Oct] Exploring the delta by boat and bicycle<br>\n[21 Oct] Cai Be \u2013Ho Chi Ming Airport \u2013 Sydney<br>\n[22 Oct] Home!  <br><br><strong>Segment 1: Ho Chi Minh City<\/strong><br><br><br><strong>Street Food Tour<\/strong><br>\nWe had pre-booked an introduction to Saigon\u2019s street<br>\nfood by scooter from the Saigon Cooking School. In the cool of the early\n morning we hopped on the back of two scooters, then wobbled and weaved \nour way through the traffic. There were a couple of moments when it was \nbetter to not be looking at the traffic on a collision course with us \u2013 \nbut there was safety in numbers being part of a fluid traffic jam of two\n wheelers.  Being on a scooter also helped us avoid some of the busy \nstreets as we headed down narrow laneways. Our first stop was the local \nVuon Chuoi Market in District 3 \u2013 well away from the tourist circuit. <br><br>\nOur guide from the cooking school introduced us to the foodstuffs on \nsale \u2013 some familiar and some not so.  We sampled the vegetable health \ndrinks thendived down a side alley way to sample freshly cooked dishes \nbeing prepared on simple hawker stalls. Sitting on tiny stools we \nsampled North Vietnamese kebabs and coconut pancakes (Banh Khot). Both \nwere served with an overflowing bowl of salad greens and dipping sauce. \nWe were shown how to serve the food by wrapping it in leaves giving a \nfresh (and healthy) taste. <br><br>\nBack on our two scooters, we needed a pause to let the food digest, so \nthe next stop was for our eyes only \u2013 the H\u1ed3 Th\u1ecb K\u1ef7  wholesale flower \nmarket in Ly Thai To street. Most of the flowers in the market are \nimported, or grown in the highland regions of Vietnam. We often saw the \nfloral displays being delivered precariously on the back of scooters to \nhotels, weddings and funerals.  Back to eating and to B\u00e1nhCu\u1ed1n H\u1ea3i Nam \nto sample a popular Vietnamese snack &#8211; B\u00e1nh Cu\u1ed1n \u2013minced pork stuffed \nrice paper rolls. We also tasted the fermented pork neck sausage \u2013 Nem. \nIt looked distinctly unappetising wrapped in plastic (particularly after\n you had been told how it was made) but had a pleasant taste that \ncomplemented the rolls.  <br><br>\nOur next street food experience was from one of the many vendors outside\n the university selling lunch to the students. We sampled a quail egg \nsalad (Banh Trang Tron) freshly prepared before us. Instead of using \nnoodles Banh TrangTron is made from left-over strips of rice paper \u2013 \nnothing is wasted in Vietnamese cooking! <br><br>\nWith all this delicious food we needed a break, sowe popped into the \ncool of a modern Dao Cao Dai temple. Caodaism is the third largest \nreligion in Vietnam and the temple shrine presents an all seeing \neye.There was a large orderly crowd outside the temple waiting for a \nfree meal handout. <br><br>\nThe final stop of our tour was in time for an early lunch of B\u00fan b\u00f2 Hu\u1ebf \u2013\n a beef soup (like Pho) served in a central Vietnamese style. Once again\n the soup came with a mountain of fresh greens. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Cu Chi<\/strong><br>\nMost visitors take a long coach ride out of Ho Chi Minh to visit the Cu \nChi tunnels \u2013 the underground headquarters of the Viet Cong at the end \nof the Ho Chi Minh trail. We decided to spend a bit more and make the \ntrip north by river speedboat. The fare with Les Rives included a simple\n breakfast (before we set off at speed), and lunch at a restaurant \nbefore we returned.  The river wharves opposite our hotel had been \nabandoned (presumably to make way for some redevelopment), so we had to \ntake a short minivan trip to board our boat just a bit upstream. The \nboat was seriously fast and overpowered \u2013 it carried just ten \npassengers.  Luckily the section of the Saigon River we went up wasn\u2019t \nparticularly busy so there wasn\u2019t much other water traffic to avoid. <br><br>\nBy the sides of the river there were a few high concrete block houses \nbuilt to attract swiftlets to nest. The nests are treasured for the \nsupposed medicinal qualities of the bird spittle.  We arrived at the Cu \nChi complex ahead of most o fthe coach parties, though the site was \nclearly well designed to handle large numbers of visitors. The circular \ntour started with a surprisingly good propaganda film presenting the \nVietnamese perspective on the war and the role of the tunnel systems. \nThen a stroll through the jungle took us past by various \nreconstructions. <br><br>\nLife for the Viet Cong in the tunnels was difficult,but the museum \nshowed them to be very resourceful (including dismantling unexploded \nordinance to extract the explosive, and making sandals out of old \ntyres). After lunch we retraced our route back to Ho Chi Minh arriving \nback just as the afternoon storms threatened to break.  <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Saigon Cooking School \u2013 Cooking Class<\/strong><br>\nThe Saigon Cooking School is one of the better places to learn how to \ncook Vietnamese food. It operates out of a colonial building in a \ndisused opium refinery. The ground floor of the building is a \nwell-regarded restaurant; whilst upstairs are the air conditioned school\n facilities. Because the school is so popular we were offered the option\n of a course to be taken downstairs in the restaurant courtyard. The \nlack of air-conditioning was not an issue for us,but we were surprised \nto find that there were 10 students in our overflow class! <br><br>\nIn the four hour morning class we cooked3 dishes:<br>\nCh\u1ea3 gi\u00f2: Fried spring roll with pork &amp; taro and Nuoc Mam dipping sauce<br>\nThe challenge here was wrapping and sealing the filling in rice paper. And then deep frying the rolls using only chopsticks.<br><br>\nWater spinach and \u201cCang Cua\u201dsalad<br>\nwith quail eggs, dry prawns, raw vegetables,fried garlic &amp; shallots <br>\nG\u1ecfi rau mu\u1ed1ng  -kumquat dressing<br>\nMore fun on this cold salad. Lots of julienning vegetables, and using a \nspecial shredder to prepare the water spinach \u2013 but at least no hot oil \ninvolved!<br><br>\nM\u00ec x\u00e0o gi\u00f2n h\u1ea3i s\u1ea3n<br>\nCrispy fried noodles with squids &amp; crunchy vegetables &#8211; Back to the \nhot oil to crisp fry a handful of noodles \u2013 once again just using \nchopsticks. Then a wok stir fry using fresh squid and a unusually liquid\n sauce.Each dish was eaten after we had prepared it. And whilst we ate \nthe cooking class cleared our workspaces and put out the ingredients for\n the next course.  <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The sights of Ho Chi Minh<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The heart of French Colonial Saigon is \u201cParis\u201d square with the Central Post Office and the Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame. The Post Office is an impressive building \u2013 like a small railway station inside. We made good use of our visit, buying postcards at a stand, using the writing desks to add our message, and then purchasing stamps. The cathedral was not open for visitors when we passed by. The exterior looks like brick but is actually red tiles from Marseilles. Between the \u201cParis\u201dsquare and the river is a broad ceremonial avenue Nguyen Hue. <br><br>At the head of the avenue is the former Hotel de Ville, now the People\u2019s Committee Building in a distinctive Parisian style. The building is closed to the public, but it is viewed for the statue of Ho Chi Minh in front (and the flower gardens). <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\nWe found ourselves with many hours to spare before our flight \u2013 even the\n check-in was closed when we arrived.Luckily the airport has a public \n\u201cfarewell\u201d gallery with a bar and restaurant where we were able to sit \ncomfortably whilst we waited.The return flight was completely full so \nthere were no spare seats to stretch out on the night flight to Sydney. \nWith a four hour time difference there wasn\u2019t much time to rest between \ndinner and the early breakfast service, but both of us were so exhausted\n (and relaxed)we did grab some sleep.  <br><br><strong>The verdict<\/strong><br><br><strong>Plus<\/strong><br>\nVietnamese cooking was interesting in its use of varied salad greens (not what we were used to in Sydney)<br>\nLots of good quality fresh food<br>\nAmazingly cheap cocktails in hotel happy hour(s)<br>\nBike rides along narrow paths avoiding motor bikes or falling off bridges<br>\nThe brick factory \u2013 green and efficient<br><strong>Minus<\/strong><br>\nOur room in HoChi Minh was very small (made smaller by the ridiculously large bed) \u2013 and only one chair.       \n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cocktails, Cooking and Cycling 14th October 2015 \u2013 22ndOctober 2015 (9 days) Getting startedIt was an early start to catch the day time flight from Sydney to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) in South Vietnam. Getting to the airport just became&#8230; <a class=\"tbreadmore\" href=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/2015\/10\/14\/2015-vietnam\/\"> Continue Reading&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions\/219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}