Cooking class with Hao!

Today I woke up excited: I was going to learn how to cook bún bò Huế (spicy beef noodle soup originating from Hue) and bánh loc, followed by a motorbike lesson through the deserted country roads of Thanh Tien village. My teacher: Hao, a local university student that's been involved with Rose Vietnam for a while. She picked me up at my hotel and together we went to a local market to buy our necessary ingredients. As with most families, Hao's family doesn't have a fridge at home, so most meals start with such a visit. The plus side is that you know that everything is fresh. In fact, the shrimps we bought were still alive and I was attacked by a jumping fish while making my way through the seafood section! To my surprise, meat, especially beef, is very expensive here. Seafood is cheaper, but not cheap. Vegetables and rice noodles on the other hand is almost given. A fun fact: at the veggie stand, Hao just told the lady that she was making bún bò Huế for 3 people and the lady just put an assortment of veggies, herbs, onions, and even a pineapple in a bag! Good system I thought!

We started with making the bánh loc, which to me seemed to be the Vietnamese style of Japanese gyoza, basically dumplings. However, bánh loc are made with rice paste which you form into small circles with your fingers. You then put in one small shrimp and a small piece of pork before sealing similarly to a gyoza. However, since the rice paste is sticky, you don't need anything to help it hold. The shrimp and pork were cooked previously in a sweet and spicy sauce consisting of oil, sugar, fish sauce, and chilli peppers. After making all the dumplings, half were boiled and the other half fried. The boiled ones had a slightly translucent appearance with a texture that reminded me of mochi. The fried ones were a yummy mix of a crunchy exterior and chewy interior! All were eaten with yet more fish sauce. In case I haven't mentioned it yet: don't come to Vietnam if you don't like fish sauce! It's everywhere.

Getting the right sized insides was a challenge for me,
so was finding the optimal thickness of the paste, but I had fun trying!

One guess which was one of my first attempts... I have to admit that I was happy with the flair I added to the last ones!

Making bún bò Huế was much easier. You basically cut up the onions and pineapple (surprise!) and boiled everything along with the pork. The broth consisted of oil, salt, fish sauce, and chili peppers. Near the end you added the beef and you were ready to eat! The thick rice vermicelli we bought were already cooked, and most of the vegetables you added raw. Presentation was important here: in the bottom of the bowl went the raw veggies, then the vermicelli, and then to top it off you add the beef and make sure there's enough broth to go around. Yum!

Hao sorting through the veggies and cleaning them.

Raw veggies soaking in salt water to make sure they are clean, no upset stomachs please!

The final results!

Life in a Hotel

Due to a random culmination of events, it turns out that I will be living in a hotel during my stay in Hue! At first I was really turned off by the idea. I was expecting to have a homestay like I did while in the Philippines and was really looking forward to getting to know a family, not to mention having home-cooked meals! In the end though, I am very happy where I am. I did a little shopping around (and once the word got out that there was a foreigner looking to rent a room for a couple of months, I got really good offers thrown at me!) and found a nice place in the middle of the backpacker's area of Hue -- which as it turns out amounts to about 4 blocks. I've got hot water, a fridge, a window with a view, and loads of space. I was also about to bargain for free laundry once a week and use of the kitchen to cook from time to time. All in all, not bad for 6$/day!

Pros of living in a hotel: room service! Though funnily enough I had to argue with the staff that I didn't in fact need or want someone to come in and clean my room everyday. They seemed to think that I was incapable of making my own bed and taking out my trash. Also, since I'm keeping food in my room they were worried about the floor and my attracting bugs. Once they mentioned that, I got worried about it as well! We came up with a two-day a week cleaning schedule for the big stuff and they come in and mop the floor every second day quickly. Still, it's strange for me to come back to my room and have all my things tidied up... In fact I've started tidying up myself on days that I know they'll clean as a preparation! Other pros include security, good and unbiased information (the fact that I'm living here has really opened up the staff to me and we've had a good laugh -- especially when I'm in the kitchen!), and a good sense of privacy.

Cons of living in a hotel: isolation. Had I been staying with a homestay I would always have people around. The evenings in a hotel can be very quiet and lonesome. However, the fact that I have wifi access in my room has made things much better as I've been making it a point to call someone almost every night. Another unexpected con is that since I'm in the middle of the backpacker's area, I can't go outside without being offered a cyclo or motorbike ride. However, great progress has recently happened on this front: just yesterday I went out and the cyclo driver that's on the corner saw me and said: "hello miss! no cyclo today, I know!" with a smile, which had me laughing out loud. He seemed so proud to have remembered.

Well, I have to admit that I never thought that I'd be living in a hotel, but it's something to experience like anything else! I've taken the time to personalize the room, moved furniture, gotten rid of the tv, bought a kettle, and put up pictures. The staff have been opening up slowly to me and I've taken to help out with other guests when we cross in the lobby which is appreciated all around. All in all, I think I like living here. Well see in a month or two!

Welcome to Hue

I arrived in Hue last Saturday, less than a week ago, yet it already feels much longer. This is in part due to the sheer number of people I've met in such a short time, in part due to busy-ness, and another part due to all the amazing new food that I've been discovering. I'm sure I'll post soon about Hue food, but as a teaser, let's just say that I think of Hue as the Queen of Bánh!

I will be living in Hue until May, save for a few weeks here and there that I hope to use to discover some of more Vietnam. My volunteer work here consists of helping out at Thanh Tien Village. This is a village about fifteen minutes away from Hue center by motorbike, or half an hour by bicycle. The weather here is pleasantly cool when compared to the rest of the country which makes bike riding enjoyable rather than a sweaty torture. I rented a bike on my second day here and hope to ride it until the weather changes and forces me to conquer my motorbike riding fears. Luckily, I have at least a month or two before that happens and the roads surrounding Thanh Tien are perfect to practice on: deserted, surrounded by rice fields, and straight. 

Hue city itself is gorgeous. A World Heritage site, it is a breath of fresh air when compared to other big Asian cities.

I included the map to help my description. As I understand it from my bike rides exploring it's tiny streets, the city is built on the old royal palace grounds. It's surrounded by a moat and large wall. On the inside there's a second wall and moat. In between the two walls, there's a giant park. Mostly the park is much welcomed green grass and large trees, in my experience, another rarity in big Asian cities. Somewhat strangely, interspersed in around the part are different war remnants such as bomber planes and giant cannons. Still, the greenery is a lovely place to read or play the ukulele. Once you breach the second set of walls, the city feels almost European. Most streets are narrow and one-way which makes navigating my bicycle feel much safer and less stressful. Each street has it's specialty, whether it be karaoke bars, men's coats, or laundry machines to name a few! I've spent most of my afternoons discovering the city and enjoying it's little nooks and crannies. It's small enough that I'm never quite lost. Plus, if I do find myself confused, finding one of the great walls is never difficult and then it's just a matter of following it to an exit! 

View from the bridge over the moat on the way towards the first wall. Big flag!

Kids playing soccer in the park between the two walls,
the wall you can see is the smaller of the two.

The other great allure to Hue is the beautiful Huong river that separates the old Hue (that I just described) from the new Hue (where my hotel is). The river is clean enough that there's no strange smell lurking about and it abounds in small mussels which are used in a yummy local dish: Hên. Another great perk is that the whole river-front on the old city side is developed into another big park with the occasional tasteful restaurant thrown into the mix. At night part of the boardwalk is transformed into a nice low-key night market where I've taken to hang out just to watch the antics of the local highschool kids. Some things never change and seem to transcend country and culture! :)

View of the old Hue from across the Huong river. The bridge lights change color!

 

Hue's nightmarket

So far I've been charmed by this little city. The weather alone made me fall half in love on first sight. Add in the parks, the people, the sweet tea, and the yummy spicy food and you've got one happy Aki! Oh and did I mention that there's a beautiful, deserted, pristine beach only half an hour away by motorbike? No? Well here's a look!

The comfort of familiarity

I'm giddy to be back in Saigon. Crossing the border into Vietnam and ordering my first cơm gà chiên for lunch right at the border lifted my spirits -- and they've stayed high through the heat, noise, and traffic that is the heart of HCM. My attitude during the long taxi over to T.'s house from the bus terminal could not have been more different than the one I took just yesterday in Phnom Penh on my way to the hostel.

Both days started with a late bus departure, followed by seven to eight hour bus ride, finishing by arriving in the outskirts of a large Asian city. Yesterday I was hungry and grumpy and incredibly frustrated by the horde of men that met the bus yelling at me to let them be my driver. I stalked off in anger and found my own tuk-tuk driver. He seemed to know where I wanted to go -- for the first 15 minutes. Then I realized we'd be going around in circles and he had no clue. I was a long time before I arrived at the hostel, hungrier and grumpier. Today on the other hand, I greeted the horde of men at the bus with a smile on my face and accepted a taxi ride from one of them. On the long ride over I tried out my rusty Vietnamese and had a great laugh with the driver who's English was surprisingly even worse than my Vietnamese! The familiar roads around T.'s house raised my spirits and I was so proud of myself when I was able to give directions in Vietnamese right to her front door.

Now I'm in the backpacker's district, celebrating my return to this city with a beer. Yesterday the day ended with a beer as well, but to ease my frustration. Today is a good one. I've realized that even when on the other side of the world from my heart's home, I can still feel at home. I've learned to love this crazy city despite myself. I look forward to my two days here. A visit to my favorite nail salon, shampoo place, fruit stand, bun thit heo stand, and bakery are in order!

Boat to Battambang

Knowing that I was going to be taking two long bus rides in the next couple of days in order to get to Saigon, I decided to splurge and go for the boat ride from Siem Reap to Battambang. The travel agent said that it only would take an hour more than the bus, about 5 hours in total and I trusted her against my better judgement. In fact the boat – that was supposed to leave at 7am but didn't push off until 8:30 – didn't arrive in Battambang until almost 5:30pm!! 'Twas a looooong ride. Luckily it was also incredibly scenic so despite my numb bum on arrival, it was a lovely day. Floating villages were the sight of the day and they did not disappoint.

If anything the sight of these floating villages made me want to finally do my Mekong Delta tour even more! Sadly it will still not be possible this time around since I won't make it into Vietnam for a few more days. The reason for my detour to Battambang is a visit to the Vietnamese consulate here. The Vietnamese government changed their visa policies on January first and I had not planned ahead for this. Travel agencies are now only offering 15-day tourist visas (instead of 1-month and 3-month ones) and this would mean that I would have to pay 40$ every 15 days in Vietnam to renew my visa for the next 4 months! Getting a visa-on-arrival approval letter for a 3-month visa only works if you arrive to Vietnam by plane. Strangely plane tickets between Phnom Penh and Saigon cost almost 200$ even though the flight is only an hour. According the the sketchy and fragmented information I've gathered so far, the consulate in Battambang might be able to help me sort out this whole mess. I certainly hope so! That shall be my mission tomorrow!

Angkor Wat

In the lonely planet's "Why visit Angkor Wat?" section they write: "welcome to heaven on earth". With that type of description, coupled with all the good things I've heard about Angkor Wat, I was worried that I'd be disappointed. I wasn't. The last 24 hours I spent surrounded by the beautiful expression to both humanity and nature's power were incredible. I was lucky to have great guides on both my visits. They both were in great happy moods and went out of their way to make sure I was also having a great time!

Yes there were crowds of tourists at times, but thanks to the knowledge of Mr. Chan, my guide for my full day at Angkor Wat, we were able to dodge them for most of the day. He even brought me through the jungle to a lesser known temple. In fact, we were the only two souls there! It was wonderful to get to linger in the temple and simply enjoy being there.

I think pictures would be better justice to the visit and any description that I can give, so here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

5:15am wake up was worth it for this view!

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There's heaven on earth right there!

Enjoying some early morning sunshine

The trees were just as impressive as the temples to me.

When they say to stand in doorways during earthquakes, you'd better do so!!

Beautiful archway made better by Batman's tuk tuk going through it!!!

Last temple we visited. The carvings were the most intricate of all, and it predates Angkor Wat by two centuries, making it about 1100 years old!!!