Before I get into the misfortunes that have come across us lately, I would like to take a moment to tell you about some of the wonderful food I have been encountering in Vietnam. You can't talk about Vietnamese food without mentioning phở (which is pronounced here like there is a question mark on the end of it), the classic rice-noodle soup dish. This is a typical Vietnamese breakfast.
Other foods I have enjoyed are a couple of the regional specialties. Cao lầu, from Hoi An in central Vietnam, is one of these. It is made with pork (although you can get it with tofu instead), noodles, bean sprouts and greens, which may include mint leaves and basil. Another favorite is southern-style bánh xèo ("fried pancake," or something along those lines), which is a large savory pancake made from rice flour, tumeric powder and water. It is stuffed with beans sprouts and meat or tofu. You then wrap it in lettuce, mint leaves or other herbs, and sometimes rice paper outside of that. It is then dipped in fish sauce, or for vegetarians, soy sauce.
Most of the time, especially when not at a vegetarian eatery, I stick to a safe classic such as vegetables with fried noodles or rice with noodles. Simple dishes like those can be found at most restaurants, and they are simple enough to order that my Vietnamese usually gets across clearly. These are usually quite delicious, although after two months of eating that kind of food for three meals a day, I am inclined to get the occasional Western meal.
Another delicious part of Vietnam dining is the beverages. Vietnamese coffee is extremely delicious, a popular way to order it and my favorite is cà phê sữa đá, which literally means "coffee milk ice," the milk being sweetened condensed milk. Another popular and tasty beverage is fruit smoothies (sinh tố), my favorite being avocado (bơ). Both of these beverages cost about 10,000 đồng (approximately 50 cents) at a local place, much more at a place that caters to Westerners.
It is also common to get trà đá, weak Vietnamese iced tea. At local street eateries there are usually pitchers of trà đá on most of the tables, next to upside down tiny cups that are rarely washed between uses. At actual restaurants it is still usually free, unless it is a place with an English menu or one that tries to attract foreigners, then a glass costs between 1,000-20,000 đồng.
The past few weeks since my last update have not been very note-worthy, mostly due to George and I getting (minor) sickness after sickness. In Hue I got a high fever which led us to stay longer there than intended, but see very little. After that we took the train up to Dong Hoi, where we rented a motorbike and rode out to Phong Nha cave. There we went on a boat tour a kilometer into the cave, which in total is 55 km long. It was a very cool site. The next day we went up to Ninh Binh, where we spent up the night to break up the journey to Cat Ba island and national park. At Cat Ba I was overcome by a stomach flu, which was mighty uncomfortable but was gone after a day or two.
Shortly after that we went to Hanoi, where we were due to fly out the next day to Vientiane, Laos. The day we arrived George began to feel unwell. After a sleepless night full of discomfort, we went to a doctor's office covered by his insurance. They gave him medicine and it cleared right up, but unfortunately we had already missed the flight and would have been in no shape to fly anyways. Luckily, no more illnesses popped up to prevent us from flying the second time around, two days later.
Yesterday we arrived in Vientiane, and from first impressions it seems much quieter and laid back than Vietnam. I think I'm going to like it a lot here. Today we are making our way four hours north to Vang Vieng. Outside of Vang Vieng we have set up a volunteering gig at Sae Lao Project, where we plan to stay for 2-3 months. Our time there could include anything from volunteering at a school, farming/gardening, bamboo weaving, and any other projects they toss in our direction. The director, Bob/Sengkeo, has also agreed to give us lessons on the Lao language. I am very much looking forward to future experiences with Sae Lao.
Feel free to drop a line if I haven't talked to you in a while, communication is appreciated :)
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