Category Archives: Vietnam

One Year Later

1st January 2015

On top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, New York City

One year ago today, on January 1st 2014 at 8am, we locked the door of our flat in Montreal for the last time, leaving behind an empty shell of what was our life of the previous seven years, and dropped the key through the mail slot. As it resonated loudly in the dark empty box, I felt an excitingly familiar feeling in my stomach: we were homeless, the unknown awaited us. It was amazing to ring in the New Year in such a drastic, life changing, exciting way, and the feeling hasn’t left me since.

Kawah Ijen volcano complex in Java, Indonesia

Engrish

12th November 2014

Sounds painful.

Sounds painful.

I'll have sparkety and bercon, because.

I’ll have sparkety and bercon, because.

So which delicious are there?

So which delicious are there?

Storberle. Just say it out loud. Gets better every time. Now try this one: BEZITABURU.

Storberle. Just say it out loud. Gets better every time. Now try this one: BEZITABURU.

Dove has ventured into funny businesses in South East Asia.

Dove has ventured into funny businesses in South East Asia.

Lemonwipe smoothie! Does this qualify for a cleanse?

Lemonwipe smoothie! Does this qualify for a cleanse?

Good 'ol sour sweet

Good ‘ol sour sweet.

Beef nuts! Err... no thanks.

Beef nuts! Err… no thanks.

I don't know if this is really engrish, but lamb lip and beef rip made me lol.

I don’t know if this is really engrish, but lamb lip and beef rip made me lol.

BOILED EGG!!!!!!

BOILED EGG!!!!!!

These two signs were for the same Korean steam boat restaurant. Haha!

These two signs were for the same Korean steam boat restaurant. Haha!

Vegan Pho and Banh Xeo Recipes

22nd June 2014

Travelling to South East Asia doesn’t exactly go hand in hand with following a vegan diet in many people’s eyes. And with good reason : walk around Bangkok or Hanoi and you are likely going to see big cauldrons of pig’s rectum soup and duck beak stew simmering on the road side with sides of congealed blood and fried goat stomach. And unfortunately I am not actually joking. But take a bit of a better look past the grotty and grim, and you’ll soon find that there is a wide selection of food for the vegan and health conscious all around. Happy Cow is a great place to start your hunt for healthy grub, but just a poke around the market will reveal delicious and unexpected surprises.

Our Halong Bay Cruise Experience

30th May 2014

The Ha Long Bay circus starts long before boarding the boat, or even setting off for Ha Long city itself. Our plans to travel independently to Cat Ba island and visit the bay from there were scuppered by the week-long reunification day holiday and thousands of vacationing Vietnamese. In the words of one emailed guesthouse proprietor: “Don’t come this week, the room too expensive!”. So after a quick change of plans, we pressed on to Hanoi and started scouring travel agents.

Caving adventures in Phong Nha

21st May 2014

The best travel advice seem to often times come from words of mouth from other travellers rather than from a guidebook. Hence, when my friend Fanny said to me that we HAD TO go to Phong Nha, I trusted that we did indeed have to go, and the seemingly extravagant expenses (that is, in comparison to our $45 USD a day budget) attached to the trip were overweighted by the appeal of walking through some of the biggest and most recently discovered caves in the world. And so we hopped on the train from Danang heading to Đồng Hới, and I’d say that the train ride alone made the journey worthwhile. The scenery between Danang and Huế is straight out of a game is Myst and I was a little sad that we were not able to stop and explore all these beautiful rural coastal areas along the Hải Vân Pass.

Breaking the bank in Hoi An

12th May 2014

As the Futa overnight bus rolled into Danang at 6am, it’s safe to say we were a little the worse for wear. Locating the local bus to Hoi An was straightforward, but the blaring horn, aggressive conductor and sloth like pace were not exactly soothing. A short walk into the old city and we were too early to check into our guesthouse. Breakfast was called for, and with a life changing bowl of mushroom rice porridge at a vegetarian joint called “Mild” and this naughty face, things were already looking better.

Meh

7th May 2014

Dalat. What to say. I am unsure as to why we added Dalat to our itinerary in the first place and I can’t quite decide in retrospect if I’m glad we did or not. People we meet seemed to have either adored Dalat or to have been left completely indifferent. I leave you to guess at which end of the spectrum we stand.

Доброе утро, Вьетнам!

2nd May 2014

Mui Ne was something of an enigma on our arrival – we rolled into town after dark, having taken the afternoon bus from Saigon. The ever excellent Futa bus staff dropped us right at the Duc Thao Guest House – the good reviews on TripAdvisor were promising, and when Duc himself had swiftly answered our emails the previous day, we knew it would be a good bet. The family welcomed us into a spacious, clean double room and Mui Ne would have to wait until morning.