Why did the Vietnamese not cross the road?

Oioioioioi, I am truly terrible at this regular correspondence via. the world. I blame it entirely on it seemingly being impersonal, as I am fantastic (if I do say so myself) regarding emails and letters, but alas, I find myself having difficulty drawing inspiration regarding my blog.

Not that I haven't got a lot to talk about - in fact, my time over the past month or so has been so ludicrously busy, I find myself startled at actually having time to sit here (contrary to that, I should really be working on my Project Trust Community Profile, but I am currently congratulating myself on working non-stop from 9.30 until 17.00 yesterday, even if only 4 double sided pages are the proof of the pudding).

As it is, my main adventure has, of course, been the week and a half solo trip to Vietnam, which brought me great delight, as well as good deal of fantastic food. I am honestly startled at the amount of bakeries in South-East Asia, though not surprised at my inability to resist. Especially when, on my last two nights, I discovered my hostel in Ho Chi Minh was three shops away from a bakery which had a 2-for-1 sale on everything after 9o'clock. My good intentions went rapidly downhill after that.

The Emperor's Concubines live in dorms. Seems mean to me.

Vietnam itself is amazing. While still ravaged by the numerous wars it went through during the 20th Century - the French battling the Vietnamese want of independence and the Tet Offensive of '69 causing the liberal destruction of much of the Forbidden Purple City (which is severely lacking in the colour purple) within the Citadel in Hue; the American bombing of Cu Chi; the use of Agent Orange still affecting participants and descendants alike; Vietnam is still beautiful.

If you like black and white, don't go. It would just upset you.

Hoi An is as much of a fairytale town as I have ever seen. French Colonial mixed with Chinese style buildings line the river of this small town, with colourful paper lanterns strung up everywhere; bursting out of shops is all manner of colour, trees and flowers overhanging the winding lanes. It's also insanely touristy, where you can get anything and everything made within a 24 hour span, and I had trouble seeing the actual locals - and when I did, I felt like I was drowning in crazy bargains, so naturally, I ran away. Thus, Hoi An is a place to shop, and admire, but being so small, not somewhere to remain for a long period of time.


Hue was my favourite, though Hoi An and Hanoi, the capital infused with French culture, were definitely the most beautiful. Of course, Hue was my favourite simply because of a number of odd events; signing up for the City Tour not only showed me beautiful tombs and scenery, as well as piling on the odd facts (Emperor Minh Mang had 520 wives and concubines; what I find strange is that, despite all these women, he only had 142 children), but also introduced me to two American Med Students.

Meet Nemo, the parsnip. Or something.

I ended up going out to dinner with them and their friend who spoke Vietnamese (well, sort of) and after a mishap with the taxi taking us to a massage parlour, ended up outside the 'Ancient Hue' restaurant; this place exuded expensive to the degree that all our mouths dropped open simultaneously. The food couldn't live up to expectation sadly, with vegetable carvings of swans and fish gracing the plates. I honestly thought I was going to start to hyperventilate, when I was kindly saved by their offer of payment (since when I'd agreed to come out, I was talking about downtown chow, cheap and tasty; I think pity was a major factor in all of this frankly). I cannot thank them enough, especially as it showed a whole other side of Vietnam, and was also a truly hilarious evening, ending in a mass consumption of cocktails as they tried to erase the memory of spending so much money (that seems counterproductive considering it means the removal of more money from their pockets, but who am I to judge?)

Pho; for anytime and anywhen!

The food was the best part of my trip though. Delicious, and healthy, pho bo, beef with noodles, in stew, surrounded by greenery; banh cuon, rice flour steamed rolls, stir fried to perfection and served with sweet and sour sauce; spring rolls of epic proportions, the crunch as good as the taste; oc, or snails the size of golfballs, chewy but fantastich; banh xeo, a crepe of rice flour and coconut milk, filled with shellfish, meat and vegetables; and, the French influence startling obvious here banh mi, with some of the best baguettes ever to be created just around every corner.

How I do adore food. And once you've finished your delicious meal, you can work it all off by having a quick jaunt across the road. Remember these rules: never change your pace, do not look at the traffic, and hope for the best, because if they don't go around you, you're screwed, and if you don't try, you will never, ever, get to the other side.

Emily