Bánh xèo

One of my favorite things in Vietnam. Bánh xèo (literally "sizzling cake") are Vietnamese savoury pancakes made out of rice flour, water and turmeric powder or coconut milk (in the Southern regions), stuffed with slivers of meat, shrimp, and bean sprouts and then pan fried. Traditionally, they are served wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves, and stuffed with mint leaves, basil, fish leaf and/or other herbs, and dipped in a prepared nước mắm called nuoc cham (Vietnamese fish sauce thinned with water and lemon). In the Central region, the pancake is dipped in a special 'tuong' sauce which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

More Hoi An, On our way to Hanoi Today

On The Coast

So we arrived in Da Nang about 50KM north of Hoi An. We flew Vietnam Airlines (business class) which allowed us to hang in the Lounge (free drinks and snacks and wifi). The flight was about 60 minutes and even included some nasty looking food. Our guide and driver ( Thai and Vu ) were there waiting for us at the tiny Da Nang Airport, it took a total of 5 minutes to get off the plane and get our bags as it was an air strip with a tiny terminal. From there we headed South towards Hoi An, we made a stop at a local marble factory located near the Marble Mountains located just outside Da Nang. We then arrived in the Old City of Hoi An, we began with a lovely lunch which included grilled fish covered in ginger and sesame seeds and we tried two local specialties ( white rose and sauteed wanton, the were OK ) overall though the food was nice and only set us back about 6 bucks which included coffee and beer. After lunch we toured the Old City which included seeing a traditional silk factory, an ancient home from 300 years ago, the Japanese Covered Bridge, and a traditional Chinese Pagoda ( Hoi An was heavily influenced by China ). The Old City is primarily full of random shops, tailors, bars, and restaurants we plan to spend more time there tomorrow. We then headed through town to our hotel, the Palm Garden Resort which is located on Cua Dai Beach (10 minutes from town), the room we have has a great view of the ocean but unfortunately it was raining upon our arrival. It is currently about 615 in the evening, we have the doors open and are listening to the rumble of the surf. With the weather not so perfect we saw this as a good chance to get some rest as we have a full day of touring tomorrow and the following day.

We definitely are getting more comfortable with the notion of being on vacation, as it is weird not having any responsibilities relating to daily tasks that are just second nature. We are in Hoi An until Saturday when we head North to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. It is much more laid back and slow paced compared to HCMC but is a nice change.

We also would like to wish all of you a Happy Turkey Day!

Bye HCMC, Hello Hoi An

Today we are off to central Vietnam, we are flying out of HCMC to Da Nang Airport shortly. We will be staying at a beach side resort about 5km from the central part of town (I'm going down to the central part of town). We loved HCMC but realized it is by far the busiest and craziest city we have ever been to (NYC has nothing on HCMC), we are looking forward to slowing down and getting out of the city.

HCMC by foot

Day 1 HCMC

Saw the sights, had a great lunch, and found my car in Vietnam!

Good Morning Vietnam

Arrived in Seoul, Korea

It is now 5pm here in Seoul, we landed about 30 minutes ago and are near our gate ready for our flight to HCMC in about 2 hours. The flight from Atlanta was surprisingly easy, and very enjoyable (highly recommend Korean Air). We are currently savoring some delicious Korean style soups and admiring the beautiful airport. The in flight entertainment and the constant beverage and snacks made time really go by!

Next post we will be in HCMC. Enjoy the weekend!

The Final Countdown

Well, at this time tomorrow we will be 5 hours into our 15 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea. We are taking Saul to Elizabeth`s house later this evening where he will be staying for part of our trip (Thank you Stephanie and Elizabeth, you both are amazingly great people). We are loading up our iPods, testing out our really great new head phones (see link below), and finishing all of our last minute preparations. We need to be at the airport fairly early for our 11:55am flight and our friend and neighbor Patrick is living vicariously through us by taking us to the airport, thanks Pat. We arrive Ho Chi Min City at 10pm Sunday night and likely will not post anything until the next day. If we don't get a chance to post tomorrow, have a great weekend and keep your eyes peeled for our first notes and shots of Nam!

Headphones

1 day to go!

Wow we are basically there, cant believe it is here. Time to get my wings on!

Korean Air

Korean Air from what we have read is amazing. Their economy class is supposedly nicer then most domestic first class in the USA. Will take photos! Also there is electricity at the seats so we are bring the laptop loaded with TV shows we never got to watch; Weeds (3-5), The Wire (all), Tru Blood (1-2), and various movies.

-matt

Wednesday Night, 3 more days

Well, we are almost there. We still have not really started to pack, but we do have all of the drugs we need to stay comfortable and sleep on the plane and not get malaria. Tonight was Saul's AKC Good Canine test, and guess what he PASSED! Tomorrow night is the night of packing and really getting ready to go, still hard to beleive we are about to go to the other side of the planet but we cannot wait to do it!



Info on Good Canine: http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/

Looking forward to this

http://gastronomyblog.com/2008/08/09/meet-the-lunch-lady/

Pre Trip

So this week we basically need to just get everything arranged and ready to go. My cousin Naomi, who traveled to Vietnam last summer has provided me with some suggestions on how to pack and plan for a possibly lost bag. We have all of our vaccinations done, we are filling prescriptions Monday, and have gotten most of our toiletries. It's hard to pack for a trip to a foreign country, especially one as unique as Vietnam. I have also been in the process of downloading various TV series and movies to make our 15 hour flight easier, but the Ambien will also help! I discovered the other night that our Korean Air 747 has electricity at our seats so the laptop will be with us, hence I will blog the trip and hopefully get something on here every few days of our trip, and some photos for you all to see, I also think it will be useful for us to remember our trip in the future.