Flowers

The weather in Hanoi seems to change like most young girls change their minds these days. But we actually need some more steady warm weather with lots more sun after a really damn cold winter. But after half a day of beautiful sunshine here and there, a dry cold comes back which is not very nice.

For those who love flowers, this is the second best time of the year as the cool weather helps to keep the flowers longer than usual. In summer, I often have to change the flowers at my house every week, sometimes twice. But at this time of the year they last over a week. I also need to remind you that flowers in Hanoi are very cheap. I usually spend about $2 for 2 vases of big roses and maybe a little bit more for other flowers. It's always nice to have some flowers in the house to come home to.

I love wandering around the night flower market near my house after midnight. I remember 8 years ago, my friends and I would go there for a look and drink some beer plus eat noodles.... Thankfully, every thing is still much the same. I remember the family who run the noodle and tea shop, particularly their great fried noodles. In those days, for 100 beautiful long stem roses it cost only $1. I wonder how much profit there could be? I talked to many of the traders and they all grow different flowers in their own gardens and according to what they say, they still can earn some daily income and save a bit which is good to hear.

To be continued...

Riding Around Phu Quoc

Last month I was in Phu Quoc for a couple of weeks, mostly relaxing on the beach. Yesterday we decided to hire a motorbike for a ride around the south of Phu Quoc. We stopped at Sao - Star Beach for a drink and we had lunch here as well. This is one of the best beaches in Phu Quoc and Vietnam with white sand, wild and really quiet. I came here last time two years ago and nothing has changed in this area which impressed me much.

The next day we drove to the south to check out the pepper farms. We get lost on a really dusty road and we didn't know where we were. But luckily enough there were some pepper farms on the side of the road covered with red dust. They looked really bad, very dry as if it hadn't rained for years. Finally, we walked into a house where pepper was sold and the farm did look greener compared to the others. We bought some white pepper and I got some information about how they deal with business and the weather for my article. These pepper people were very friendly and quite willing to talk about the whole pepper process. Their peppercorns weren't that expensive compared to the shops in town and I believe it's pure instead of being mixed up with some other cheaper pepper seeds.

Driving back to town was also a nightmare of dust. I got totally covered by red dust and I looked filthy by the time we returned to the hotel. Anyway, it was an interesting drive and a bit of a break from the beach.

Melbourne

During my trip to Australia in October-November, I visited a few different places but Melbourne was the place that I stayed in between and also spent the rest of my trip. Most people who have been there would know about the unpredictable weather. I don't really like the cold weather but the temperatures in Melbourne were not as damn cold as Hanoi because the humidity is quite low.

This trip I feel was very special as it was the second time and I was invited out for dinner a lot by my friend's relatives. I was a bit lazy after the trip and with the blogging. But, once again, I would like to thank them all in this post. I may have missed out someone and please forgive me.

I would like to show my special appreciation to Liz, Mark's mother who took care of me for most of the time when I was in Melbourne and also joined the beautiful trip to Tassie. Liz also arranged quite a few different parties to welcome, farewell and for other reasons. I really enjoyed her famous lasagne, one of the best dishes I've had.

Sarah and Chris' family is the second to thank as I went to their house many times for dinner. Sarah is a great cook and she can use her talents to cook even the left overs into a beautiful meal. I was really impressed about her food and her food's presentation. I enjoyed your food and great company of your family especially Harvey, Eden and Rosie. They are gorgeous.

The third family is Catherine's, Liz's sister. Yes, I love your old house and the Greek meal which reminded me heaps about Greece and was a nice way to remember meeting Cathy and her family in Santorini in 2008. The grilled lamb, salad and dessert was delicious. Thanks alot for the great evening and funny stories about the Melbourne Cup and Nana. Just loved it !!!

Emma, Mark's cousin, and her friend Bec travelled around Vietnam at the end of 2008 and this was such a great chance to catch up again and remind each other about some funny stories about riding on the back of the motorbike and being a bit drunk at parties. Thanks Emma, Sam, Luke, Gerry, Damian and their friends that gave me a memorable dinner with beautiful food and wine. Sam is such a gentlemen and really loved his design of the house.

Megan, yes, how can I forget about you:). Thanks for the BBQ and great time with your friends. Lisa was very nice and hilarious plus the special discount I got from her work. I do appreciate it very much. Also I would like to thank John who allowed me to stay down there in Anglesea. I can't believe how quickly Angus and Myee have grown up. I was very impressed about your family's zoo. John freaked me out when he showed me the huge lizard. Very warm family atmosphere!!!!

Special memory for me was the lady with the saucy beige hair, that's Nana. I love her hair color and her old house. It was really nice seeing Nana again and spending time at Crown but hope we are luckier next time.

Thanks all once again for having me and giving me such a great time and looking forward to seeing you again very soon.

Disappointing Aspects of Phu Quoc

I spent two weeks in Phu Quoc and everything seemed perfect with great weather and beautiful food, especially the seafood. But as always, there were some issues that came up

I went out for lunch on one particular day, walking along the beach just up from the bungalows we stayed at to try to have some different food instead of going into town. Unfortunately, it was a mistake to choose the Lien Hiep Thanh Hotel and Restaurant right on the beach. I ordered grilled squid with salt and chilli, spring rolls and sour broth with tuna. It sounded great as these are specialist dishes from Phu Quoc and most places I've been they had been so nice and yummy. Well, they served us boiled squid instead of grilled and I told the waiter that it was not what we ordered in a polite way but he denied it, telling me this is their restaurant's grilling technique. I was a bit upset and I ended up taking it back to the kitchen myself and they promised to make a new dish for me. Ten minutes later, the same plate came back with the half bitten piece of squid. I couldn't say a word as they were so hopeless and they waiter tried to make a joke but it turned out all stupid. The sour broth with tuna which should be great as it's simple to make was tasteless, the tuna wasn't cooked enough and, if that wasn't enough, the spring rolls tasted like they were from the super market. Totally sucked down there at the Lien Thanh!!!! No tip and worst meal of my life.

On another point, I was expecting the food at the night market to be cheap but it didn't work that way. Most restaurants at the night market were more expensive than restaurants in town and in the hotel. A prawn cost $4, 4 pieces of squid cost $5, a pice of tuna cost $5. Hello!!! this is Phu Quoc, an island where you can catch fish anywhere.

Rip Off Noodles

Yesterday we wanted to find something different for breakfast after tennis. After wandering around, we stopped at a chicken and duck noodle and salad stand. We ordered one bowl of vemicelli with chicken and one noodle soup with chicken. We thought that'd be ok and cheap but the lady kept asking us about our order and confusing us. Other people in the restaurant are shaking their heads. I didn't really understand if their reaction meant that they knew her or what?

Anyway, we ended up with two bowls of vemicelli with chicken and it costs 150,000VND. I couldn't say a thing, I was so shocked. I couldn't believe my ears. I thought she's probably going to say it's New Year which is a common excuse to rip tourists off. She didn't say anything. We just had to accept her price! I told people from the hotel and they thought I was joking. This really pisses me off and this is not the first time as well.

Thai Restaurant ( Vincom Tower)

My friends invited me to have dinner at a Thai restaurant in Vincom Tower a few weeks ago. It was the weekend and it was really crowded, full of smoke and noisy. We could hardly hear our conversation unless we spoke very loud, almost shouting.

We ordered chicken soup, prawn soup, mango salad, stir fried mixed vegetables, french fries, stir fried corn and finished with a hot pot. We always order too much and we couldn't finish all of the food. I really like the mango salad as the mango was very fresh and a bit spicy and the rest of our food wasn't too bad but they use a bit too much coconut milk in the soups.

Like many Vietnamese, my friends didn't enjoy that much as they thought it was too spicy, sweet and fatty. They were right about some of that but I tried to explain to them about Thai food always being spicy. We didn't have a good time and I don't think I would recommend this restaurant to anyone as there are plenty of nice Thai restaurants in town which are not that expensive. We spent over 1.7 million dong on our meal for 5 of us which is about $95.

Birthday Party

As some of my good friends went back home during my birthday in December, I decided to celebrate instead in January. We prepared Italian winter food as the winter weather was still around but unluckily, the weather changed on the day to such a beautiful sunny and quite warm day. We even had to switch on the air-conditioning, which is really unusual for Hanoi at this time of the year.

We served some cheese, bread, marinated mushrooms and wine to welcome everyone and for the dinner, we cooked Italian soup called minestrone, roasted chicken with with lemon zest, olives and tomatoes. For the side dishes, we cooked roast potatoes, and made a beetroot salad and pan-fried asparagus with parmesan cheese.

Thanks to my good friends for coming and making it such a great fun night.

Phu Quoc, Here I Am....

I am in Phu Quoc, the place to be!!! This is my second time here but I feel like I know this place very well. The people I met last time, from the hotel staff to the people who live around, are all still here. They are gorgeous with smiling faces and so sweet. We're staying at the Thanh Kieu Resort, the same place I stayed last time. I was lucky enough to get a room here as I booked way in advance as I heard some people couldn't get a room or had to pay lots of money for due to Tet holiday.

This is the first time I am not going home for Tet. I just want to do something different as I've been home every year for the last 8 years. I also want to spend sometime here to relax and enjoy myself. I do love my city but I went home last month to visit my family and my mother seemed happy with my decision.

The weather in Phu Quoc is so beautiful compared to the freezing cold in Hanoi and it makes me feel so great. I am going to go to the beach to relax for the first few days and read a bit then off to the city for dinner at the night market which has the best food in town and REALLY CHEAP!!!! They're cooking fresh seafood in the Phu Quoc style which is a bit different compared to other cities in Vietnam. I will eat all of my favorites, especially stir fried crab with tamarind sauce. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it!!!

Happy Tet every one and see you in the next few posts.

Street Snails

I was walking through the old quarter yesterday and saw so many young people sitting along Dinh Liet street eating snails. I have to say that snails have never been on my list of must eat things as I had trouble a few years ago when I ate some snails at the Old Man restaurant in To Ngoc Van street in West Lake. I had a stomach upset for 3 days in the row after eating snails on that occasion.

I told myself that I shouldn't look but I actually did look and wanted to try them again. I ordered two bowls of two different kinds and also asked the waitress to give me lots of ginger and chiili. These snails don't actually have any special flavors at all but the dipping sauce which includes fish sauce, ginger, chilli and lemon is what makes the dish special. While I was sitting there trying to finish the two bowls I occupied myself by watching people walk past and by taking photos of this dish. I hoped that eating lots of ginger and chilli would help to protect my stomach. By now, after 24 hours, I am still ok and I wouldn't mind going back again. If you have lots of time to spend, this is such a good place as it's cheap and a great location.

Saigon

It's pretty exciting for me when I'm able to get down to Saigon for a few days to see my dentist and visit my sister. It's nice to be in the sun and eat my favorite food from the south. Food in the south is getting dearer but it's well cooked, fresh and tasty and worth the money.

After I visited my dentist, my sister took me out for dinner with her family and our nephew by the river. We had a such a beautiful meal there, ordering coconut salad with chicken skin, stir fried duck eggs with tamarind sauce, fried rice with eggs and garlic, stir fried beef served with vegetables, pine apple and fresh noodles, and the last dish was Thai hopot. They're all really tasty and the bill came out amazingly cheap.

The next day, my niece's boyfriend invited everyone out for breakfast and we chose to go to Lam Son beef steak restaurant. It sounds funny to have a beef steak for breakfast but this is a common thing to do in the south. We had a mixed beef steak which includes fried egg, ham and french fries. It's surprisingly nice and the place is generally really crowded. Good to eat something different instead of chicken noodle soup - pho ga - all the time :).

In the evening, my nephew took everyone out to have Keo fish hotpot which is one of my local favorite even though I am not really into river fish. We ordered some grilled river prawns, grilled Keo fish, grilled squid and Keo hotpot. We were totally full after all and I couldn't even move. It's really nice being with family especially as I'm very close to my sister and my nephew. It's good to see them again and I will be back here briefly at Tet after my trip to Phu Quoc. Looking forward to that!

Frog Dishes

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned my tennis club before but I play tennis with 5 mates who are all slightly older than me and have really good taste in food and drink. Maybe I can say that they are a bit fussy about the kinds of alcohol they drink but they try all kinds of food and we rely on Mr Son, our food leader, to recommend places for us to eat. A few weeks ago, Mr Thang, another member of our club found a new place at 15 Long Bien street in Gia Lam where great frog dishes are sold. To be honest, I am not keen on frog and wild animals at all but he talked about it heaps and I think I need to give it a go and see.

We went there on a cold day and as usual, our group always orders far too much , enough for 10 people rather than just the 5 of us. Anyway, we ordered deep fried frog skin, deep fried Chau Chuoc (stir fried frog with bamboo shoot), a deep fried rice(com chay), a frog hot pot, and a whole boiled chicken and some veggies. I was very impressed with Chau Chuoc, and quite surprised that frogs are a meatier animal than I thought. These dishes were really yummy and those frog legs had lots of meat. Of course, we couldn't finish all these dishes. Surprisingly the bill was very cheap. I would recommend this place not because it's cheap, because they serve really nice food and have friendly staff. I am sure I will go back sometime soon.

Short Trip Home

I am off to Nha Trang tomorrow for my dad anniversary and spend sometimes with my family ecause I will spend my Tet in Phu Quoc this year. I miss my home town, the food, good friends and the beautiful beaches. Another reason is the cold is killing me here in Hanoi also the high huminity that's making me feel tired and couldn't sleep well.

This year I am going to back to work in hospitality again as I kind miss it. I hope I can get a good job with a reasonable salary without working in the 5 star hotels around Hanoi as they pay really low. One of my friends who is working at the Sofitel Metropole Hotel told me that they promoted him to supervisor but they couldn't pay him the higher salary due to the economic crisis and hotel's lower profit. It's a joke as the hotel is always almost full plus they have just extended another wing to have more rooms. I had an interview at the Metropole before and I didn't know that they paid very low and you have to work harder compared to the other hotels around.

When I am in my home town, I have to think about which companies I am going to work for as I have a few options and some of them are from my friends recommendations, mostly in restaurants. I love to work in restaurants because that was what I started in when I was 18 and it seems I have good skills in this area and enjoy meeting people.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great year in 2010 with happiness, success and health.

Vote For My Photos

I was in Australia last month for 5 weeks holiday based in Melbourne. But I also managed side trips to Sydney and Tasmania. I took lots of photos when I was in Tassie and I sent some of them to the Spirit of Tasmania website for a competition. I hope I can win a free trip to Tasmania again next year with your help voting for my photos.

If you guys have time, please click on the following link and choose RANKING. My photo is on the first 3 pages: just look for the Stanley Pine Tree photo under my name Tu Van Cong. Your time and effort is much appreciated.

Here is the link : http://www.capturethespirit.com.au/gallery/45/

Launceston

Launceston is not my favorite place in Tasmania but that doesn't mean it's not interesting. The city is big and stretches quite a way so it took us a bit to drive around to discover it. After we found accommodation, we went to the port for lunch before taking a short cruise along the Tamar River. I couldn't believe that I had to pay $23 for a serve of fish and chips which was a bit of a rip-off compared to Stanley where it was only $6.5 and in Melbourne only$9.

Anyway, we took the cruise for 55 mintues and it was very interesting with lots of information from the old captian. It was a pleasant trip into Cataract Gorge along the Esk River and along the Tamar River to see some of the old boats even though the weather wasn't very good with rain at some points. After the cruise, we drove up into the expensive hillside suburbs where there were some great old Victorian and Edwardian houses mixed with some newer mansions. Most of these houses have great views to the river and over Launcestion and because it was spring, the gardens were in full bloom.

We took a trip to the Launceston casino (lost!) and had a nice Vietnamese meal to end our day in that town.

Coles Bay

As I mentioned in the last few posts, Tasmania in general including Coles Bay on the Freycinet peninsula has a cool climate especially in the evening. During the day, the weather is so nice with sunshine, blue skies but the air is a bit crisp. From 4pm, I feel as if I need to put more clothes on. Coles Bay is a pretty small town surrounded by beautiful beaches. It's not surprising that it's hard to find accommodation and we ended up driving around the town for a while. Finally, we decided to stay at the hotstel at the Illuka Holiday Park for 2 nights. Even though we had to share a bathroom and kitchen, it was a well-run place, clean and tidy.

We stayed in a small room and cooked our own dinner before going to the Iluka Tavern for a drink. After not much luck with wifi access in Tasmania, I couldn't believe that they had free wifi here so I spent almost two hours emailing and updating photos. It is necessary to stay at least two nights in this area and will spend most of the day hours walking up the mountain to see Wineglass Bay then walk down to the beach. Everyone told me that is the most beautiful place in Tasmania that no-one should miss.

Anyway, we started our day with a walk up to the Wineglass lookout then down to one of the most beautiful wild white sand beaches I've seen. Before we started our walk, we saw a Wallaby in the car park. These animals look like kangaroos but smaller. I was a bit worried at the beginning even though I really wanted to pat him. People say they could attack with their front feet but my friend came over and the wallaby was actually very friendly and licked her fingers. I did the same thing and he licked me too. I was so happy that I tried that and luckily my friends got some shots. Anyway, we started out trek up to the lookout point, the view was amazing. I couldn’t stop taking photos and when we finished our three hours walk, I realized that I'd taken more photos than I really needed. From the lookout, we walked down again and headed to the beach. This walk was quite steep and slippery. It was worth all our energy to see this beach and the colour of the water reminded me of the beaches in Greece, blue water and white sand. Just gorgeous!. Lucky though that I had been exercising a lot before so I didn’t feel too bad, but a bit stiff:).

On our climb we saw quite a few terribly overweight people trying to walk up to the lookout. Many of them already felt exhausted and were leaning back on rocks or sitting down on the ground holding their knees. Some of them weren’t looking good at all but their families forced them to keep going. I am not sure they could make it up to the top or back down to the start. Anyway, we spent over two hours walking before going back to town for lunch. My friends went to the light house for a wander but I decided to take a rest at the restaurant in town which provided FREE Wifi to uploaded photos and email. I feel regret now after I saw their photos and I may go up to the light house before I leave. They may lend me their photos so I can show you.

We will head to Launceston tomorrow for a night and hope to have enough time to visit some wineries, a chocolate factory and a cheese factory.