Frogger in Saigon

In Vietnam very few intersections have traffic lights. This makes for some general madness trying to get through intersections, especially if you're on foot.

You either have to go really fast when you have a small window, or walk really slowly and take each gap as it comes. I've decided that it's basically a real world version of Frogger. If you're a Seinfeld fan then you'll know what I'm talking about.

Here is a link for those that don't know what frogger is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogger

My Itinerary the Rest of the Way (I'm open to suggestions)

This evening we take an overnight bus to Saigon. From there Steve is going to fly back to Hong Kong and then Israel, leaving me to my solo portion of the trip. Here is the current plan after Saigon:

Cambodia:
Phnom Penh
Siem Riep (near Angkor Wat)

Laos:
Luang Prubang
Vang Vienne (might skip it)
The Gibbon Experience (in Northern Laos)

Thailand:

Chang Mai
Bangkok

China:

Hong Kong
Macau

Canada

Cooking Class at Lanterns Restaurant in Nha Trang, Vietnam

This morning Steve and I took a cooking class with the chef of Lanterns Restaurant. Her parents were also restaurateurs, so she pretty much grew up with a paring knife in her hand. After graduating high school she went to a culinary school in Saigon. We had lunch at Lanterns the day we got here, and although lunch was more "okay" than great (at least in comparison to the food in Hoi An), we thought the cooking class sounded good.

We were both thrilled with it. Our main course of Mackerel was the best fish I have ever had in my life. More generally it was one of the best meals I've ever had. We also made fresh spring rolls as a starter, and made flambe for dessert (Steve did Banana flambe and I did Mango flambe).

First we went to the market in bicycle taxi's, where we bought all the ingredients we needed for lunch. We also got to have some fresh sugar cane juice, which was both refreshing and delicious. We went to the largest local market in Nha Trang, and did not come across another Westerner amongst the hundreds (if not thousands) of people packed into the aisles and stalls of the marketplace. It doesn't get much more authentic than where we were. It was a good thing we were both took it easy the night before, because the fish section of the market had a bit of a stench to it that would not go well with a hangover.

Since Steve and I were the only ones that signed up for the class today, we basically had a private lesson. Oh, and did I mention it was $18 per person, all in? Here are some pictures of the food we prepared/ate.

Sapa link in earlier post has been fixed.

Can also be accessed HERE

One thing I love about travelling in Vietnam...

is that since the country is long and thin, there are only two primary routes for travelling through the country: Going from Hanoi to Saigon, or vice versa. The result of this is that when you meet someone there is basically a 50/50 chance you're going in the same direction.

There is a host of people I have hung out with in multiple cities. In two weeks in Vietnam I have run into more people in multiple cities than I did in seven weeks of travelling throughout Europe. It leads to a nice social mix because there are always new people to meet everywhere you go, but it's nice running into a "familiar face" too. It allows you to get to know your fellow traveler better than you otherwise would.

Larger Collection of Sapa photos

I posted all my Sapa photos to Facebook. You can view the album even if you are not a Facebook member. Click HERE for the link.

Canada Day in Nha Trang, Vietnam

While we were in Hoi An, Steve and I decided to get custom made silk shirts so that we could celebrate Canada Day in style. We also figured it was a good way of meeting other Canadians. Fortunately, the shirts were a resounding success. Two different people saw us wearing our shirts and told us about a Canada Day party being hosted by Guava Bar, which is owned by two guys from Vancouver.

We got there nice and early, around 6pm so we could take advantage of 2-for-1 beers during happy hour. The place was kind of empty, but we met some great guys from Calgary. One of them just graduated from the same program my brother is in (Queen's Engineering). All of sudden once the live band started playing the bar was packed. However, it was mainly packed with Brits and Aussies (go figure). We did manage to meet a few other Canadians though.

Generally I'm doing my best to stick to local fare, but last night I couldn't resist ordering a poutine for dinner. It was no Edelweiss Valley poutine, but it wasn't bad either.

Last night was probably the most fun we've had yet - we befriended the dozen or so other Canadians in the bar, and then also ran into two groups of girls that were on our sleeper bus from Hoi An to Nha Trang. There is this one group of English girls we've run into in Hanoi, Hoi An, and now Nha Trang. Steve also ran into them in Hue! It's as if we have the exact same trip planned. They're fun to hang out with, so we're happy to keep bumping into them.

There was a live band that came on once the bar started filling up, and they were letting people come up to the mic and sing. We decided some Our Lady Peace and Tragically Hip would be in order, and the band leader actually let Steve borrow his guitar. So, with Steve doing guitar and vocals, and myself doing the tamborine and vocals, we belted out the songs Fireworks and Clumsy, followed by Steve doing a rendition of the Guess Who's American Woman. As many of you know I am one of the Levitan's who was not born with the singing gene (that would be my sister and father who were). Steve can sing though. We powered through our short set to rave reviews. I guess people just respect you for getting up in front of a crowd.

The $17 USD we each spent on our silk Canadian flag shirts might be the best $17 either of us has ever spent. Even if we never wear the shirts again (which we will), the fun we had last night was more than worth it.