Frequently Asked Friday: Best Meals?

Anyone who knows us knows we travel on our stomachs. And we certainly ate enough this year for some weight gain. So the question is, was it worth it? And if so, what was the best meal you ate? 

First of all, it was worth it. There is some work to be done to undo the damage of our consumption in the last year, but it’s ok. Most of the time the experience outweighed any caloric overload in the decision-making process.  But we couldn’t narrow it down to one meal, as we each had some pretty solid contenders that came to mind as soon as we started thinking about it.  These are in chronological rather than ranked order, as we couldn’t choose one favorite.

Mekong Snapshots

We decided to combine the travel and border crossing between Vietnam and Cambodia with a tour of the Mekong river delta.  Sinh Travel had a very reasonably priced 3 day package that took us from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, mostly by boat, working our way up the Mekong.  We met some great travelers in the small tour group, and it was both a fun trip, and a practical way to make our way into Cambodia.  Some snapshots from the river:

Mekong Fashion

During our three day tour through the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, which eventually took us overland to Cambodia, we noticed a fashion trend that we hadn’t really seen before, and never really saw again.  We’re not sure exactly how to describe it except for maybe The Pajama Phenomenon.  The seemed to be infinitely comfortable knit fabrics in patterns I’ve never before experienced.

Hoi An: City of Sewing Machines

Hoi An, Vietnam, is not a large town.  Roughly 30,000 people.  However, it has 600 tailors.  There were a lot of sewing machines; some ornate, some just industrial.

Meals of Asia

The next installment in our meals around the world includes: Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.  We had some amazing meals, in Hong Kong and Vietnam in particular.  We were no strangers to Asian cuisine, but were surprised by the difference that local ingredients and regional variations made.  We were also surprised by the variety of delicious, cheap fruit smoothies, and you'll see we had them with most meals.  That may be what we miss most!

Here is the slideshow version:

Postcard: River Life, Vietnam

Girl in boat, Mekong river canal just south of the Cambodian border with Vietnam.

Orchid Garden Homestay

By now we’ve stayed at oh, approximately, eleventy hundred and fifty-seven different accommodations (and yet, Lana still can’t spell ‘accommodations’ correctly on the first try).  And of the ones we’ve stayed at, most of them were fine, or ok, but forgettable.  You guys, this isn’t that place.  We have nothing but high gushy praise for our hotel in Hoi An, Vietnam. Orchid Garden Homestay was perfect for us, and it came after a long string of hotel rooms, the best of which we’ll call…interesting.

Wedding Photos

It was wedding season in Vietnam when we arrived.  Traditionally that is during the dry season, when farming families had both the time for an extended party, and the money for it, from the last harvest.  I don’t think any of the couples we photographed were from farming families, as their photographers were all carting around roughly $8000 in camera gear, but likely the wedding season is now more of a cultural expectation than a practical decision.  We saw an even mix of brides in traditional garb and more westernized dresses.  Lana guessed that many of them would have a photo shoot in each style.

Postcard: Hanoi

Scooter traffic in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Ha Long Bay

Off the coast of north east Vietnam, the Ha Long Bay area contains around 3000 limestone islands that tower above the ocean.  It’s quite beautiful.  When we visited, the visibility was limited by fog, but that just cast the islands in a different kind of beauty, with the islands fading into distant shadows.

Postcard: Mekong Delta

Fisherman, Mekong River Delta, Vietnam.

How to Cross the Street in Vietnam

Before we go much further explaining how to cross the street in Vietnam, let's start with a little video of what it actually looks/feels like to cross the street.

Postcard: Ho Chi Minh City

Tub of live crabs, central market of Saigon (as everyone in Vietnam calls it).

Postcard: Halong Bay

Sunset in Halong Bay, Vietnam.