Sunday, April 24, 2011
Cuc Gach Quan
Enter, Cuc Gach Quan
I actually found this restaurant through TripAdvisor. I usually consult trip advisor for restaurants, hotels and things to do, but tend to take its recommendations and comments with a grain of salt. Since, however, I didn't know squat about dining in HCMC I took TA's word for it and booked the #1 restaurant they recommended.
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| chopsticks anyone? |
The restaurant is in an old French colonial house, down a small side street and hidden from the masses that roam the streets of HCMC. Walking in the front door is like walking in to an old friends home - immediately familiar and comfortable. We ate in one of the front rooms, it could have been a living room or a front sitting room if the tables and chairs were replaced with sofas.
The menu was extensive, not only broken down in to courses but also broken down by type of food (appetizers, mains, then down to vegetables, chicken, pork, etc etc). We picked a couple of things off the menu and then asked our server what he recommended. Happily, he steered us in the right direction.
The spring rolls - so fresh. The soft shelled crab - so light and crispy. The tiger beer - came with ice.
Did that throw you? Yeah me too. Who knew - ice in beer is a good thing. Especially when its 90* and 99% humidity.
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| can you spot the iced beer in the background? |
It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Introducing...
So, change there will be.
I'm makin' some changes around here...starting with my name.
Not my real name of course, just the blog name.
Although if I were to change my real name, I would probably change it to one of those crazy names that celebrities are naming their kids nowadays - like Apple or Tallulah. I'd be so fancy.
Right, back to the blog.
I thought it was high time this blog got a real name. Its been growing and evolving ever since I started it over two years ago. Its really coming in to its own, and I have more plans for it in the future. So, a new name.
the traveling cupcake (thats me!)
New address - make sure to save it to your favorites - http://havecupcakewilltravel.blogspot.com (better yet, become a follower and get my blog delivered to your inbox free of charge!)
Unfortunately 'the traveling cupcake' domain name was already taken on blogger. Can't win 'em all.
As I mentioned before, there will be some more changes coming up, so look for those soon!
Project 52 - back on track
This years Project 52, will only end up being Project 49 for me.
I have a good excuse, really I do!
Unfortunately I missed week 13, 14 annddd 15 due to a little thing called my honeymoon.
See, told you it was a good excuse.
But have no fear!! I'm back on track now. I know, you were scared. It's all going to be ok. The suns out, it has to be ok.
This weeks theme - Furry Friends.
Actually, I almost missed this weeks assignment as well as the only furry friend I have is Brian. But I didn't think he would appreciate being put in that category.
And then!!!
A last minute request to watch our favorite cockapoo EVER, Tucker.
Low and behold - a furry friend.
And we're rolling, rolling
if you come down to the river
i bet you gonna find some people who live
you don't have to worry if you got no money
people on the river are happy to give
~ tina turner
The second day of our trip found us on a boat cruise down the Mekong Delta. I would venture to say that the Mekong Delta is the very heart of Vietnam. The region produces 50% of Vietnams rice crops every year and hundreds of fruits and vegetables are grown here and exported all over the country (and the world!). The Mekong River starts in Tibet and flows through China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and finally empties out to the South China Sea. Dams constructed upstream in Thailand and China threaten to cut off the supply of water to the region (not to mention nearly all of Cambodia), and many of the countries have formed joint commissions to take charge of the rivers resources.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Cu Chi Tunnels
Thats right, we jumped head first in to confrontation with the big elephant in the room - the Vietnam War.
Ok, so maybe its not such a big elephant anymore. Americans are the fifth largest nationality to visit Vietnam each year (French and Australian being the biggest). And some 65% of the population is under the age of 35. Like I said, not such a big elephant anymore.
But still, a little uncomfortable.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are a series of underground tunnel systems that the Viet Cong used in their battle against the American army, especially during the Tet offensive. The tunnel system is long and complex, sprawling over 3 levels at some points and included living space and cooking areas for the Vietnamese civilians.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Step one
The motorcycle.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
One thousand, seven hundred and eighty nine
I think there are another 50 or so lost out there in memory card land...we are missing photos from a whole afternoon - but 1,789 is fine for now.
Seven flights, four books, a dozen and a half bug bites, and fifteen days later - our honeymoon is officially over.
So...how was it you ask?
In a word - Incredible
Yeah thats right, with a capital I.
If there is one place that you should go and see NOW, it's Vietnam. There is so much development going on in the whole country, in another 2-5 years its going to become like any other tropical vacation destination - completely sterile. And we were late to the party - thousands of people have been visiting Vietnam for decades now, and selfishly they kept the best kept secret to themselves.
We saw so many different parts of the country, so many different ways of life -its hard to sum up in a few words.
What was so incredible?
Monday, March 28, 2011
Its official...
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| St Pancras International Train Station |
London has Olympics fever!
Have you applied for your tickets yet?
WE HAVE!
But dont worry - only 2.5 million people signed up for ticket sales notification through the London 2012 Olympic website, so I'm sure we'll get tickets.
Or not.
We might get tickets to the BMX events Brian signed up for.
Hooray.
?
There are 6.6 million tickets for sale though - so if you haven't signed up yet, get on it! Anyone around the world can apply for tickets as long as you have a Visa card that expires after July 2011.
You never know - you might just lucky! And if we don't - you can rent our flat for the low, low price of 6x our monthly rent.
You're welcome.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
I got the camera stick
I would like to introduce you, to
It could be, my new favorite thing ever.
I think I'll call it Sprinkles.
Oh wait...no...that was my pet bunny rabbit when I was a wee one (true story, who names their pet after cupcake toppings??)
This my friends, is the Xshot (aka The Camera Stick)
I know, I know - I am a huge nerd. But hear me out.
Brian and I first spotted this little gem when we were traveling through Slovenia a year and a half ago. We saw a couple using the Xshot and snickered to each other -
"What a bunch of dorks, what are they using to take their picture? Har har har"
And then - these happened...
Whats missing from this picture, you might ask?
Oh nothing...just this...
And then this little gem
Missing from this photo?
Gross, what a horrible view...
I could show you example after example of pretty horrible pictures of us that we have gotten when asking random strangers to help us out. But I'll spare you the gory details. You're welcome.
And then...slowly we remembered that strange couple, up on a hill top in Slovenia. Maybe they weren't so silly after all!
And so the search began...for the elusive camera stick.
We asked every single camera shop we went in, in every town and city we visited. No one had a clue what we were asking about. The closest thing we could find was a monopod. Camera stick fail.
Time was getting tight - we knew we had to get our hands on one of these puppies before our honeymoon in Vietnam. We would like to have some nice photos to remember the trip by, with both of us in them, and hopefully some amazing scenery in the background. My Vietnamese is a little rusty, so I dont think I'll be asking too many people on the street.
And now I would like to thank Google. Thank you Google. I type such random, weird phrases into your handy search bar and you deliver the most amazing results.
www.xshotpix.com
And now, thanks to this little addition to our family, we are sure to get many more wonderful pictures (with BOTH of us in them!) like these -
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| the ceiling at versailles |
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| les invalides |
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| the eiffel tower |
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Project 52 - week 11...need your help!
Now, I know that Project 52 isn't the most important/crucial/serious project in the world, but I like to make sure that each week I am submitting my absolute best photo.
My photo this week will be coming from my recent trip to Barcelona (see here and here if you missed it), since its the only chance I have had to take photos this week.
And I'm stuck.
I can't decide which photo to submit as my best representation of this weeks theme - Darks and Lights
(its not that I am sooo amazing at photography and have a hundred photos I'm trying to decide between, really it's only two - but you know how I am at making decisions...)
(terrible)
So here we go...don't be too harsh
or...
So, lets hear it!
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