Rats!!!….. just another food

Today my google adds were disabled. I guess it has detected a reader or readers clicking on the adds too much or something. I do not understand how this could have happened. If the adds are of interest to you there is no reason not to click on them and look at the contents, but If you are clicking on them and then just closing them to help me out, thank you, but please stop. I have appealed being cut off and hopefully I will be reinstated.

I saw a post on the trip advisor website about there being rats on a junk in Halong bay. Well…. Let me tell you a little about rats. Tonight my friend Carl and I sat at an excellent seafood restaurant enjoying some conversation. The day had ended and at night the nocturnal creatures began to stir. Carl exclaimed that there were big rats running amongst the bricks only a few feet away from us. After a few uncomfortable swings of my head, I spotted the little fellows. To me, the rats we saw were only perhaps 60 percent of the size I have seen. The most common rat I see here is brown grey in color and as large as some as the miniature dogs a person can see nowadays. The rats we saw were black (the first time I have seen them). I am sorry to say that the rats are everywhere. Once the sun sets, they begin coming out of their shelters in search of food. Oh and how plentiful it is!! Remember that most of the garbage here is biological waste, so it is a smorgasbord for the rats. No problem though…. They do not bother people. The rats in Vietnam are a very nervous lot that hide at the slightest movement. Fear not, you will not be bitten or even bothered by them, but do not be surprised if they are in the unlikeliest of places such as boats and other vehicles. They seek refuge anywhere they can during the day. The rats do have enemies here. There are bald eagles and other predators that feed on them. I am sure there are a host of other creatures that also could help with the populations, but they do not live in the city. There is one special kind of rat here. It is exclusively raised on rice and is a meat animal. I had the pleasure of eating rat in a restaurant in Saigon. I have to admit that there was not much for meat after it was cooked and the BBQ sauce disguised the flavor of the meat, besides, the tiny rib bones reminded me of fish. It was OK but I do not think eating it again will go towards satisfying my hunger… Maybe the Tarantulas I had in Cambodia are better for that.

Speaking of food

Many people believe that the Vietnamese will eat the family dog. This is really not true. The family pet is safe!! It is true that the Vietnamese eat dog and there are many restaurants devoted to dog dishes. I have on many occasions enjoyed a late of BBQ dog. How does it taste??  It tastes fine and I cannot describe a taste. Try to describe garlic for example. It is similar to??? The truth is that there is a specific breed of dog that is raised on farms for consumption. I have no idea of the breed and probably do not want to know. Dogs are cute lovable animals and seeing my dinner wanting to lick my face might give me a problem. There may have been a time in the past where any dog was fair game, but not now. I have of as yet not been able to find a restaurant that serves cat. I have looked, but to no avail. Darn!! I would prefer to eat a cot over a dog any day!!

Tonight, Carl has mentioned that we have to go for a good snake dinner sometime. I am looking forward to that. I have had snake in the past and found the meat to be quite tasty. He described the experience as this… The skin was stripped off the snake and deep fried somewhat like pork rinds with a nutty flavor. The meat was then prepared a number of ways. One of them was the meat being pounded into a sort of mince and fried bones and all. There was another method of cooking, but I cannot recall at the moment. The finale was the still beating heart was added to a glass of wine mixed with the snake’s blood. ( I think I will skip on that part). Mmmmm Mmmmm there are so many things to enjoy for unusual food in Vietnam. Sadly there seems to be one food missing that I enjoyed in the past…. Jelly fish.. I remember 10 or 12 years ago that we would go to the market and see a 45 gallon drum filled with sea water. Inside were clouds of jellyfish pumping their way this and that. Back then on sot of a dare, I scooped up a few from the drum and ate them live. Wow!! What a nice texture. There was really no taste but the texture was not unlike eating cole slaw. To this day, I add jellyfish to my appetizers if it is available.

There is a bit of hope on the horizon. I have an option to replace my departing night receptionist. Ideally a man is preferable as dealing with other aggressive men might be easier handled, however, all my options at the moment are women. I need somebody fast and a friend has recommended a person who may be an asset to us. If I hire her,,, I may only have 3 days to train her. If I go with the other alternatives I have, I will have a couple of weeks to train. Hmmmmm. I trust my friend and am willing to give his recommendation a try, however, she may not be able to make it here until a few days before departure. If for some reason I do not have a night person, I may have to just lock the doors for 3 weeks and I really do not want that.

Why Visit Vietnam?…. Part 2

A view from Chau Doc

Vietnam is a beautiful country. From the watery delta of the Mekong with its breathtaking shades of green, speckled by the bright color of flowers and fruit, To the jagged tranquility of Halong Bay and it’s amazing rugged sights. The country is filled with history. There are Ancient Cham ruins to explore, and beautiful Buddhist temples to visit. White choral sand beaches, and misty mountain top get aways. There is a lot to see and do. After this introduction, I will be pasting information provided by other sources because there are people out there who have done a much better job than I can to inform you of specific areas. I will add my impressions where I feel needed. 

Back to the culture shock…. When you first start touring Vietnam, you might get the impression that it is a dirty place. In the past it was so, but they have become much better over time. The main reason it may look messy here to many it that there is always construction and building improvements

An Ancient cham

 everywhere. There are also houses built against all of the roads as the people here can open some king of business and try to make a living. The combination of demolition waste, building materials, home built structures and businesses, along with the street side industries can look a little messy. Try to ignore and look beyond and you will see the natural beauty of this country, or better yet…. Look at all the activity as part of the charm as I do. So now you have decided that Vietnam might be the place for an exotic holiday different from any you have taken before. Tou may have a few questions such as: 

Is it Safe? 

Vietnam is one of the safest countries in the world to travel. The government has asked that the foreigner be treated well and what the government here wants, it usually gets. The people in their ever industrious ways have learned

Developement on the end of NhaTrang

that is easy to make money from a tourist by providing a good service, so you will find no lack of friendly people willing to help you. Like any other place, there is petty crime. Snatch and Grabs, pick pockets, and other minor scams to get at your money. Actual muggings are rare unless you are silly enough to walk down the quiet streets in a foreign and poor country drunk at 3am. Just use common sense and do not draw extra attention to yourself with bulging fanny packs and the like, and you will be fine. I myself was a victim of laydyboy pick pockets. ( see blog (see post A sucker born every minute). So do not worry about walking around tightly grasping your packs and wallets. Generally you will be fine. 

Will I get sick? What should I take? 

Before you come here, you should consult with your local travel inoculation centre. The recommended shots are typhoid, Japanese Esephalitis, yellow fever and Hepatitis a and b.

You really do not need to worry about malaria unless you are going to spend time deep inland, and there is nothing you can take to

Hon Chong beach

 prevent dengue fever. But what about the local bugs?

Our bodies have a bit of trouble adapting to the bacteria that is in the water here. It is generally best to avoid consuming even small amounts of the local water. A person can do this by always keeping a golden rule. “If it is boiled, or if I can peel it, it is safe to eat”. If you keep this rule in mind, you should never get sick from the food. People are sometimes concerned about the condition of the food. They see it sitting in the sun in open air markets. All of the food is fresh and will be sold in the morning. By noon it is all gone and does not sit there for the next day. I have not seen people suffer from food

Hslong Bay

poisoning, even though it may look like it can happen. It is also a good idea to always check the ice in your drink. If it is round or has rounded edges, it was made with purified water and is safe. Most restaurants now serve this kind of ice as they are as much on a clean water kick as us. If the ice in your drink looks jagged as if broken off a block, be very wary. Ask if you can about the source of the water. If you cannot determine it is safe, do not drink it. The water here can sometimes cause some very bad bouts of diarrhea. It is a good idea to bring some Imodium or other such anti-Diarrhea product just to be safe. 

Tomorrow I will start to write about specific destinations and what there is to see. And do.

Kids on a swim

Ah Squid mmmm mmmm Good!

One of the more pleasurable things to do in NhaTrang is to eat. In fact, much of the Vietnamese culture is based on the social interaction while eating or drinking. If you befriend a local at 8 am, you will probably be eating and drinking by 11. Breakfast and lunch are usually just a normal meal, but an afternoon or evening meal can take the rest of the day. And if the evening meal was consumed at home, the rest of the evening is often spent at coffee shops, Ice cream parlors, bars, and roadside setups that offer all kinds of different edible snacks. I have on many occasions gone to restaurants where 4 hours were used to consume about 12 courses, and as many beers. I will do a page on strictly Vietnamese food at a later time. For now, I will speak to you of what is available here for the tourist.

 Firstly, there has to be more hotels and restaurants per capita than any other city. Not only does NhaTrang offer a extremely high number of quality seafood and specialty restaurants, It also boasts ethnic restaurants (ethnic being us) from almost every region of the globe. There are many people who are very concerned about what they put into their body, or have set in their mind what is palatable and what is not. Not to fear….. NhaTrang has something for everyone. And not just clones of what Vietnamese think a Italian or North American food should be like…. But the real deal. I have been pleasantly surprised at how good these restaurants are. So far, I have had very few disappointments with the food. I have run into some cleanliness issues and will not go to those places again, but all in all they have been very good. So far I have gone to Italian, Tex-Mex, seafood, Irish, and Vietnamese restaurants. All very good. I have yet to try the French, Greek, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, or Russian establishments. I have not yet seen any Chinese restaurants….. hmmmm…. China is next door…… hmmmmm…. I will have to try to figure that one out. In Saigon, fast food places have started to appear. I saw a KFC and I heard of a Pizza Hut. We tried a Vietnam version of a burger joint. It was OK, but you would have to eat a lot of burgers to get full. Of course chicken burgers are much more available than beef. Fast food has not reached NhaTrang yet. I imagine it will one day.

About the meat quality. Beef is expensive here. This is not cow country. There are cows here, but they are scrawny and eat whatever they can find. I have actually seen a cow untie a plastic bag to get at the banana peels inside. Someone remarked to me that the beef could be good here, but the time from slaughter to market is same day. Beef in North America can be aged for 21 days for tenderness. The specialty tourist restaurants have beef suppliers that ship from the Unites states. Pork is a much more common meat and like in North America, it can be tender and delicious. Many pigs have escaped into the country and live wild, so you will see wild boar on many menus. Chicken is prepared in many ways, almost all of them delicious, however, most chicken here is as hard as shoe leather. I have been told that there is tender chicken here, but I have not found it yet. That is probably due to the fact that most of my meals are either at home or in Vietnamese restaurants. I very rarely go to the foreign places. Probably the freshest and the best food here in my opinion is the seafood and the variety of it. I have had fish steaks that are the size of and cut like a beef steak. Smaller ocean fishes of all kinds are available. There is a large variety of shellfish from your standard scallop and clams, to giant snails the size of your fist. The oysters are smaller here and a bit expensive. Most crabs here are small, however, you will not see bigger shrimp in all the world, both freshwater and saltwater. If a person is as adventurous as I am, you can enjoy Frog, eel, snake, and yes….. even dog. The weirdest thing I have ever had was deep fried tarantulas.

 Bon Apatite