Banh Xeo

Banh Xeo

We finally had our local meal that beats anything we've had in the US. We had amazing Ban Xeo Hue, Nem Nuong Mia and Nem Chua Nuong at Quan 52 (Banh Xeo by Cho Dam). This place was recommended by both the hotel receptionist and the cabbie as the best Banh Xeo in Nha Trang. The kitchen was a cart with an extra table for the fryer, and the inside of the restaurant had haphazard tables and plastic chairs. The dough of the Ban Xeo was just crispy enough of the outside with the right combination of shrimp, squid, pork, boiled egg and bean sprouts on the inside. My lesson learned is that we need to eat at more simple stalls with a small menu than the formal restaurants. My favorite meals have all been in places with plastic chairs.  

My rudimentary Vietnamese came in handy - I was able to figure out the short menu and order for us. The longer I'm here, the more I understand and the more I'm able to sound out words. I think I'm going to try to watch the news in Vietnamese when I get home so I can beef up my vocabulary.

Quan 52 from the inside

Nha Trang

The weather in Nha Trang is a bit fickle. One moment it's dry; the next moment it's pouring. 

Da Lat to Nha Trang

GObama! It would have been amazing to mill about downtown Chicago to celebrate this historic win.

However, the ride from Da Lat to Nha Trang was epic. The plan was to ride about 15km out of Da Lat, do 41km in undulating hills in a national forest, descend 30km in the national forest and then ride another 20km towards Nha Trang.

The national forest had towering pine trees, amazing valleys with pockets of fog. Lots of long climbs, and gorgeous views. The sprinkling turned into a harsher, colder rain, and I was miserable. I climbed into the bus and thought I was done.  So the bus decended 3500 ft over 20 km (smelt lots of brake) and stopped to let us descend. So, I climbed back onto the bike and rode another 20km. Holy cows - around each bend descending into the valley, there were more and more amazing views. At the end of the ride, I looked back and saw the 'moutain' that I climbed up and descended down.  This ride was so amazing, I would like to return one day and do it during the dry season. (It ended up being 4000 ft of climbing over 48 miles.)

On a side note, during a wicked descent, Roman caught a patch of oil and took a nasty spill. He's ok to ride, just lots of road rash.

Corrected link to our photos here.  

First few days in Vietnam

I woke up super early this morning in hopes of getting any news results regarding the election. The states can't be called until the polls are officially closed and we head out on our bikes at 7:30 AM, so I won't find out until later today. Our tour is composed of folks from around the world (only 4 from the US), and most are very aware of our election. It's interesting that there are parties around the world for expats to watch the results.

The trip started with a warm-up ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels on Monday on very flat terrain.  The kids along they way were really cute and enthusiastic with their "Hellos."  The tunnels themselves are an amazing feat of engineering in a low tech situation. Pretty claustrophobic. They also show some crazy determination - around 60,000 people lived inside the tunnels during the war.

Tuesday was a good cycling day.  we did 15 miles through the hills of Da Lat with a mile long hill that started with a steep grade.  Pete did the whole hill without stopping for a rest! The climate and the hills were just gorgeous.  The climate reminds me of the Bay Area.

Confirmed with the guide - most of the Vietnamese come home for Tet (Lunar New Year). About 300,000 Viet Kieu came back just for Tet last year.

En Route to Vietnam

The flight from Hong Kong to Saigon has more tourists than Vietnamese. This was very different from our flight from Hong Kong to Manila where there were tons of Flips coming home. The Philippines has scores of overseas workers, and Vietnam has done a pretty good job of marketing itself as a tourist destination.  Can't wait to get to Vietnam and try some of the tasty food!

I have to mention that the last 10 days of stuffing myself (and not working out a lick) has taken a toll. Good thing I'll have a bunch of time on my hands when I get back - I need to get back to training weight to make the rides/runs more bearable.

Manila

Family dinner in Bongabon after visit to cemetary

We arrived in Manila on All Saints Day. On this day, the custom in the Philippines is to return to the provinces and visit the cemetary of your ancestors. So we took a 4 hour drive to the town of Bongabon, where Pete's grandparents are buried. The local cemetary had throngs of people milling about. People spending time with their ancestors and then walking about and seeing the tombs of other ancestors.  It was also the only time of year that most of the families all gathered at once.

Pete's very gracious cousin, Omi, was our amazing host for our short time in Manila.  She showed us what she could of Manila as we drove from and to the airport, and she explained a lot of the Filipino customs as we came across them.  

Jane & Omi at Tito Vic's home in Bongabon

Leaving Dumaguete

View of Apo Island at breakfast each morning

Our cottage at the Atlantis Dumaguete

Our last night in Dumaguete was a flurry of packing, organizing and an agonizing wait for our wetsuits to dry. We had to wait until the next morning to finish packing the scuba gear, and I'm pretty sure the wetsuits are going to be quite gross by the end of the trip.  We couldn't just shove everything in a bag and handle it when we got home - we had to stay organized as we continued onto Manila and then Vietnam.