World food
World food and the local cuisine, is for us one of the essential elements of travel. It is one of the most important ways of understanding local culture and therefore a huge part of our enjoyment of a new destination. We put real effort into discovering where the locals like to eat, what makes up the local cuisine, and consequently getting away from the tourist areas. It’s fair to say we would try virtually anything. Probably the most unusual food we have eaten is insects. Street food, bar food, upmarket restaurants and dodgy dives all have a part to play in this journey of discovery. As we seek out new experiences we are in search of even more unusual food. You won’t get these experiences from hiding in your hotel!
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Down To The Delta: Markets On The Mekong
We seem to get from Da Nang to Can Tho in the blink of an eye, via a domestic flight which leaves on time and arrives early followed by a taxi driver with Formula 1 aspirations. Our base in Can Tho is in the Ninh Kieu district, close to the quay of the same name, and as we take our first stroll and look out across the water, there is a serenity which we think is like a Spanish siesta, but will come to realise later that it is something else entirely. The mighty Mekong River travels some 3,050 miles from its source high on the Tibetan Plateau down to…
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The Bridges Of Da Nang And A French Village In The Sky
Da Nang is a large and sprawling city, and our time here is very short – plus, we’ve discovered that the sights which we want to visit are a distance apart from each other and are all some way away from our seafront hotel. Sipping draught Tiger beer on our first night here, we are just debating whether hiring a driver for a day might be our best solution, when we look up and see a guy with a plastic wallet full of leaflets making a beeline for us across the road. “Hello”, he says, “my name is Mister Tony. You want find a driver and guide for your stay…
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Da Nang: The Modern Face Of Vietnam
Laying our Vietnam ghosts has been such an edifying process, we now have a very strong affection for this country after our bad times here at the onset of COVID when we met with some real hostility simply because we were British (this was when the pandemic had taken a stranglehold in the UK more than anywhere else). We’d also had bad food experience, the meals we ate in Hanoi back then were consistently poor, a bit like being given a bowl of washing-up water where if we were really lucky the dishcloth had been left in the bottom. We always knew though that this was not typical – every…
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Hanoi Revisited: Early Days In Vietnam
It’s funny how things even up in the end. After the tortuous India-Nepal border crossing, entering Vietnam is a dream. Our 4-and-a-bit hour flight from Delhi leaves before midnight and lands 5am local time, and at Hanoi we hit an empty airport, a passport check that takes thirty seconds, and a computer system which knows we already have our visas sorted. A matter of minutes later, we’ve bought and activated a Viettel SIM card, grabbed 3 million dong from the ATM (no really) and are on our way into the city. “Massage massage” call various tiny ladies on even tinier plastic stools outside each of the parlours in the tight…
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Exploring More Of Panama City
Once inside the Iglesia San Francisco de Asis in Plaza Bolivar, the lady behind the cluttered desk motions us towards a door at the side of the church and explains that the nativity scene within is a permanent display, not just for Christmas, and is one of four in Casco Viejo. It’s an extensive and impressive display, but passing through the next door we are cast into some sort of ethereal, pretend world. In this ante room there is, in working model form, an entire replica of an American town at Christmas time. Fairgrounds are alive, music ekes out from various venues, the Big Top issues sounds of a crowd….lights…
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Southwards To Treasure Beach Where The Pace Of Life Is……
If you picture yourself visiting the West Indies, what does that picture entail? Do you see yourself in an all-inclusive resort where everything is catered for and you are safe and comfortable? Or maybe on a cruise ship sampling the feel of different islands? Or do you imagine a tranquil hideaway where life is slowed down, where calm and peace rule, where you sip rum cocktails watching the sunset, where there’s hardly anyone on the beach, where you fall asleep to the sound of the waves and wake to the gentle sound of the surf and the smells of the village bakery? Our Jamaica tour continues…. For our last day…
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Street Food, Food Wars & This Unfair World: Port Antonio To Falmouth
We always think there’s something exciting about it when foods with unfamiliar names appear on the menu, and for reasons we can’t quite grasp, it’s even more exciting when it’s breakfast. So to discover that the traditional Jamaican breakfast is ackee and saltfish with johnny cakes and bammy is just irresistible. A side dish of callaloo? Even better! Jamaican food is tasty, often hot and spicy and full of unusual ingredients – though they do like to surround the tasty dishes with a large amount of rather weighty, carb-heavy accompaniments. And by the way the stories are true, there’s certainly no scrimping on the amount of alcohol in the cocktails…
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Stories And Histories: More Days In Rome
On our previous travels we have visited the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz in Krakow and walked through the chilling and horrific histories at Auschwitz and Birkenau, wandered through the former ghettoes of Venice, Thessaloniki and others, visited Jewish museums in several cities as well as Ann Frank’s House in Amsterdam, learning again and again of the bigoted persecution of people of that faith. Even so, there is a different element to Rome’s equivalent, the former ghetto now known as Communita Ebraico, knowing that creation of this particular ghetto took place under the watchful eye and direct personal instruction of the Pope, who ensured that, as with all other ghettoes, the…
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Piazzas, Porticos & Pasta: Notes From Bologna
Bologna’s famous porticos are immediately evident even as we make our way from the railway station to our apartment close to the heart of the city – not surprising given just how far they extend through the city streets. Originally constructed from wood to provide additional display areas for shopkeepers, these attractive extensions now take on a variety of forms: sweeping brickwork arches, concrete and steel squares, segmented tunnels. Handily providing protection from both the summer sun and the winter rain, these porticos stretch improbably for nearly 25 miles around Bologna’s streets, giving it something of a unique look. Well certainly unusual even if not unique. Bologna enjoys a reputation…
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Questions About Travel
Travelling the way we do, in regular lengthy stretches, is not something everyone is fortunate enough, well enough or even inclined to do. Whatever your chosen style of travel, there are some questions which all of us who do so are asked on a regular basis. Like… What do you miss about home? Answer: very little. My stock answer is “proper English ale” which is true, I do find myself craving a good pint sometimes. Michaela meanwhile goes straight for the roast lamb and mint sauce. With both of our families being scattered around the country, we always make a round of visits on our return and probably don’t see…
