Archive for October, 2010
Weasel Coffee, Schmeasel Coffee
By Thomas on October 31, 2010 | 2 Comments »
How far would you go for a good cup of coffee? Would you get yourself a pet weasel, feed it coffee berries, dig through the weasel droppings to get your precious coffee beans back, and then grind them for a tasty cup of coffee?
Well, if you are a true coffee connoisseur and want to try the most expensive coffee in the world, that’s exactly what you have to do. Alternatively, you can come to Vietnam where you can sample a whole list of roasts including the famous weasel coffee. So, why exploit a poor weasel? Apparently enzymes in the animal’s digestive tract produce a very aromatic, less bitter coffee. And, more importantly, people are willing to pay big bucks for the beans after they come out of a weasel’s butt. » Continue reading this post »
The Citadel of Hue
By Tony on October 30, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Hue, the city of imperial palaces and tombs, is on most travelers’ itineraries when they visit Vietnam. The city’s most famous attraction is the ancient Citadel and the Imperial Enclosure within. Having done a semester course in Vietnamese history and being an architecture nut, I had set my expectations pretty low for our visit to the Citadel. Between French, Vietcong, and American attacks on the city followed by years of Communist neglect of the ancient monuments, I was expecting very little to be intact. In fact, I was quite surprised by how much remained and how beautifully Hue’s monuments have been restored.
Thomas and I rented bikes and rode across the Perfume River to the Citadel’s massive 10-km outer walls. (You know I love my walled cities.) We biked along the lotus-filled moat past the massive » Continue reading this post »
Vietnamese Salads
By Thomas on October 29, 2010 | No Comments »
What I really love about Vietnamese food is the integration of fresh, uncooked fruit and vegetables into many of the dishes. If you like light and fresh, it doesn’t get much better than Vietnamese salads. Although famous beyond the borders of Vietnam, we had a hard time finding restaurants which offered them here in the country. The last thing I wanted was a Russian salad with potatoes and mayonnaise. But then, on our last night in Hoi An, we discovered Mermaid Restaurant.
Only slightly pricier than the average tourist restaurant, Mermaid offers an array of traditional Vietnamese dishes including all of » Continue reading this post »
The Best Service Ever
By Thomas on October 28, 2010 | 8 Comments »
We don’t normally recommend hotels because everyone’s expectations of a place and how much they should pay are so different. This time, however, we have to make an exception.
Almost immediately after entering the Hoang Trinh Hotel in Hoi An, we knew this place was different. Exhausted after an 11-hour bus ride from Nha Trang, we basically crawled into the reception area just to find a plate of coconut macaroons and cinnamon tea waiting for us. When a young lady in a traditional Vietnamese dress led us to the room, we couldn’t believe our eyes. There were white swans sitting on the bed. » Continue reading this post »
Beware of Firesheep
By Tony on October 27, 2010 | No Comments »
Travelers with laptops take note, yesterday’s release of the Firefox extension named Firesheep has the tech-world buzzing with fears about potential security threats. If you are using your laptop in a shared Wi-Fi zone, amateur hackers sitting near you can use Firesheep to seize control of your personal accounts on various sites, including: Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and others. Read more about Firesheep here.
