Intriguing Vietnam

There are so many things about Vietnam that are amazing. There are so many things that are scary. There are so many things that are beautiful. So many things that are funny, twisted, and intriguing all at the same time. Vietnam is a dynamic country, and there were days when I would feel happy, frustrated, cold, hot, homesick, and in love – all within one hour. I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with the country. Here’s why!

Some of the Vietnamese are the most abrupt I have ever encountered in my life. Every day, people would come up to us, get in our faces, and yell, “ACCUSE ME, YOU BUY SOMETHING TODAY, LADYYYY, WHAT YOU WANT”. (Yes, I do “accuse you”…of getting WAY to close to me) Other times, such as in hotels, I would have to lean in to the receptionist because she was so soft-spoken and explained everything well below a whisper. I don’t know which speaking-style I prefer. One can tell the utter dominance of male over female as well. In every store or restaurant I would find one male owner yelling harshly at all of the female workers, sometimes sending a shiver down my spine at the sheer tone of his voice.

Tourism has increased exponentially in the country within the last 10 years, and locals are simply trying to capitalize on this income in the best way they know how. Therefore they believe that ripping off tourists every chance they get, lying to tourists to get an extra 5 cents, and having an expensive “tourist menu” v. dirt-cheap “local menu” in every restaurant is all in a day’s work.

Now, I may be painting a disagreeable picture of Vietnam, but I think the people of a country play a large part in what is seen on the final canvas. The sights, the food, the countryside, and the way-of-life within Vietnam are all so different and enchanting that they outweigh the poor treatment of visitors.

The food, for example, I have always heard is some of the best in the world. Anthony Bourdain himself said Vietnam is the first country he would move to based on the cuisine. Let’s start with the coffee (The Vietnamese kind is called “White Coffee”). I love it, but I couldn’t drink it every day because of its intensity and sweetness. Your coffee cup comes out with an inch of sweetened condensed milk in it and its own little filter on top of it. Taking around 5 minutes to fully filter, the coffee is then fresh and ready-to-go. I loved having my own personal filter every time I ordered a coffee, and the condensed milk made it seem more like candy than a caffeine drink. Another method is to blend the coffee and sweet milk, then shake it in a cocktail shaker with ice – delicious! I am definitely bringing that concoction back home…

Famous Vietnamese dishes include: Pho, Banh Mi, Vietnamese wontons, White Rose, Vietnamese spring rolls, Cao Lau, Ban Xeo, and mango salad….to name a few!

Pho: The standard “Vietnamese” food, it is basically chicken noodle soup – with spices and veggies that you add in on your own. You can find it at any street food stall, where it is much better than in any restaurant. There is a famous restaurant in Ho Chi Minh named “Pho 2000” where Bill Clinton tried his first Pho. Everyone talks about it.

Banh Mi: Quite possibly the best sandwich I have ever had! It includes tons of meats and vegetables and spices – I actually don’t understand how all the ingredients fit into the fresh French baguette. We went to the exact Banh Mi stand that Anthony Bourdain did on his show “No Reservations” in Hoi An and pretended we had a traveling cooking show of our own.

Vietnamese Wontons: These are small appetizers that look like flat tortillas and are topped with fresh cubed vegetables and cilantro-like spices (not your typical closed, fried wonton)

White Rose: Vietnam’s version of shrimp dumplings, these little gems are made with translucent dough and wrapped to look like roses…and are always topped with delicious fried garlic!

Vietnamese spring rolls: I had always heard this country had the best spring rolls in the world, and did not agree until I took a cooking class after one week of being in Vietnam. We made fresh rolls with bright orange shrimp, lettuce, and herbs…I think “fresh” is the consistent word of this post….?

Cao Lau: My favorite Vietnamese food. Only found in Hoi An, these noodles are mixed with soup, roast pork, dough fritters, fresh herbs, and veggies. I can slurp down a whole bowl in 2 minutes (and am a novice with chopsticks!)

Ban Xeo: aka HUGE fried pancakes filled with bean sprouts, onion, pork, and shrimp. They are bigger than my head, folded in half. You can eat them as they are or cut them in slivers and wrap them in rice paper to make a crunchy spring roll (best dipped in spicy, sweet, and sour sauce!)

Mango salad: pretty self-explanatory, but another amazing dish we learned to make at the cooking class. It consists of an entire mango cut into shreds and mixed with tons of herbs and peanuts – also very popular in Thailand.

People and Provisions – they often make dominant contributions to travel, right?

My next blog post is dedicated to the four cities we visiting during our 2 weeks in Vietnam, to give you more of a “play-by-play” of what we did and what we saw!