Tour Sai Gon - Cai Rang in travel to VietNam

Join your affection for sustenance with your energy for go on this exceptional culinary visit. Take in the insider facts of Vietnam's reality renowned cooking, as you investigate the scene, meet the individuals and dig into the historical backdrop of the nation – discovering motivation for your most loved nearby dishes.

Welcome to Vietnam's present day city: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Meet your aide and driver at the air terminal then appreciate an introduction visit through Saigon's clamoring roads on the way to the lodging. Appreciate the kinds of Southern Vietnamese cooking today at supper.

Appreciate a full day to visit Saigon's differing attractions. Begin with a visit to Saigon's China Town, then research customary Vietnamese solution at the FITO Museum and skim through the stunning show of products at Ben Thanh Market. Stop for lunch then proceed the city visit with a visit to the War Remnants Museum, look into Vietnam's late history at Reunification Palace, visit the close-by neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral and the City's Center Post Office before passing by the fancy Opera Theater and the City Hall. End your day with an extravagant supper as you journey out into Saigon River, joined by live diversion, while drifting past Ho Chi Minh City's charming evening time cityscape.

Here you have opportunity to study mixture of numerous sorts of greenery and herbs and mushroom before beginning your cooking lesson. The class runs for 60 minutes and 15min and incorporates shows which will help you pick up knowledge into the assorted qualities of the Vietnamese food, and also time to help get ready customary dishes. In the wake of enjoying your manifestations, visit Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground maze of paths, utilized by the Viet Cong amid the Vietnam War (or "American War" as its alluded to here) as insurance against American air attacks. Those slanted are welcome to slither through choices of the passages to better comprehend what life was similar to for the Vietnamese officers amid wartime.

Today you leave the clamor of the enormous city and drive to the lavish Mekong River Delta. After breakfast, your aide & driver will reach you at your inn and take you to Cai Be. Board on your private sampan to visit Cai Be skimming business sector, passing by some nearby home processing plants to find customary rice glue making, rice popcorn, coco confections, and longans drying methodology. Revel in lunch at an Indochinese Villa, Le Longanier, found in a lush arrangement by the stream. Your sampan will keep on proceedding the voyage to Vinh Long. On the way, you will be capable watch the average Mekong delta country life and visit bonsai enclosures. These evergreen islands among the Mekong River still stay obscure to numerous individuals. Your driver will be holding up for you on the opposite side of the waterway to undertake a 45 moment excursion to the biggest city in the Mekong: Can Tho, a buzzing town with an energetic waterfront and a vivid blend of tight back roads and wide avenues that make for some remunerating investigation.

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Wake early and leave the lodging to visit the celebrated Cai Rang drifting market by speedboat. Experience the every day life of the Mekong River Delta as merchants from around the area assemble to offer new soil grown foods, neighborhood delights and carefully assembled products. Proceed with the vessel ride to visit the Mekong Delta's renowned plantations and example a portion of the crisp, outlandish soil grown foods. At that point wander deeper into the farmland, passing customary houses made of wood and palm leaves as you watch the exercises of the nearby individuals. Come back to Can Tho for lunch then drive again to Saigon, touching base in the late evening.

Hanoi’s new food, fashion and creative quarter

Simply a couple of years back, Tay Ho was a lethargic group of angling towns on the northern edge of Hanoi. Sightseers infrequently wandered around here – and not one or the other did local people.

"Individuals inquired as to why I was opening a restaurant such a distance out there. In 2003, there were just fish homesteads and noodle shops here. Fraser Suites [a extravagance loft complex] was a bomb cavity," reviewed Canadian gourmet expert Donald Berger, whose lakeside area bistro, Don's, was Vietnam's just passage on the 2013 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list.

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Anyway since 2010, when a cleared street was manufactured around Ho Tay – the lake after which the area is named – a deluge of inventive expats and local people have changed the zone, opening chic boutiques and bistros imbued with a Vietnamese sensibility. At 68 Xuan Dieu, Lacquer and More displays brilliantly lacquered dishes and pantries made utilizing conventional strategies. Close-by, Module 7 showcases dress from Kilomet 109, a style mark that joins material weaving and coloring systems utilized by ethnic minority tribes into contemporary plans.

Enjoy a reprieve from shopping at Oriberry, a lakeside bistro serving single-beginning, Fairtrade Vietnamese espresso. At that point look at the other socially-cognizant shops that have sprung up close by, for example, Betterday, which offers tea, espresso, cashews and flavors sourced from neighborhood ranchers – and is not to be mistaken for Better World Hanoi, a blessing shop that gives 5% of benefits to Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a not-revenue driven association committed to evacuating unexploded weapons. It offers a cluster of Vietnamese merchandise, from natural cleansers to hand-sewed ipad covers.

On Saturday mornings, local people skim the Tay Ho weekend market (Ngo 67 To Ngoc Van) for little clump items, for example, nectar hand-pressed by tribes in the northern area of Ha Giang and crucial oils from common perfumer Dame Clemence; there's even an area blend of jasmine and coriander called Les Nuits de Tay Ho.

In spite of the fact that regardless you'll discover roadside merchants making pho and banh mi, a developing number of Tay Ho gourmet experts attract on Vietnamese fixings to make inventive toll. A couple of pieces away at Daluva, the occasional tasting menu incorporates feta made with goats' milk from a homestead just outside the city and shellfishes steamed in cucumber squeeze and ginger. During the evening, the area bar scene offers a few alternatives: from the peaceful resto-parlor of Dieu's Cuisine to rowdier Hanoi Rock City.

A comfortable walk around the lake brings you to Chula, where manager Diego Cortizas and his wife Laura Fontán print Vietnamese weaved silks with distinctive Spanish designs. In an early-twentieth century estate, the shop hosts nighttime shows and workmanship displays. With its artisanal items and rustic setting, Chula epitomizes the Tay Ho attitude of looking to the future while grasping

La Antigua | La Fotografia De La Calle

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Although this morning was totally consumed by exchanging US dollars to Quetzals, getting a Claro SIM card (getting two for the price of one...un regalo, as I was told), and changing hotels, I did manage to wander about La Antigua, especially around the Parque Central.

I concluded that this little town is made for street photography. I have yet to unpack my gear...relying on my iPhone to grab some casual shots of whatever interests me...especially those with human interest in them.

Under the cloisters of San Jose Cathedral, I watched a photographer setting up a shoot for a Quinceañera celebrating her fifteenth birthday in a satin dress, while the assistant with the reflector is fiddling with his phone.

Street photography here is probably going to be like shooting fish in a barrel...I hope. I regret not having unpacked my cameras, but first things had to come first.

Oh, and by the way...I had a fantastic avocado gazpacho (courtesy of the house), and great penne with salmon at a nearby restaurant. Losing weight won't be an option here in La Antigua.

Can I find the restaurant again? Probably not.

Iditarod 2009: Can Anyone Catch Lance?

It was a busy weekend in Alaska, as the top mushers now have their sites set on Nome, and the finish line to the 1100 mile Iditarod. Late last week, two-time defending champ Lance Mackey made a big move and took the lead, and he hasn't given it up since, despite some tough competition nipping at his heels.

As of now, Mackey has blasted through the Shaktoolik checkpoint, which puts him less than 170 miles from his goal of a third straight victory in "The Last Great Race". But he isn't home yet, and Yukon Quest champ Sabastian Schnuelle is still in second place and hoping to get his first win in the Iditarod as well. Not far behind Schnuelle is is four time winner Jeff King, who steadily made his way up the leaderboard this weekend to put himself in a position to make a run at Mackey as well. Schnuelle, King, and the rest of the top ten are all through Unalakleet and heading towards Shaktoolik.

At this point, I personally think Mackey is a lock for his third straight win, but it isn't over yet, and there are plenty of miles to on the trail. But Lance is one of the best racers in the world and knows his team very well, and I think he has them in a position that it is nearly impossible to catch them. I'm also going to go out on a limb and predict that King will pass Schnuelle and claim second place. He seems to be running faster at the moment, and running the Yukon Quest and Iditarod back to back may have taken it's toll. We'll find out soon however, as the winner will probably be in Nome by tomorrow.

Trip to Naples. Discover a Treasure.

Our friends shared a lot of apprehensions when we told them that Naples was on our itinerary. Mafia, uncleanliness were some of the cons that people shared. Naples turned out to be exactly different. It indeed is a treasure.

Our journey from Rome to Naples incidentally happened to be our first train journey in Europe. We hopped on TrenItalia. The landscape that passed us ranged from eclectic open grasslands, to clinically linear farms to snow crowned mountains. The exquisite scenery simply vignetted at 300 Kph. The trains are a tourist attraction in themselves, we were quick to realize. Coach was absolutely neat, people astonishingly quiet, and space that was utilized functionally perfectly. There was an adequate occupancy, and was  far from being overcrowded. People were busy within themselves and their work. The suspensions were so perfect, that the coffee in our cups, bought from the pantry in the car, didn't even for a moment suggest of spilling. We had boarded a morning train and thankfully there was brilliant sunshine in both the cities.

Day 1

The first thing you would notice about Naples is that it's far less touristy than the other northern Italian cities like Rome, Florence, Venice or Milan, and relatively less affluent and prosperous also. Our hotel was few steps away from the train station, Napoli Centrali and the moment we stepped out from the station complex, we could find Hotel Ideal spot on. The Hotel rooms were on the smaller side but yes were functionally adequate. There was a dearth of (badly missed) lift, but the facility of bell boy more than made up for the deficit, atleast for the luggage. The reception was very helpful and tried to make up for the lack of infrastructure to the extent possible. We settled in our rooms and tied our shoestrings for a quick lunch (Pizza foe sure !!). Southern Italian state of Campania is the birth place of Pizza and Naples being its capital, you would find divine pizzas here. For many, trust me, tasting divine Pizzas (without exaggeration) can be reason enough to visit Naples.

Experience Divine Pizzas at Naples

Lots of migrants from African origin can be seen selling the odd things on the streets. There is also a significant group of Sri Lankan origined people, displaced due to the civil war in their country.

Naples can be easily termed as the most affordable Italian city for shopping. Almost everything is significantly cheaper than the northern Italian cities. With the annual sale season around, there are some excellent deals for the grabs. After spending some time in the market, we headed to the old Town of Naples. This part is also known as the historical town of Naples. We witnessed major infrastructure projects taking place around the station. The old city, thus, was a welcome discovery. In all senses, it was a world different from its world. It was a bustling place and the architecture, as across almost all of Italy, breathtaking. We chose to walk our way through to visit Naples and that also turned out to be the best way. Witnessing high energy levels, we realized that we were quite close to the University area. We then spent our afternoon and evening across bustling markets, Castle Nuovo, Piazza del Plebiscito, to finally reach Castle Dell'ovo at Porto Santa Lucia.

Castle Nuovo

The city view from Castle Dell'ovo was fabulous. Steps of light (the city being across hill) garland the littoral water across Bay of Naples and truly, the resilient fort stood guard to the city. Several boats drifted quietly in their dictated domains. The castle currently houses Museum of Prehistory, and at time of our visit, was playing host to a painting exhibition. Across the other side of sea, there is a battery of high budget restaurants. However, there is no point spending money here, as neither the food, nor the price you end up paying for the food is worth it. After spending some really good time, we headed to taste the BEST food ever in our sojourn. It was Pizzeria Sorbillo. The food was a culinary feast and nothing short of divine. The prices are appropriate with a lot of vegetarian choices also available. You can expect a waiting period of around 45-60 minutes in evening though. Without a second thought, Go for it !

We walked our way through to our Hotel and perhaps for the first time in our Italian tour, it was a little unsafe for the time of night. We reached safely and were gleefully smiling like school kids to discover our treasure, Naples!

European Souk

The next day, we went to visit Sorrento. Can't wait writing my post !

Shop What
Naples is one of the cheapest of Italian cities. Some Shopping ideas may include:

• Jackets
• Designer Hats
• Kids wear

The suburban towns around Naples are even cheaper.
Visit Italy during annual season sale that generally takes place in January.

Bottom Line

• Best Time to travel is during the sale season.
• It isn't that cold as  northern Italian cities like Rome, Florence etc.
• The public transport passes are quite cheap. There are seperate prices for weekends.
• Food is absolutely deligthful.
• Be careful. One of the most unsafe cities in Italy.
• Historical town can surprise you with its beauty.
• Castles are unique and a must visit.

Travel Facts

• Stayed : 1and 1/2 days.
• Stayed at : Hotel Ideal - No, not recommended.
• Travelled with my better half and the journey could be easily divided in three phases. 
• Travelled in TrenItalia from Rome in January 2013.

North Pole 2009: Teams Closing In, More Open Water

While the general attention of the adventure community has shifted over to Everest and the events going on in the Himalaya, the lonely polar explorers continue their long march to the top of the world, with their eyes clearly focused on the price, namely 90ºN!

Two teams are closing in on that mark, with both the Victorinox North Pole Team and the Peary Centennial Expedition both past 89º. The last update from Victorinox is three days old and has them at 88.48ºN, with 72 nautical miles to go until the reach the Pole. The team was knocking off chunks of mileage in the mid teens, so we can guesstimate that they'll reach their destination as early as this weekend, as long as the weather holds and they don't have to deal with too much open water.

Likewise, the Peary Expedition last reported in on the 19th, and they were past 89.11ºN. Their next update may very well be from the Pole itself, as they have also been making good time and should be very close now as well. It seems the next few days will be very exciting for everyone that has been following the North Pole Season this year.

The Catlin Arctic Survey Team has now been out on the ice for 52 days, and have already traveled more than 340 miles. The bad news is that they are estimated to still be more than 550 miles from the Pole. Remember, this team is not heading due North like some, but is instead taking ice samples to measure the healthy of the ice cap. While the teams mentioned above are nearing 90º, Pen, Martin, and Ann are still at 84º and taking their sweet time to enjoy the view. They are also reporting much more open water as spring begins to arrive at the North Pole, which makes things more treacherous and slows them down further.

Meanwhile, the Baffin Babes are continuing their expedition across Baffin Island. It has been a few days since we heard from them as well, and it sounds like it has been a challenging experience in a number of weighs. Their heavy sled is weighing in at about 120kg (roughly 265 pounds), and it sometimes takes all of their efforts, plus their two dogs, to keep it moving through the deep snow. To make matters worse, two of the girls have gotten ill while out on the trail, which has to make them feel absolutely miserable under these conditions. They have, however, reached Clyde River, and resupplied, and enjoyed some down time in town. They report great weather and absolutely stunning scenery on Baffin as well.

Finally, there have been no new dispatches from Christina Franco, who had set out from Barneo a few weeks back on a last degree journey to the North Pole. She was hoping to go solo from the Canadian side, but once her stove suffered a double failure, she was forced to give up that dream for this year, and instead elected to use this journey as a training session. She'll attempt to go solo again next year. Without dispatches, it is difficult to know where she is at, at the Google Map on her website isn't plotting the course either. Perhaps she's still suffering equipment failures.

Kilimanjaro Climbing Video

Trail Magazine, a U.K. publication, sent a team up Kilimanjaro and have posted part 1 of their video on the climb on their website at LiveForTheOutdoors.com. The video is very well done and does a great job of showing the first day or two on the mountain, along the Machame Route, the same one I took while on Kili.

As indicated in the video, the first day is actually tougher than you would think, and you spend much of it in a dense, humid cloud forest that doesn't break until you reach the first camp near the end of the day after about six hours of climbing very steep paths. Check out the video below and stay tuned for Part 2. Looks like it should be a fun series to follow.

North Pole 2009: Teams Halfway Home

Yesterday I worked on getting caught up with what was happening in the Himalaya, today it'll be the North Pole, where the teams are making steady progress towards their goal, and several have now passed the halfway point.

One of those teams is the Victoronix North Pole team who achieved that milestone at the end of last week. In their weekly recap, John Huston and Tyler Fish report that the full moon, which typically brings high tide and more open water/broken ice, seemed to have little impact on their conditions or progress. They also note that they have some concerns about the amount of fuel they are carrying and if it is enough to get them to the Pole, since they are going in an unassisted fashion. Because of those concerns, they've taken some measures to conserve that fuel, using less to warm up their water, wearing their fleece layers inside their tent so they don't need to warm it as much, and so on. As a result, they now feel like they have things under control, and are feeling good about the expedition so far.

The Peary Centennial Expedition has also passed the halfway point, and are now in fact passed the 88thº and expect to pass 89º today. Lonnie Dupre reports that the terrain has begun to level out, and obviously they will be at the North Pole within a matter of days now. He also goes into detail about the 8000+ calories they are eating on a given day to fuel their progress. Some of the things they eat include hot chocolate, oatmeal, energy bars and energy drinks, sticks of butter, nuts, and various dehydrated foods. Despite all of that, Lonnie says the team is looking thinner all time, even in their polar gear.

The Catlin Arctic Survey team has not reached the halfway point just yet, mostly because they are carrying heavy scientific gear on their sleds, and are stopping regularly to measure the ice. The team has another resupply last week which brought them fresh, and dry, sleeping bags, which has made the trip north a bit more comfortable for everyone. Over the weekend they ran across a set of polar bear tracks, which reminded them that they are not alone out on the ice. The big white beasts are the largest land carnivore on the Earth and the only one known to stalk humans, so of course they are keen to avoid this one. The team is also reporting that they've been finding strange yellow deposits in the ice that resemble a yellow gem of some kind. At first they thought it bight be the result of animal urine, but soon dismissed the idea as they came across more. They've taken some photos, which we haven't seen yet, but at this point, they're stumped as to what they could be. Interesting.

Meanwhile, Christina Franco is back out on the ice after flying to Barneo last week. She's now making a last degree journey to the Pole that she sees as training following her aborted attempt at a solo journey from the Canadian side last month. She reports that she woke up today to find that she had gained 4 nautical miles while sleeping thanks to positive drift. Even more amazing, in that time she also traveled 14 nautical miles east! All in a days work for the North Pole teams!

More updates soon!

POV: No, I Can't....

"If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture. That is my way of seeing things." - Sebastiao Salgado.

And that is my way too.

I've waited until the murderers of Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists were done with to express my personal view on this blog.

Readers of this blog, people who know me either personally or through social media, know of my interest in documenting world religions, unusual religious ceremonies and cults....the more esoteric the better.

 I am completely irreligious, and yet I'm profoundly interested -from a visual, intellectual and cultural standpoint- in these manifestations of faith. And it's for these exact reasons that I am not going to join the "I Am Charlie" flood.

I respect all manifestations of faith...whether I agree with them or not. How can I not, if I photograph them every chance I get?

During the horrible events in Paris, the concept of freedom of expression and of the press have been bandied about in the media, and many individuals have understandably been quick to express their support by commenting and displaying various avatars in support.

I'm one of the many who believe that freedom of expression ought to apply to all faiths, religions, beliefs...spiritual or secular. To select one and not the others is -to me- a form of discrimination and racism. 

But I also believe that scatologically smearing a group’s race, identity and beliefs (whether Muslim, Catholic, Jew or Hindu, etc) is an unreasonable thing to do, and is not the mark of a civil society.  I don't care if Charlie Hebdo's satire is a French "tradition" that even precedes Voltaire, the satirical polemicist who, by the way, was a strident anti Semite. If wielded with a heavy hand, it leads to hate.

And while I'm on Voltaire, he is incorrectly credited in having said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." These were the words of his biographer. Check this to make sure.

Criticism of any religion can (and ought to) be done using intellectual and thoughtful discourse...rather than using pornographic/crass lampooning as was done by Charlie Hebdo. 

That is -in simple terms- why I am not, and will never be Charlie.

HoiAn cooking tour - VietNam travel

Arranged on the banks of the Hoian River, the Red Bridge Restaurant & Cooking School is intended to take care of the developing demand for a quality Vietnamese feasting background, complete with individual administration and individual style...

Spotted on 2 sections of land of tropical farmland and just 2km from Hoian's downtown area, the Red Bridge is effectively arrived at via auto, bicycle, cyclo or vessel. The cooking school offers an every day, half-day cooking visit that acquaints voyagers with Vietnamese food. Suitable for all explorers, the project is a fun and intriguing approach to research the neighborhood nourishment and runs with

at least 2 travelers...

Detailed Cooking Tours

We begin the day (8:45am) with a beverage at Hai Scout Cafe - our gathering point. From here we head to Hoian's bright market. Investigate the business and collaborate with neighborhood sellers to buy some new elements throughout today's cooking class. Next, board the Red Bridge vessel for a comfortable 25min journey along the Hoian River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. Find the school's herb and vegetable enclosure before beginning your cooking lesson. The class runs for 60 minutes and 15min and incorporates showings from the school's gourmet specialists and time to help get ready conventional dishes. At the end of class, appreciate a starting lesson in the craft of Vietnamese nourishment cutting (plate improvement).

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Formulas (our sustenance contains no MSG): 

1. Crisp Rice Paper Rolls of Shrimp - including the making of rice paper

2. Clam Ginger Sauce

3. Warm Squid Salad served into equal parts a Pineapple

4. Barbecued Eggplant loaded down with Market Vegetables

6. Hoi A hotcakes (Banh Xeo)

Lunch incorporates the above suppers and in addition: Steamed Ocean Fish on a couch of crisply cleaved vegetables (excluded in the exhibition). A veggie lover lunch can be given on appeal. Complete at pretty nearly 1:00pm - exchange over to focal Hoian.