The Picture Blog: Thanks for Reading!!

As the Vietnam Blog reaches the end of its storied tenure, I feel it would be remiss of me not to give something back to my loyal readers who, week in week out, sit staring at their computers, just waiting, hoping, praying for the next Post to roll out.

Well, here it is, my final Vietnam post just to say Thanks For Reading! In return for your steadfast support, I give you a post that involves little to no reading at all! My favorite pix from the month+ that I spent on the road in Vietnam and Laos.

Enjoy.

The Open Road. That's what it's all about ya'll.
Outside Dong Hoi, Vietnam

Mekong Sunsets. Unbeatable.
Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos

Buffalo are excellent swimmers
The road from Sapa to Ha Giang, Northern Vietnam

Read on too see more attempts at photography

Saigon Food Blog: White People Like This

After more than a month of driving, busing, training, and merry-making my way through Vietnam and Laos, I had finally arrived in the southern capital of Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as Saigon. My former travel partner Dan, of NorthernVietnam and Laos fame, had been living and teaching in Saigon for some time, and was only in Hanoi for the summer program, much like myself. So when I got in to town and met up with Dan he asked me what I wanted to do with my 3 days in Saigon, and my answer was simple: Eat.
(...and the award for Paragraph With the Most Blog Links Ever goes toooo: That one!! Congratulations, you earned it.)

Food in Southern Vietnam is not quite the same as in the North, where for much of its history, food was regulated by the communist government, and there was not much of it to go around, much less to get creative with. But Southern cuisine is widely regarded as the more diverse and flavorful of the two, with a bit more pizazz and a bit more heat to it. I was ready to dive in and get as much of that Southern flavor as I could before leaving the country for good.

The One. The Only.

Saigon is crazy crowded, and where there are a lot of hungry people there are a lot of restaurants to feed them. But my top priority was a local lunch spot I had been hearing about before I even knew I'd be moving to Vietnam: a street side vendor run by a woman know to foreigners simply as The Lunch Lady. This woman has probably featured in just about every Vietnamese/Southeast Asia food blog you can find, and with good reason. Every day at lunch time she serves a different dish, rotating weekly through local favorites and regional adaptations. Her food is rich, the servings hearty, and her reputation widespread throughout the expat/backpacker scene.

Read on to hear how awesome the Lunch Lady is

Day 31 & 32 & 33 & 34: Inclement Weather and The End of The Line

Having well and truly enjoyed my time in Nha Trang, my journey was nearing its close, and there were only 2 more towns to check off my list before reaching Saigon: the mountain retreat town called Dalat, and the once-small fishing village turned action-sports mecca known as Mui Ne. I'd read about a newish road that goes straight from Nha Trang through the beautiful mountainous countryside straight into Dalat, so I packed up and headed out, looking forward to a scenic, hairpin-filled romp through the hills.

The last bit of scenery I actually got to enjoy...

The drive turned out to be anything but a romp. My ability to avoid inclement weather throughout my trip was a stroke of luck I was thankful for, but the trip to Dalat quickly ended that lucky streak. It was rainy and freezing cold, and any hope that I had of enjoying scenic vistas or entertaining roads was quickly shot; all the vistas were covered with mega-lame clouds, and the turns and curves that would have been a blast to drive in good weather were suddenly slick and treacherous.

As I approached one such turn, I applied my breaks in anticipation, and nothing happened... whether I was skidding or the breaks were too cold and wet to accomplish what they were intended for I still don't know, but within seconds I was in the turn and off the road, with only the guardrail and about 3 feet of rocky ground separating me and my bike from a sheer drop off a cliff.... thanks to my expert driving abilities, I was able to save myself from disaster, but a wreck that far from civilization would not have turned out well for our brave hero!

Read on to see how long I stayed in Dalat, plus: my inevitable run-in with The Law.