Vietnam on the back of a motorbike

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The best way to deal with the traffic is to join it! A highlight of our Vietnam trip was a day on the back of a motorbike touring the rice fields, stopping at small village markets, standing for a moment beside American bunkers left after the war and visiting the Buddhist monastery where Thich Nhat Hahn (the well known monk who along with others, was expelled from Vietnam after the war) first became a monk. Truly a place of beauty and peacefulness after the bustling cities and busy roads. Although Vietnam speaks of itself as a Buddhist country there seems to be an uneasy relationship between the communist party and Buddhism - in striking contrast to the feel one gets in Thailand.

Later in the day we were introduced to the beetle nut by our elderly guide in a village rice museum. For her generation the fashion was to chew on the nut in order to blacken the teeth. I declined the offer to try. The process of rice production has not changed significantly from her youth - much is done by hand and with the aid of simply tools. It is hard work. There are two rice crops per year (three in Bali).

And then there is cooking with rice - meet Viet Passion Fruit, our funny, energetic cooking instructor. Cooking classes are offered across Asia and are a great way to experience a slightly different aspect of the culture. Myself and four others signed on for an evening cooking class with Viet Passion Fruit, as she calls herself - never did hear her real name. What a ball of energy. A cook by day she learned English through talking with tourists. As a result her English is peppered with sayings (just do it!!) and snippets of songs.....all loosely tied together and delivered with great gusto. She gave each of us a name of one of the ingredients we were using - I became lemongrass for the evening, which suited me well. Love the color, smell and taste... The cooking was fabulous, the results outstanding. Green papaya salad, Vietnamese spring rolls (unlike any I have every tasted), a sweet chicken soup and fish cooked in banana leaves.

All for now....

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