Chad’s Blog

Some days the pollution is so bad you can see it. Then there are those days when the pollution is so bad you can’t see.

This was one of those days as seen from my bedroom window at 8:51 in the morning. Yes, that’s the sun that is barely visible.

I was home again for Christmas:

to enjoy how Marm’s dinner table is always spectacularly decorated,

to enjoy Christmas dinner,

and to win at Settlers.

Beijing Nanyuan airport is the smallest airport I’ve seen in China. There’s only two check-in lines and no heating. Despite only one airline and ten flights a day, it somehow still manages to have flights delayed in perpetuity due to “air traffic congestion.”

I had no idea how long it would take to get to the south end of the city so I arrived pretty early. In fact, I had never been to that part of the city at all. The check-in line for my flight wasn’t open for another twenty minutes, yet hundreds of people were milling around waiting.

I made the best decision of the day to go get a hot bowl of instant noodles. I came back to be the first person in line. As soon as I moved into the line, the crowd came pushing behind. A ten minute wait with hot noodles in an otherwise freezing room was much better than being in the middle of the herd. A brilliant decision all around.

When I found out I was returning to Ho Chi Minh City for a week of work, the first thing I did was make a list of food I wanted to eat. I knew I’d be busy at work so I’d have to prioritize.

First on the list was Pho Hoa Pasteur (260C Duong Pasteur, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). Everything about the soup, the fresh herbs, the rare beef, and the sauces is amazing. I’ve missed this soup.

I also found my favourite banh mi stand which serves the most amazing 70-cent sandwiches anywhere in the world. On second thought, they might be the best sandwiches in the world period. Roast pork, shredded vegetables, fresh herbs, hot peppers, and a couple of sauces on a baguette is the ultimate combination of Vietnamese and French cuisines.

There was a big board outside the police station with various scenarios for car accidents. The focus wasn’t on how to avoid an accident, but rather discussed the nuances of who is at fault. Most made sense, except for this one. Somehow A is at fault.

I’ve seen B’s manoeuvre many times before. Now I’ve learnt that they do it with impunity.

With 600 performers on small boats on the water, the Impression Liu Sanjie show was big and visually stunning. It’s claim to fame is that it was apparently produced by the same individual who do the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies.

Its scale was impressive, but I still have no idea what the story was about.

It started a a leisurly ride on a bamboo raft through the magnificant scenery around Yangshuo.

It ended in a Chinese tourist water park where the mother of all water fights is an ongoing event.

I spent some quality time chasing a dragonfly around a field.

It was worth it.  This shot which is sharp enough to print big.

You can tell that Yangshuo is unique in china when travelling there can be described as easy. Travelling in China is much more difficult than in other parts of the world, and often one needs a break to recover from the effort it takes to travel in China.

Yangshuo is different. It’s just easy. Enough English is spoken to get by anywhere, and it’s the first time in China I’ve been able to step outside of my hotel and stumble immediately upon great food.

All of the following were within 100 meters of the hotel, and all of it was great.

This place served great claypot rice dishes. My vegetable selection was probably the healthiest Chinese food I’ve had in a year and a half, and incredibly tasty. The map at the bottom of the post marks the location.

The eggplant and meat options were also pretty good. So good that we ate there twice.

Right across the street is this place which serves noodle dishes and pot-sticker dumplings.

A taste of the dumplings was enough to bring us back for a breakfast of noodles.

As you open the door to Ming Yuan Cafe, the smell of coffee greets you and lets you know that your morning is going to be off to a great start. My latte lived up to the fantastic smell as did the brewed coffee. The latte however could win a medal for the presentation.

Coffee was soon followed by pancakes and French toast. The French toast was very close to perfect, but the cheese stuffing in the pancakes made them outstanding.

Until this point, I thought I had to leave China for a relaxed weekend. Next time, I’m just going to go to Yangshuo.

We flew into Guilin and took a cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo. It was absolutely beautiful.

On the back of each boat was a small kitchen that somehow managed to produce a full lunch for a hundred passengers.

Now I understand the inspiration for all those Chinese landscape pantings.