Maria's things: May 2011

I was thinking to provide my friends a list of tropical fruits I like and which I tried since I live in Asia. The list is not complete...I only talk about few peculiar ones.

Which is your fave fruit? :)

Mango. This is the fruit I will eat all the time and with such an awe that you can't believe. I simply love it. I peel off the fruit and I do not bother cutting it if I am alone. I will chew it up like a kid. My top top top fave!

Longans. Kept confusing them with lychees. I never tried these in Europe. It has a sweet taste and it is just good as it is.I like the big ones because the small ones taste lasts for a short time. It is like sleighing... you pull up the sleigh to the top of a hill and then shuuusssh- the pleasure is so short. This is why I advise you, choose the bigger Longans :)))

Rambutan. I confused these ones too with lychees. The difference is not so much the taste but the hairiness. It looks funny and tastes yummy!

Lychees. I had these in several countries now and I like them. It is sweet and I can eat them any time. Tastes like Rambutan and Longan. I don't feel too much of a difference. Maybe slightly sweeter.

Mangosteen. YUMMY!!! I discovered these yesterday. It is mangosteen season in Vietnam and the chef brought us a platter of these at the company. DIVINE! Based on the legend, Queen Victoria offered compensation to the one who brings her this fruit. It is often called the Queen of Tropical Fruits. The fruit itself is the white flower looking one and it is melting in the mouth like a sponge and has a sweet, citrus feeling and a good smelling velvet touch. The peel is quite thick as you can see but it worths trying this fruit. Awesome taste!

Passion fruit or Maracuja, as they call it in some countries. I can eat dozens of these and I am still looking for more. I like the juice, I like the joghurt, I like all that it's made from this. The airline I normally fly to Asia with offers passion fruit&mango yoghurt for breakfast. You can imagine my face :D I forget about good manners when they serve mango, passion fruit or kheer* on a flight. I ask for more or I ask my flight neighbour if they don't have it :D :D :D

For the ones who would wonder what is a Kheer: this is a mainly South Asian sweet dish made of rice with milk, sugar, flavoured with cardamom, saffron, pistachios and raisins. A divine treat...mainly on a boring flight!

And finally, before I finish this post, I would like to mention that I eat other fruits as well...:) A lot of them. The reason I did not put them here is that they are more common in EU and I have most of them weekly or in season: strawberries, pineapple, apple, pear, plum, raspberry, orange, banana, kiwi, etc.

Vietnam is one of the countries that many non-Asian people have mixed feelings about... The country, as known by all, did not escape the wrath of war. But let me save you 3 hours on the history and let me move on to SAIGON. Saigon has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. The locals still call it Saigon when they refer to the city centre or District 1 and the rest of the city they call Ho Chi Minh City. The city's nicknames are: the Pearl of the Orient or the Pearl of the Far East.

A lovely set of nicknames but don't forget the saying: "He who would search for pearls must dive below."

The experience in the Pearl is diverse. Whether you find pure, cultured or fake pearls or an empty oyster...it is your luck. I must say it is a unique city that leaves everyone with a different impression! It has got a mixed, special flavour to it everywhere you go. It is full of life and well 'stirred' :) I like it a lot!

Here are few pictures from the day out at Cu Chi tunnels, Ben Duoc temple and memorial house and the Cultural village.

Ben Duoc. This consists of an entrance gate, memorial house, the main temple, a 9 storey tower and a flower garden. It was build for the memory of the more than 40,000 people who died for freedom in Co Chi.

Cu Chi tunnels are the underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong guerillas during the American war. The tunnel system is stretched over 250 km and some parts of the network are still uncovered. It is 3 levels deep and had trap doors, living areas, weapon factories, kitchens, hospitals. It is a major attraction today and an experience of what the underground life in the American war was like. It left me very sad.

The tunnel system overview in the jungle. More than 25,000 people lived underground for 20 years! Some of them were born in one of the underground medical facilities. Can you imagine this? Why they lived underground...some of you would ask? Because on the ground there were about 500,000 US soldiers.

It is quite moving and creates sadness as you walk through the jungle and imagine all the things you have seen in the movies about the Vietnam war. It becomes real, it becomes scary and sad. The fact that the pathway is safe as you walk through but you are requested to not walk away since the jungle is still full of mines!

A US Air Force helicopter is exposed as you walk into the jungle along with all range of artillery. These are reminiscent from the war and now they became tourist attraction.

It started as a fun day and I was so excited to go but I was actually very disappointed by this time. Not because of the unique experience I had by being able to see all the things that were very real and it was not soooo long ago. But because I felt it is disrespectful towards the ones who really went through on this to be cheaply sold out for all sorts of people with different objectives. You can try to shoot with a gun they used, you can help building weapons, you can eat what they ate to survive, and the list is long... This is NOT a fun place and I do not think the way this is presented to the visitors is appropriate. I think they should have created a memorial park for this purpose where they are showing the things that happened and try to make it real for the tourists (if this is the main thing) but not there...where all this really happened...

The guide is showing the hidden entrance to the tunnel. Not my size:)

Walking down the tunnel. This stair system was built later for the visitors and the tunnels had been expanded but they are still so small. I had an eerie feeling crawling through a 50-60 m tunnel and the smell was almost unbearable. Suddenly bats came my way! Imagine, pitch dark and you hear the bats screaming and flying towards you. I remember my heart was in my neck and I moved my backside so fast, you cannot believe. The bat touched my hair and another one came from behind and hit my head. A meeting with a bat was one of the most scary encounters I could ever imagine and unfortunately this impression did not vanish. I am very happy I'm alive :))))

The tunnels are 3-4 m underground and had to be able to sustain 50 ton tank weights, heavy artillery and bombs up to 100 kg.

They offered sweet potatoes and tea that the people had while living in the tunnels.

One of the immense number of traps.

Finally we got out from this place. It is a unique experience but the stories are many times different than what you can see and after all you feel really bad for both Vietnamese and Americans who lost their lives there.

Cultural village educates the travelers about Vietnam's cultural diversity....or meant to. It is built in an idillic place with a lake, small zoo, restaurant.The view is very relaxing and it worths trying the food too.

Relaxing walkway