Holidays in the Far East are memorable for many reasons, not least the remarkable array of food and drink to be sampled in this faraway corner of the world. Vietnam is renowned for being the home of some of the finest food in the world, and their neighbour Cambodia doesn’t disappoint in this respect either, with plenty of delights to be found on your travels through this fascinating region. I had some great culinary adventures in my time in this part of the world, and I wrote this article for an ezine recently. Under some strange circumstances it wasn’t actually needed, so I thought I’d just stick it up on this blog.

Rice forms the staple diet of both countries, no surprise given the amount of the land that is given over to rice paddies. In Vietnam rice paper is used to wrap meat (usually minced pork or crab) and vegetables into delicious spring rolls, which are usually extra fun as they require rolling by the diner once they have been served! The Vietnamese are also extremely keen on pho, rice noodles that are available all over the country. They can be eaten at any meal, but are especially delightful in the south where they are served with cups of green tea for breakfast, a surprising yet tasty proposition to the western visitor.

The long coastline of Vietnam makes it no surprise that the seafood there is amongst the finest in the world. Pretty much anywhere along the coast it is possible to enjoy fantastic seafood meals at kerb-side restaurants for next to nothing, savouring the unique atmosphere while you’re at it. Take your pick from crabs, clams, shrimps, cuttlefish, eels and numerous species of fin fish, or mix and match for the full Vietnamese seafood experience. Pork is also exceedingly popular, while chicken and beef are also available.

is less well known for its cuisine than its neighbours, but its food is still remarkable. Rice is as crucial as it is in Vietnam try rice porridge, available for breakfast, lunch or dinner and equally appropriate in every situation.Samlor, a type of soup, is served with most meals, though some are more desirable than others! The stand-out dish is amoc, a fish dish which comes served in a whole coconut, and deservedly so. Fish is as regular in Cambodia as it is in Vietnam, and almost as good. Cambodian fruit is as weird and wonderful as you would expect, too. Try a mongkut or a sao mao and you will not be disappointed.

Beer connoisseurs in this part of the world will lip their lips with glee. The national beer of , Angkor, is better than most on offer in the west, while Beer Lao, imported from neighbouring Laos, is probably the pick of the bottled or draught options. Vietnam’s offerings are good value too, but the stand-out option there is Bia Hoi, drank on the same day it is made, 7p a glass and preservative-free.

The braver traveller can also delve into the stranger culinary delights of these two countries: dog, cricket, snake or rat anyone? With so much already to enjoy, the food and drink in the Far East doesn’t disappoint either. If you’re looking to book some accommodation for a trip to this part of the world, Hostelbookers.com has details of lots of hostels in both countries. Also, I was shopping for travel insurance recently, and found that Go Travel Insurance offered some of the best deals for backpackers, so it’s worth checking them out if you’re thinking of having a Far Eastern adventure.

Something seriously annoying happened to me the other day. Basically I had to go and meet someone for some work at about nine o’clock (pretty early for me – normally don’t get up until 10 because my job allows it!). However, when I went to have a shower the water was cold, and then I noticed that the heating was off and there was no other hot water – big deal. It’s pretty cold this time of year. Apparently it’s was one of the mildest Februaries on record, but I can definitely still feel the cold!

Finding out the problem was a bit of a rude awakening, but then trying to get the problem sorted out was another. I’ve never had any contact with my landlord, so getting hold of them wasn’t exactly ideal. I had to go back home and wear a couple of more layers until my flatmate came home and then we could sort it out. We finally got in contact with the landlord, who said that they’ve got home care cover with British Gas. They sent an engineer the next day when I was in and he could diagnose the problem straight away. He said that because our boiler was so old, it was only running at about 65% of its efficiency anyhow, but now it was ‘on its last legs’ to use the British term. Basically we needed a new boiler.

In the meantime I put on another pair of socks and walked around the house in my ski jacket, but the engineer came back two days later to install the new boiler. It took him a couple of hours to fix it all, but afterwards everything was back up and running again – not bad, I thought, especially as I didn’t have to pay anything. Then again, it is my landlord’s responsibility.