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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.
There's been a big growth in flights over to the US from Britain over the last few years, with airports like Bristol offering flights. The number of Brits heading across the pond has also been kept steady as happy shoppers want to make the most of shopping trips to New York where their pounds are worth more than ever.
This all sounds good for the healthy relationship between the States and the United Kingdom, and it's definitely had a positive effect on tourism. New York, for obvious reasons, suffered a huge downturn after 9/11, but it's since reinvented itself and enjoyed a massive influx of visitor numbers.
However, things aren't looking too rosy for the future, after yet another draconian 'national security' proposal by the Bush administration. The latest measure by Dubya is to press all of the governments in the European Union - that's 27 of them - to sign up for a a number of security measures for travel across the pond, including putting armed guards on all flights between Europe and the US by US airlines.
I read an article in the Guardian about all of this, and I think it's pretty unnecessary. The EU already supplies the US authorities with 19 items of information on every traveller flying from the US, now they want more, including data on people who are allowed beyond departure barriers to help elderly young, or ill passengers to board aircraft flying to America, or even over its airspace.
I think it's increasingly sad that such measures are brought in, because it's not exactly clear if they do anything particularly useful other than make America look increasingly isolationist, fussy and, to some, bordering on totalitarian. It seems particularly strange seeing as the attacks of 9/11 were carried out from flights within the US, not external flights. Fair enough, I get that the authorities want to know who's coming into the country, but there's got to be other ways other than totally encroaching on everyone's privacy, guilty or not.
I hope that the latest measure's don't discourage visitors from the UK heading over to the US. One thing's for sure, you'll be missing out on some great travel adventures when you go. Last time I went back I booked some cheap flights to New York from comparison website - Cheap Flights. I also like Travelzoo a lot, it gets some of the best bargains from the internet, including cheap flights, and sends them to you in a weekly top 20 bargains email.
The good thing is, I had got insurance, so I got all my money back within a couple of weeks of returning to London. I took the travel insurance out with a company called Essential Travel, and chose some cover that protected this kind of thing for the trip. There are other options that cover for just medical expenses, but I think taking cover out to protect you against loss or theft is pretty much essential. I've got a few trips this year, so I thought I'd take out some annual cover with AA travel insurance which best suited my needs for my trips. It was only about £35. I always think to myself when I'm getting a travel insurance quote that I've actually kind of profited from taking it. Essential paid me £70, and the policies I've taken out since haven't added up to that sum. I guess Essential missed out by having me as a customer, just don't miss out the insurance, or you might really miss out.
