More reasons to live in Da Nang
This is a mixed bag really because lots of places have these things: I suppose you would have to look at the very unique situation that I find myself in and my own past to really get excited about these things. Most of this stuff Americans take for granted but they are a rarity over here and they excite me.
Exciting new cuisine
Since Thailand is likely the most famous south-east Asian food in the world, it isn't really a surprise that Vietnamese cuisine is all but completely missing over there and I had never even had any of it at any point in my life until I actually moved to Vietnam. Mostly, I am completely in the dark when it comes to ordering as I have no idea what it is that I am getting into.... mostly i just hope it doesn't involved dogs or cats.
Take this dish for example: I had no idea what it was but it is featured all over the stinkin place so I figured I would give it a go. Unlike Thai soups, the spice / flavor is largely up to you because all the additives are served on the side. There are tons of way to "mix it up" and after more than a decade of living in the land of all things spicy, I am kind of pleased to have how much I want to destroy the interior of my mouth be up to me. I find myself adding almost no spice and so far, this $1.50 dish is one of my favorites!
Western things that nobody uses
I discovered this damn near empty bowling alley on the top floor of my local supermarket the other day. There was only 1 lane being used despite the fact that is was 6pm. The games are around 50 cents each and it at least appears to function exactly like any bowling alley would. Unfortunately they do not have nachos.
Because of the extremely high sugar content, I rarely drink soda other than the zero calorie ones. However, I may have to violate that because of my childhood love for Dr. Pepper, which I discovered a few days ago in some random-ass store. Apparently, the blockades to import are much much lower here and this opens the doors to a wide variety of products that would never find their way into many other countries, including Thailand.
Communism - well, it isn't that bad
Don't get me wrong: I am not advocating for its spread I just have been taught my entire life that it is a horrible thing that make the people downtrodden and not "free." I expected to see guys in scary uniforms watching your every move but that is not the case here as far as I can tell. I haven't seen any police officers as far as I could tell anyway... maybe they are "secret police!" I feel considerably less "watched" here than I did in USA or even Thailand.
I haven't noticed any ill effects of it at all actually and to be honest I don't even know how communist it actually is. I never bothered to learn much about Communism because as a child of the 80's I was bombarded with films, education, and an overall sense that it is "bad." It very well may be bad, I have no idea, but I'll say this... it certainly doesn't appear to be.
Maybe I should live here a bit longer than 2 weeks before making that sort of judgement but so for Vietnam is winning me over on every single front: Let's hope that continues. :P
Dammit boy - you are making me HUNGRY and missing Vietnamese food!! Chiang Mai today hot and smoky and very, very quiet.
I'm hoping Vietnam is good to you!! And looking forward to to your awesome FOOD POSTS. My daughter and I are total slaves to the Hoi An traditional pancake.
Hope things settle & life continues to be awesome.
well then, i'm gonna have to get a Hoi An Traditional pancake then aren't I? Happy to hear that you love it, so far i think it is great!
From one Dr. Pepper lover to another, if you get the chance to try the Cherry Dr. Pepper do it. I can't drink normal Dr. Pepper anymore, it just makes me feel flaccid now in comparison. Shit is delicious.
well that might be asking a bit much. I'm just impressed there is something here that isn't Pepsi or Coke.
If it wouldn't cost a fortune to mail you some, I'd offer to just send you a couple bottles. You're seriously missing out, doooood.
it would cost a fortune. I'll just have to remember to check it out once I am back state-side
Yeah, I can imagine it would spread my cheeks and go raw on me. I shipped a very small package to a friend in Mexico, like, 7 or 8 years ago and it was around $22. It was more expensive to ship the item than the item itself.
I know how you immerse yourself into a place once you are there and you will be just like a local within a few months. You have to try the different types of food otherwise you will never know what you are missing. I can see your food posts later this year featuring some interesting stuff.
For some reason I feel like they might not be as hard line Communist as they used to be in the past. I could be wrong though. That is awesome that you are finding new things and trying different stuff. You will have to let me know how awesome the bread is. From what I understand that might be the one good thing the French introduced to them. I have wanted to try a bahn mi sandwich for a long time, but usually when I go to a place that serves one, something else on the menu wins out. Take this past weekend for example. They had a bahn mi, but I got the BBQ platter. It was a no brainer for me :)
The bahn mi is really good and available everywhere. The bread is always fresh because they sell so many of them. My dog and I walk to one particularly good one for a chicken teriyaki bahn mi several times a week and it costs just a bit over a dollar.
I think you made the right choice with the BBQ platter, I would have done that as well. I can't imagine how they would differentiate the sandwich enough to trump a BBQ platter, it is just french bread after all.
Now I am HUNGRY! Thank you. As far as the bowling ally goes.. did you bowl a game? It was only 50 cents! haha. They may not have had nachos but they do have choco-pie! SWEET!!!!
Sometimes I think 'Freedom' is an illusion anyhow. We are all watched and pay the government what they want most of the time. Buying my freedom I suppose.. haha.
Ever see that 80's movie 'Red Dawn'? Might make a good 80's movie review for ya since you still haven't acknowledged the last suggestion I made.. Hehehe :-P
Red Dawn was epic and something that I watched many times back in the 80's. We all had childhood recreations of that sort of thing that went on in the schoolyard and the "Wolverines" will live on forever. I saw the remake, but it didn't capture my attention the way the original did. I kind of expected that though.
What was your last suggestion that I didn't acknowledge? Sorry bout that
Haha. Just messing with ya. You probably didn’t see it due to my long message.
‘Adaptation’
Howdy sir gooddream! I hope the country continues to win you over too! What a interesting slice of the culture these posts are, you're educating alot of us!