Viet Nam ... and its reigonal delights

HANOI
Starting from the North i didn't i really didn't know what to expect. Word was northern cuisine.. was lets say... bland and somewhat boring. After venturing around the old quarter and sampling the food i sadly have to agree. So to conquer that we opted to eat at a restaurant called Quan An Ngon... (delicious restaurant) i know i know what a name right.. but hey it was a pretty decent restaurant.If street food is a bit intimidating and your not keen on sitting on a toilet because of it.. this is the place for you. Street food from around Viet Nam minus the sore tummy. With dishes ranging from:papaya salad with dry beef, bun rieu, pho, bun bo hue, com tam, goi cuon.. the all star favorites at a tight wad price.. need you eat anywhere else?

NINH BINH, PU LUONG NATIONAL PARK (MAI CHAU)
Not only is this place breath taking with the luscious rice fields, mountains,waterfalls the kindness of the locals here matches its beauty. You wont find this place in any guide/ tourist books making it rarely touched by us tourists. Its a rare sight to see in this quickly developing country this region hasn't been bastardized by Americana burgers, spaghetti and sushi. The ethnic minorities that reside there live off the land, and dinner was whatever that was growing/walking in the garden.
We got to this hidden gem by motorbike as there were no roads, otherwise this place would of been flocked with hand sanitizing tourists. Every child who sees you squeals with delight as you pass them screaming "hello!" and waving to you. The electricity that they do have is generated by turbines powered by the rushing waterfall.
Once a week there would be a local market, so Sunday dinners would be a treat for the locals here. Our first dinner was, free range chicken sauteed with noodles and morning glory, free range egg omlette, and pumkin soup (straight out of the garden) The eggs were bright yellow and rich as butter, these chickens were more than happy before they hit the pot. Living in Australia and eating generic chicken.. you forget what it actually tastes like. It was a real treat to us expats but just another meal for our host family.

HUE
Land of the ancient Kings and Queens the food was really starting to get good, before the revolution the Citadel (Viet Nam's equivalent of Versailles back in its hayday) was home for the royal family and the food in this region was well.. pardon the pun fit for a king. Till this very day the Hue residents take their food seriously and try to preserve their culture as much as possible. Now the one dish that pops into your mind when your here is bun bo hue.. well when in Rome. Being a bun bo fiend myself it drove me insane that i was only there for one day. The bun bo hue was sex in a bowl, the broth fiery hot and aromatic as it should be. The pork and beef that was floating in the broth was tender and flaky, again no animal here is couped up neck to neck, it was served with a Hue cha (peppered pork loaf) wrapped in a pretty parcel of banana leaf.

Greeting from Hanoi

My mornings begin with a crow from a rooster, and the honking of passing motorbikes and cars. Three days into my journey of Vietnam, and let me tell you if i can find that rooster and make Pho Ga out of it, my Hanoi adventure would be close to perfect.
People scattered along the streets perched on their little plastic chairs and dripping coffee, would make any smuck from the west green with envy. They sit, chatter and gossip about anything worth talking about while the word passes them by, to your left you have the 'noodle lady with her boiling pot of broth, and cuts of meats that would make any health inspector cringe, and to your right you have a man with colorful bottles of soda pop with infested ice to chill the midday sun. Hey its Vietnam and they dont give a rats A** about food handling mambo jumbo and if you're going to be a traveler and not a tourist neither should you.
No I'm not telling you to put yourself at risk, if a sip of local ice is going to put you in the toilet for the rest of your trip then, go to the restaurants named 'ladybird' etc and eat the same old s*** you would be eating at home. There are dozens of restaurants catering for homesick tourists serving up, steak and chips, American style burgers and chips..excuse the crudness but eating western food in asia is like wiping your behind before you go to the toilet.
Call me a cowboy or just damn crazy, but i love street food and forever it shall be. Some of the most lip smackingly tastest things ive ever eaten have come from a seedy looking street stall, and i've survived to tell the tale. Just for precaution bring along Probiotica...my little magic pills full of happy bacteria to combat the nasty ones. See the country experience the joys it has to offer, and do try the food.. the real food of the people that live there. Ease your body into the new food, slowly introduce your body to the shock, dont go kamakaze and go drinking the tap water.. i dont think any amount of conditioning will get your body for that shock. So for the Guide for S.E.A noobs...
FOOD TIPs
1. NO TAP WATER... duhh... skys blue, grass green dont drink local water
2. Do not eat copious amounts of shell fish in one sitting .. no matter how fresh
3. If there are stacks of locals chowing down at the restauant... its usually a good indicator
4.Buy your own knife and cut your own fruits...(people are bound to cut themselves...better it be your blood than someone else's)
5. (restaurants) Always ask for the price before parking your behind on a seat, 3rd world countries think tourist are millionares.. so the might be a chance of the price being jacked up,sad but true poverty is real. so unless you want to get stung with a disguisting bill ALWAYS ASK!!
GENERAL RULES (COMMON SENSE)
1. familiarise yourself with local laws(curfew), spending time in a seedy jail for the duration of your trip is worse than a poo pie.
2.when buying things from the market cut the asking price by 50% if they still dont budge... do it like craig david and *walk away... they will call for you back.
3. Dont always go to places your hotel reccomends, they're usually 'toursisty' places go off the beaten track, who knows what you might find.
4. Dont go wearing your a jewels/ or things of value, again its a 3rd world country..unless your chuck norris.. thats a different story.
5. Research on the repitible taxi companies that operate in the area, there are ALOT of dodgy taxi's around just dying to rip you off.