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Pho Metal Jacket

Up at 06.30 today for another culinary adventure! This time it was a taste tour of Hoi An, run by a lovely retired Aussie couple, Neville and Colleen. They have moved to Hoi An and have an encyclopedic knowledge of every possible type of food and the best place to try it. Neville is seen here chatting up one of the many characters we meet along the way.. So I spent the morning meeting interesting locals and sampling dishes – 44 in all. I will just share a few discoveries here.. (and this isn’t the order I ate them in). Pictured […]

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Faifoo

I have moved beaches – to Cau Dai beach 30km south of Da Nang, where I’m now staying on the outskirts of the 16th century fishing village that you probably know as Hoi An – but also known by its other name as “Faifoo”. I have checked in to a lovely French hotel (the Victoria) that is modelled on a local village – a kind of Vietnamese Portmerion. Its mainly full of wealthy French and Spanish tourists from what I can see. The staff are amazing and quickly adopt me as a mad Englishman that needs help. In the town […]

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Da Nang

R&R here for New Year, but I’m too tired to do too much and fell asleep well before midnight.. I’m staying at the Furama, a great place on the beach on the outskirts of Da Nang. It wasn’t my original plan to stop here, but it was one of the few places not trying to fleece me for staying over at this time of the year – and I’m in luxury here – it’s really nice. I feel I have to mention, just in case you don’t know, that this city boasted the busiest single runway in the world in […]

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Hanoi street meat

I have waited 24 hours before writing this post just in case there were going to be any health consequences of my recent street food banquet. I’m pleased to report that I’m feeling fine. So a day munching through the streets of the old quarter with a guide called “Johnny” from a great little company called Vietnam Awesome Travel that I tracked down from TripAdvisor. Lunch started at 11.30 and finished at 16.30! The idea is only one dish at each place, washed down with some Hanoi Beer of course.. There was a mixed international group of about ten of […]

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Weasel coffee

I’ve had a super day cruising the chaotic streets of the old quarter of a Hanoi – more on this in another post, but if thought I would first share my love of Vietnamese coffee with you (I know that some of you are already champions of the cause though..) One of the enduring good things the French did in Vietnam (other than import its taste in baking, brewing and the guillotine) was to popularise coffee and cafe culture, and it thrives today across the country. At the end of a long lunch (about seven courses in five places – […]

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Christmas dinner, hutong style

I have been on R&R in Beijing over Christmas. Its a strange time with modern China getting in on the commercial side without really understanding its meaning. That said, I’m happy to be here, and I love the place. The main downside here to me is access to my blog and Twitter is blocked by the government, so I now have two weeks of travel news to update you on when I reach Hanoi. Other than that the only other mild annoyance is the large number of well polished scammers that target Westerners everywhere with a brilliant story about their art […]

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Beijing

Distance travelled so far: 9336 km. Distance left to go to Singapore: 9152 km Final morning on the train before we arrive at Beijing. Time for a rather early lunch in the Chinese restaurant carriage, and then some packing and exchanging plans with fellow travellers. No idea why, but lunch is strictly served between 10.30 and 11.30 this morning. No menu as such, but all quite friendly and efficient. As seems to be normal in a Chinese restaurant car, a policeman is on hand to prevent possible noodle theft and black market exchanges of meal coupons! The scenery is totally […]

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Bunker 42

Bunker 42 was one of the main underground bases in Moscow during the Cold War – a place for 2500 important people to live for a month whilst the gamma radiation subsided. It is a special place for many reasons. The Soviets test fired atomic weapons to find out the correct depth needed for full protection – so it is 65 meters down (18 floors) – and can survive a 15 kiloton explosion less than a kilometer away. So quite well protected then. First of all you have to find it! It is quite well hidden in a suburban street […]

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Cold War

Cumulative distance covered so far – 2997 km, Weather  -9 degrees C, light snow showers. I’m back in the USSR! Its not very cold here for this time of year and this is a problem – there is black ice everywhere – getting off the train with luggage proved pretty tricky.. I almost decided to leave my boots at home in an effort to save space in my bag, but they really are essential here – not just cold protection from the snow but ankle protection from any unlucky falls. A couple of days here on a specially devised (by […]

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Firefighting Patrol

I spent yesterday in Warsaw. I needed to keep moving as it would have been too easy to simply collapse at the hotel for the day after my experience the previous night. Warsaw seems to be pretty bleak place at this time of year. I can’t therefore work out why Polish people are generally so friendly.. I hadn’t eaten for a day, so I treated myself to a slap up lunch in the “old” town (I don’t think much of it dates much before 1945 though). It looks quaint, but is totally lacking in people and things going on to my […]

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