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Globe Trekker - Vietnam - Saigon to Hanoi

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Travel
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00:00I'm in a country that has over 500 national dishes,
00:28where the family is the cornerstone of life,
00:30and pivotal to that is the kitchen.
00:33Food and its rituals are the basis of the Vietnamese way of life,
00:37as I hope to discover as I travel from its own deep south to the far north.
00:43It may be one of the world's poorest countries,
00:46but no visitor to Vietnam can fail to be seduced by the richness of its cuisine.
00:51A country self-sufficient in ingredients, wherever you go,
00:55you are guaranteed a true taste of the land.
00:59Vietnam is 1,000 miles long, but at its narrowest point only 38 miles wide.
01:05The country can be divided into three regions,
01:08the sub-equatorial south, the temperate center, and the cooler north,
01:13all with their own quite distinct cuisines.
01:27Southern Vietnam is typified by strong flavors and plenty of spice.
01:44The climate is hotter than the rest of the country,
01:47and historically the region was closer to the spice trade routes.
01:51This is the Cairo Market in Cantho, and pretty much all life is conducted here on the river.
01:57Boats offer a means to catch fish, a way of taking produce to market,
02:01and serve as impromptu stalls from which to sell.
02:04Where'd you buy that? Down there?
02:07You can even buy breakfast from another boat.
02:11This is about 4,000 dong purple, which is about 28 cents.
02:17It's kind of a noodle-y, rice-y, meat-y, carrot-y, scallion-y.
02:23With these great little green leaves that taste so good.
02:28Cantho is at the heart of the Mekong River Delta.
02:33Known as the Garden of Vietnam,
02:35its fertile earth produces three crops of rice a year,
02:38and a surplus of the staples, duck, fish, and fruit.
02:42This is the Vinh Long District.
02:44So up river is Cambodia, and down river that way is the South China Sea.
02:49I'm going to stay with the Delta family,
02:51a trip I've arranged through a local agency.
02:54This is great. This is where I'm staying.
02:57Oh, it's a man named Mr. Tiger.
03:04Mr. Tiger welcomes guests to his own little corner of fertile earth.
03:14This is Mr. Tiger.
03:16Not only did he grow up here,
03:17but he planted and cultivated all of these orchards by himself.
03:21He's so cool.
03:24He is about 78 years old,
03:26but puts his youthful good looks and physical well-being down to a diet of fruit from his orchard.
03:33The whole point of this kind of tourism is so that you can capture a slice of the real Vietnamese way of life.
03:41And we're going to try and catch us some dinner.
03:44Oh!
03:45The waters around here are home to elephant ear fish, which feed on fruit from the fruit tree.
03:51Yay!
03:52I guess all I get to think is fruit.
03:59Will you share yours with me?
04:03The kitchen is at the heart of Vietnamese family life, so much so that they are traditionally inhabited by their own gods or deities.
04:10There's one story that there are three kitchen gods who began their existence as human beings and ended as victims of their own tragic love triangle.
04:19This is called the bep, and it's the stove, and each one of these three prongs represents one of the kitchen gods.
04:26The fish is fried over the open fire, and Vietnamese cooks believe that fish retains more flavor if it is not deboned before cooking.
04:37This is the elephant ear fish we caught today, but first I have to introduce you to nook mam, which is a fermented fish sauce.
04:47The Vietnamese don't cook with salt, so you'll either have nook mam in your meal or serve with your meal.
04:52Okay.
04:53This is really nice.
04:56Oh my gosh, look at that.
04:58It's so light with leggy.
04:59A characteristic of Vietnamese food is its delicate presentation with accompaniments of sauces and herbs.
05:06Put the fish in your rice paper.
05:09A few little onion things.
05:14Roll it up.
05:17I'm sure there's a much more genteel way of doing this, but I'm absolutely unprepared to do that.
05:23So you make a nice little wrapped package out of it.
05:27Dip it in the nook mam.
05:30I'm gonna eat.
05:31Mmm.
05:32So good.
05:33So fresh.
05:34Just tucking myself into this nut flow night.
05:47I've had the best day.
05:49I'm so tired and ready to go to sleep.
05:51Notice no bed sheets.
05:53You don't want them.
05:54It's too hot.
05:55Too humid here.
05:56But it's so lovely with the insects chirping and the crickets out there.
06:01But unfortunately, there's still one pest in here.
06:06Get out of here already.
06:08I'm trying to sleep.
06:10It's nothing sacred.
06:21I mean, I asked them where the bathroom was.
06:24They sent me out here.
06:25This is it.
06:26Apparently, everything you leave behind becomes fertilizer for the fruit trees.
06:31But it's really uncomfortable to begin with, so if you could go away, I would really appreciate
06:36it.
06:37No.
06:38Okay.
07:01It's hot.
07:02This is awesome.
07:03It's like being on a rocket ship or something.
07:17I'm taking the hydrofoil upriver to Ho Chi Minh City, which was previously known
07:22as Saigon until reunification in 1975.
07:26These Russian-built water rockets leave once a day and the journey takes four hours.
07:30Any suggestions for along the road?
07:32Along the road.
07:33When you get sick of noodles, you can go to a place in Hanoi called No Noodles.
07:37No noodles.
07:38Where they'll make you a sandwich.
07:39So go to No Noodles for No Noodles.
07:42Yes.
07:43It's a good place to go.
07:45I like that.
07:53This is my favorite part about arriving in a city.
07:56Is that kind of, all right, where am I going?
07:59Definitely dinner.
08:00Probably via cyclo.
08:01Yeah, this is, ah!
08:02We almost hit that guy on that cyclo.
08:03This is Saigon and all of its glory.
08:04And this is a great way to see the city in a cyclo.
08:06This is great because you go so slowly, you can have long conversations with people you pass
08:11on the street.
08:12Hello!
08:13That's a cyclo.
08:14There are a huge variety of restaurants in Saigon to suit all manner of tastes.
08:20But be warned.
08:21Vietnamese don't suffer from the same qualms about eating food that you might think was
08:27just plain weird.
08:28I came to this restaurant called The Mango Tree and I ordered the specialties of the house,
08:35which turned out to be something called Yoichung and Naoping.
08:36And that's pork uterus and that's cock and balls.
08:37Should be a very interesting meal.
08:38Okay!
08:39Let's get cooking!
08:40The pig's uterus is immersed in boiling water for two to three minutes.
08:43It's a very interesting meal, so it's a very interesting thing.
08:46It's a very interesting thing, and you can have a lot of food in the temperature of
08:47the same temperature from the same qualms about eating food that you might think was
08:48just plain weird.
08:49I came to this restaurant called The Mango Tree and I ordered the specialties of the
08:50house, which turned out to be something called Yoichung and Naoping.
08:55And that's pork uterus and that's cock and balls.
08:58Should be a very interesting meal.
09:01Okay!
09:02Let's get cooking!
09:04The pig's uterus is immersed in boiling water for two to three minutes.
09:09Cock and balls is cut into small pieces using a very sharp pair of scissors
09:15and then simmered in its own broth for 8 to 10 minutes.
09:19Generally, Vietnamese food is cooked very quickly with a very simple cooking process.
09:24Whether it's boiled, steamed, or fried, a characteristic of genuine southern cuisine
09:29is that you will find it cooked at the table in front of you over an open flame.
09:34Oh, they say that whatever part of the animal you eat, it makes that part of your own body stronger and healthier.
09:41So, you're going to have a great uterus after this.
09:47So, taking some of the greens, I'm taking some of the old uterus there, little onion, going wholeheart.
09:55Oh, shoot, for that chili sauce.
09:57Oh, it tastes really good.
10:06It tastes really a lot like calamari.
10:09It's very soft.
10:11So, they're strong now.
10:12It's good.
10:13It's very good.
10:18Very nice.
10:18So, this is the cock and balls.
10:25I think this is a vegetable, like a potato or something.
10:29But it has this really nice beefy broth type thing.
10:33This part is the actual penis part.
10:40Alright, I only live once.
10:42Oh, my God, it actually tastes good.
10:49It's good.
10:51It's just like a very nice, beefy, chewy thing.
10:54Not like a hot dog.
10:56More like squid again.
10:59What's up with that?
11:01It's alright.
11:02I think that's all I might need.
11:04My voice might get too deep.
11:07Excuse me.
11:08If you do want to try authentic Vietnamese cuisine, try to get off the beaten track and
11:13choose somewhere frequented by the Saigonese themselves.
11:16Although the government census shows Ho Chi Minh City with a population of four and a half million,
11:38the number of people living here illegally makes a more realistic figure seven or eight million.
11:43Saigon was capital of the Republic of South Vietnam, and before that, capital of French Indochina.
11:50After ruling for nearly a century, the French influence remained strong.
11:55The French left more than just architecture behind.
11:58They left the baguette.
11:59They left cafe au lait, known as cafe zua here.
12:02Very, very strong.
12:03In fact, they've become almost as much a part of Vietnamese culture as rice and noodles are.
12:08Baguette stalls are everywhere.
12:10They're eaten almost any time of the day with a cup of coffee.
12:13Very, very sweet.
12:15Woo!
12:16So.
12:17Ta-da!
12:17Hi!
12:18Do you want to buy some postcards?
12:19Postcards?
12:20I don't think so, sweetheart.
12:22Oh, it's pretty bad.
12:23Dad, you didn't sell anything.
12:25You didn't sell any?
12:26No.
12:27Sorry.
12:28But do you want some baguette?
12:30Baguette?
12:31Yes.
12:32Have some of my lunch.
12:33Okay.
12:34Okay?
12:36You're welcome.
12:37The little postcard seller, whose name is Ha, offers to take me to one of her favorite cafes for rice and spiced chicken, her typical lunch.
12:48People here eat rice three times a day, and the Vietnamese word for meal and rice is the same.
12:53Is that fish sauce?
12:55Fish sauce.
12:56It's usual.
12:57Most city-dwelling Vietnamese take their lunch at these outdoor cafes.
13:04It's really nice.
13:06Really inexpensive.
13:07It's kind of a local place to go, so I feel very privileged.
13:11All right.
13:11Everywhere on the streets of Vietnam, you can see women carrying two aluminum cans on a yoke over their shoulders.
13:24In one, they have a portable charcoal stove, and the other, some kind of food, whether it be meat, cakes, or sweets.
13:31The idea is that you stop them to buy one, or they just set up on the pavement as an impromptu cafe.
13:36This lady is selling a sort of waffle.
13:39Ow!
13:40Here's a perfect piece for you.
13:42Be careful, it's very hot.
13:43I know.
13:44Ah, you know.
13:45She, I know.
13:46I'm sorry, and you're welcome.
13:47Yeah?
13:48No.
13:48Oh.
13:57Okay, Ha, you know what?
13:58What?
13:59I have to go, and you have to go to school now.
14:01I know.
14:02I know.
14:02I'm very sad.
14:04Oh, yeah.
14:04Thank you for today.
14:05Okay.
14:06Okay, bye.
14:07Okay?
14:07Bye, sister.
14:08Bye.
14:08Bye, sister.
14:09Bye.
14:10Oh.
14:13Hey!
14:15Wait a moment!
14:17You didn't buy my postcard yet!
14:19She is a noodle knocker.
14:30Now what that is, there are these kids who want to walk around the city tapping out a rhythm
14:35on a piece of metal or a piece of wood, if you stop them, they'll run to their restaurant
14:39and bring you your own pot of noodles wherever you are.
14:42How about that?
14:43Maybe someday they'll bring you a pizza.
14:45Saigon seems desperately hectic after the laid-back vibe of the Delta, and it's good to have a
14:58friend here.
14:59I've arranged to meet up with author Richard Sterling, who specializes in writing about food.
15:04Richard also happens to be a Vietnam veteran.
15:06So, what I need to know, though, is, do you call this Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon?
15:13It depends on who you're talking to.
15:15If it's to northerners or the government, you want to say Ho Chi Minh City or Ho Chi Minhville.
15:20But for the people who live here, they're very proud of their city and its name and its
15:23300-year history, so it's perfectly okay to call it Saigon.
15:27We are at a restaurant called Bunseo, which is actually the specialty of the house, which
15:32is a pancake of some sort.
15:35No, no, no, no, no.
15:36What?
15:36I keep saying it's not a pancake.
15:39It's like a mango crab, and it's filled with pork and shrimp and bean sprouts, and
15:47it's cooked over an open fire.
15:50You always get a better product when you cook these things over an open fire.
15:54Any of that news will tell you this.
15:57Did I not tell you this would be beautiful?
16:02It is so lovely.
16:03Did I not tell you it would be delicious to cook at as well as to eat?
16:07Yes.
16:07Can I look?
16:08Perform.
16:10Right.
16:10Grab your chopsticks.
16:11Right.
16:12Grab your chopsticks.
16:12This is the stuff that you have to take less attention to.
16:15All right.
16:15Right.
16:16Now, jab it.
16:17Jab it.
16:18To cut off a piece.
16:20Are you ready?
16:21I'm very, very ready for that.
16:23Now, remember what I told you about green leaves?
16:25Yes.
16:25Okay, now here's a big green leaf for you.
16:27Take this big green leaf.
16:28And I want you to put some of these delicious herbs in it.
16:32Now, you take your bunseo, and you put it in your leaf.
16:41This is a lot of work.
16:43But you get to play with your food.
16:44This is true.
16:45I love it.
16:45See this?
16:46Now, I'm going to just...
16:46Another characteristic of Southern cuisine is the fact that you're supposed to touch it.
16:50Playing with your food is expected.
16:53It's a green burrito.
16:54It looks...
16:54Now, I have these sauces that I mixed up for you.
16:57Yes, what I did.
16:57This is chili and garlic and nook man.
16:59And this is called nook chum.
17:00It's made with also nook man and shredded vegetables.
17:04How spicy is that one?
17:05It's going to blow your head off.
17:07All right.
17:07We'll start sweet.
17:08The crepe batter gets its flavor from coconut milk, green onions, and sugar, and is best
17:24made the day before.
17:25They should be cooked in a heavy frying pan over medium heat and filled with pork, shrimp,
17:30and bean sprouts.
17:38I'm taking the train north to Hue, in the central region of Vietnam.
17:48Essential.
17:48You've got to bring some water with you.
17:50I have two eggs.
17:52Definitely some music.
17:54I have some bread.
17:55I have some cool bottles.
17:59Very, very, very important toilet paper roll.
18:02We could have brought some Easter egg dye and colored eggs and put them all around the compartment.
18:07I have a deck of playing cards to make friends.
18:09Want to share this egg with me?
18:11No.
18:11No.
18:12Headrest?
18:13Absolutely useless.
18:16Hue is 650 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, and the journey takes a whole day.
18:24Central Vietnam is the country's historic heartland.
18:26The cuisine here is characterized by a more sophisticated cooking technique and even more emphasis on presentation.
18:33Hue was the ancient capital under the Nguyen dynasty.
18:39It has recently been designated a World Heritage Site, although the ravages of time and bombing during the Vietnam War have taken their toll.
18:48If you are in Hue, the Lock 10 restaurant comes highly recommended as the place to eat.
18:57It's run by Mr. Knock and his family.
19:00He and his brothers and sisters are deaf-mute, as were his parents before him.
19:04The restaurant is an institution not to be missed and an essential port of call on any backpacker's itinerary.
19:11So this is my number five, which is specialty of the house.
19:20It's called Tumsat.
19:22Tumsat means sauced shrimp.
19:25Bind mashed shrimp with egg white to make tiny cakes, then lightly batter and fry for three minutes.
19:31Serve with the sweet tomato chutney.
19:33I'm going to try this.
19:45Very delicious.
19:46Perfect for lunch.
19:48Very sweet tomato sauce.
19:51Garlic.
19:52Loving.
19:53Woo!
19:55That was amazing!
19:57Thank you!
20:00This is his own creation.
20:02During the war, a bottle opener was really difficult to find, but his customers still wanted to drink, so he created this out of scraps.
20:11Now he gives them away as superiors to people who visit his restaurant.
20:17Woo!
20:18Woo!
20:19Woo!
20:20That was great!
20:22I'm going to sign.
20:24Oh, so good!
20:25I'm taking a boat up the Perfume River in Hue to visit the tombs of the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty, who ruled Vietnam between 1802 and 1945.
20:41They're open daily, and it costs about $5.
20:43The longest ruling emperor was Thu Duc.
20:47He designed his own tomb here, but his actual burial place remains a secret to this day.
20:52He was buried with many great treasures, and in order that no one should divulge the location, every one of the 200 servants who buried him had their heads chopped off.
21:01Thu Duc lived in the height of imperial luxury, with 104 wives and countless concubines, but he is most famous for his unusual dining demands.
21:12He was a very picky eater.
21:14He insisted on his eating experiences being an art, a ritual, and a sensory pleasure.
21:19He demanded that he be served 50 dishes, prepared by 50 chefs, and served by 50 servants at each meal.
21:26He also decreed that he was not to be served the same meal twice in a year.
21:34Thu Duc's legacy is a new and spooks popular method of cooking called imperial cuisine, the style of which is characterized by beautifully decorated, sophisticated, multiple dish meals fit for a king.
21:48Incorporated within imperial cuisine is a form of food sculpture.
21:52Artistic presentation is paramount, and even simple vegetables are ornately carved into the shape of peacocks and birds of paradise.
22:02In contrast to the opulence of the imperial cuisine, you could do far worse than to check out one of these roadside food stalls.
22:10Now, the Vietnamese consider a meal to be rice with something else.
22:14So this is just a snack.
22:16Hello, can I have a few of these to go?
22:22It looks like fried bananas, fried yams, and some fried dough with sesame seeds on it.
22:30Thank you very much.
22:32These street food stalls can be found throughout Vietnam, and a budget traveler could eat quite well for less than a dollar a day here.
22:39I'm taking the train once more, this time to Hanoi, another whole day.
22:48There are five different classes of train travel, from air-conditioned sleeper to hard seat, which is cheaper and more popular with locals.
22:56Northern Vietnam is a colder, less fertile, and more rugged land.
23:00There is less agricultural variety here, but they do produce some intensely aromatic herbs.
23:09Hanoi, finally!
23:11Capital of Vietnam, and I'm very excited to be here, but I am very tired, and I'm going to go find a place to stay.
23:17Hanoi sits on the flood plain of the mighty Red River, which flows out of the mountains.
23:24In the last decade, this slow-paced and attractive city has been attracting more and more visitors,
23:30as it has opened itself up to economic reform and foreign investment.
23:33Like any developing city, Hanoi has a large population of street children.
23:41This is Hoa Sua.
23:42It's a very unique cooking school that gives vocational training in French and Vietnamese cooking to former street children.
23:49The school is actually self-supporting on a day-to-day basis,
23:53providing bread and cakes for several hotels and events in the city.
23:56These are Nam Khoa, or spring rolls, and are probably the most common dish you will encounter on your travels.
24:07He keeps unrolling all of my hard work because he's kind of squishing out the ends.
24:12Oh, I see. Like that.
24:15He says, patient, young student.
24:19The spring rolls are filled with pork, onions, scallions, two kinds of mushrooms, rice vermicelli, and carrots.
24:27Ta-da!
24:30Very good?
24:31Very good. I got it very good.
24:33Yay!
24:36So, secret to really good spring rolls is you fry them twice.
24:43The kikinah.
24:45Traditionally served with Nam Khoa is the ever-present Nook Chamb with grated carrot.
24:52Woo!
24:54So good.
24:56These are the best spring rolls I've ever, ever had.
25:00Oh, they're the best spring rolls, but you say so, myself.
25:03The school also runs a very popular restaurant, which is staffed by students.
25:07Its founder, Song Toubideux, grew up in France and started Hoa Sua in 1995.
25:13How many students do you have?
25:15Now, about 300.
25:17300?
25:18Yes.
25:18And how long has your school been?
25:20Five years now.
25:22Are all of the students former street children?
25:25Mostly street children, and there are also some orphans and some coming from poor, poor families,
25:35and they cannot go to university or to other schools, so they apply there because the school is free.
25:44Former students often end up working in international hotel chains like the Hilton,
25:48or as domestic staff for foreign diplomats.
25:51Some set up their own businesses.
25:53This is the village of the Mat.
26:13It's just north of Hanoi, but it's completely quiet.
26:17It's very traditional.
26:18There are people drying rice in their front yards.
26:20It's so tranquil.
26:22It's also known as Snake Village.
26:24The Mat is famous for being a town of snake catchers, and I am at Mr. Rune Van Duc's restaurant.
26:33And supposedly, snake is good for you.
26:35It gives you power.
26:36It gives you strength.
26:37And also, it has good healing qualities to it.
26:41I've ordered a cobra.
26:44No, it's not a king cobra.
26:46Please don't let that come too close to me.
26:48Okay?
26:49No, please don't let me come close to me.
26:52Okay?
26:53Sorry.
26:55Oh, my God.
27:00It's not an endangered species.
27:03King cobra, which is supposed to be very delicious, is endangered.
27:07This one, well, it wasn't endangered until right now.
27:12Oh, my goodness.
27:14Before your snake is cooked, it is traditional for its still beating heart to be cut out and
27:22drunk in a glass of rice wine with a small amount of its blood.
27:26Snakes have been served here for over 900 years, and it is an honor to be offered the
27:31heart, which is usually given to the oldest man in a party, so he can benefit from its aphrodisiac
27:37qualities.
27:37Snakes have been served here for the first time, so he can benefit from its aphrodisiac.com.
27:45Huh?
27:47Um, too much alcohol.
27:49Not enough snake's heart.
27:54Oh, my God.
28:02Can I do this?
28:03I don't know.
28:04Um, it's one of those moments where you want to be able to, um, forget everything that
28:13you know and learn and are used to and be able to appreciate the, um, offering.
28:19Mm.
28:28Huh!
28:31Rawr!
28:31Oh, no!
28:34I can't believe I just did that.
28:42This is my cobra.
28:44And this would be...
28:46...the actual snake's meat.
28:53Watch that.
28:54Oh!
28:54There are a lot of bones in this puppy.
29:00Mm.
29:00That tastes a little bit like shredded pork.
29:06The legality of eating snake is actually pretty dubious.
29:10And like crocodile, only third-generation farmed animals may be eaten.
29:14If you have any doubts, don't.
29:18Vietnam's wild animal population has been decimated in recent years, and many of its indigenous animals
29:24animals are on the endangered list.
29:26In particular, the big cats, bears, and monkey population are hunted to supply the demand
29:32of highly illegal beast meat restaurants here, and to feed the demands of mainland China.
29:37That's good.
29:38That's good.
29:38That's good.
29:39That's good.
29:40That's good.
29:41We'll end up.
29:43Water.
29:43The aquarium was given the opportunity to see a shipment of endangered species, which had
29:48been intercepted by the Department of forestry and taken to the exit for בס
29:51cognition in danger, and in danger, the indicator of wild species on the outskirts of Hanoi.
29:54The centre opened in 1996.
29:55Each month, about two tons of wild animals, including endangered species, are recovered.
30:01They've got 500 animals here at present.
30:03I'm in love.
30:05Oh, he's so upset.
30:07Come here, baby.
30:11Oh, sweetheart.
30:13And this little guy is a sun bear.
30:16What happens to it is that the bad guys will take kind of a tube
30:23and stick it into the animal's body to take out, to extract its bile from its gallbladder.
30:29So it kind of just exists in a really small cage like that.
30:32But this guy, he's going to be okay because he's here.
30:36The fluid extracted from the bear's gallbladder is used in Chinese medicine to give strength.
30:53This center is desperately short of cash and is running desperately short of space.
31:01These little monkeys are highly prized in the export trade.
31:19A lot of them go to China, and they're valued for their medicinal properties as well as for food.
31:26Horrifically, monkey brains are actually eaten while the monkey is still alive.
31:30This place is great.
31:32They've managed to rescue over 2,000 animals, and right now they're in the process of building a game reserve nearby
31:40so that the animals can be released in something close to their natural environment.
31:45But they reckon that for every one truckload that they do capture, 20 make it through the border.
31:52And many of those animals make it to restaurants like this.
31:55This is from a place in Hanoi.
31:57Pretty much every animal I've seen here today is on it.
32:00Back in Hanoi, if you walk around the street, you can smell the fantastic aroma of barbecuing meat.
32:18Legal meat, that is.
32:20This is the Vietnamese version of McDonald's.
32:22So this is buncha, and I have to tell you, it smells incredible.
32:29It's this grilled pork, and you can kind of smell the fat dripping down onto the coals.
32:34So what you do is you put some of the chilies in, put some of the garlic in.
32:39Of course, you have to put in the requisite leaves and stuff.
32:52Oh, it looks so good.
32:54Can you see that?
32:57Wow.
32:58That is so, so sweet.
33:08It's just delicious grilled pork, really light, a little bit of the broth, some onions, some amazing leaves.
33:18Oh, cheap, 45 cents.
33:20This is absolutely the best fast food I have ever had.
33:26Mmm.
33:29The best place to get buncha is near the railway station at Gah Hang Co,
33:33and it's good to fill up on some before boarding the night train heading north to Laokai.
33:38My first class ticket cost me about $30 for a soft bed in a shared cabin
33:44and a chance to catch up on some fellow travelers' health tips.
33:48You go to a strange country, sometimes you get a little icky tummy, I like to say.
33:53Any advice how to afford it?
33:55Um, I just don't drink the water, obviously.
33:59I mean, I was brushing my teeth at the beginning.
34:00I feel like, uh, you know, I can brush my teeth at least.
34:04And then I started to feel a little icky about the fourth or fifth day,
34:07and I thought, all right, I just wanted to try to be a maverick.
34:10Yeah.
34:12The train scorched through the suburbs of Hanoi before joining the route of the Red River,
34:17after which we follow its course for the rest of the night.
34:24So this is Laokai.
34:26It's about 6 o'clock in the morning.
34:28This is as far as you can go.
34:30It's the end of the line, because one kilometer that way is China.
34:35I think that's pretty cool.
34:45Best way to get around up here,
34:47either by motorbike or in one of these,
34:50which is an old Russian military-built jeep.
34:54Takes all the bumps really, really well, unlike me.
34:57The mountainous regions of Vietnam are home to large populations of ethnic peoples
35:03who still wear traditional tribal dress.
35:07Each tribe can easily be identified by their different outfits.
35:11This is it.
35:12This is my destination.
35:13It's the Sunday Market of Bacca.
35:16Sunday here is more than just market day.
35:19It's a social gathering and offers a chance to catch up with news and gossip.
35:23For some of these people who live in remote villages, it is a once-a-year visit.
35:27This market is fantastic.
35:29You can buy anything from some sort of ice cream cones
35:34to peppers to chilies to fruits and vegetables.
35:38Down here, you can buy any number of screaming, squealing, scared pigs.
35:45Dogs for sale.
35:46The Vietnamese eat all parts of the animal out of necessity and taste.
35:52Dog is seen as a particularly tasty meat,
35:55although they say that only stupid dogs are eaten.
35:58It's lucky to eat dog in the second half of the lunar month.
36:02Another delicacy is pig's ears.
36:05What are you eating?
36:07I'm eating a rice noodle soup, and it's very watery.
36:12It's very watery.
36:13But it's not bad.
36:15It's good for good breakfast.
36:17Does it add much of a taste, or is there some scallions in there?
36:24It's pretty watery.
36:24You've got to add a lot of salt, and they put MSG in there.
36:28They do put MSG in there.
36:29I think so, yeah.
36:29What do you, do you hesitate to eat in markets, or if that's made with local water?
36:36No, not at all.
36:37You're not worried about it?
36:37No, I've only had good experiences.
36:39You have?
36:39Yeah.
36:39Everything is made fresh, and usually the people cook everything,
36:43right in front of your eyes, and people here are much more in tune with what they're
36:46and they know where it comes from, so they're a lot more sensitive to it,
36:50and they don't waste as much, and it's a beautiful thing.
36:54And they like to share.
36:56They do like to share.
36:57Most of it is not very enjoyable by Western standards,
37:00but the Vietnamese really enjoy the taste and the chewiness of it.
37:04The actual texture.
37:06Exactly.
37:06It's the chewiness that they enjoy as much.
37:08So while we would...
37:09Intestines.
37:10Do not.
37:10Do not.
37:12Do not.
37:14It's great to eat intestine, because some animals partially already digest it when you're about to eat.
37:19Yeah, that's wonderful.
37:20Makes it easier on your body.
37:21I think I'm just going to slip this in the air and hope that they won't find it.
37:24I've made some friends.
37:32They're from the local flower Hmong tribe, the largest of Vietnam's hill tribes.
37:37The Hmong people live throughout Southeast Asia.
37:39Their village is having a celebration, and they've invited me to come along.
37:43This is the girls' village.
37:56I can't believe we're actually here.
37:59I think it's called Po, but it's absolutely so beautiful here.
38:03I'm here to witness a Tang Ko, a traditional Hmong celebration feast at which a water buffalo
38:12is slaughtered, and a soup made of its blood, intestines, and other internal organs.
38:33I've never, ever seen an animal this size before butchered.
38:52I have to reconsider this whole eating meat thing now.
38:55I kind of feel like if you're going to eat meat, you have to be responsible and know what it's all about.
39:03The blood of the animal is drained and then boiled, causing it to coagulate.
39:21This is then added to the broth along with the intestines and heart.
39:25A piece of heart is to be greatly prized.
39:27Traditionally, the Tang Ko is cooked in the animal's own hide, which is stretched over a fire made of rice straw.
39:37This is rarely done now, as it is seen to be unhygienic.
39:43When ready, the broth is served in dishes made from bamboo.
39:47Part of the welcoming ritual of the Hmong is to share copious amounts of rice wine with visitors.
40:00Rice wine, dinner.
40:04They keep feeding me.
40:07To be honest, I can't really eat it.
40:11Um, yes, no, no, not again.
40:15No, my lady, no, my lady, no, my lady.
40:19More drinking.
40:21You see that?
40:22She's trying to get me drunk.
40:27These finishers, here, let me pour some for you.
40:29This lady likes to put them back.
40:32Cheers.
40:33Cheers.
40:34Oh, you're a better drinker than I am.
40:36I'm pretty.
40:38Woo!
40:39It's a bad, girl!
40:43Uh-oh.
40:48More.
40:49No more.
40:49All right, one more.
40:50How about you?
40:52You and you.
40:54Now you drink with me.
40:56It's so hot.
40:59I'm completely drunk.
41:03After a night train back to Hanoi, I'm taking a bus to my final destination, the fabulous scenery
41:22of Ha Long Bay.
41:23So this is my last stop.
41:36Well, not exactly right here, but somewhere out there in Ha Long Bay.
41:40I'm going to finish my journey on that fantastic boat.
41:43All in all, I've traveled about 1,600 kilometers in Vietnam, and it's been pretty inexpensive.
42:05So for my last night, I've decided to splurge.
42:08I could have stayed in a nice hotel room, but for about the same price, I can stay on
42:13a junk boat.
42:16There are about 3,000 islands here.
42:20The whole bay has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
42:24Our chef buys dinner directly over the side of the boat from local fishermen.
42:29These waters are the home of some of the finest seafood in the world, including a wide variety
42:34of fish, crabs, and terrifying mantis prawns.
42:38You won't find most of these in Vietnam's markets, however, as they are exported directly
42:44to the tables of expensive Japanese restaurants.
42:47I'm beginning to realize just how far removed I am from the food I eat at home.
42:52Everything is shrink-wrapped, sterilized, and homogenized, whereas everything here is raw
42:58and fresh.
43:00This is my last meal in Vietnam.
43:03And as usual, and has been my experience throughout, there's plenty of things that I've never tried
43:08before, like this is banana flower salad.
43:11It comes from the banana tree.
43:13It's also, I've got this beautiful, beautiful fish with a sour tomato paste sauce.
43:20Which is nice and all, but what makes it fantastic, of course, Nook Mom.
43:27It's so good, and grown on me so much, and may even replace ketchup, my favorite condiment.
43:33And the best thing of all, is that everything here is so fresh.
43:37Maybe you recognize this crab?
43:39Yeah, because we got it off the side of the boat today.
43:43Everything is so fresh.
43:45The culinary highlight of my trip is, ironically, one of the simplest foods I've eaten.
43:56Bun cha.
43:57Simply delicious.
43:59Bun seo, too.
44:00I will try and make my own when I get home.
44:03Then, of course, there was the fantastic elephant fish at Mr. Tiger's.
44:06I will also remember how sociable the Vietnamese make the eating process, especially in my
44:11drinking contest with the Hmong women.
44:14As well as Nook Mom, I will definitely store a bottle of rice wine in my pack to take home.
44:19And finally, I will always remember my little friend Miss Ha in Saigon.
44:24I think I must have tried 477 dishes.
44:28You know, I exaggerate.
44:29I think I must have tried.
44:59I'm moving
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