Waiting for snow

In spite of my optimistic thoughts about planting peas in a couple of weeks, we're expecting snow and sleet overnight - a prospect that brings many folks rushing around getting supplies. I don't normally worry about it too much (we always have lots of provisions in the fridge and pantry), although maybe I need to have more water, batteries and candles.

But I am inspired to think about being on Phu Quoc Island at winter break, in the far southern tip of Vietnam, which, for now, is a wonderful place to hang out on the beach, developed just enough to be idyllic.

This is the beach in front of Mai House, an excellent place on Long Beach.

We spent several relaxing days here.

Vegetables in small spaces

We don't always properly appreciate the spaces that can be used to grow vegetables.

Here's a small roadside planting in Hoi An, Vietnam.

And a riverside one.

Hoi An Full Moon nights

We were lucky enough to bumble on a Full Moon night in Hoi An. They don't take place literally on the Full Moon (like we thought) but the 14th day of the lunar month (I think I'm remembering that right).

My gardening companion was a bit under the weather, so I ventured forth.

It was quite wonderful, with paper lanterns (similar to Mexican and Southwestern US luminaries) launched to float on the water.

Locals and tourists alike were there -- and there were many local folks enjoying the rituals. Quite nice.

Hoi An: old houses, vegetables, and rice

Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and well-deserving of the designation. A historic seaport and trading center (think 250-300 years), it declined into obscurity as the river and harbor became shallower, as silt and time made the town less accessible.

Now about 3 km from the coast, Hoi An has a nice historic center, with extraordinary buildings (maybe overly filled with silk shops, galleries, etc.), but that's what supports tourism.

We were there five years ago and loved the area, and bicycling into the countryside.

There are still rice and vegetable fields just out of the town center.

We enjoyed our time there again -- a wonderful place, and it seems to be developing as a tourist destination in a very attractive way.

Fish, sticky rice, and sweet potatoes

At home in South Carolina, we're experiencing unusually cold weather (frigid, actually). I haven't had time to post web galleries of photos from Southern Vietnam yet, but it's nice to choose photos to write about.

Here's a wonderful image of the diversity of sweet potatoes offered up in Dalat's main market, reflecting a major vegetable and fruit growing area in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

And a sticky rice street food snack from Hoi An. Yum.

And the fishing fleet that still exists near the international beach resort of Nha Trang (actually quite a lovely place, complete with fabulous beach views from high hotel windows, and a wonderful park behind the beach stretching for miles).

Vietnamese greens

As a gardener (and as a cook), it would be hard not to like the Vietnamese interest in vegetables and greens. Vegetables at every meal, great, and the variety of fresh herbal greens, extraordinary.

I spent some time today ordering seeds to grow some of them (this link is an excellent overview of their diversity). Most, outside of cilantro and Thai basil, aren't greens that we grow frequently in the U.S., although they're available in Southern California in farmers' markets grown by folks of Vietnamese heritage. Thanks to one of my favorite podcasts for the information!

In markets in Vietnam, we saw both diversity of greens and fruits, tropical and imported. (Imported apples and grapes are a special treat).

A traditional (and organic) vegetable village near Hoi An was one of the most attractive vegetable production areas that I've ever seen - neat mounded rows of vegetables grown in fabulous soil with freshwater 'seaweed' for fertilizer.

Local markets

An absence of supermarkets in Southern Vietnam (despite its rapid development) means that there's a vibrant culture of community markets, street sellers, and street food vendors. And with a cultural emphasis on fresh food, made with fresh ingredients means that food (even for travelers) is delicious.

Here are a few images from early in our trip.

Herbal remedies

Cold winter air

It's remarkable how clear the winter air was as we returned home. Perhaps the absence of Vietnam's tropical humidity and hazy air (not actually that bad for the developing world) makes the sparkling crispness more noticeable.

We were glad everything was fine at home and in the garden -- no fallen trees, etc. Amazingly, my lettuce, collard, mache, and kale flats look great, although frozen solid. Hmmm. We don't normally have frozen soil for very long, but last winter, and now this year seem to be trying to confound the trend towards climate change (perhaps instead of global warming, we have much more erratic weather, to be sure).

A wonderful aspect of traveling in a 12-year growing season climate was seeing what was going on in vegetable fields and in the markets. Photos to come -- I downloaded them this afternoon, but they await sorting, and post-jet lag choices...

Posting, traveling, photos, and conundrums

Traveling used to be about getting away and disconnecting. It still is, but digital connectivity is a seductive pull. I've enjoyed sharing real-time photos and reflections while traveling with a vehicle and laptop, on other trips, but hanging around hotel computers is hardly why you travel.

Interestingly, we've been connected via email and voice messages (and Skype) with family while traveling in Southern Vietnam, via our iPod Touch, but photo downloading, not to mention uploading, hasn't been possible because of slow Internet connections and lack of working USB ports. I had brought a back-up portable drive, but without either a fast connection and/or USB, it's just serving as a back-up.

Curiously, as well, the text composition on Blogspot doesn't work with the simple keyboard interface on the iPod Touch. I only just discovered that if you select HTML mode, it does work.

But I'm still tapping out this letter by letter, so hardly optimal (but, we're taking some afternoon pool time after a long bike ride this morning in the countryside (rice and vegetable fields), so it's not actually a hardship.

So there are plenty of photos to come! And gardening reflections, too, about a country that values freshness and taste as well as vegetables at every meal.

Happy New Year!
Lisa