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Post by chech on Jan 21, 2015 22:31:45 GMT
Yes...you can talk Super Bowl! LOL The weather has been perfect. No humidity and 22. It is getting warmer the farther south we go. We have 22 on the tour with several Canadians and Brits...I think only 4 Americans and one South African (from Port Elizabeth like the Cape Maidens). The smog is a bit much in the centre of the cities but not too bad away from there. It rained a lot earlier this month, so I think it tempered the pollution. And the food has been surprisingly plain. It seems that they have some bland food, but they serve dipping sauces to add flavour. So, if one doesn't like the flavour, they can eat it plain (like spring rolls). I think I had pho yesterday. Very nice. Like a chunky chicken soup.
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Post by chech on Jan 21, 2015 22:33:42 GMT
Ah...Just saw Oz's post. That explains it purrfectly.
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 21, 2015 22:40:58 GMT
I'd be interested in hearing whether the Pho gets better when you're in Ho Chi Minh City, Chech. Being a colder climate, the northern parts of Vietnam traditionally lacked the sorts of herbs and spices that were available in the south. Hence, the food gets more flavour around Saigon. The question is whether modern transport readily brings those spices to Hanoi cuisine these days.
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Post by californian on Jan 22, 2015 0:04:02 GMT
How hard is it to get tickets? 8-)They are ticket holders, so it will be easy, but the price varies, if they win a lottery, they will get them at a face value, if not, the price could be very high, I have no idea, but she did mention it could be as much as 3000, which is totally crazy. My son lives in the Phoenix area so they would have rooms and a car. Who could pass the once-time opportunity of going to Arizona and its beautiful weather ? So are we betting anything Chech? Told you my money is on the Hawks! I noticed the similarity of the Cathedral with Notre-Dame, I guess from the time when the French were in the whole region.
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 22, 2015 0:19:18 GMT
This will be interesting .....
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Post by chech on Jan 22, 2015 0:31:54 GMT
Yeah, it's interesting to move north to central to south and see how the country and food changes. Don't think the scooters will change much. Won't be betting money...LOL. $3000 is more than I'm willing to pay. That would get me a 95" TV to watch it on and it would be just like I was there. Now buying that front row seat in economy is going to pay off. I'll get off the plane very fast. Should be interesting to see how fast I can get to the hotel in Toronto. With my luck, for the first time, I'll get hauled aside in customs. LOL Go Pats!
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Post by californian on Jan 22, 2015 0:54:18 GMT
This will be interesting ..... I agree, Oz, I am not one to waste money on bets. It was a matter of speaking... I think a couple of times I lost about 10 euros at the casino in Nice, any maybe 10-20 dls in Vegas and I am still sorry!
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Post by 1jhwks on Jan 22, 2015 1:03:41 GMT
We have a few Vietnamese restaurants here in Kansas City. There is one close to us. Their pho section of the menu has only, like you said, OzT, seafood, pork, chicken or beef. But they're all good. They're light yet they fill you up.
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Post by californian on Jan 22, 2015 3:05:33 GMT
We have a few Vietnamese restaurants here in Kansas City. There is one close to us. Their pho section of the menu has only, like you said, OzT, seafood, pork, chicken or beef. But they're all good. They're light yet they fill you up. Now that we can talk about the Seahawks game 1jhwks, could you believe the end of it? Wasn't the most spectacular win of ANY game? (I just noticed now, does 1jhawks have something to do with the Seattle hawks?)
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 22, 2015 3:14:11 GMT
Think midwest, Californian. I think you'd be closer if you thought Kansas Jayhawks.
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Post by californian on Jan 22, 2015 3:35:50 GMT
Oz, you always surprise me! Of course! didn't give much thought. (I should have put more attention to the avatar...) And how come you know so much about Kansas?
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 22, 2015 4:01:05 GMT
Oz, you always surprise me! Of course! didn't give much thought. (I should have put more attention to the avatar...) And how come you know so much about Kansas? I actually know very little about Kansas. But I do try to learn as much as I can about a wide variety of things, including your country. And I can recall conversations, some going back 40+ years. A more recent conversation was just a few years back on the Trafalgar forum with jhwks, an avid fan of the University of Kansas team.
And there's a sort of connection back to your own neck of the woods, I suspect (jhwks might correct me on this). One origin of the name 'Jayhawker' traces back to the group of 36 guys who left Illinois in 1849 to travel to the Californian goldrush, passing Kansas along the way (and some of them dying when they ended up in Death Valley). History is fascinating.
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Post by 1jhwks on Jan 22, 2015 13:19:55 GMT
Californian, it is my school's mascot. I'm a University of Kansas graduate as a history major. Crazy about the men's basketball team though. Yes, that was some game!! I was on the edge of my seat toward the end and sort of relaxed when they went into overtime. I sent you a couple of pm-s on the day of the game. Hope this bye week won't cool them down. OzT, you're right about the history. That part even I didn't know about. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Jayhawks#Origins_of_.22Jayhawk.22
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Post by californian on Jan 22, 2015 16:11:43 GMT
ijhkws, too bad i didn't see the pm's before!! I agree with the first one, it looked everything was lost, unbelievable game.
Thank you for link and the history lesson Oz, very interesting, I haven't read the link yet, but I imagine it has something to do with the 49rs and the gold rush as well? I am saving it for a little later.
Sorry Chech, we have totally hijacked your tale, maybe we can delete later? And yes, the talk about the Patriots continues, they have lost face I think. Maybe it is nothing new, but it has really made lots of waves in the news, it's too bad, we all want a good sporting event, no shenanigans. I agree totally with you that watching it on TV is much better, my daughter says she comes home after a game and has to watch it even if it's not in a 95" TV!
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Post by chech on Jan 22, 2015 23:53:46 GMT
They haven't lost any face. It's just a media generated sensationalist distraction. The Pats are used to it. Reports now say the NFL can't find any evidence to support the idea that they deliberately did this. If anything, the refs should be on the hook. In the end, the Pats could have played with a cinder block in that game and still won. LOL And the balls were rechecked at a point in the game when the Pats were up two TDs. Then they went on to score four more with balls confirmed to be correct. Poor Andrew simply has no Luck with them. LOL
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 23, 2015 0:10:42 GMT
So did your tour director make it on the flight from Saigon?
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Post by chech on Jan 23, 2015 0:30:58 GMT
LOL...yeah. Something about the pilot not getting his catnip bonus.
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 23, 2015 0:46:29 GMT
Airlines usually have backup plans, Chech...
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Post by chech on Jan 23, 2015 1:53:10 GMT
LOL. Day Two is up. My flickr account keeps crashing so I hope the pics are all there. I'll add more later. Now...I'm off for a foot massage.
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 23, 2015 2:36:36 GMT
Well, Day 2 was very interesting, Chech. Good to see you survived the scooter invasion. Attachment Deleted I must admit that I'm enjoying being able to read one of your travel tales as you write it. In the past I've usually been so busy with tasks that I had to catch up later.
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Post by kiwigrandma on Jan 23, 2015 6:45:31 GMT
Enjoying the tale as well.
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Post by purvis on Jan 23, 2015 17:54:52 GMT
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Post by purvis on Jan 23, 2015 17:58:29 GMT
Chech: The photos of the bay are spectacular. Thanks for taking the time to post them so that those of us who will never get to Vietnam can see the beauty of this country. Purvis
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Post by Tonnet on Jan 23, 2015 23:33:39 GMT
A very enjoyable read, Chech, as always!
You have whet my whistle for a return trip to Asia very soon!
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Post by chech on Jan 23, 2015 23:52:25 GMT
Off to Saigon today. Couldn't get at my photos on this wifi but here's one from late yesterday at the My Son Temples: We were late getting there, but that meant the site was deserted and the light was different.
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Post by chech on Jan 24, 2015 14:09:41 GMT
Day Three is up.
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Post by 1jhwks on Jan 24, 2015 16:29:55 GMT
Wow! Just read Day 3. That's almost like going down the Yangtze River and Li River combined.
Your cave pics are awesome! Why is it called Surprise Cave?
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Post by californian on Jan 24, 2015 16:33:01 GMT
Extraordinary tour (and tale) Thank you Chech. (Time to watch Indochine again, I think I have in VHS, maybe I need to get a DVD version) (I found my copy, I taped myself years ago, probably not too good. If you are interested Chech, the Swiss actor Vincent Perez is pure eye candy)
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Post by luvtotravel on Jan 24, 2015 16:41:40 GMT
Enjoying your tale and pictures. Also enjoying the comments, especially the ones with cat pictures.
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Post by Boop on Jan 24, 2015 18:29:20 GMT
Fascinating tale Chech and spectacular photos taken at Ha Long Bay, especially the sunset pictures. Is that fog or smog in the Bay? Keep on enjoying, as we all are!! (I just watched your "insane intersection" video....gosh, why do they even bother honking??...lolol)
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