I have been banging on for at least 5 years, about the huge flaw in travel websites such as Tripadvisor: they are too open to manipulation. See the newdaily.com report: https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/consumer/2018/07/31/meriton-penalty-misleading-tripadvisor/
Coming home to these two. Doesn’t it feel good to be wanted? Travel helps us to appreciate other cultures and what we have at home…
The wind, as if the distant jungle’s hot breath, sweeps across, sapping all energy, only to be tamed by the cooling, licking waves of the gentle Thu Bon River, and then swirls up between the moored timber boats to soothingly caress the weary wanderer’s face…
(And I haven’t even had my first coldie yet)
Is there a better way to start the day?
The famous White Rose prawn dumplings of Hoi An: Compared to South Melbourne Market Dim Sims? Well, think of Snow White next to Shrek. I told the owner the “garnish” – crunchy dried, fried onion bits – made my hair re-grow, as I scoffed the lot. Tip: don’t eat the green thing in the dipping juice, it’s hothothothot…
The words “light” and “duck” should not be in the same sentence when describing food; duck is fatty. But to borrow from incomparable TV cook Rick Stein, this duck congee (rice soup often unkindly named gruel or porridge) “is just so surprisingly refreshing”. Not unlike myself it is way better than it looks. US$1.30 at locals’ eatery, Hoi An, Vietnam
Now I’ll blend in with the locals. They’ll never suspect I’m a tourist, and the stall traders and taxis will even stop pestering me. Doesn’t matter if I look daggy. I’m a “Travel Genius”…
No animals were harmed in this post, done under professional supervision at the Hoi An night market, Vietnam. You are advised to definitely try this at home…
A treat for my lumbar osteoarthritis, which has put up with so much but complained so little on this trip: stretching out in the warm aquamarine water of DaNang’s My Khe Beach. Sorry China, but you’re not getting all this to yourself. It’s too good not to share…
“C’mon Harry, one last big effort and you’re over the top and we’re both free!” (Oops, wrong side – that’s the bucket of cockle shells destined for dinner. As they say, out of the frying pan and into the… or, why myopic sea snails stalled at evolution’s first step)
Haxtrax 