It’s Christmas, 2015, and I’m back at home with my Mam in Kerry.
There’s no snow but there is a fire. Its golden light dancing from the stove. It’s good to be home.
Chatting and catching up over what’s gone on in Dublin’s “Big Smoke”, we eventually get onto our plans for 2016.
What could we do? An unpleasant stint of unemployment prevented myself and my partner from heading away at all over the past few years; and I hadn’t headed away with Mam on a holiday in a long time.
Vietnam. We thought. Yes, it just made sense.
At the moment, though our trip is about four months away, I’m smack in the middle of booking hotels, trains, buses and treks. It’s exhilarating.
For some reason, this time, preparing for Vietnam seems far more than just holiday.
Even though I won’t be putting time into searching for my birth family this time around, there’s something that’s so obviously different that I can’t quite put my finger on.
But why am I sharing this on this food blog you may wonder? Well Vietnam, apart from being able to capture the word “beauty” in its surroundings, is also a food lover’s dream.
From broths of sumptuous Phở, crispy Nem rán and banh mi to gorgeously silky Bánh cuốn, this is a journey I want to share with people who love food, culture and a bit of adventure.
So I’m going to set up a “Vietnam” section of this blog that will deal with anything related to this, I guess project.