Vietnam's Finest?

 Well, another week goes by, and its time to think about another beer I have enjoyed, in another exotic location!

Ah, the fond memories! I think maybe it is a little wrong to remember each location by the quality of the beer I enjoyed there! Really, there is probably other things that I should recall about a particular destination – the sights, the history, the people, the culture, the food? All of these things are very important, but compared to the beer…well

This week I am reviewing -

Saigon Lager

Saigon Lager is from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon, hence the name). It is brewed by the country’s largest brewer, Sabeco, who also do Saigon Lager export, and the canned version -Bia 333, all of which taste extremely similar.

Firstly, the weather in the Saigon area is tropical, so it is important to note that any beer sampled in stinking heat is going to be brilliant, as long as it is icy cold! And without a doubt, the most enjoyable of these beers I sampled was the coldest ones!

Saigon Lager is quite golden in colour, and pours with a moderate amount of carbonation, and a decent  head. The head faded pretty quickly though.  Saigon Lager looks appealing once poured, but has a bit of a rotten egg smell, but not to the point it wasn’t drinkable. (hey, it could have a rotten egg floating in it, and I’d still give it a go!!)

Like I said earlier,this beer tasted good when icy cold, but not nearly as good when it warmed up a bit.I also found that it bloats me, so I could only comfortably have two or three (disappointing at the time, but a real positive the next morning, particularly if you are about the head down the Mekong on a ferry, its 9 am, and already you are sweating your ring off!).

Also, I find the tinfoil neck cover to be annoying, as it makes drinking it straight from the bottle unpleasant (the 350ml bottle I am talking about!)

All in all, I guess it is quite an acceptable beer for the environment it is in, but I would think it would be very disappointing if you paid imported price for it in our home country. As a 500ml bottle , served cold in a restaurant, cost about US$1.50, I would consider it extremely good value for money! Not my favorite Asian Beer (AKA Bintang)but passable!

Opinion – Did the job

rating – 6/10

When people sit in their homes in the depths of winter, with rain, wind or snow pelting down on their roof, what escape so often comes to mind? I would suggest a near deserted island, somewhere in the tropics, would very often be the daydream of choice! That daydream would include a white beach, with palm trees, a still sea, with tropical reef just offshore (you would have a set of goggles lying beside your beach chair), a local vendor wandering the sand pedalling exotic fruits, and probably a cane chaired beach bar a short distance away. Well daydream no more, they are out there! I’ve been to as many of them as I can find!, and I want to tell anyone who’ll listen all about them! Maybe brighten up an otherwise gloomy day, maybe set in motion a plan to get to one!

Sunset from View Point, Ko Phi Phi

So I thought I would start a series of posts on those islands. The ones that are a little lesser known, that are postcard perfect, that you wish you could move to and live on for ever! I love the heat, and when there is heat, I love a good beach, so I have spent plenty of time searching for just the right spot for me to chill!

Most of my travel has been throughout South East Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, and Central Asia, so I have visited my fair share of these hidden tropical island escapes! Of course, there are tropical island escapes in the Americas, Africa and the mediterranean, but, hey, you cant be everywhere, unfortunately!

Manukan Island, Sabah, Malaysia

I can think of islands I will cover off the coasts of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and India, as well as island nations in the South Pacific.  I remember reading somewhere that Indonesia was made up of 10,000 islands? I wonder if it would be possible to visit all of those? If anybody ever has? How many of them would be idillic beach getaways, maybe 1 in 10?, that is still 1000 tropical island paradises waiting to be visited! Now there is a challenge for someone!

The first post of the series will be Ko Ngai, a small island at the south end of the Andaman Sea off the west coast of Thailand. I will try to give some photos, as well as details on how to get there (or how I got there, at least), and the accommodation options if I can. I hope you enjoy the series, and provide some feedback. I would also love to hear about other tropical island gems that are out there, so let me know. Guest post is available in this series.

A misty January morning, Christine & I at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Nepal’s Finest?

To get this series up and going, I thought it make sense to make a start of one of the most memorable beers I have had in the last year or so….

Everest Special Lager

This brew is Nepalese, and widely available throughout that particular country. Utilizing Nepal’s most famous asset in its branding assures sampling from any beer drinker visiting the country, and I am sure that is their intention. Strangely, it is called Everest Special Lager, instead of Everest Larger, as this brand is already taken – from a beer brewed and sold in Turkey! Strange!

It is Brewed by the Mt Everest Brewery, in Kathmandu, Nepal, who also brew a higher alcohol content, Golden Tiger.

Anyway, back to painting the picture. I think I first sampled this Lager where I have taken this photo. In a rooftop restaurant near Dunbar square, in central Kathmandu, on a reasonably hot April midday.  Even in those circumstances, I knew this was not the best beer! Expectation would be that this scenario was one where you really enjoy a beer, and I knew at that point I would be having too many more of these!

I found the Everest Special Lager to be a very flat beer, with minimal head on the pour, and a real lack of carbonation. Beers in countries such as Nepal can vary a lot, depending on the storage and care from the restaurant/bar owner, and in this case, may be the explanation for the slight rust taste! (I’ll give the brewer the benefit of the doubt!)

At 5% alcohol content, it was of clear appearance. it has a minimally bitter after taste, but nothing too severe.

In conclusion, I can understand why this is an “obscure beer of the world”, and don’t believe it to be a hidden gem! It nice to be able to say I have had a Everest Lager, because of its obvious association with the region, but that is about it. Don’t expect to see it in a bottle-shop near you soon!

OPINION – Just the one, thanks! 

Score  – 4/10

Country scene from the hills south of Christchurch, New Zealand

View of White sand Beach Beach, Ko Chang, Thialand

I often hear people’s accounts of their round the world adventure, and am always surprised when they talk of their 6, 8 or 10 flights and destinations. So these people visit 8,6,or 10 cities, have a look around, do some day trips, maybe even a side-trip or two, and then catch a flight to the next point on their itinerary.

I think what makes a great experience is not always the destination or sight, but often it is more about the journey. Potentially, the journey is where you meet ”real” locals, see the unusual, and sometimes chose to change your plans. So I thought I would briefly contemplate the “better” ways to really see the world, following my theory of  “LOW and SLOW” as the most potentially interesting ways to travel.

1. Walk, Hike – Feet on the ground, and around 5-8km per hour, means you really do get to experience and interact with locals, as well as being right in the middle of all the sights and smells of where ever you are! Unfortunately, this is not usually the only form of transport for a round the world trip. But walk whenever you can, it is the ultimate way to experience.
2. Cycling - Next slowest, and close to the ground, cycling is interactive with environments, and gives you the ability to pick up all the sights and sounds going on around you, but also means you can cover more distance, and carry a bit more. Definitely a better option than walking for smaller transit
3. Boat – Ferry’s can be a great way to commute with locals, and generally the slower they are the better the interaction, and more scenic and enjoyable the journey. However, even high speed ferries will often be the cheap option for locals to get around islands and coastal areas, so they are still “authentic.
4. Motor bike & car – A rental, loan or owned vehicle has some advantages and disadvantages in how well you can see an area. Having your own vehicle gives you the freedom to go and stop as you please, as well as make changes to plans quickly and easily. But you can miss things when you zip pass them, and often restricts your exposure to local people.
5. Bus - Bus is getting a bit higher of the ground, and a bit faster, and as a result, you do definitely loose some of the interaction with the local environment that makes long term travel such an exhilarating experience. Buses are going to be a necessity for extended travel, and a far better option that flying, but should be restricted to transport between venues, and as little as possible where sightseeing is possible. It is, however, a good way to meet and talk with other travellers. Sometimes the feedback from others doing the same thing as you, can give you tips and ideas you may not have known about.
6. Train – Faster than buses, and as a result, generally you see less. They can be useful to travel and sleep at the same time, but only when you are prepared to miss the area you are passing through. On occasions, scenic trains can get you into areas that you otherwise would not access, and these are the exception to my rule.
7. Plane – You sure don’t see much from most planes, and I think they should be used as little as possible. A fair distance flight is probably a good idea to start your trip, so you can really feel you have gotten away, but after that, try and limit plane travel. If you have plenty of cash, the odd scenic flight is different (Everest, Nepal, and Bungles Bungles, Australia spring to mind)

In short, try to use a descending scale of time on each mode of transport. If you do 80% method 1, and 1% on method 7, you will have a far more enlightening travel experience than if you reverse the order, and spend most of your holiday on a plane.

Enjoy you travel experience, think “LOW and SLOW”

Prasat Phra Thap Bidon, Grand Palace Complex, Bangkok