Dalat: Bun Rieu Cua

While on a brilliant afternoon stroll yesterday, we exhausted ourselves by tramping up and down the hilly terrain of Da Lat, a former French colonial hill-station set dramatically in the Central Highlands .  As we rounded the bend of another tortuously vertical street, Gavin let out an exasperated cry that he was ready to eat.  Divine providence set in and directly in front of our weary eyes, bathed in a pool of golden sunlight, was a ramshackle sign for Bun Rieu Cua. 

Some of you may remember this delightful paddy-crab soup from our Hanoi trip (read about it here).  Seeing as it isn't a common soup served in Saigon and is the perfect complement to a brisk afternoon spent in the elements, Gavin hopped at the opportunity to slurp it down again.

This time the soup was bigger, richer, and even better.  Loaded with viscous islands of delectable crab fat, a heaping pile of vermicelli noodles, and freshly sliced ruby red tomatoes.  Just look at those Da Lat tomatoes!

Served with limes, chilli peppers, and plenty of greens on the side; including shredded lettuce and bean sprouts.

While Gavin wolfed down his treat, I gazed upon three modern day propaganda posters situated into the hillside at a busy intersection.  The first implored drivers to stop at red lights or at least be aware of traffic signals.

The next, a stern warning from the government about the surging AIDS epidemic.

The final one was a plea for drug addicts to seek help and quit their insidious addictions.

More from this temperate clime as we progress on our mini-trip.

Hanoi: Old Propaganda Posters

Our trip to Hanoi centered around disposing of our dong as quickly as possible.  Irresponsible consumerism, retail therapy, or informed shopping... call it what you will.  Our booty from the trip included five massive lime-green varnished nesting bamboo bowls, a colorful money pouch to replace the one I unwillingly donated to Saigon thieves, a buffalo-horn pipe, hot-pink bamboo placemats, a new musical instrument (tơ-rưng), used books, and a new weather-proof tote bag for the monsoons looming on the horizon.

In fine dramatic form, we saved the largest indulgence for the final night of the trip.  Months ago, Gavin and I came across a book of wartime Vietnamese propaganda posters.  We became enthralled with the beautifully crafted silk-screened prints and the striking scenes they depicted: women toting sub-machine guns, foot soldiers with rifles aimed upwards at passing B-52's, avuncular Ho teaching children to read.  Most of them adorned with strange slogans imploring people to take up arms, embrace austerity in the name of the collective good, and ramp up food production. 

We vowed to buy a few original prints during our time in Hanoi. The Old Quarter has a couple of shops specializing in both original and reproduced posters.  After downing a few murky glasses of bia hơi, we wandered into the Old Propaganda Poster Shop, located at 122 Hang Bac, and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half pawing through hundreds of plastic-wrapped dusty originals.  It was an arduous, but eventually fruitful exercise in indecision and patience.

A couple of our favorites highlighting the need for increased food production:

"Five tons of rice and two pigs for every hectare!"

Many have a very macabre theme: celebrating US casualties.

After much debate, we opted for a vivid portrait of Ho Chi Minh surrounded by blooming lotus flowers and a modernist print celebrating the indefatigable fishermen of this proud country.

"Catch More Fish"

"Ho Chi Minh is a beautiful name"