One of the things I wanted to do in Phu Quoc was eat western food. I realised that this would be a wish as I didn’t see many western food outlets. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough. Well the seafood was great and felt extremely satisfied with this part of the trip.
However I still needed my fix for western food and thought I would see some friends in The City. I made the arrangements necessary, hectic as they were, and was on my way with two missions: western food and some games.
These games have been something I wanted for a while. They are the Capcom Classics Collection Vol 1 and Vol 2. They have many of the games I fell in love with as a child and I want to reminisce the feeling of being young again.
After messing around to find a hotel (near the pictured intersection) I was informed that I should go to a birthday party. At arrival I was disappointed as there was no western food. We were at a Mekong Delta restaurant eating Mekong Delta food. It was nice, yet not what I yearned for.
However as everyone had departed a change of air was suggested. We went to a seafood restaurant not far away called Hong Hai. Here we had clams, sea snails, fish, and oysters. This was the first time I had sea snails and they taste much better than the land snails. They are not so chewy and have a better taste.
Also I had never tried oysters. In Australia oysters are a bit smaller than a business card. When I saw them my breath was taken away at how huge they were. We ate them with wasabi and lime juice. That was exquisite once the wasabi nose burn dissipated.
By the time we were finished there it was time to return to the hotel. Just before turning in I saw a bar across the street showing some football and decided to check out who was playing. It was the Manchester and Milan game. I saw the last 30 minutes of the game and felt some deja vu as I saw the score 3 – 0 in Milan’s favour. I felt overjoyed that Liverpool would play Milan again.
Friday was the day that I decided that I would conquer the goals of the mission. I spent the first few hours rummaging through piles of books, looking for the games. I walked up and down the street visiting 4 shops. The first shop I visited I had to wait as they went to another shop and get the game books. After flicking through all the books I could not find what I was looking for yet saw some other games that I might try. Since they are cheap (less than $2) I would buy them. I went to a shop a few doors down and it appeared to me that they had the same books as the previous shop. The next shop also had the same collection. At about this time I was desperate to find the games, yet time and patience were escaping me. I saw one more shop and decided it would be the last.
Now this shop was different from the others as it looked like an official dealer for Sony. It was much cleaner and brighter and filled with amazing looking electronics. I asked the girl if they sold games and they said yes and directed me to a chair and brought out those books. I was saddened that the books started to look like the others that I had seen previously. That was until towards the end of the book I saw volume 1. I was thrilled to have found the game, only hope that they have it. Then I saw a new type of book, and perused through it to find volume 2. When I asked to collect more order the girl was saying that volume 2 would cost more than volume 1 as it is official, that is from Thailand. So I cautiously asked how much and she said 30 000 (about $2.50) will within the range I was willing to pay for the game. I collected the games and paid the girl and left the shop with a feeling of satisfaction.
I walked back to the hotel and proceeded to wait for Eric to arrive from Hanoi. I met him and showed him to the hotel and then he ordered pizza. Pizza Inn is a Korean version of Pizza Hut – practically identical except for a few Korean quirks. I am amazed that Pizza Hut hasn’t done anything yet, especially now that they are in Vietnam (saw my first one later that night). I just enjoyed every mouthful, it had been so long and it was divine.
After that I watched discovery channel learning about tunnels under Kuala Lampur, fast production cars (Bugatti Veyron or the Wiki version here), and rockets. It was really educational, especially about the rockets. I felt like going to get some ingredients and make a rocket myself yet I thought I would probably kill myself with the explosion.
That evening we went to Sheridan’s Irish House. The owner is an expat Irish who looks like he came to retire and enjoy life in his pub. I feel that the cosiness of the place gives it a fantastic feel, and it often frequented by regulars. They have live musicians and tap beer (this is the only place I have seen this combo). We sat down and enjoyed a few brews mostly Fosters as it is cheap and more enjoyable than Larue beer.
The owner, Michael, came over and gave Eric some shots of tequila and kaluha to enjoy. We were both hesitant to drink them yet we did not want to insult. The mixture was a little sweet yet no tequila after taste, which relieved me. We continued to listen to the music and enjoy the atmosphere until closing time. We then moved closer to the hotel at a bar called Alleybooz. Here we met some people from Laos and stayed until it was time to go.
However I still needed my fix for western food and thought I would see some friends in The City. I made the arrangements necessary, hectic as they were, and was on my way with two missions: western food and some games.
These games have been something I wanted for a while. They are the Capcom Classics Collection Vol 1 and Vol 2. They have many of the games I fell in love with as a child and I want to reminisce the feeling of being young again.
After messing around to find a hotel (near the pictured intersection) I was informed that I should go to a birthday party. At arrival I was disappointed as there was no western food. We were at a Mekong Delta restaurant eating Mekong Delta food. It was nice, yet not what I yearned for.However as everyone had departed a change of air was suggested. We went to a seafood restaurant not far away called Hong Hai. Here we had clams, sea snails, fish, and oysters. This was the first time I had sea snails and they taste much better than the land snails. They are not so chewy and have a better taste.
Also I had never tried oysters. In Australia oysters are a bit smaller than a business card. When I saw them my breath was taken away at how huge they were. We ate them with wasabi and lime juice. That was exquisite once the wasabi nose burn dissipated.By the time we were finished there it was time to return to the hotel. Just before turning in I saw a bar across the street showing some football and decided to check out who was playing. It was the Manchester and Milan game. I saw the last 30 minutes of the game and felt some deja vu as I saw the score 3 – 0 in Milan’s favour. I felt overjoyed that Liverpool would play Milan again.
Friday was the day that I decided that I would conquer the goals of the mission. I spent the first few hours rummaging through piles of books, looking for the games. I walked up and down the street visiting 4 shops. The first shop I visited I had to wait as they went to another shop and get the game books. After flicking through all the books I could not find what I was looking for yet saw some other games that I might try. Since they are cheap (less than $2) I would buy them. I went to a shop a few doors down and it appeared to me that they had the same books as the previous shop. The next shop also had the same collection. At about this time I was desperate to find the games, yet time and patience were escaping me. I saw one more shop and decided it would be the last.
Now this shop was different from the others as it looked like an official dealer for Sony. It was much cleaner and brighter and filled with amazing looking electronics. I asked the girl if they sold games and they said yes and directed me to a chair and brought out those books. I was saddened that the books started to look like the others that I had seen previously. That was until towards the end of the book I saw volume 1. I was thrilled to have found the game, only hope that they have it. Then I saw a new type of book, and perused through it to find volume 2. When I asked to collect more order the girl was saying that volume 2 would cost more than volume 1 as it is official, that is from Thailand. So I cautiously asked how much and she said 30 000 (about $2.50) will within the range I was willing to pay for the game. I collected the games and paid the girl and left the shop with a feeling of satisfaction.
I walked back to the hotel and proceeded to wait for Eric to arrive from Hanoi. I met him and showed him to the hotel and then he ordered pizza. Pizza Inn is a Korean version of Pizza Hut – practically identical except for a few Korean quirks. I am amazed that Pizza Hut hasn’t done anything yet, especially now that they are in Vietnam (saw my first one later that night). I just enjoyed every mouthful, it had been so long and it was divine.
After that I watched discovery channel learning about tunnels under Kuala Lampur, fast production cars (Bugatti Veyron or the Wiki version here), and rockets. It was really educational, especially about the rockets. I felt like going to get some ingredients and make a rocket myself yet I thought I would probably kill myself with the explosion.
That evening we went to Sheridan’s Irish House. The owner is an expat Irish who looks like he came to retire and enjoy life in his pub. I feel that the cosiness of the place gives it a fantastic feel, and it often frequented by regulars. They have live musicians and tap beer (this is the only place I have seen this combo). We sat down and enjoyed a few brews mostly Fosters as it is cheap and more enjoyable than Larue beer.
The owner, Michael, came over and gave Eric some shots of tequila and kaluha to enjoy. We were both hesitant to drink them yet we did not want to insult. The mixture was a little sweet yet no tequila after taste, which relieved me. We continued to listen to the music and enjoy the atmosphere until closing time. We then moved closer to the hotel at a bar called Alleybooz. Here we met some people from Laos and stayed until it was time to go.
The next morning I didn’t feel so great yet the prospect of playing the Capcom classics made me get ready to go to the bus station. The journey was uneventful and my heart raced as we approached the Van Cong ferry. This is the place where I know I am home as it is a 5 minute trip to the bus station, and I feel 5 minutes is nothing compared to more than 4 hours in the bus. As a feeling of achievement overcame me from successfully completing the mission goals, I realised it was great to be home.
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