Can you guess what’s inspired this new post? That’s right, I’m currently feeling under the weather and I want to get back on track as fast as I can! (Who doesn’t – right now I’m on summer break with a big to-do list of unaccomplished dreams!)

You know that stealthy sore throat you get the days before that signals “You’re gonna get sick”, I am at that stage now and I don’t want to really “level up” anytime soon. Actually now i’ve reached BASE TWO – Stuffy/runny nose URGH!

So here are a few ideas TO TAKE DOWN THAT SORE THROAT IN ITS TRACKS that have seemed to cut my “sick time” in the past! I can’t guarantee they’ll work for you but they did me! What that means is there are plenty more foods to avoid than per usual that may aggravate your throat etc etc (sad times ahead I’m afraid).

Breakfast – try to keep the dairy to a minimum? (some say it aggravates the throat more and some say it doesn’t – you call the shots)

Go for Oatmeal/porridge with some chopped banana and a drizzle of honey = soothing and easy to eat and digest!

Scrambled eggs without too much added spices is easy to down maybe with some steamed asparagus on the side

Yoghurt with honey because it is cool and bland (in a good way) since it won’t serrate your throat on the way down J (isn't that always a plus!!)

Lunch & Dinner – SOUP SOUP SOUP! No overly  oily foods (and I don’t just mean dripping oil/deep fried but foods that have a high fat content like your steaks) as these can be hard to digest!

Instead opt for a traditional chicken or vegetable soup (or any stock) with some chopped veggies and maybe some rice or pasta too!
Of course no one of a teenage year likes to sit around waiting for their soup to cook so here’s where the grandma or mum (or even dad) can make an appearance!

Also add a serving of steamed vegetables on the side to keep up the fiber!

Don’t just live on the soup of course you need your proteins! Choose chicken, turkey or fish over steak and beef which are higher in fat and tougher to digest!
Have it in a sandwich (preferably fresh as toasted can be too dry) with lettuce, beetroot and tomato to freshen it up!

Snacks – ditch the processed sugars and go for your fruits!

For sore throats having one sliced orange (or two) worked a wonder. It’s so refreshing my throat could sing (but no one wants to hear that :P)
Chew your fruit well before swallowing (we don’t want a stray corner of apple making matters worst for our throat!)

Melons are a definite favourite! Soft and has a higher juice/liquid content that most fruits!

Cucumber and Carrots are pretty sweet for snacking! If you must dip try yoghurt, beetroot or tsaziki (which is a cucumber dip lol)

Add some variety and colour in a fruit salad
plus bonus sense of self accomplishment :)

Drinks – again avoid your processed juices!! Why? Because HELLO SUGARS!

Sadly water may have to be THE CHOSEN ONE for the time being!
Alternatively if the weather isn’t too hot make a cuppa! Get some boiled water, a small squeeze of honey and small squeeze of lemon juice (optional)!

Even put a piece of ginger and leave it to infuse your hot water! Add some honey and voila!
Wait for it to cool and you can have it as iced tea!

Good teas to use are ones with cinnamon and honey (and also chamomile to soothe). I use the one from Twinnings which combines all three of these flavours!

Juice yourself some lemon juice and sweeten to a minimum with honey! Dilute with water if you need to but this one can be tough to down!

Honey and Lemon - what I like to call the BRANGELINA
of cold and flu :P (what a power couple they are!!)

Some ginger in tea just gives that
uplifting feeling ya feel??

Foods to avoid (which you can still have if you can’t resist – the stakes aren’t that high :P):

Nuts – this really killed me but the nuts won’t be doing your throat any favours when you’re sick!

Baked Goods (your cakes and cookies) – give these a rest for the time being because these have flour and processed sugars!

PIZZA!!! – I don’t know about you but pizza leaves me tres thirsty afterwards!

Tachos, nachos and potato chips – The sole perpetrators are the CHIPS! They’ll be very dry for a sore throat

So now I bid you good luck. This may only be the “calm before the storm” but this isn’t a reason to stay cooped up in your room! If you get out for some fresh air, a meet up with friends or the beach, your body forgets it is feeling down (just for the while – but hey you shouldn’t miss out on a good time)!!!

Mimi xx

Week 4: To the Mekong!

"Bell Apple" fruit in one of the farms
pronounced in Vietnamese as Mận

We really got to see the agriculture and produce of the land in this last leg of the journey, exploring villages around the Mekong River that thrived on their production of coconut products. They had coconut everything, not a crack of the shell wasted. Coconut flesh = sweets and the shell = wind chimes, bowls and much more! The confectionery production line was definitely not something out of a monster factories episode! Nothing like a camera taking pictures of the bottom of every Coca Cola bottle to make sure it was perfect!! There's one person in the corner heating the mix in a large pot and spooning it into a basin that tilts to let the hot lolly run into template of a very long strip. Someone is waiting at the end to chop the long strip into identical squares like a sushi master. The squares fly across the table where some women flip them onto square sheets of paper and wrap them faster than you can say "my bum still hurts from the boat ride here!". I challenge you to give it a shot! The ladies were happy to teach us and watch us fail!


Coconuts are only  sweet around here. Nothing to deceive from the outside like some fresh food grocers!  With some other relos, we bought a whole branch with about 20 coconuts because 1. We can't do this in Australia and 2. We didn't want to waste the chance to indulge on some of the best coconuts ever!

As part of our tour we got to walk around a traditional Vietnamese fruit farm. No stone fruits and berries here - these were the real deal; fruit flies circled around bursting jack fruits and 'milk fruit' (as it is translated from the language and before you ask does not taste like milk but has a milk-looking juice) hung above our heads. Of course we took photos of us brandishing the jack fruit as though it were Simba on Pride rock and even played catch with one that had already fallen off the branch! Our flip flops were right on point with safety! :P

Got to keep up with the hot weather by
investing in the traditional hat!

So that was the 3rd and last tour we embarked on while in Vietnam. We returned to Saigon after to soak in the last what Vietnam had to offer especially coming into the Vietnamese New Year. We continued to feast on what Vietnam had to offer like giant Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancakes) and cafe sua da since the days were still hot. But what's traveling without a few regrets! I regret not trying all the different Xoi (colored rice) that the ladies would sell by the streets, that I didn't get to catch another Saigon bus to a new district and definitely that one time I ordered spaghetti in a restaurant!

Travelling for that long deprives you of some things you used to do everyday back at home, so for me it was only natural to run straight out of the taxi and into the kitchen to whip up (as sad as it sounds) a bowl of porridge with good ol’ Australian honey (it gets sadder) and for lunch at that! 

Thanks for keeping up!
Mimi xx

This was a local School my mum attended before leaving Vietnam.
Note the "Lollipop BOY" taking one for the team and holding up the sign!

Forgot to share earlier in the first entry about Sapa but these
furry pups were playing on the village doorsteps = too cute to forget!!!

[above] Just a snap from Sapa in the more touristy region
and [adjacent] some Sapa locals heaving the firewood up
the windy paths up and down the mountain walking trails!

Week 3: The Middle Country

We were caught in a whirlwind journey the moment we waited in Saigon with the countless other tourists ready to embark our coach to explore the mysterious 'Middle' we knew little about. We explored caves, sculpture museums (where they carved stone right in front of you!!!), traditional confectionery factories and large Buddhist temples perched on the high hills and caressed by the cool air and clouds above. To be honest breakfasts were as western as you could get for the whole day and even that was rather feeble in comparison to home! But what's an adventure in another country if you confine yourself to the eggs on toast when you can have the congee, Pho, or sticky rice for a power brekkie? Energy was what we needed as we encountered many stairways and inclines to get to the checkpoints of our tour!

Lunch and dinner was traditionally rice with many accompaniments! Although it was a little too familiar by day 2 this was part of the Vietnam experience so we had to power on!

The more considered tourist-y spots were of course the mains: Hue, Da Nang and Hoi Nai which were always teeming with foreigners. My highlight was The Hue markets were we walked the night markets and observed the famous bridges from afar. For the sweet tooth like me, Che dessert in Hue was definitely the best. Take a regular store back at home with little bowls for you to choose your toppings and times that by 10. That is everything was in a large pot - sweet potato, taro, countless beans and jelly assortments. Ice and coconut milk were ready at the back to complete your customized creation and it was dirt cheap! More to feel less guilty about and something to sip while you explore all the knick knacks of the markets!

A typical Hoi Nai night - this photo is harder to take than it
looks with the intense bridge traffic so keep trying!!

Hoi Nai at night was kind of like that scene from Rapunzel (which I assume all of you have watched because it's just like Frozen right?) By night the restaurants were lit up with laughter and conversation, streets and stores framed the walkway with lanterns and flames that throbbed behind their colorful shades. It definitely felt like the village out of Rapunzel complete with boats releasing lanterns into the water. The lake was pitch black so the lanterns appeared to float lazily in a void! Buses taking tourists out were a mess so be prepared to wait! Don't get too hopeful because that may not be YOUR tour bus which caught me a few times! Three point turns and U-turns level 1000 seen here :)

When we were 'in between' places we visited a Buddhist temple which we could see all the way up the hill as we approached. The weather was cool but the place felt chillier. Maybe because the large (and  I mean large) courtyard was paved in a grayish white appeared smaller but for all the potted bonsai's and pond displays that stood orderly like soldiers awaiting command. A monstrous paved staircase led to a lovely lookout (so the height challenged can truly see how high up they are). It was like the home or play thing of a giant out of Jack and the Beanstalk. Located very high above the ground level - check. Eerily silent (but in a peaceful way) - check. Large temple/abode looming in the background of every tourist photo - check. You couldn't help but feel the air here was cleaner and that you stepped lighter as you explored the vast courtyards. 

Overall you could feel the difference in the landscape - the countryside flashed past in ochre, a blur of grinding stone fashioned into intertwined figures worshiping the skies and the stillness and unobserved murmuring of everyday life that surprised those like us familiar with the bustle of Hanoi and Saigon.

A trip to Bana Hills via the longest cable car trip - 5 km
Tip: buy popcorn at the bottom to have on board while waiting :)