Getting up to speed.

I started blogging in 2006 as I was travelling quite a bit and needed somewhere to share my stories and photos with my friends, family and publishing contacts. Back then Blogger was the only decent blog publishing tool and limited bandwidth in places like Vietnam was a continuous struggle. Frequent power cuts and software glitches meant I’d often reel off paragraphs of text in some overpriced, hot and hectic internet cafe only to see it disappear as quickly as I’d typed it. With the birth of my first child in 2007 I dropped off the blogosphere and now with her finally starting school and as the workload/travels pick up again I find myself attempting to pick up where I left off. It’s amazing the range of social media tools out there now and simply choosing which publishing tool is frankly baffling. At least internet speeds have improved. And I've become quite addicted to Twitter. On a recent trip to Vietnam I was delighted to be able to pick up wifi in most places and the majority of hotels will let you on but only for an exorbitant daily fee. Accessing Facebook proved tricky (but possible if you change your DNS number) – what is clear is that the tourism industry still has a long long way to go in catching up with social media trends. Onwards.

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Yaly Couture

15th March 2005 HOI AN Staying at Ancient House Resort on Cua Dia, a small boutique hotel with spacious, immaculate and stylish rooms. Can imagine that this would be a good place for honeymooners, as the service is discreet and the gardens and pool are beautiful. Got an upgrade on the second day to a room with a balcony so I can now sit outside and write, which is a marked improvement. I get free bike rental here so I’ve been out exploring. Riding a bike after so long and in Asia was a thrilling experience. Make me think how much quicker I could get about and see so much more. Today I cycled off the beaten track for a good 2 hours until I came to a boatyard where I pulled up for a refreshing drink. Don’t think these people see many white faces round here. I was drinking alone then suddenly there were about 15 faces staring at me. Curiosity got the better of one old man who hopped on his moped and escorted me down the road! I noticed that even this far out, huge speakers blast out propa...

Eating the heart out of Valentine’s Day

I didn’t think the highlight of Valentine’s Day would be eating a heart but today was set to confound my expectations in many ways. On arrival at Fareshare’s headquarters in east London we were ushered into the warehouse for drinks and canapes, where it was ubundantly clear by the stacks of unwanted foods and industrial fridges surrounding us that eco-chef Tom Hunt would be spoilt for choice of ingredients. Amongst the crates I spotted supermarket own brand goods from Tesco Value pasta to Sainsburys Taste the Difference Olive Oil Crostini, brand name goods including Nestle and Green Giant, and independent producers such as Propercorn gourmet popcorn. As I surreptiously checked out the clientele, we were served a warming aperitif of mulled cider with star anise and delicious canapés of confit rabbit offal, cod-head cakes and pork liver pate with onion marmalade. While there were certainly lots of couples out for an alternative take on the Valentine’s meal, groups of friends were also t...

In praise of gilda, the quintessential bar snack

On a recent city break to Bilbao I discovered the perfect bar snack: the gilda. Allegedly invented at Bar Casa Vallés in San Sebastián and named after Rita Hayworth's character Gilda in the eponymous film, it’s been a star of the pintxo bar for over 70 years. Equal portions of pickled guindilla pepper, salted anchovy fillet and tangy green olive neatly stacked onto a cocktail stick: a perfect mouthful of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and piquant that awakens the tastebuds. In the same way that a club sandwich is the mark of a good hotel bar, the test of any good pinxto bar, is the quality of its gildas. Making a tasty gilda at home is easy, as long as you have the best quality ingredients to hand: a pickled Guindilla pepper, a Cantabrian salted anchovy fillet, and a juicy Manzanilla olive. Carefully add each layer onto a cocktail stick and in seconds you have an exquisite mouthful of pintxo. Partner with a house-made vermut or a crisp txokoli and you’ve got the perfect a...

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