-
Recipe – How to prepare Vietnamese coffee?
To prepare Vietnamese coffee, you need special coffee maker called Phin, but you can also use coffee filter. Phin is a very simple device. It consists of a jug where coffee is placed, lower land upper lid. We also need Vietnamese coffee and sweet condensed milk. Fill the cup with small amount of milk. Warm the phin up in hot water. Then add 4 teaspoonfuls of coffee. Coffee should be very strong so this amount is for one cup. Next screw the lower lid. Pour boiling water but only to the lower lid. When coffee soaks, add the rest water and put upper lid on it. Coffee percolates form 3 to 5 minutes.…
-
Road to Hana – road for the road’s sake, part I
Why am I writing about the road? You can think that it’s nothing special. But there’s one road, in the east part of Hawaiian island – Maui, which is not only a road but also a destination itself. It is called Hana Higway but in fact its name is a bit misleading because it has nothing to do with a highway. Travelling all this 100 km route can take even 1 or 2 days! Is sounds weird, especially for the USA road conditions. But this highway is not a simple road. It’s typical switchback with 600 turns and around 60 bridges. The most part of this road is too narrow…
-
Passenger vs. airlines, part II – overbooking is not so black as it is painted
With the popularization of air transport and cost – cutting by airlines, more and more passengers encounter overbooking problems. In aviation terminology, overbooking means selling more tickets in relation to available seats. But why air carrier take this risk? The answer is simple, it’s financially beneficial because flight of the empty airplane is more expensive than overbooking costs. Airlines observe trends on particular routes and on this basis they estimate how many passengers will turn up at the check-in desk. If you have time and you can afford a day off from work or you don’t have any other flights, come forward for the next flight! The amount of the…
-
Vietnam – paradise for coffee connoisseurs
Coffee is mainly associated with countries like Brazil Or Columbia but in fact Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world. Being a hopeless case of coffee drinker I could write about Vietnamese coffee endlessly. It’s a very thick and aromatic beverage with inimitable taste which combines a little coffee bitter taste and the sweetness of caramel and chocolate. But it’s not the end… The process of roasting is unique. Sweet, chocolate taste is the result of adding butter or vegetable oil. Beans roasted in this way have a little bit greasy, glistening texture with intensive brown color. Taste can be intensified by adding sugar, vanilla or…
-
Passenger vs. airlines, part I – flight delay
Flight delays are common. They can be connected with unforeseeable factors such as bad weather conditions, security threat or even volcanic eruption. But there are some situations when delay is results from airline fault. If you travel: from the airport located in European Union/European Economic Area or Switzerland, between EU/EEA/Switzerland and third country, by plane which is operated by an airline which operates in the area of EU/EEA/Switzerland, your rights are protected by the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long…
-
Dublin – city in the green island, flowing black Guiness…
Dublin like the whole Ireland, surprises by its diversity. There are certainly more Polish people than citizens speaking in native Gaelic language. In this city we can experience every possible atmospheric phenomena in one hour. Dublin isn’t only a city of economic wonders but it’s also the place where tradition merges with modernity. Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral are the oldest buildings in Dublin. But the most famous building is the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. The most surprising is the fact that St. Patrick who is mainly associated with dancing and beer didn’t like this alcohol and to make matters worse he wasn’t even Irish. He had been held captive…
-
Real Saigon… How to survive on Vietnamese roads
Our funny story with the hotel wasn’t the only attraction which we had during first day in Vietnam. Starving and exhausted after long journey, we decided to go out for a delicious Vietnamese meal. As experienced drivers, we thought that we had seen every possible thing on the road but as it turned out later crossing Vietnamese streets is a real challenge. Vietnam is a real traffic jungle in the literal meaning of this world. Just imagine agglomeration with at least 7 million people and no traffic rules. Crossroads with traffic lights and pedestrian crossings are thin on the ground. When they exist they can look like this… During watching…
-
Vietnamese alcohol…
Vietnamese beer is connected with colonial times. Then the first brewery was established in Hanoi. Its products were intended for wealthy elite. Before the beer was introduced to Vietnamese bars people had drunk mainly rice wine, which was popular till 1960’s. During the American War, its production was banned in view of depleted rice production. From that time beer was getting more and more popular. Additionally close cooperation with Czech Socialist Republic (which was the part of USSR) popularize traditional brewing methods. Vietnamese beer – Bia hoi is brewed every evening, matures through the night and it’s delivered to nearby bars in the morning. Unpasteurized beer without any preservatives is…
-
Hobbits’ stronghold in Helsinki neighborhood
Suomenlinna stronghold, located in 6 islands, is a very important point in Helsinki touristic map. It was built in the half XVIII century by the Swedish in order to defense against Russians. In that times it was the biggest building in the kingdom and the second – largest city in Finland. After a long siege it was finally conquered by Russians in 1808. In view of its strategic location, Russians decided to move the capital of Finland from Turku to Helsinki in 1812. Fortress remained under Russians rule till 1917, when Finland regained independence. These days it doesn’t have military significance but it’s a very interesting historic monument. The most…