Today was a travel day, so not much in the way of sightseeing. I did, however, get the opportunity to try an Asian delicacy which I skipped in Vietnam and have regretted ever since:
(Background: when I was traveling in Vietnam, my guide took me home to see his family’s lychee farm, and they slaughtered a chicken in my honor. I was fascinated, since (innocent American I) I had never seen a dead chicken before, but was NOT prepared to find the chicken’s head in my bowl at lunch! He explained that it was a delicacy, but I wasn’t prepared to try it, so I gave it back to him, whereupon he ate it with gusto.)
The chicken head was okay: the skin part (the comb, etc.) was tasteless and slightly rubbery. The inside, which I suspect of being chicken brain, was rich-tasting and not at all bad. But when I got to the eyes, I decided I’d had enough. I thought it was OK, not going to rate it as a delicacy though. I should track down my guide in Vietnam to tell him I finally had the nerve to try it, though.
I have also managed to break nearly a complete set of ebony and birch size 0 double-pointed knitting needles. Nothing daunted, I went over to the nearest department store with my mother and asked for bamboo chopsticks. No dice. Apparently it’s the middle of a desert and bamboo warps badly, so nobody sells it. No bamboo skewers or other utensils either, naturally. However, at the last moment I noticed a cheap bamboo flute, which I promptly bought for $1.50, brought home, and hacked up. I now have 3/4 of a bamboo flute, and a full set of five size 0 hand-carved bamboo dpns on which to finish knitting my sock.
More later, when I have a chance…
