Debbie's Blog

Its been a long time coming ….but a change is gonna come !

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:12:59 +0000

I wonder how many of you ladies out there love that song, sam cooke , a legend …..

I digress , the little tour company has now changed to include ALL ladies from everywhere, no matter what colour , creed or beliefs , ALL ladies . Working on various ideas , seems the little tour company has taken a different direction, working on programmes for clients to Hong Kong, Vietnam , USA, …….

Think special interests is the way to go, what do you think , do let me know…

working on getting images and photos on the blog , I am not the best at the computer , but ever learning ….

Oh NEWSFLASH !! …….I now have an Airline Partner , so am able to offer flights to the various destinations as well, at competitive prices , so comon ladies , book up for vietnam ….you will not be sorry .

Any tailor made packages for any of you ladies out there that run clubs ….from Bangor to Bangkok , search me out, give the best for the best .

have a great day

michael jackson

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:42:30 +0000

As many of you did, I grew up with him , listening to his songs when i was a teenager ….

Lets take a minute to think about that .

God bless him and all he gave to us

His soul is at peace now …..

Attention discerning travelling women of today !

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:41:01 +0000

Join me on the adventure of a lifetime ! a holiday with a difference… ladies i promise you one thing we will have fun, and you will know how to cook a vietnamese dinner party for your all your wonderful friends ! ….this I do promise you……

Vietnam is one of the most charming, different , diverse , exotic destinations in the world , the people kind and ever smiling, join me , I will take you on exotic adventure , we will tour and we will learn how to cook the delicious vietnamese cuisine , the flavours dance on your tongue and entice you to try more….by the talented hands of Miss Vy , who wants to keep vietnamese streetfood alive , by passing on her knowledge and creativity ….

hurry ! places are getting booked up , I have two dates in march 2010 …

we are going to have a wonderful time………

Whats cooking in vietnam ?

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:09:56 +0000

Hey ladies, check out the new web page, have put the most amazing vietnam cook and tour programme on now, its up for all to see , Its called cook and tour , because you really wouldnt want to be cooking all day , every day in hot kitchens , so we will spend one day cooking in the most amazing environment with Miss vy , to eat in her morning glory restaurant , you would think you had died and gone to heaven ! , Its situated in the ‘old quarter ‘ of the very ancient town of Hoi An , a french style colonial building miss vy has adapted upstairs to a very professional environment . She will talk us through the history and basics of vietnamese food, and also the medicinal values of the herbs that are used in vietnamese cooking . Her passion is to keep Street Food alive , her two friends spring rolls are amazing , an explosion on your palate , not to mention vietnamese pancakes served with a peanut sauce …..MMMMMmmmmm ! . The tour part is incredible as well , wonderful stuff. Check it out , let me know what you think ……

COOK AND TOUR ! ……VIETNAM .

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:36:31 +0000

I have listened to you ! , seemingly its special interests you all like, to be doing something whilst your on holiday ! , so what a better a tour than a …..cook and tour ! . I have been working on a wonderful cook and tour programme for Vietnam , one of the most charming, enchanting countries I work in , as yet its not too spoiled , tourism is still in its early stages . I think this is a wonderful tour, taking in Ho Chi Minh city ( Saigon , sounds better and has a more romantic feel to it ) Spending four nights at the four star plus Caravelle Hotel (right next to the opera house, yes…the opera house ! ) with ALL Tours and ALL meals inclusive , we will tour up to the Mekong Delta, we will go and visit the cu chi tunnels , the war remnants museum , all the highlights of a city tour, some shopping ladies at the local central market…..bargains ! bargains ! . To keep the “cooking ” theme, we will sample the delights of Vietnamese dishes in the restaurants I have chosen . We then fly to the unique trading town of Hoi an , we will stay in a beach resort sandwiched between the river and the beach . Hoi an is one of the most charming, and enchanting places I have ever visited, very old and beautifully preserved , and it is here that we find the cooking school of Ms Vy , housed in an elegant old building, within the “old quarter” , Ms Vy is a third generation chef in her family. she runs three restaurants in the town, and over the years begun to share the secrets and tips from her kitchen , which has led to the creation of her gormet kitchen classes . She has been featured in many guide books over the years as well as in the New York TImes, Travel and Leisure, World Food vietnam .

But the proof is in the tasting ! and I adore her restaurant the Morning Glory , the food is wonderful ….trust me ! . We will be spending the day with Ms Vy , from getting up early ladies to go to the local market to buy our produce , we will learn about vietnamese food , history and philosophy , nutrition and food medicines…and then you will have a choice of ten vietnamese dishes to choose from !

Shrimp and pork spring rolls, Grilled Chicken and Lime leaf, Crispy Pancake (to die for ladies , make sure this is one of your choices… Banana Flower Salad, Stuffed Mushroom and shrimp mousse, Stewed fish in a claypot , I cannot name them ALL on here ….Her aim is to keep Vietnamese Street Food alive, and her recipes have been handed down from her grandparents…

We will also be doing a bicycle ride through the most amazing countryside, as well as doing a walking tour of wonderful hoi an , and you will have time to relax and enjoy the beach !!

It will be up on the website within a week or two , check it out ladies…its a very competitive price, and I will be able to help you organise your flight with my agent ….Oh its not till next march and I will be keeping the numbers to 9 a tour, so it will be small and personable , and I am thrown in for nothing .

Canadian Rockies

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:24:56 +0000

…I have been missing for a while, just busy and I didnt find my home town too exciting to talk about to be honest. I was in the Rockies and that was something to talk about , had I have had a signal on my laptop ….and when I did , something was always happening . For instance all the electric was knocked out in our hotel because someone had crashed through the electricity pole , didnt help that it was raining in torrents outside, no restaurants could cook because , hey , no electric…..so all my clients went to bed cold, hungry and with no electric , great holiday eh ? , but you know it all adds to the adventure of the whole trip , was a different story in the morning. The Rockies are without a doubt , wonderful , a picture postcard on every corner , we ended up in Vancouver, a city I have visited many times , I used to work for Princess cruises and we used to sail in and out of Canada Place all the time . The dalai lamai says its the most balanced city in the world , feng shui at its best, oh oh I hope I got that right and didnt name a shushi dish !

Check out Granville Island , its wonderful, with its market, little water taxi to get there . Go down to Hornby Street and get to the little pier for the water taxi , which will take you across for a dollar or two , wonderful stuff, the little taxi , weaves in and out of the boats and arrives about 2 mins later , take in the atmosphere, street entertainers , grab some fish and sit outside, or better still do what I did and eat at the Sandbar, amazing seafood , I had fresh tuna with salad , and had a seat outside, with a glass of wonderful wine, just went down a treat . I even chatted with a couple from Hong Kong , who shared their ribs with me ….well you know their dish of ribs. …A glad to be alive day, you know the ones we have here in dear old blighty when the sun doth shine….

HOME AND SAIGON !

admin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:46:09 +0000

I sit here, saturday morning, all is normal, as it should be , I feel like Im in a different world , this is my home, this is North Wales. I have left Vietnam behind me , but not in my heart I havent. Thankyou all of you for your comments, Im never quite sure If anyone out there is reading my blog , until I recieve your feedback, thankyou for taking the time out (you know who you are !) . Oh sorry for my punctuation and errors along the way, but I am just writing as I go…….and sometimes that is snatched minutes on a coach in some obscure place.

I forgot to mention Saigon, and really I dont know how I could , well I mentioned it from Hung my guides aspect. But I really love Saigon , there is the influence of the French for sure, and the wonderful buildings, Opera House , Cathedral, Post Office ,they have some great restaurants in Saigon , real lovely and intimate, the food good , excellent in fact, on the down side there is the War museum, which really is not for the faint hearted ! , the photographs are awful , and leave a lasting impression .

I sat in the four star Caravella hotel, next door to the Opera House, a lovely hotel, having a drink in the bar on the roof , looking down into Saigon….lovely ! , I escaped the group for a few hours “me” time . I look over and I can see the place were the Helicopter landed to pick up the Americans , that lasting film reel, it hasnt changed in 30 years , still the same, below me is the rex hotel, a place were the journalists hung out and reported from , from that time . That time , a moment in time , Vietnam will change , the developers will see to that ! but it will never take away the scars and the tears that have been left behind, scratch the surface and you will see. Trust me ! .

I am in the process of organising a culinary delight to vietnam for next year ladies , watch out on the website, I have a brand new web designer and we will both be working on it . So comon all you budding chefs out there ….join me , you will not be dissapointed . !

Look out for my next trip in two weeks, Rockies and Vancouver ……(bit of a difference , I know )

keep smiling you all out there !

xx me

Mekong Delta

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:09:37 +0000

Its 6.45 in the morning, and already its steaming hot ! …its drained the energy out of us, the heat , the humidity is a killer ! . We have reached Can Tho on the Mekong Delta, this morning we are going to the floating market, all the traders going about their business, selling the wares, iinteresting to see the river life, living on the river has been a way of life for this people for years……we weave in and out of their boats , they are up since four in the morning , now they are resting….The tour is drawing to a close, tommorow we fly back to dear old blighty , visions of vietnam , I ponder for a moment , its the kindness of the guides that has left a mark in me this time , the unrelenting way they want to please me , and make everything good . I am now the proud owner of a harmonica, my guide hung, went out to buy me one and presented it to me with BOTH HANDS a sign of respect in their country, he plays well, and wants me to too…I am not bad already , i have two notes of moon river , but he is an inspiration, his tales and stories of when the war was, and the way it was when communism was here, will always be with me, he remembers the day the helicopters came to take away the last of the americans stilll remaining in saigon , all that day he could not understand why on the radio, im dreaming of a white christmas kept on and on playing and playing …this was in fact april, above he could hear the helicopters in the distance, something was going on and he never knew quite what, until it was evident the next day ….It was the signal for all the americans to get out of saigon, the last remaining , the song was the signal to go ….and they did, some of the most famous of photographs and films is of that scene where they are climbing to the top of the building to get to the helicopter to get out…and get out they did , leaving the people to the hands of the Viet cong , and communisism, where there was brutality , no food, people murdered. “iM DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS WILL NEVER MEAN THE SAME TO ME ANYMORE ” ! ….and on we go to the end of the tour….

Photo, photo…snap , snap !

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:27:29 +0000

I love Vietnam , colourful , exciting, vibrant….these are words I might use to describe it , the people ever lovely, gentle and gracious …

We tramp the tourist trail, a pagoda here, a monument there , photo , photo ….snap , snap ! We look with our eyes , but we do not see …oh its a great country , vietnam, you should go , our rep was great , the food was , well okay , very cheap, great rate to the pound . But we dont see , we dont look , and do we really care.?
Do we really see the scars and the tears that were left behind, do we hear the tales of its people and their suffering ? I shed a silent tear with my guide, when he tells me his story ….his eyes cannot hide his pain, and I feel it too ……”you think you might ask for some chips at dinner tonight “? …photo , Photo , snap , snap !

kindness ….

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:35:43 +0000

The basis of every religion in the world should be kindness, there is not enough of it , or so I thought until I met someone who does not really know me , but did me the kindest deed , without hesitation , or reward or gain, we have much to learn from the East .

I am in dalat in the mountains , the air is wonderful and the cool temperature, a welcome relief from the soaring heat ……My guides on this tour have been wonderful and so friendly and helpful , they are gentle and love to laugh and have fun .