Category: food

Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam – Easy Rider Motorbike Tour

On By Rick McIn food, travel1 Comment

Hà Giang Province in far north Vietnam near the Chinese border is one of the poorest regions.

Gorgeous mountainous karst landscape.

Since the designation of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark in 2010, the tourism industry has been growing. Astonishingly popular in 2025 is a loop of some of the scenic roads by jeep or motorbike.

I signed on for a 3 day, 3 night option for about USD $200.

Rice does not grow well here — corn is the most important crop.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We traveled by sleeper bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang city. Then slept a few more hours in a hostel.

Each tourist has a personal guide / driver.

I called my guide BOSS as he was the leader of the pack.

It’s possible to do the loop on your own, renting a bike. But I understand you’ll be stopped by the police often — and asked to pay a fine / bribe.

The other 2 nights were in a good hotel. And a charming traditional homestay.

Food was excellent. We all gained weight over 3 days. 😀

Everyone in my group left super happy with the experience. No accidents — if you don’t count me running off the bike when my driver hit a hidden pothole at very low speed.

We did about 300km — all good. Dozens of scenic stops.

Drivers know all the best photo stop angles.

Dogs are sometimes dinner in this part of the world. But not this pretty boy. 😀

A great adventure.

Ultramodern Singapore

On By Rick McIn economics, food, government, human rights, travelLeave a comment

Clean, efficient, safe. An ideal tourist destination for me after chaotic Indonesia.

Almost everyone speaks English. They are very welcoming of visitors.

Yes, some things are very expensive. But you can have a great time spending very little money.

For example, Shimano Cycling World will rent you a high end road bike for $150. Or you can take one of their mountain bikes for free. Nice.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Drone footage I shot of myself was done in one of the parks dedicated to drone pilots. Singapore thinks of everything. 😀

Changi Airport (always ranked #1 in the world) provides free city tours if you have a layover of enough hours at the right time of day.

Singapore’s diversity of cuisine is touted as a reason to visit the country, due to its combination of convenience, variety, quality, and price.

I find it a very green city.

Singapore is an economic success story. This tiny island nation has the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world. 

Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. 

Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world.

This is the kind of nation fiscal conservatives should study.

Personally, it’s not democratic enough for me.

The laws too strict. Singapore still has the death penalty.

Male homosexual relations were not decriminalized until 2022.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Gourmet Dining – Seafood Tower in Singapore

On By Rick McIn food, friends, gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

Dennis hosted dinner for myself, Cliff Parks, and friends at the Greenwood Fish Market in Sentosa.

He ordered a Seafood Tower for the table.

. … I’d never seen anything like it.

Fantastic.

The highlight for Cliff was his 1st raw oyster. A BIG one.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

In Praise of Marie Biscuits

On By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

In Indonesia, I keep some inexpensive Marie Biscuits handy — as emergency snacks.

It dawned on me that I’ve done that all over the world. They seem to be in every small shop, everywhere.

The biscuit is round and usually has the name embossed. Always 66 mm in diameter.

Since they are quite dry, they have a relatively long shelf life. 

They were created by the London bakery Peek Freans in 1874 to commemorate the marriage of the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia to the Duke of Edinburgh.

From BOAT to TABLE 😀

On By Rick McIn food, McCharles familyLeave a comment

Delicious.

We caught this salmon a few hours earlier out of my favourite French Creek Marina near Parksville, B.C.

My brother Rob and friends had invited me along as general dogsbody.

I’d been out in charters murdering salmon in the past — with great success. But this was my first time in a personal boat out of French Creek.

Our skipper, Wayne, keeps a shipshape craft.

Out of French Creek we had our lines in the water within 15 minutes.

Most of the time, we had 2 fishing. Two inside navigating.

Then someone would switch off, front to back.

We ended up taking out only 2 salmon — having released many more for being the wrong species for our permits. Or the wrong size.

Weather was fickle. Perfect conditions could quickly switch to gusty with whitecaps.

We came in after about 4 hours. Wayne cleaned the fish at the marina.

I would have enjoyed the scenic boat ride even if we hadn’t caught anything.

BUT it was delicious a few hours later. 😀

My Home Made Cream of Celery Soup

On By Rick McIn foodLeave a comment

Yep. I’m the very last person you know who would try making soup rather than simply opening another can of Habitant. This was my first soup from scratch.

I went looking for recipes to use up our surplus of celery, onions, and potatoes.

Delicious.

Rick eating soup … in the tropics?

One YouTube vlogger looked the opposite of the TV angry chefs, so I followed his recipe. 😀

Added some corn. And a few other ingredients we happened to have handy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

My “Retiree” Routine

On By Rick McIn about Rick, books, cycling, food, health & fitness, hiking, McCharles family, TVLeave a comment

When not traveling, I stay with my Mom at her home in Parksville, B.C.

➙ PLEASE spread the rumour that I am some kind of son / saint caregiver. 😀

Though I tell people I’m semi-retired, I seem to be mostly retired in 2025.

Retirees tend to evolve a daily routine. Here’s mine as of …

March 2025

Wake EARLY

Pick up COFFEE at McDonalds

WALK the coastline at Dawn

Internet in the morning. Updating my 3 main websites. …More coffee.

Typically I don’t eat until 10:30am or later.

RUN or STAIRS in the morning.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

If I run, leisurely is 4.5km in 30min.

Lunch

1 or more hours CYCLING

Dinner. (I’m actually starting to cook a few things. Under my Mom’s direction. 😀)

Chores

Evening WALK or CYCLE. Most often just after sunset.

Parksville Beach, unedited photo

Upper body strength and endurance training at the playground. About 10 minutes.

I sometimes do an abdominal program at home, as well.

9pm TV

10pm SLEEP

Saturday and Sunday I try to shoot some basketball outside the local school.

I SHOULD start golfing once a week.

That’s my regular day. Of course, conflicting things come up.

Right now we’re drinking very little alcohol in Parksville. And I’m trying to eat less this winter compared with last year. Fewer sweets.

Health is still good. Dentures my biggest medical issue.

I continue to listen to about 3 audio books / week. At about 145% speed. Fewer podcasts.

I watch a lot of YouTube, as well.

In my “spare” time, 1st priority is VIDEO EDITING for my Hiking YouTube channel. Over 235 videos since I launched during the pandemic.

Most popular, so far, is a fantastic coastal hike in Portugal.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

V8 vs Clamato vs Mott’s Garden Cocktail

On By Rick McIn food1 Comment

AI Overview

While all three drinks are considered “vegetable juices” with a blend of different flavors, V8 is primarily a tomato-based juice with added vegetables, Clamato is a tomato juice with added clam flavoring, and Mott’s Garden Cocktail is a sweeter, more diluted blend of tomato juice with added vegetables, making Clamato the most distinct due to its strong clam taste and V8 the most tomato-forward option.

Fine tuning my incredibly healthy diet 😀, I’ve added a daily glass of veggie-related liquid.

This replaces a mug of either Health Diet Coke or Fitness Coffee.

V8 is likely healthiest as it doesn’t contain any added sugar and ingredients includes the reconstituted juice of tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley and other healthy vegetables.

BUT Clamato is cheapest. And tastiest to my esteemed palate. And made in Canada. 🇨🇦




Future of Desalinization

On By Rick McIn clean water, climate change, economics, food, good news, government, product endorsements, things getting betterLeave a comment

For countries where water is plentiful (Canada) and industries where water is a huge fraction of costs, desalination is probably not viable for industry.

BUT for countries where water is already scarce, or for industries that don’t depend mainly on water, bringing desalinated water is completely plausible. Prices continue to drop.

I recall having a hot shower in Saudi Arabia. Great water pressure. … Wondering where the H2O was coming from.

Desalinization plants hundreds of miles distant.

TOMAS PUEYO posted a deep dive.

Does Desalination Promise a Future of Infinite Water?

Heart to Home MEAL Delivery

On By Rick McIn foodLeave a comment

My parents — in their ’90s — still live independently in their own home. And want to keep it that way as long as possible.

Currently they are using a Canadian company called Heart to Home for a few dinners each week.

For example, one of my Mom’s favourites is Orange Chicken. CAD $9.15 delivered free.

That’s just one of 125 lunch / dinner options.

Good value. Little clean-up.

Meals can be put in the microwave — or in the oven for about 30min. So far they’ve only used the oven.

They are delivered with very little seasoning. You must add to taste. (For me ➙ a lot of horseradish and blue cheese. 😀 )

Heart to Home currently offers free* delivery in most of Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba. 

We order meals on Wednesday online or by phone. They are delivered Friday.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.