Dig,Deep,Chi,Vietnam,Normal,fa travel,insurance A Dig Deep in Cu Chi Vietnam

Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chile’s national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}Everyone knows what put Cu Chi district in Southern Vietnamon the map. This is where Vietnamese soldiers doggedly battled against themight of the US military machine by digging tunnels, which served as thelaunching pad for the let Offensive in 1968. Besides climbing down into the skinny tunnels, or firing anAK47, there is another activity for tourists: hunting mice. The rodents in therice field are gathered anyway by local farmers who are fond of thit chuotnuong (grilled mice). I'm slightly troubled by the thought of this Coming from thecity, when I hear the word  "chuot",I think of big, ugly rats climbing up smelly drains, no doubt carrying amillion germs or some kind of infectious disease. But my well-informedcolleague assures me that in Cu Chi, the word "chuot” also used for fieldmice. These critters feed off the rice grains in the fields rather than rubbishor waste, and thit chuot nuong is something of a delicacy only the wealthy canafford. Early one morning,our office staff decides to head to Cu Chi to find out more. The plan is to seehow the farmers catch and process the mice, and enjoy a grilled treat on thefield. Joining forces with local farmers, we set off at 9am with all thenecessary equipment: raincoats, firewood, spices, peppers and beer!The farmers also carry hoes, shovels, cages and other toolsfor catching mice. Mice are concentrated in rice fields covered by water andfar from local communities. So first, we jump on a small boat and make our waytowards the rice fields. The district is peaceful and picturesque with a clearblue sky and a gentle breeze blowing across the yellow fields. White ducksleisurely swim down the canals, which are covered by water hyacinth fernsdotted with their violet flowers. Soon, we land and our team immediately gets to work. Onegroup from our office spread out raincoats to sit on and prepare wood for afire. Meanwhile, the rest of us join the farmers in the hunt for mice. Withyears of experience, the farmers quickly find "hot spots" where theyknow mice will be in abundance. They dig soil by the mouth of the caves toscare the mice into abandoning their haven; whenever a mouse runs out of itscave, it's caught by hand, sometimes with the help of a dog. If a mouse runs into the trees or hides in the rice fields,farmers use a kind of homemade taser to jolt the mouse with electricity. Thereis an excitement in the air as the farmers and dogs round up mice in spite ofthe rain, which starts to fall as we walk through the field. I look around forsomewhere to take shelter but there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, for meor the mice. One of the farmerslaughs at me cowering in the rain. "Cu Chi residents are very strong as weeat mice," he says. "Maybe you'll feel better after you eatsome." After our cages fill up with mice and the rain stops, we headback to meet the others. Unfortunately, the downpour has laid our plans of abarbeque to rest, but one of the farmer's kindly invites us to his houseinstead. One of the female farmer's kindly lends some dry clothes,while the mice meat is prepared for grilling. This involves charring the miceon a bed of straw to make it easier to remove the fur and skin. The mice arethen cleaned with water and ready to go. A farmer tells me that a kilo of micesells for VND200,000 ($9.7). He adds that after each hunt, his family keepsabout 20 mice to make a meal and sells the rest. The mice end up on restaurantmenus around Cu Chi or in Ho Chi Minh City. The seasoning includes garlic, shallots, lemon grass, chilies,fish sauce, black pepper and turmeric. The meat is marinated then placed on agrill and cooked. The meat cooks quickly and soon we are ready to eat. I'mastonished by the taste. Mouse meat is sweet and tender, better than quail orfrog in my humble opinion. We devour the meat with slices of “banh mi” and “rauram” (Vietnamese coriander). Who would have guessed its so delicious? Field mice in Cu Chi are considered to be a local delicacy.Local farmers sell cleaned and prepared rodents for VND200,000 a kilo TheTime