Shanghai - Stag

Typical of most stag weekends, there's not a whole lot of photo evidence. Going through my phone, there's only two pictures that were taken over the course of this weekend (See below). Thankfully enough, the memories are still fresh in my mind. I arrive into Shanghai conscious of the delays that plague most PRC airports. The last time I was in Shanghai, my flight was delayed by over 4 hours - today, taking a midday flight, it's a little better. 

This trip into Shanghai would be slightly different to the last few visits, the groom has a friend from Shanghai who has organised everything. Golf, Go-karting, local cuisine which all come together for a memorable 'last hurrah' for the groom-to-be. 

You don't win friends with salad

Is there anything more anti-social than being vegetarian?

The upside is that I'm cooking more and experimenting with non-meat based cooking!

Mushroom, Barley and Quinoa Risotto

Kale Pesto Pasta with Cheddar

Spinach, Pear, Ginger smoothie 

 Preparing Frozen Kale for smoothies

 Lunch boxes

Zucchini and white bean minestrone

The holiday formerly known as the wedding

It comes as no surprise that a significant portion of my travel is dictated by weddings. It's a lovely excuse to travel and meet up with friends and family at sometimes new and exciting destinations. The Easter Long weekend was to be the celebration of a friend tying the knot to his partner of eight years. Alas, this was not to be the case. Months before the wedding, the bride called it off leaving the groom with a wedding reservation and a whole lot of questions and what ifs.

Overcoming the initial disappointment, he rallied those who had booked flights and accommodation and hosted a reunion party gathering friends from London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. Dragon Air recently introduced a direct flight to Da Nang from Hong Kong, the upside was that there would be no brutal layover in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, the downside was that it departed at 7:50 Hong Kong time. It would only be fitting that a red eye flight be taken in order to see London friends. The Visa process in Da Nang was something that could only be described as chaos. No system, no procedure, but 45 USD later we each had a Vietnam Visa and were soon speeding off to the Intercontinental to see the groom.

The groom was in high spirits, the honeymoon suite was (as you expect) exquisite and he had ordered a huge spread of food for our arrival. We would make three trips to Hoi An, each time feasting on the delicious Banh Mi and sampling the delicious local food. New and old faces and an epic night on the evening that was supposed to be...