Nestled amidst the lush plateaus and misty mountains of Vietnam, the charming city of Dalat unveils a tapestry of beauty that captivates the senses. Known as the "City of Eternal Spring," Dalat is a hidden gem beloved by travelers seeking tranquility, breathtaking landscapes, and, of course, gastronomic wonders. During the French occupation of Vietnam, French citizen would often flock to the cooler temperatures of the mountainous region of Dalat to as a get-away from the usual hot and humid climate of the cities and jungle below. This is the reason many buildings look French and have that small French town vibe.

Whenever I introduce people to Vietnamese food, I always tell them that a majority of Vietnamese food is basically a cooked something that turns into a salad wrap. Anything that’s typically fried are traditionally enjoyed by wrapping said fried thing into a piece of lettuce, herbs, and dipped in nước chấm, or a sweet fish sauce based dipping sauce. The Vietnamese love the yin and yang play of textures, and flavors. If there’s something fried, it has to be accompanied by something fresh. This style of cuisine keeps the person eating from getting overly fatigued from eating the same dish. 

I find that I have this strange attraction towards foreign occupation food. It hits all the spots; resourceful, soulful, and extremely delicious. Okinawa taco rice is one of those dishes. This dish originated from the American occupation of Japan after World War 2. The small island of Okinawa flooded with an influx of US military bases, and with it, American soldiers. These Americans weren’t used to the taste of Japanese food like we are today. Instead, they craved the taste of home. And for many of these soldiers, it was Mexican food. Local restaurant owners wanted to capitalize on this food vacuum and thus, taco rice was born.

Camp cooking gets a bad rap. It’s either known to be freeze-dried backpacker meals that require boiling water, premade food that can easily be reheated, or the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. There’s an air of inconvenience whenever the topic of cooking at camp gets brought up. 

“It’s a hassle.”

“Camp meals are just for sustenance.”

“I hate doing dishes.”

Times have changed. The economy has changed. Budgets are tighter. The landscape of food has changed. Chinese take-out is no longer considered an exotic cuisine. Kale has become an accepted part of contemporary salads. Cooking at home has become a haute couture again for families and households that watch their pocketbook. People love food and love talking about food. These sentiments also moved onto the world of camp cooking. Hamburgers and hot dogs have been replaced by street-style carne asada tacos, kimchi egg fried rice, or chicken adobo.

Karissa and I were peacefully woken up from our slumber by the sound of soft waves breaking on the beach. It was a distant, but gentle, pop. It was infrequent, but just frequent enough that, through our crusty, dreary, eyes, we were curious enough about it to poke our heads out the tent’s window.

Pop... pop... pop….

Our eyes strained to focus against the tent’s mosquito netting. But it didn’t take long for us to spot the source of the noise: a distant pod of whales playfully slapping their fins on the calm pink and purple predawn water. 

There’s no such thing as a perfect travel vehicle. It has quickly become a social media hot take to get those precious, precious clicks. Overlanding is a very personal type of lifestyle. No one truck, or setup, can be considered perfect for a wide swath of people with very different outdoor lifestyles, cultures, interests, or ways of living. Not everyone wants to rock crawl for endless miles to poop in a hole. Some prefer the calmer routes that lets them experience the world around them. Everyone brings something different to the table. Everyone has different needs, and check boxes. Just because the market is currently pushing everyone to own full-sized trucks with slide in, or flat bed, campers, does not mean that’s the way forward.

As an avid cook, I find building a relationship with your ingredients is incredibly important. These relationships form the more you use them. I quickly started to know what good, and not so good, products were and where to get them. The more I cooked, especially with any kind of animal protein, the more I wanted to be a part of the whole process —from hunt to plate.

When you cross the finish line of a marathon, you can finally take that first initial sigh of relief. Months of training for the race lead up to that very moment. You did it. You’re finished. You did a great job of getting there. You kept to your stringent training diet, you kept going to the gym, and you gritted your teeth and showed up to those Saturday morning 6am mileage runs. But, after receiving your medal, taking in a few much needed after-race refreshments, you know that’s when the hurt really starts. You take your trainer mandated ice bath, then a massage, and followed only by days of leg stiffness and pain.

We’ve been very fortunate with our two dogs, Kyia and Stella. They’re easy going and they very much look forward to outdoor adventures. Best of all? The two of them love being on the road. Here’s a few tips to keep your furry family members happy and healthy when they’re traveling on the road with you.

There’s nothing worse than stopping for lunch on a hot day to have a dry and unsatisfying sandwich. We’ve all been there. Here’s a few tips before the heading into the long weekend to have the most enjoyable sandwich as possible on those quick lunch stops along the trail or at camp.

Living in the moment is something I always find myself struggling with. We patiently waited for the winter weather, and our schedules, to align for our trip to Yosemite National Park. We’re always on winter weather-watch. We missed most of the big snow dumps this season, and was quickly becoming late season. Snow days were becoming rarer and rarer….

So, the dust has settled. We’ve finally come to the realization that this 1994 Land Cruiser Troop Carrier RV is actually ours, and not a figment of our imagination. It’s a real thing. Take a walk around the truck with us as we go through how the Troopy came to us from Australia, and how it was modded by the previous owner.