Ecuador – Part 3 – Thao Trang Nguyen

June 2018. Summer 2018. There were two Vietnamese girls who had a passion in traveling and exploring Latin America culture, decided to take a challenge to discover a part of the world where before, back in Vietnam, would they never imagine they could put their feet on. And let me tell you the story of those two Vietnamese girls in that trip. Exciting. Fun. Nervous. Sad. Thrilling. All kinds of emotions. I hope when reading these posts, you could also experience a part of Latin America countries, and who knows, you could – one day – explore Latin America and fall in love with them – just like I do.

This final part I will take you through Ecuador’s food and share with you what I will never forget in this beautiful country.

4. Food

What you never should miss when traveling to another country? Of course, it would be local food. We never can live without eating, right? That’s why I would spend a separate section for food in Ecuador. I guess somehow Latin America food can be similar, but Ecuadorian food also has its specific taste.

Sancochos – a basic soup in Ecuadorian meal with corn, meat, potato and carrot. The taste can be similar to the taste of Vietnamese soup

A basic Ecuadorian rice meal: chicken, rice, salad, beans and banana (I told you banana is everywhere in Ecuador ).

A typical street food in Ecuador. Imagine yourself in the cold weather and can taste something hot, chilly and tasty – what can be better than this. It’s a mixture of a lot of BBQ: you can choose chicken, pork, sausage, etc.

This is not a typical Ecuadorian food, but a typical traveller’s meal – when you get bored of local food and you do not have enough money :))

A luxurious meal for us – This restaurant is actually really good. The owner of the restaurant was also very friendly and kind. She even discounted for us. It was located at the end of La Roda street – which is for pedestrian only and filled up with full of restaurants, bars, shops, etc. If you want to find some places to hang out during night, this place surely cannot be missed – very crowded and fun.

We eat Cevichocho – like a typical snack of Ecuador

It has many things, like a mixture of onions, tomatoes, dried bananas, pork skins, beans, etc.

If you like bread, definitely visit En Dulce. I still remember we actually didnt know this cafeteria – one day we only walked around historic Quito – to do some “important” stuff – then from somewhere, the “bread” smell spreaded around the corner. It was like to tell you “Come here, com here..” And we just followed that smell and reached this coffee shop.

This is Cuy. You can eat with typically $5 for a meal with cuy like this in Banos

If you travel to Banos, you should visit the mecado here, which lots of local food and local drink. For example, this one is where you can buy natural juice and milk shake. Very delicious and suitable for the hot weather in Banos. A cup of Coco Milkshakes, why hesitate?

5. What I will never forget about Ecuador?

“Khi ta ở, chỉ là nơi đất ở

Khi ta đi, đất bỗng hoá tâm hồn”

The poem of Che Lan Vien kept repeating in our head when we had to say good bye to this lovely country. We never thought that one day, we could miss a country like we already lived there for years. Still remember the last day we stayed in Ecuador and prepared to go to Colombia, staying on the car to the bus station, all the memories just suddenly appeared again in our minds. We reminded ourselves of how happy we were during those days, how we had some crazy moments, how many memories we had left in this country.. All became beautiful memories in our heart.

All the things that I told you about Ecuador before: the beautiful and breathtaking scenery of Ecuador like in another planet, like in heaven, the historical sites of historical center of Quito or the delicious food – All can never forget.

But the most unforgettable thing for me is People.

How I can forget the big family at the hostel where we stayed for 10 days there? The husband, the wife, the older son, the younger son or their nephew.. All of them treat us so nice and welcome us to Ecuador with their big hearts.

Or the couple at the Chinese restaurant where we came to eat everyday. We didnt talk much to them, basically because of the language barrier. But we knew somehow we made an impression for each other.

Or some Venezuela guys where we met at the restaurant – through them I knew about the Venezuela situation – how all of them have to go to Ecuador just to free themselves from poverty and violence there and also to find some money to send back home in Venezuela.

Or a French guy and a Korean girl who we happened to meet at the hostel – also travelled alone in Ecuador. The Korean girl went for a solo trip to Latin America or the French guy went to Vietnam before and Vietnam was his first foreign trip also.

Or the two crazy tour guides we met in Banos. We did not know much about each other, but we chatted like we knew each other for a long time already – just stupid stuff but really funny and crazy. We danced, we screamed, we teased. The savage tour guide who even said good bye to us by saying “See you in next life!” Hahaha, savage but so true :))

Or the two local Quito guys – who taught us to dance salsa and showed us around Quito. The difference in culture between us happened – but we figured out it was just a difference in culture and we should understand. Or another one who was so helpful to us – even we havent met, but helped us a lot during the process of visa application.

All of them – I guess – I can only meet once in my life. That’s the interesting thing about life. Some people come to your life once, leave you some memories and you also leave them some memories, then somehow we disappear in our life. But to meet once in our life, it is already so lucky enough for us.

Ecuador – Thank you for giving me these beautiful lessons.

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