Long-gone are the days when travel meant tying your belongings neatly in a hankerchief, securing it to the end of a stick and casually slinging it over your shoulder.

These days travel means gadgets, and travel gadgets can be highly technical, including essentials like MP-whatsits on mobile hoo-hahs, with GPRS thing-oes.

Do you have a favourite travel gadget? What do you never travel without?

Jenni Kauppi

OK, I have to admit it: I’m hardly a beer connoisseur. I know what I like and what goes down well on a hot tropical afternoon, but I’m certainly far from as critical as the folks on Ratebeer.com.

That said, I found Vietnamese beers to be an incredibly pleasant surprise. Apart from bia hoi (fresh draught beer), which you can get on almost any street corner for a few cents, there are several national breweries that produce a fine drop. Here’s my take, in order of preference:

1. Huda – Native to Hue, the old imperial capital, Huda is cheap, clean, thoroughly refreshing, and complex enough to sip slowly (if you have the self-control). A huge thumbs-up.

2. Bia Hue – Very similar to Huda, and brewed by the same company, this is a pale lager that sucks up your thirst magnificently. Harder to find than Huda.

3. Bia Ha Noi - North beats South in the battle of Vietnam’s ‘two capitals’. Hanoi’s brew is golden, fizzy and eminently drinkable. It lacks the richness of its Hué counterparts, but it has no bitter aftertaste and sports a pleasant, malty flavour.

4. Bia Sai Gon – Ho Chi Minh City’s answer to Bia Ha Noi, Bia Sai Gon is darker, more honeyed and less carbonated. It’s better for a cool, breezy evening than after a hot day spent dodging scooters.

5. Halida – Produced in North Vietnam under the supervision of Carlsberg, Halida is an OK drop. Cheaper than chips and almost as uncarbonated, Halida can leave a full feeling in your stomach and a slightly bitter aftertaste. It’s a fine accompaniment to spring rolls or bun, though.

6. Bia Festival – Easily the worst of the three big Hué beers, Festival is overpriced and slightly sour. Go for Huda instead.

7. Bia 333 – Pronounced ‘ba ba ba’ (don’t ask me about tones!), 333 might not be quite as poor as Festival, but the weight of expectation sends it to the bottom of the list. It’s supposedly an ‘export-quality’ beer, but it’s horribly disappointing. If you want full flavour, go for Sai Gon; if you want a great balance, go for Huda.

Again, these are just the opinions of a complete dilettante. Anyone been to Vietnam who can recommend better/other beers, or improve this list?

– Vivek Wagle

Let’s do the Time Warp again

It’s not hard to be a bit of a sophisticate these days. Most people know a shiraz from a cab sav and can wax lyrical on the pleasures of a lovely, room temperature, washed-rind cheese. But some days, it can all get a bit much and you feel the need to turn your back on gourmet gentrification in favour of simpler times. In some of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, you can still find time-warped treasures doling out old school rissoles, instant coffee or greasy fried eggs while all around them, foams and foie gras abound. I respect the grim militancy of Sydney’s ancient Oceanic Café, adore the homespun rudeness of Melbourne’s Scheherazade. I have traced my initials in the greasy film adorning the laminex tabletops of London’s New Piccadilly and chowed down on the signature tuna salad sandwich with pickles at New York’s Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, which proudly, prophetically sports a sign that reads ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

Care to share any of your favourite time-warp eateries?

- Nancy Drool

Fancamp has been set-up to cater to football fans who will gather all over Europe to witness the first ‘All England’ Champions league final between Chelsea and Man United. It promises secure, convenient accomodation with bonuses including in-house hair & make-up artists and ‘fairly-priced’ beer.

The actual digs are a little spartan: somewhere between a monk’s cell and a polling booth.

Keep in mind, the game is being played in Moscow, Fancamp is in Vienna.

The Viennese are obviously keen to avoid Manchester’s fate at the hands of Rangers fans watching the Uefa cup final last week.

This all got me thinking. If it’s alright for football fans, why not other types of travellers? One of these could cater to young Aussies in London – they all live in crowded sharehouses, why not set-up a giant sharehouse along the lines of the FanCamp model.

FanCamp: cramped hellhole or budget accomodation solution?

If you’re worried about the hobbit-sized ecological footprint you leave every time you jet off to discover the world, you may be interested to know about ‘carbon offset’ companies, like Carbonfund.org who’ll repent your sins for a nominal fee.

Hey, with all those new low-cost airlines, there may just be an opening in your travel budget.

What’s your experience of carbon offset travel?

Jenni Kauppi