Greetings Beloved Ones and welcome to our Mystical Southeast Asian Adventure of 09-10!
We have spent the first three days of our trip relaxing in Dalat, a former French colonial resort town in the mountains north of Saigon. Having only been to Saigon and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam on our previous trip, Dalat is a refreshing change. The temperature is cool (about 20 degrees celcius during the day), sunny and dry. There is a definite European vibe in town and its surrounds, with beautiful French villas, cosy restaurants with stained glass windows and of course plentiful supplies of baguettes! After our arrival on Thursday night, Friday was spent exploring the town on foot - taking in the local market, parks and beautiful colourful architecture, as well as the Hang Nga Crazy House. This guesthouse was designed by a Moscow-trained Vietnamese architect (who was also the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's successor). It is extremely weird and trashy and hard to describe in words - hopefully the pictures will give you an idea. Yesterday we rented a motorbike to explore the countryside around town. Our aim was to find a waterfall and traditional silk centre we had read about in the guide book, but we got extremely lost and befuddled on the country roads, which all seemed to go in a big loop leading to the same place (i.e. not the waterfall). A friendly monk was very keen to help us but spoke no English except '500 metres'. He found us highly amusing. Despite our epic failure it was a lovely drive on the winding mountain roads (if somewhat nerve wracking!) Tomorrow morning we plan to set off on a motorbike trip further north. We have chosen to explore the central highlands rather than take the coastal tourist route. Jack is keen to drive himself for this leg, so we will be hiring an 'Easy Rider' tour guide who will drive with us, carrying our backpacks and helping us to not get lost! The first night of the tour will be spent in Lak Lake, and the second in Kon Tum.
Other activities have included relaxing, beer drinking and eating wonderful food! It is easy to live like a king and queen with beer for under $1 and amazing meals for between $2 and $4. Dalat is a Vietnamese honeymoon hotspot, and we are often treated like newlyweds when dining out (obviously, we enjoy exaggerating this role). Amongst the most delightful of the culinary delights we have enjoyed so far are caramelised fish hotpot, roast rabbit with french fries (on the 'Western' menu) and chocolate pie!
Hope you enjoy the pics and that all is well at home!
J & T xoxox
