Dalat:

March 2nd, 2005 - March 3rd, 2005

Greetings...

Yesterday morning we left on a smaller bus for Dalat. We were told the journey would take 8.5 hours; however, our driver took a shortcut over the mountains on a winding gravel road through what looked like a construction sight for a massive hydro-electrical project. That shaved 4 hours off the trip and gave us a whole afternoon of sightseeing in Dalat.

We wandered through the former French hill station to the centre of town. There are tons of hills and walking proves to be quite a workout - especially after a week on the beach. The temperature is nice and temperate here because of the location which provides a good break for us northern folk!

Speaking of temperature, we were told by a friend in Hanoi that because it dropped below 10 degrees all the elementary schools were closed; if it goes below 8 degrees then the secondary schools close as well! Good thing they don't have that rule in Canada or there would be no school most of the year!

Anyway, Dalat is beautiful and peaceful. We walked along the lake to the flower gardens on the edge of town. They had a big flower festival there last year and are gearing up for another one in the spring. We were too tired to walk back up the hill to get home so we took a taxi!

Last night they showed the Oscars on TV here... a few days late, but at least we were able to see them.

Today we arranged a full day tour with a local group of guys called the "Easy Riders". They are an organization of bikers who ride around on old German and Russian motorcycles and look like, well, an Easy Rider!

It was great. They took us to nice pagodas, into the countryside to view a Kho village (minority group in Vietnam), to a waterfall, and other various sites around Dalat. The ride was great as the roads were mostly smooth and hilly with beautiful scenery.

Of interest is that most of the religious buildings are only about 10-15 years old because under communism they were not allowed to build such buildings; however, the restrictions have been eased and permits easier to get and thus the rebirth of the building of these sites in Vietnam.

The Kho village is known as "Chicken Village" due to the large concrete chicken statue that was erected in town based on a local myth!

There were lots of coffee plantations in the area - coffee is a big thing here. They grow a lot of it and when it is served in restaurants it is really strong. It is by far the best coffee we have had on our trip.

At one of our stops today - a monastery - there was a huge rural family from the Mekong Delta visiting. As Jess and I walked by they all started grabbing us wanting to touch "white people"! It's been a while since that happened so we were a bit taken aback. Then one old lady kept coming up to us and touching our arms. It was a bit weird...

That was after a group of people at the flower garden yesterday made us pose in their family photo! Crazy what these people think makes a good picture...

As I look out the window it is starting to pour rain - it is very much like home here. It is nice to see the rain, only the third place on the whole trip it has rained (behind Calcutta and Luang Prabang).

Tomorrow we head back to the beach and the town of Nha Trang. We only plan to stay overnight and visit the mud baths before carrying on to Hoi An.

NEXT ENTRY