Anh Dao Hotel Dalat

... plane tickets, we exchanged some travellers cheques at the bank on the way; Pierre says it was faster when he signed for his mortgage. Good grief, we exchanged $300 US, not $3M but it is what it is...<br><br>The City of Dalat is a bit run down outside of the city centre but downtown is really very nice and much cleaner than the city of Sapa. It has a fabulous lake and a golf course, pretty lakeside cafes and restaurants, friendly people who smile ...

... for the next day (on a proper bike this time, not these silly little things that most of the guys ride). <br><br>The great thing about these guys is you can more or less tailor the tour to suit what you want, (ie. for me:- heavy on the natural sights and countryside, less of the temples please), so I spent the day riding high up into the mountains, to admire the rainforest, and visiting spectacular waterfalls and lakes. My driver, Tue, was ...

I checked all these hotels: PINK HOUSE (old, not too clean. crowded, cheap only 14$ per night); NOVOTEL (4 star hotel, small room about 20m2, old, around 60$/room but I feel the rate is too expensive compare to price); DREAMS HOTEL (block house, few rooms in front have window, near the business street, noisy with 25$/room)...before choose to stay in YK HOME VILLA, DALAT HOTEL.<br><br>YK HOME VILLA, DALAT HOTEL is owned by a ...

... is the second biggest producer of coffee in the world after Brazil. I had no idea it was even in the top ten. We then went to a small family run silk factory and seen the whole process from worm to cocoon to thread to weaving lovely fabric and after that went to an amazing waterfall where a path allowed us to get right down to the bottom of the watefall where the cold spray was class on a hot day. Seen some traditional hand weaving of silk before we headed off ...

... jolted from side to side and accompanied by a sudden burst of the sound of metal rubbing metal that not even my ipod can drown out. Tom, Nick and I were the striving members of our clan, the rest of the group having taken off in different directions at different times. After breakfast at our hotel with the boys, I headed back to bed, not feeling well from the journey. That afternoon, Tom, Nick and I explored the area surrounding our hotel, coming to the conclusion (as we had ...

... the Malcolm in the Middle episode where the family gets stuck in traffic for hours. Anyway, after sitting on the side of the road for about an hour, we began to see some movement - Yay! But not for long, about 20 meters up the road, we stuck again for about another 30 minutes. Boo :-(<br><br>Luckily (?) the bus had a TV, and we were treated to the ...

... to name a few. Below the building rests a crocodile pit, a garden with large spider webs stretching from tree to tree, mushrooms to sit upon, and a dark cave sprouting glistening stalactites and stalagmites. I know, weird. <br><br>Even more weird and bizarre was our last stop "The Valley of Love." Oh yes, as it names implies, the valley was certainly filled with a lot of love...or at least symbols indicative of love. Though the valley and the ...

... stood by and watched while we invaded Iraq...<br><br>After that depressing thought we went for a local snack in a local park... it was a nice quiet refuge from the mopeds etc.<br>Honestly, picture like a million mopeds in a city with not much traffic control.... madness... but it all works..... That day we practised crossing the road!! Even with 20 mopeds coming at you, you just have to walk out in a steady pace and let them weave around you... mad! But like I ...

... of flowers (yawn) we got back on the bikes and climbed up to one of the high points of the mountains, which offered some gorgeous views over the valley below. <br><br> <br><br>We had a quick break at this point, so we grabbed some quick piccies with our new ...

... back on the bus, and after 2 pointless and excessive stops at various holes in the ground ('cafes', technically) we started climbing up into the Central Highlands of Vietnam. <br><br>A few hours later we finally stopped somewhere interesting, a glimpse of a hillside temple which we couldn't be bothered to walk up to, thank God for big zoom lenses ;) <br><br> <br><br>Soon enough we were back on the bus and climbing ...