Golf 2 Hotel Dalat

My plan was to go along the coast by train, if possible, but the weather conditions and the flooding meant that I had to fine another route. So it inland to Da Lat which sounded nice set in hills and from where I might be able to go elephant riding. So it was goodbye to the sea and as we headed in land in the minibus the road deteriorated and there were potholes everywhere which made the going really slow. The five hour journey was quite ...

... capacity effort and I think I lost a few pounds in weight today with the effort! Plus, when a guide asks you if you've put sun tan lotion on, he's doing you a favour...clearly I ignored him and ended up with a burnt neck, and a reminder to self for next time! <br><br>We also visited an offshoot of one of the hill tribe villages, the Chill people. Ro clearly had a good relationship with them, but I still felt a bit uncomfortable coming to look at them ...

... instantly at home. The 4-shower days are quickly becoming 1-shower days. <br><br>We're in a little mini hotel that is clean and cute, the host seems genuinely nice and helpful. Since we got enough minibus for a few days, we'll hire a private car to go sightseeing tomorrow since rain will be in the forecast for the next few days.<br><br>PS: Sorry, we were enjoying the show so much we forgot to take a picture of the bus in the mud! It would've been droll.<br>

... to see loads:<br>1. Linh Son Pagoda - very pretty<br>2. Domaine de Marie Convent - very pink! We also saw the nuns making the goods they sell in the shop.<br>3. Nang Nga Crazy House - this used to be a guest house that's totally crazy! The rooms each have a different theme. It's hard to explain and, unfortunately, we don't have photos as the camera got wet and broke! (Here is where you can see some photos: http://www.vietnamtraveltour.net/hang-n ga-crary-house-da-lat.html)<br>4 ...

... and the driver, going to beautiful Pagodas (buddist temple), ELEPHANT RIDING (loved that particularly) and going around other touristy things - It really was great.<br><br>So tomorrow we head away on our 'off the beaten track' trail with Binh and Lan. Its exciting and scary at the same time but it'll be great. So we gotta sign off now until the weekend. Somehow I doubt very much that the Ho Chi Minh trail has wifi!!<br><br>Tam biet (bye)!<br><br>

... me at pool (Davis she has the thirst again and is coming to get you!!) and then by the Arsenal beating themselves at Old trafford. That will teach me to slag off poor wee liverpool eh. Of course it wont a world without slagging the scousers is a world I dont want to be a part off!! I can feel the love Aiden and Gareth!! Anyhoo got a 12 hour overnight bus to Hoi An the next day. Hoi An is a wee river town that is a Unesco World Heritage site and is a lovely wee cute ...

... Church and past the large lake scattered with "romantic" rented swan boats, as seen on every lake in the middle of a tourist district. I had read in my book that Da Lat is a common place for the Vietnamese to spend a honeymoon. <br><br>At this point our spirits were fairly high. Although we'd gone the wrong way twice, we were enjoying Da Lat. We decided we were hungry and also wanted to try to book either a trek or a canyoning trip for the next day so we tried to make our ...

... br>Things we checked out:<br><br>Hang Nga Crazy House- The<br>closest thing I can compare to the Crazy house is the Winchester<br>Mystery House back in CA. The owner is still in the process of building<br>more rooms and completing her grand designs and happened to be giving<br>orders to someone while we were there. <br><br>Each room is very<br>creative and different from the next. There are a lot of staircases all<br>over the place and many of them lead to a wall ...

... I hold back a tear...<br><br>I take my time walking the few steps from the plane to the baggage carousel, which takes up nearly the length of the airport. I stake out a spot, wait for my luggage, and brace myself as the Vietnamese passengers begin to crowd around and stick to me like magnets - they have no sense of space here - just like standing in line in Europe - might as well hop on my back and go for a piggy ...

... br><br>It was like a mini Niagara! <br><br> <br><br>We thought this would be the end of the walk, but then they asked us if we wanted to walk UNDER the falls, which also sounded cool, so off we set... <br><br> <br><br>There was this open cavern underneath where ...