Hoang Hau Hotel Dalat

... and traffic that is half decent. The gardens are welll maintained and there are benches dotted along the park where we can sit peacefully and enjoy the view.<br><br>We also went to the big market for a visit; the fruits in tropical countries are hands-down the best. Since we'll have to make do with winter fruits very soon, we decided to take advantage of the offerings here and picked up some fruits-that-taste-like-cake (qua na, can't remember the english ...

... bit of a fruitcake, but pleasant enough....<br> <br>My spirit of adventure was well and truly re-discovered that day :) but I suppose because I'd done so much that day, and had seen pretty much all the town had to offer, I didn't see any reason to hang about any longer (apart from the deliciously cool temperature of course), so after 2 nights, I got myself a bus ticket to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and here I am! I arrived here yesterday ...

... Suisse. The view is simple with the natural Dalat heritage view. We walk 10' to the Dalat market, 1.7km from Dalat Lake, near Domainne De Marie Church, Tran Le Xuan Palace &amp; Ana Mandara Resort.<br><br>I just suggest YK HOME VILLA, DALAT HOTEL for only who like fresh cool air even from the room, simple view (surounding is Dalat citizens houses not too crowded but simple), HOME service (warm, honnest &amp; real ...

... some local cuisine at a little family resturaunt. Wild pork, rice and vegetables and soup was class. Than we headed higher up into the mountains hearing loads of facinating yet horrorfying tales from the war. On to a another house to see rice wine being made with all wastes being fed to pigs and the steam from production heating the water for family use. Rice wine is like potin as it varies in strenght and could put more hairs on your chest than Martin McNally!! We ...

... that Nha Trang is primarily a party town. Every where we went, we were handed fliers advertising free drinks, cheap drink buckets (4-5 shots of hard alcohol mixed with various soft or fruit drinks), and buy one get one free beers. We purchased sarongs to use as beach towels and ended up at a hair salon where Tom &amp; Nick endured buzz cuts from a local Vietnamese woman, after asking her to give them a slight trim. That evening we headed to the restaurant in our hotel ...

... version of Dancing with the Stars - yep, the whole series. The judges are way too soft, they give everyone 9s and 10s.<br><br>Anyway, when we finally got moving (properly), the crazy bus driver who was beeping his horn and overtaking quite irrationally eventually got us to Da Lat 9 and a half hours after our departure. Better late than never! <br><br>Da ...

... below were absolutely beautiful, I found it to be spoiled by the ridiculous number of hearts strewn across the grounds, cheesy statues embracing and staring longingly at each other and swings for two nestled under trees. Perhaps my single status keeps me from appreciating the beauty of love displayed across the valley floor, but I simply couldn't take the place seriously. Especially when swan pedal boats spoil my pictures of the lake or Minnie and ...

... it works. It's weird to think that 10 years ago (ok maybe more) it would've been all bikes... and in another 10 years it will be all cars....<br>After almost 3 months in Asia, it still amazes me how much stuff people carry on mopeds.... families of 5?maybe 7? massive crates.... boxes... panes of glass.... you know it, they'll carry it on a moped... wish my camera was fast enough to get some photos!<br>And I swear the babies here learn how to hold on to a moped ...

... Riding friends. You might notice a slight height difference ;) <br><br> <br><br> <br><br>Next stop was what seemed to be a wooden shack by the side of the road. We wondered where the hell we were stopping, it looked like something from 'Deliverance'! <br><br> <br><br ...

... into the Dalat mountains. <br><br>It was amazing how far up we climbed on the bus, we just kept going round, and up, and round, and up, and round, and up.... <br><br><br><br>The views over the valley were great until we disappeared into the cloud cover! <br><br><br><br>Our ears were popping like mad, so we knew that we must have been pretty high up. <br><br><br><br>The next few hours involved driving up through ...