Thien An Hotel Dalat

Na onze missie in Nha Trang is het tijd om de bus naar Dalat te nemen. Wegens het zwaar tegenvallen van de nachtbus hebben we onze reis nu opgesplitst in kortere stukken. Dat wil zeggen niet meer dan 5 uur op de bus zitten. Heerlijk denk je dan. Alles wijst er naar uit dat de busrit naar Dalat ook heerlijk zal verlopen. De bus zag er comfortabel uit, niet teveel volk en we konden van het uitzicht genieten. Ben al blij dat we zo goed als zeker van Janssen en Janssen af zijn. (heeft er ook niet...

Give us any mode of transportation except the bus... don't think we'll want to see the inside of a bus for years to come after we return home from this trip.

There are 3 ways to get from Nha Trang, on the coast, to Dalat, in the central highlands of the country:
- by large bus, which would take 6-7 hours since it has to stick to the main roads
- by mini bus, which would take 3-3.5 hours since it can take the roads through the mountains
- by motorbike, which we'd rather eat BB...

Yesterday was a great day! It had finally stopped raining and the temperature is about 17-18 C under cloudy skies. Pierre is happy as a bug in the rug, he loves this type of climate.

We booked a tour through the hotel for the day, along with our new found friends from Montreal. It was almost a private tour: with the four of us, the guide and a considerate and safe driver in a minivan. Off we go on a day of learning.

First stop: a pagoda with giant dragons. In VN, there are 4 my...

we ended up staying in Nha Trang only one night. Its mostly beaches and since we'd spent so much time in Hoi An and China Beach, we decided to head out the next day. By our open bus itinerary, we were supposed to head to Saigon next via overnight bus, but eunice and I decided to change our plans (again, being flexible) and head west toward the Vietnamese highlands. In the lonely planet guide book (which we've been fairly disappointed with, by the way), it spoke of Dalat city as the vietnamese...

Our bus ride was much more pleasant this time, thanks to the picturesque countryside and beautiful mountain scenery of Da Lat and the surrounding villages. For those of you needing more information, Da Lat is located among the hills of Lang Bian plateau in the Southern highlands (thank you Lonely Planet). After driving up lots of steep winding roads, Nick and I arrived late Saturday afternoon and made our way to our hotel (this time not by motorbike taxi, thank the Lord). The hotel was lovely...

With intermittent rain still falling (damn Vietnam), I decided to head to a nearby small village, Trai Mat, to both check out the old Dalat railway and see a village temple. Both were nice, but nothing too interesting to report. Upon returning to Dalat, I visited the Crazy House to meet up with Chris, Art, and Jackie, who had gone off with a local that Art somehow knew. The Crazy House is a growing work of architecture housing a surreal complex of structures with winding hallways, Tim Burtoni...

My final two days in Saigon were spent wandering the streets aimlessly. Did a little shopping here and there and hung out in coffee shops to escape the heat and avoid my hotel. Though the hotel had decent ratings, I certainly found a lot to be picky about, especially after those lovely hotels in Phnom Penh. But honestly, I think you would all agree that living in a cell for two days would be quite unbearable. Plus, there was a construction site on the other side of my wall. Not only did I get...

Had a busy day in Dalat. Started with an amazing breakfast, family style. Sat in the manager's kitchen while his wife and kids whipped up an incredible feast for me and three other guests. Fresh fruit - bananas, pineapple, dragon fruit, homemade passion fruit juice, eggs to your liking, baguettes with homemade strawberry jam, ham/bacon, avocados, tomatoes, the list goes on...

Booked a Dalat city tour, as most of the sites are spread across the hilly town. Had very bizarre weather throu...

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