Tourist heaven
Trip Start
Apr 09, 2008
1
55
115
Trip End
Apr 19, 2009
Dalat,
Vietnam
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The day after that was beautiful weather sun shining, clear skies etc. I decided that I would have to take my opertunity. I employed one of the moto drivers for the day. They are everywhere and never stop shouting at you to take a tour so it was easy to find someone. He suggested some things I might like to see including pagodas, waterfalls and countryside. I said ok but I would rather see a coffee plantation of a silk factory or the place where they make noodles. (I had heard that these were in the area thanks to the guide book and other moto drivers offering tours) The tour turned out to be great.
My driver spoke to me about the american war and about communism. He confermed my theory that all Vietnam is a communist country, captialism is in fact the system people work by. Vietnamese people say "your head is communist but your stomach is capitalist". He also told me that although he was happy to talk to me about politicas out in the countryside back in town I should not mention it. He told me that once a couple he had taken on a tour had written to him thanking him for talking to them about the war and that he had got into trouble over it. He also said it wasn't safe to talk politics in cafes or by email because there is always someone listening. I was amazed that this stuff still exists.
Apart from that he gave me a tour of cottage industries. Every house hold hasseveral businesses on the go, growing coffee, making goods such as brooms to sell at market. I also got to see a noodle factory in some guys garden, a silk factory which was incredible, like some victorian work house. I saw a blacksmith at work, coffee pickers and the beans laid out to dry in the sun. And also a man who made rice wine, the smell in his work shop was delicious I could have stayed there all day. He also made smake wine which basically means rice wine with a snake in the bottle, the poison of the snake infuses the wine and after some time changes from poison to add flavour to the rice wine which normally it has to be said is quite flavourless. He told me that rice wine varies from 70% to 30% proof.
On the more traditional vietnamese tour side we saw a waterfall where a cave allowed you to walk underneathand I got really wet but it was nice the first time I have ever seen the back of a waterfall. We saw a couple of pagodas including the dragon pagoda where monkey from the chinese TV series stands outside. Also the catholic pagoda where the outside is chinese style pagoda and the inside is catholic church. The countryside around Da Lat is beautiful to and I quite enjoyed just riding from place to place looking out over the hills and fields.
The next day was my last in Da Lat, I went to look around the market which is always a good way to waste time. Colours and sounds and things to see, I actually saw a huge rat climbing under one of the stalls which put me off staying as I was only wearing flip flops. I bought two of the cheap and delicious sandwiches found everywhere in Vietnam; french bread being one of the things that stuck after the french occupation. After that I took the 3 hour bus though more gorgeous scenery to Mui Ne and the sea.
