We survived a typhoon!

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Well we now know why the waves were so big and why it was stormy for our last day in Mui Ne Beach. There was a typhoon coming. We were sleeping in these little bamboo bungalows on the beach and were woken up by huge winds and coconuts and trees flying everywhere. The power then went out. During the night we had no idea it was a typhoon, we just thought it was a normal storm. When we woke up the next day the streets and houses and buildings looked pretty destroyed. The roads were very hard to drive on because they were covered in sand from the beach that the wind had blown up. Pretty scary stuff! About 9000 homes were destroyed and 50 people died in the towns around us.

We then carried on up to the mountain range of Dalat. It is alot colder here than anywhere else on our trip. Probably about 25 degrees. All the vietnamese are shivering with their big winter jackets, toques and scarves while we are still hot...haha. Dalat is a really nice french colonial city set deep in the hills. The hills are brightly colored with beautiful houses, temples and parks. It is alot nicer than i was expecting.

Today we went on a tour of the city and the outskirts on a couple of motorbikes called easy riders. easy riders are a group of about 30 guys that can speak excellent english and take you around the city or even around the country if you would like. So we went to a bunch of different tourist spots. We went to this hotel called the crazy house. It is a really cool themed hotel that is made looking like tree roots, spider webs and a bunch of different types of animals. Its hard to explain but it was cool. We also went to a beautiful waterfall. It had a random roller coaster type thing that went from the top to the bottom it was quite interesting too. There were a few other cool cultrues stops we made but they all dont need a description. Anyways this town is another quiet one not alot to do but drink wine and eat strawberries. It has the largest export of fruits and vegetables out of anywhere in asia. Anyways we move again tomorrow to Nha Trang! take care everyone!

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Photos

The road after the typhoon!
All the sand from the beach covered the road

Crazy House
Doesn't look like much in the picture but it was pretty cool!

Chinese Pagoda
This to me looks more like an amusement park then a religious site.

Comments

[Dad]

You survived
Hi guys! I am glad you survivied the high winds of the typhoon. I am thinking that must have been very scary for you guys. I hope you have better weather, and continue to update us. Christmas decorating will start next week in the house. Take care and write soon.; Love dad

[Mom]

Sounds like a wild night!! So happy you are okay. The tree is up and decorated, and the whole house is very Christmassy. Open house as usual on xmas eve, and I wish you were going to be home. I will miss you so much. This is the first xmas that we will not be all together. You will be in my heart and thoughts over the holidays. The best xmas present ever would be to hear you voice on the phone, if possible. All is well here and I will email you soon. Love mom