"Are you going to be alright driving after that?"

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So the next morning feeling a little bit hazy from Beer Saigon we awoke before 8:30 to go and meet Mr Lok. We realised that we didn't really know what was happening and how the whole process would work. We had visions of the two of us on the back of a scooter with a pensioner trying to keep the bike standing as we pelted round the countryside.

When we got downstairs we found two bikers but no Mr Lok. Apparently he had another commitment so instead we were to have Mr Hong and Mr Lot. They were again older gentlemen but to our immense relief they had a bike each and matching helmets for me and Emma (a big fashion faux pas).

Both the Easy Riders spoke amazing English and as we set off they started describing the plans for the day. We stopped first at a Pagoda on the edge of the town which was adorned with lots and lots of animals, the most prominent being dragons. We were told about the significance of these animals and the traits that came with them - luck, strength, wealth, health and also that some of the monks here practiced a religion that incorporated elements of Buddhism, Catholicism and other religions.

Back on the bikes and we were off to see some local farmers at work. We were worried that this would seem a bit forced and rude to speed through these peoples lives whilst they were just working but the atmosphere was very relaxed and the people really friendly happy to either pose for photos or tell us about themselves.

Our guides explained how the climate in Dalat meant it was the only place that could grow certain crops in Vietnam. This included onions, cabbage, tomatoes and even strawberries which were used to make Jam and Wine. We were then sent up a hill which was supposed to be a romantic walk where we could hold hands and enjoy the view. This would have been true if we hadn't arrived at the summit out of breath and drenched in sweat. The view was fantastic and such a contrast from everything we had seen so far. The pine trees and farms made us feel a little bit closer to home.

We made it back to the bottom and headed onwards with our guides. From talking to Mr Hong we got a good feel of what it had been like after the war. He had been a lieutenant in after the war and trained people to be officers. He told us how people had to rely on their one harvest and each family would grow one vegetable. This often meant that family's could not afford to feed themselves at the set prices. To combat this they would grow food or livestock in secret and when it was ready would have to cook it and eat it that night under cover of darkness. He painted a fairly grim picture but he was pleased to say that the country was finally back on its feet and the best he had ever seen it.

We stopped off next at a flower farm where thanks to the climate flowers here are grown and sent all over the world. There were loads of greenhouses setup as far as the eye could see and they were growing massive flowers. Across the road were people working at packing them up ready to be sent to Hong Kong and apparently they had just sent a load of roses to Europe for Valentines day.

Next stop on the road was a coffee farm where the plants were grown. Apparently they don't roast the beans here but they harvest them leave them to dry in the sun and then ship them elsewhere to be turned into the good stuff we have been drinking out here. We got to eat some of the fresh fruit (not too tasty).

Again we sped off from here to the next sight which was a silk farm where silk worms were grown to make some of the beautiful local garments we had been seeing. We were told by Mr Hong that the worms were allowed to build their cocoon for as long as possible but before they turned into a moth (tested by seeing if they rattled when you shook them) they had to be put in boiling water to extract the silk cocoons. There was then a machine setup to pull these apart and then a loom which used cards to print a specific pattern on the silk. We were very tempted to buy something straight from here but even thought it was half the price we left it as Emma already had too many clothes.

Are you getting tired of this yet? We were pretty knackered from the early morning and slight hangover. We headed next to the elephant waterfalls and actually managed to get right underneath the falls. This was both treacherous climbing over slippery rocks but also beautiful when you got underneath the thundering falls. We clambered back up and went to the nearby pagoda which had the added bonus of a giant laughing white Buddha. This was one of the most amusing and impressive sights we had seen so far and we spent some time posing with him.

Finally after this our Easy Riders suggested that we go and get something to eat. They took us to a restaurant full of other people on the same sort of tour (obviously some sort of an agreement with the owners) and ordered for us. We were brought a table full of different plates to try accompanied by the obligatory bowl of rice. This was by far one of the best meals so far just for the sheer diversity. We got to try out a lot of new dishes such as la lot which was spicy beef mince wrapped in a banana leaf. We were so hungry we even forgot to take a photo of the food before we wolfed it all down. The conversation at the table also made a nice change as our local guides ate with us and talked about their country. I was told that men who do not smoke and drink coffee are "gay". Emma was amazed that he had worked this our about me after only 6 hours.

We were well into the afternoon by this point and began the trip back along the road to the town. There were two more stops on the way. One was to see a woman making traditional brushes from what looked like straw. We were told that after Tet (New Year), it was custom to buy 2 of these brushes to last the year. The next stop was more for our guides benefit than ours we think. It was to see local rice wine being made. We wandered into the back of a shed attached to someones house past huge piles of rice sacks and the biggest pig we have ever seen. In the back there was a distillery and happy looking man who was moving liquid around from various containers.

Here we got to sample some fresh undiluted rice wine (60% proof) and our guide took away 2 litre water bottle full of it. Whilst we drank we were told how the pig was the happiest in Dalat as he got to eat the waste from the distillery. As a result it usually got stinking drunk and fell asleep. It would then wake up and hungover go back to eating as much as it could manage before falling asleep drunk again. After a few more small glasses we bought a bottle of the 45% stuff to take away.

We then arrived back in Dalat to got to the church and were offered a tour of the crazy house again. As we had already been we were dropped of by our tour operator to book our ticket out of Dalat the next day. We thanked our guides and were sad that we would spend the next day on a bus rather than riding a bike to Nha Trang.

After booking our bus for the next day we wandered back to our hotel and once again managed to get distracted. There was a market with livestock and not-so-livestock being sold. Emma felt for the chickens and fish who just upon making their escape would be caught again by the tough Vietnamese women on the stall. Inspired by our trip we grabbed some strawberries and headed back to our room for a cheap bowl of pho and an early night.

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Photos

Strawberry Fields (forever)
It will kill Emma to know that the Beatles made it into this blog - hahaha

Whats the fastest way to get Emma down a hill
Chase her