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Published: January 20th 2011
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We left Mui Ne to head for the central highlands of Vietnam into a rural town called Dalat. The bus journey up was a bit crazy, a long windy journey up through the mountains that was making us feel a bit sick. Dalat is inland and is quite high above sea level so we were in for a bit of a chilly surprise when we arrived as it was freeeeezing!!! (The first time we experienced cold weather since leaving bonnie Scotland!). Dalat was built under a lot of French influence when Vietnam was a French colony, the town looks like it belongs in the Alps. It was like a little Paris with its own 'Eiffel Tower' replica. We really liked the look it had, and it was very different to anywhere we’d seen so far.
We checked into the Pink Villa Guest House on recommendation that they did the best tour in Dalat (we later found out this was true). First we decided to rent a moped to do some exploring of the town. We tried to find our way around the winding streets as best we could and had a look around the local market. After stopping off for
some lunch (took us a good 15 minutes to order our coffee with the slight language barrier!!) we headed back out on the bike. Dalat is the kind of town you can just drive around and not look for anything in particular it’s that nice a place. We finished off by visiting the ‘Crazy House’ – which is an Alice in Wonderland kind of building where the architect keeps adding separate parts of the building every year that are pretty much crazy!!
For our second day we’d booked ourselves onto a day trip of the surrounding area of Dalat with our guide Rot - who we had been recommended did the best tours around. It was a bit pricey but we didn’t mind as we were looking for an authentic experience that was more off the beaten track. Our tour set off at 7am in the morning, everyone on their own motor-bike heading for the windy highlands. Our first stop was the ‘cricket farm’ for breakfast. Oh yes we says crickets! They first showed us the first live crickets wriggling around trying to set free, and then they brought out the cooked crickets on a plate with chilli sauce!
We guessed they were trying to make them look more appetizing! Initially we refused to eat them but on second thoughts we figured when in Vietnam…! It’s hard to describe what they tasted like apart from the sensation of them being reaaally crunchy (don’t think it’ll be on the menu of McDonalds anytime soon!).
Next stop was the local village market just outside of Dalat, our guide Rot was just brilliant at interacting with all the local sellers, they were very pleased to see us westerners. It’s the only time we’ve had a tour of any markets in South East Asia but we can say it made a huge difference having a guide to explain what all the different fruits and meats on sale. It was a shock seeing some dog meat on display as well as a live kitten being sold for $4 for someone’s dinner! The Vietnamese are more than happy to eat dog and cat!
We were taken to the highest waterfall in Vietnam and a silk factory before we were en route to Rot’s local village for lunch and some mingling with the locals. Rot’s local village was completely off the beaten track, no
other tourists were around. It was a brilliant afternoon, we got to spend time with the local children (Paul even had a game of football with them which he’d been craving since leaving Edinburgh!) and even got the opportunity to visit one of the local family’s house (which was more like a wooden shack). In their house Rot interpreted whilst they told us stories about their lives in their local village. It was fascinating to hear their stories and to even see them chat among themselves, their standard of living is miles apart from anything we’re used to.
We finished off the day by going to Rot’s house for some lunch which was delicious! Afterwards we headed for the long road home stopping off at a mushroom farm. Rot’s tour of Dalat has been by far our best, it gave us exactly what we wanted – an authentic experience of Vietnam. We learned so much about Vietnam and how the Vietnamese live. Worth every dong!!
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Betty
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Well Done!
Good morning from Missouri, where it has been snowing ever since we got up today. I'm really enjoying reading your collaborative effort here; it is a job well done! The photos are amazing, really capturing your experiences and environment. So glad we get to travel along with you and can't wait to see you later this year! Love and hugs!