Da Quy 'Wild Sunflower' Cafe, Da Lat

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"Do you want to go to Sunflower Cafe, or that vegetarian place you saw earlier?" "Let's just go to the place she recommended since its near here. And its recommended," she replied with a smile. "It's pleasant up here. The temperature that is." "I still can't believe you peed in a plastic Circle K bag," she laughed hysterically. "A man does what he has to do," I smirked. "Sometimes, I wish I could do the same." "You could but it'd be a lot more messy than me!"

Just then a guy on a motorcycle pulled up next to us, "Hello. How are you? My name is..." "Hi," Shauna stated before fully realizing who she was engaging with. Turning to her left she spotted the now infamous blue easy rider jacket. "Where are you from?" the man inquired. "Canada," we unanimously stated. "Would you like to go for a tour?" At least he's being pleasant with us, I thought. Not that they all weren't but if you decline one guy in front of six others, you don't expect the other five to take a swing, as well. "Thank you. But we've already book a tour," Shauna stated (again). "Oh. Good. Sorry to have bothered you," he began to apologize, "I didn't mean to bother you." "No, it's okay. We've just already booked with someone else," Shauna continued, "we met them in Mui Ne." "Oh. Well. We could..." "No, I'm sorry. They said not to. But you don't have to apologize. Have a nice day," she finished walking away. After he drove away she said, "lets count how many times we get asked to go on an easy rider trip today? Okay?" "Sure. Let's count. That guy. Very nice by the way. The guy near the coffee shop. The guy when I got off the bus. The guy after I got rid of the pee bag. The guy who spoke to us before we walked away from the hotel. That's five. Five guys and we've been here for... less than two hours! Wow!" I voiced.

Continuing down the road we spotted the bank on the left side of the road, crossed over the pedestrian walkway, dodging cars, mopeds and humans reaching the other side wound around the corner to the right then commencing to follow the curved sidewalk back to the left and down onto the street where the recommended cafe was to be. "Are you sure its this way?" Shauna asked after walking down a short hill. "Sure am," I answered, "would you like to consult the map?" slowly handing it her direction. "No. It's okay. I'm just hungry and could use a beer, that's all." "Me too." Down the hill we went, reading signs, looking into shops filled with silk stockings, leather shoes, decorative pottery, vases and instruments. Keeping up pace we glanced around about halfway down the road spotting the green sign with yellow lettering wrapped with a red border. "There it is," I said pointing down the road, "on the left." Quickly we reached the menu positioned outside. Flipping through it we found several vegetarian options, salads, pastas, pizza, and Vietnamese dishes. Ironically painted on the sign was ... recommended by Lonely Planet. "What do you think?" Shauna asked. "I'm hungry, lets sit down," came the response. She stepped towards the door when she heard me say to the proprietor, "is it okay if we sit outside?" "Yes," he nodded as I climbed around the table sitting down. Shauna retreated back onto the front porch sitting down. The man handed us two menus. We began reading again. Giving us a couple of minutes he came back asking for our orders. Shauna decided to go with mixed vegetables and steamed rice and I switched up at the last minute to vegetarian pizza, in hopes to feed my extreme appetite. We both ordered Saigon beer to wash down our meals.

Sitting on the patio we spotted across the street the Chocolate Cafe. Smiling at each other we inquired with the other about drinking coffee at the cafe later. Ironically, at the same moment we sat on the porch directly across the street two older expats sat with large mugs of coffee. This inspired Shauna later to check out their menu as well, since she was getting tired of ordering two or three puny Vietnamese coffees to satisfy her morning coffee deficiency.

While awaiting the food to be cooked, we discussed trying to locate Groovy Gecko Adventure Tours to consult about canyoning tomorrow. "Once we eat, we will have to find this Truong Cong Dinh street and then..." I began to state looking up as the proprietor stepped outside with our beers. "May I help you find what you are looking for?" "Sure. We are looking for Groovy Gecko Adventures." "Oh. It's just down the street," he replied pointing down the street, "I'll take you there after your meal." "Thank you." Smiling he departed back into the restaurant. "Wow, now that's simple," I said. "And great service. Is everything on this road?" Shauna asked picking up her beer and pouring it into the glass. "Cheers," she said. "Kombai," I replied. Clinking glasses we sipped our beer as Shauna's food arrived on the table. Looking around, I wasn't surprised to learn my food was taking longer, again. It always happens. Everywhere we go. Shauna gets served eats half her food then my dish shows up. "Sorry, sir. Yours will be along shortly," he says. "That's fine, I have this nice beer to drink from. And a bit of rice to eat," I say picking up my chopsticks digging into Shauna's rice. Laughing to myself, Shauna swatted at my hand, "that's not yours." A moment later the personal pizza showed up on the table. Green peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes peaked out from beneath layers of melted cheese. Looking it over I picked up the bottle of Tabasco drenching half the pizza with hot sauce. Happy to have comfort food, I took a large bite of the pie. It's cheese pulling and stretching as I pulled it out of my clenched teeth. Chomping up and down, I broke into a large happy smile. Terrific. Not bad. Although their tomato paste was sweeter than I like, but it was a decent effort. Swigging back on the beer, I felt complacent to ask Shauna how her meal was and offer her a bite of 'za. "How are those vegetables?" "Tasty. Actually, they are amazing and I am very happy. How's the pizza? It looks great." "It beats rice with random cooked meat and eggs," I smiled. "Try a bite," I said, offering her the slice in my hand. "Mmmm." Came the response. "Actual melted cheese," she muttered between chews. "Do you want to try mine?" "A small bite. I usually know what carrots, peppers and onions taste like," in my usual cheeky voice. "Thanks cheeky, try this," she sent her fork towards my face with a broccoli, carrot and onion. "Tasty. Its like I've eaten these before," laughing and chewing at the same time. Our food consumed, people gathering inside the cafe, we asked for the bill paid and received directions down the road. Walking away we thanked the proprietor for the delicious food in search of the Groovy Geckos.

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