Blogs from Da Lat, Lam Dong, Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia - page 32

Hi How what a day!!!!!! We hiked the gorgous mountains and viewed the beautiful waterfalls. BUT in a very different way- by absailing right down the center of them!!! Both feet first and head first!!! It was a fantastic way to see the countryside, trekking through the jungles and jumping of the cliffs!!! A super day- not even a leech could wipe the smile from my face!!!... read more

Why I keep taking buses is beyond me. Frankly, they irritate me, but in most countries they’re the only way to get around. My next one took 7 hours: from Saigon to Dalat, in the highlands of Vietnam. Dalat is 1500m above sea level, and is home to roughly 130,000 people. It’s a quiet area with beautiful mountains, jungle and hardly any foreigners. Its cool temperature made it a welcome retreat from the humidity of the city and with its numerous lakes, waterfalls, and forests, I was looking forward to some serious exploring. I was in Vung Tau during the huge typhoon that hit this area, and by the time I arrived in Dalat, the rain was still evident in the flooded roundabouts, but that was the only remaining evidence of the storm that caused thousands ... read more

As the title may suggest, Da Lat seems to be the world capital of "Kitsch". Far out. Sooo exciting; the number of giant things that have been built (look out Australia, there's a contender) and cafes and restaurants that have been shipped straight in from Disneyland and made out of kooky objects or massive pieces of plastic. We started the day at the "100 Roofs" cafe near the central markets. You walk inside to discover a labirynth of nooks and crannies, whacky artwork, and a thousand different characters tucked away on sublevels and hiding amongst the decor. Wonderful place to escape the world and enter one of total fantasy created either by a madman or a genius depending on your take of it all. Had a lovely Strawberry tea and Lemon tea accompanied with sesame cookies ... read more

(Anna there is a caterpillar picture at the bottom of the page). Having left Hoi An far too many hours before hand, we arrived safe and sound away from the typhoon a little later than anticipated at about 1.30pm. Claire and Emma let Bruce and I get on with the gritty business of selecting a hotel, so we based ourselves in a modern mini hotel, that had wonderfully comfortable beds and plenty of hot water. All for a mere seven dollars per room including breakfast. Having settled in, we wasted no time and arranged a tour with a group of "Dalat easy riders" the following day. We popped on the internet to send our little "we are safe" message to everyone and we tried but failed to get a message through to Paul and Pauline to ... read more

Not so impressed with this town, its apperently honeymoon haven for the Vietnamese, but a bit tacky and not much to see. However we took a tour outside of the city which was wonderful. Managed to fit in rose gardens, coffee plantation, waterfalls, silk worm factory, lunch at a local house, a mushroom farm and corn house and some other sites in one day, and our motorbike drivers had fantastic english and were good company.... read more