Dà Lat city of flowers

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Warning ecology rant follows: The drive to Dalat was fantastic, we started on the coastal plain moving into the lower fertility foothills where nut trees (?), cassava and timber plantations (including eucalypts) grow. The foothill forests are dry with a some resemblance to Australian bush - there's a couple of eucalypt species and an acacia (reverse your weeds)! Then moving up slope we drove through wetter forest with a version of macaranga, giant typha and sawsedge. As we hit the steeper slopes small pockets of rainforest clung between rock scarps and mist hung between them. Then up into the rainforest and the rain.

Something about the hiss of wet tires on a windy road lulled the children off to a long sleep as we climbed higher through misty pine forests, coffee plantations and flower gardens. The temperature dropped over 10 degrees.

Dalat is very pretty, cool, wet, green with flowers everywhere and French influenced terrace houses. It was so weird to be transported to a cold place after weeks of temperatures close to 40.

We even managed to catch up with Liam and Claudia. They're also backpacking through Vietnam then on to Loas and Thailand.

The produce here is amazing of course with the better climate for it. We spent one afternoon wandering around the central market buying fruit for the next bus trip. Plus a new toy (treat) for Agus.

The central market area is just by the big lake. It's really well kept so loads of people hang around it. There is swan paddle boats for the tourist and up market restaurants. We chose to walk around the flower garden part of the lake.

Next stop Ho Chi Min City more commonly known as Saigon.

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