Blogs from Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia - page 19

We left Saigon for the Central Highlands. Winding our way up through the mountains on our periless trip taking us to Da Lat. Da Lat is the Vietnamese's honeymoon capital. In our case it was a big disaster, it was cold, damp and had torrential rain. Tara caught an awful cold and spent most of the few days there wrapped up. The rain was relentless so we gave up and headed for the coast. All the photo's we have are on the road from the bus, it really was too wet to do anything while in Da Lat! We slowly watch the clouds disappear as we head down the mountains. Oh, to see the sun and sea again! ... read more

We go out for breakfast and on our way back bump into the group that we bumped into at Sihanoukville and then at Ho Chi Minh. They have bought bikes and are making their way, a la Top Gear, up to the North. From the stories they tell us it sounds like they are having a great adventure. We’re off on a sightseeing trip this afternoon. First stop is the Crazy House and I instantly fall in love with all the quirky rooms and features - in fact, I have found my dream house! After that it’s a visit to a waterfall. I have a go on a roller coaster, where you control the car yourself (Rik gives it a miss as he’s a bit worried about the health and safety implications). It is great, driving ... read more

In Da Lat, you constantly have people offering local sightseeing tours, whether you are in your hotel, in a cafe or on the street. We avoid the hotel tout and go out in search of breakfast. On the way, every moto driver offers us a tour. I find that telling people that you have already booked with your hotel works a treat and you are immediately left alone. We sit down for breakfast and find that the cafe is swarming with tour touts. A man sits with us and I use the line about having booked with our hotel. We end up chatting about football as there is a Man United match tonight and it turns out he is a Man United fan, too. We go to the local market, which is pretty large and sells ... read more

So we wake up early and have our lovely buffet breakfast and head off to the bus company's office and say goodbye to Nha Trang and the beautiful beaches we have just stayed at...the bus happens to be a mini bus with about enough room for me to fit my legs between the seats...Mike sat by the aisle although that didn't help much he wriggled most of the way as he was uncomfortable and sore....not so bad for us but the poor 6 foot 3 man was really struggling! We left on the a nicely sealed road and wined our way through the roads along the coastline....we passed the daimond resort famous for 2008 miss world contest....wow it really is a lovely place and the private bay and beach was just stunning! We continued and eventually ... read more

So - we wound our way through a hilly and sparse region of Vietnam that we had never seen before. Homes were not lined up in a row along the road -- but were dispersed throughout coffee plantations and red clay dirt mounds... We bounced and turned and climbed through the cool sunshine until out of nowhere appeared a grouping of yellow buildings and some colorful flags blowing in the wind. We had arrived!! The scene was much more tentative than our first dedication in Southern Vietnam 2 years ago - and definitely more calm and controlled than our revisit to that same school just a few days ago. These Churu (ethnic minority) children appeared shy - and were interested in having the celebration, but not so interested in meeting our eyes. We were informed by ... read more