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Published: March 18th 2006
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On Feb 14, we are still in Mui Ne. we revisited the Red Canyon, the Red Sand dunes. We also visited the "Fairy Stream" and its nearby waterfall.
The Fairy Stream is a stream, with red sand bottom. On one side, there is white sandstone, or a little higher, red sand. On the other side of the stream, there is a lot of coconut trees. We visited this stream three times, with different daylight. The pictures turned out wonderfully. We will post a picture whenever we get a chance.
We really enjoyed the hospitality of the family who run the guesthouse (Kim Loan Guest House). Their son, who is 14 years old, acts more like an 18 year old. He speaks excellent English, and he learned it from speaking to the tourist. He reminded us so much of our son Ian.
The young boy also showed us a US $2 bill. It looks real. Can anyone tell me if there is such a thing as a US $2 bill ?
On Feb 15, we revisited the Fairy Stream twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon to take more photos.
We also did the
daring thing of having a haircut. Gary paid 10,000 Dong (about 60 cents) and Phyllis paid twice as much. The haircuts are not magnificient, but acceptable.
On Feb 16, we got us early and boarded a mini-bus to Dalat. The trip, if on a big bus, would take about 6 hours. On a mini-bus, as it takes another route, took just under 4 hours. We met a wonderful English couple on the bus. We are now receiving their newsletters of their travels.
The mini-bus dropped us off at a guesthouse connected to the tour company. The guesthouse costs $10 for a room. We politely declined and walked a few doors down to another guesthouse. For similar quality, we got a room for $5. It turned out it is a sister guesthouse of the first one. So, somehow, the first guesthouse got our business.
We took care of some banking, getting money from ATM's and exchanging travellers' cheques. In Vietnam, almost all guesthouses quote their prices in US$. If we pay in Vietnam Dong, we often get a lousy rate. So, we will need some US$ on hand.
Dalat is a city in the Central Highlands. It is the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. It is also called the city of flowers. The French and the Vietnam officials (even during the war) loved to come here to take a vacation as it is cooler here.
Many of the buildings are fairly new, or they look very well kept. THere are many mini-hotels here. However, I read in the guidebooks that the guesthouses and hotels are often full during the Vietnam new year (same dates as Chinese New year). Dalat welcomes about 800,000 Vietnam tourists and another 80,000 foreign tourists every year.
On Feb 17, Phyllis celebrated her real 50th birthday. Although not many women would want to turn 50, she is actually welcoming this event.
We decided not to join any tours today, but took a stroll along the man-made lake.
In the evening, we went to an agency and booked a tour to see the waterfall tomorrow.
On Feb 18, we were ready to go on the tour. When the mini-bus came to the guesthouse to pick us up, they told us that the waterfall tour we joined is cancelled and asked us to join a city tour. We politely declined. However, they called their boss and told us that the waterfall tour will carry on, and so hopped onto the mini-bus. The mini-bus took us to their office and their boss invited us to his office. It turned out there is no waterfall tour. However, there is a private tour, that we might be able to join, that will go to the waterfall, plus another place that is about 180 km away. In Vietnam, the average speed is around 45 km. So, it means we will be driving 360 km round trip, and that will take all day. So, again, we politely declined the offer. The company drove us back to the guesthouse.
We decided to go on foot and visited the "Crazy House", "Bao Dai Summer Palace" and "Ti Ni Pagoda". The "Crazy House" is actually a guesthouse, created by the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's successor. It is like going into "Alice in the Wonderland", a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours. "Bao Dai" was the abdicated king of Vietnam and we visited his summer palace. It was a pretty modest place. We also visited the Ti Ni Pagoda, where the "crazy monk" supposedly reside. However, we did not get to see him.
Tonight (Saturday), Dalat will close off some roads from traffic and made them into "walking town". We will go and experience the walking.
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Carol
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US$2 bill
Yes, there is US$2 bill but it is very rare, so if you have one, just keep it or give it to me. Hahaa!