Dalat

Yesterday was a travel day and a half!!  I think we covered approx. 320 kms and it took 11 hours.  Yes that does include about an hour and a half at stops, but still, it was one LONG day!!
The state of the roads was shocking - worse even than what I encountered in Cambodia and I have to be honest and say I wasn't expecting that.  None the less, the drive was not without things to see.

Our first stop was at a floating fishing village.  Apparently most, if not all, of the residents of this village used to live in the Tonle Sap (in Cambodia), and then in the 1990's they came home to Vietnam.

An afternoon stop was for coffee - no, not weasel-poo coffee, but really good Vietnamese coffee!
Served a little bit differently than we usually get coffee served.

All day long we had been driving north and west of HCMC, into an area called the Central Highlands.  It's mountainous landscape (that once sheltered VC soldiers), with its many hill-tribe villages, and valleys, and winding roads.

Tea and coffee are grown in abundance in this area ... and what better to snack on growing tea leaves than a water buffalo?

It is such fun to see what is carried on trucks and motorcycles here.  Coffin anyone?

Our final destination was Dalat, a town that is very much known as a get-away location for HCMC residents, and it's also the honeymoon destination of Vietnam.  Because of its altitude, the day-time temperatures are usually in the mid-twenties... I can't tell you how much I enjoyed today - the first day I've had below 35 degrees in weeks!  But the best part was no humidity.
And unbelievably, I actually put on my long-sleeved top to go out for dinner in the evenings.

Dalat's other claim to fame is that is has Vietnam's first golf course, built by Vietnam's last king/emperor, Bao Dai, in the 1930's.

And speaking of Vietnam's last king, Bao Dai's summer palace was our first stop this morning, on a day that was spent exploring around the Dalat area.
The palace was completed in 1938 and provided Bao Dai and his family a place of rest and respite.  To be honest, the palace wasn't actually all that grand, but learning the history about Vietnam's last emperor was very interesting.

Our second stop this morning was "Hang Nga Crazy House".  The building of this funky place, currently a hotel and tourist destination, began about 20 years ago by Hang Nga, who was building herself a home.  Building has never stopped and it is still being worked on today.  It's sort of got Alice in Wonderland type architecture, and you can get lost in the maze of tunnels and ladders.

Next stop was the Dalat Railway Station which was built in 1932 but is not really an active station now - except for a few scheduled tourist trains.  It does give you a glimpse into Dalat's colonial history though.

Our next hop off the bus was at one of the many hundred of flower farms that cover the mountainous slopes around Dalat.  What I found interesting was that the workers who work on the farms also live on the farm...

And the flowers, both in the farms and all over the town really, are absolutely beautiful!

Continuing on with our day and I was in a cable-car from one mountain peak to another, just outside Dalat, and tremendously enjoying the view!

The cable-car ride ended at Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen Monastery.  The main building it notable mainly for its simple structure, and the scenery around the monastery, with views of man-made Tuyen Lam Lake was wonderful!

Datanal Falls was next on the agenda, and to get to the falls we took a bobsled ride along a winding, elevated track.  Oh the things I never expected to do in rural Vietnam!

The last stop of the day was at a place called "The Love Valley".  And I think the name says it all.  It was a large park area with all sorts of the tackiest 'love' statues set up all over the place and the sole purpose really is for couples to go and have their photos taken in front of the giant heart, or the cupid, etc.  I actually couldn't even bring myself to take any photos.  But there was a very redeeming quality to "The Love Valley" and that is - the view.

Did I mention that anything and everything is carried on bikes and motorcycles?