From the sea to the mountains

NhaTrang
May 15-18
Time to be beach bums! Nha Trang is Vietnams version of the Gold Coast, but with more Russians, and a bit more rubbish on the beach. We spent 4 days wandering around and chilling out. Jon did 2 days of diving we went snorkeling, went on a motorbike ride, saw temples and pagodas and rolled in mud like little piggies. The rain cleared up and the sun was shiny.


Long Son Pagoda

The captain of our snorkeling boat was hysterical, and kept on randomly saying to everyone 'No money , No honey. No honey, No baby. No baby No worries!' And the crew set up a floating bar where we all jumped into the sea in floaty rings and he set up a floaty bar and we all drank Dalat mulberry wine which in his words not ours was 'f#@%'n sh*thouse'. We bet it was an Aussie who taught him that.

Jon enjoyed the diving, although it wasn't the clearest of water and not as many fish as Rendang Is. in Malaysia.

There were always heaps of locals on the beach though, playing soccer or having picnics after work. They'd drive their motorbikes right up to the shore and then stand and have a chat to someone as the tide rushed closer and closer to them and their bikes.

After 4 relaxing days of sun and mudbaths and scary motorbike rides amongst other catastrophes and drinking. We had to move on so off to the hills we went.. to the honeymoon capital of Vietnam.

Dalat is like no other place in SE Asia. A cool retreat for the colonial French, the brightly coloured buildings and lush countryside which is the food basket of Vietnam, makes it feel you are in Europe. Our friend we met in Saigon, a local who was an English teacher, said other Vietnamese don't like people from Dalat because they're different.

It's very kitschy with swans couples can float on the lake in and love heart carousels. We didn't really take any good photos of it though.

Because we only had 2 days in Dalat we decided to do a tour, of all the farms, temples, waterfalls and sights.

Our guide Chao was unintentionally hysterical. We weren't being mean, he laughed with us, but it was like he had learnt English off Kath and Kim, everything was 'veeeery noooooiiiiccee!' and 'it's so gooooooooooorgeeeouuuuuusss' and the countryside was 'sooo nooiccee for moi oooooooiiiiiiiiiess (eyes)' . He was incredibly enthusiastic about his hometown and an awesome guide.

He took us to flower farms, fruit farms, silkworm farms and factories, tea plantations and coffee plantations. DID YOU KNOW Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of coffee in the world???? Chao was 'ssoooo saaad' because nobody apparently knows. We ate a raw bean, and it was kinda sour sweet, not like coffee at all. Then we went for a traditional Viet coffee and to 'gossip' with Chao (he loved the word gossip). Vietnamese actually fry the coffee beans with butter, which is why it's so different to coffee we are used to in other parts of the world. Still hits the spot though.. and the condensed milk never hurts either.

To the left is the coffee berry.

We saw a massive waterfall, which we don't remember the name of, but whose steps down to the viewing platform below was more like a jungle gym course, then any steps.

Next door was a beautiful pagoda, that was probably one of the nicest we've seen, or maybe the most peaceful. Again no idea what it's called now. The big laughing buddha is humongous. Most people wouldn't be taller then his knee. It looks out over the valley. And he lights up at night.

Also at that time in Vietnam they were celebrating Buddhas birthday. Like our Christmas.. but Buddhist. There was a nativety display (or is that a strictly Christian word?) and in Dalat we saw a street parade and the lighting of hundreds of lanterns on fire at night, and they all floated into the night sky..

Sidhartha before he was Buddha as a little guy (the one in yellow)

After lunch we visited the 'Crazy House', which was designed by the daughter of a local war hero that studied architecture. It's still to be completed but that doesn't take any of the amazement away from it.. its amazing and I recommend it as the number 1 thing to do if you ever find yourself in Dalat. We were running around like little kids, climbing all the hidden staircases in total awe at the crazy kooky Alice and wonderland construction. And if the outside was crazy, the inside was even kookier. It was actually a hotel as well. And each room was themed, with a different shape bed with matching roof mirror (!?), an animal shaped chimney fireplaces, different light fittings and other bizarrities.

Jon and Kangaroo (with satanic eyes) chimney.

It really was the most amazing place, I could sit here all day and download pictures to show for you .

That was pretty much the end of our stay in Dalat, Jon was crook for the most part, so we can't really comment on any nightlife... although there were alot of Karaoke places around. But I think the next place on our bus journey was exactly what the Jon needed... white sandy beaches... swaying coconut palms.... clear blue water.....