Dalat, Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Yesterday we arrived in Dalat after a cramped journey in a very small bus with a grumpy Englishman, 3 sick Swedish girls, several Vietnamese locals and a Monk in full attire. The town or city (there is a small cathedral) was larger than we'd expected and from first impressions it's nickname 'Le Petit Paris' seems a little far fetched. Nevertheless it is quieter than most cities and the market offers an impressive, verging on ridiculous amount of dried fruit which we enjoyed sampling. On arrival a man from a company we had read about called 'Easy Riders' helped us with our bags and finding our guesthouse. Naturally he then began promoting his motorbike tours around the mountainous countryside surrounding Dalat. Apprehensive at first we eventually plucked up the courage to call him back and negotiated a price for the next morning. Today he picked us up with a colleague, and Ve and I hopped on the back of a motorbike each and sped off out of the city. Not having had much experience on a motorbike, the ride alone was new and exciting not to mention the great views from the mountainside we saw along the way. We stopped every 20 minutes or so to view coffee plantations, flower farms, a silk farm, a waterfall, a minority village and a rice wine producer. It was such a good day, and we have decided that it is definitely the best way to travel around here as you take in so much more than you do from behind the window of a smelly bus. Photos coming soon!
