Up in the hills
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2009
1
57
112
Trip End
May 20, 2010
Where I stayed
Dalat, Vietnam
Friday, February 26, 2010
probably the temp was about 16 17 at night...i was walking round in linen trousers and a polo shirt..the locals are walking round in puffa jackets and scarves!!!
the best word i can use to describe this town is RANDOM! ..take the lake for example..the whole town is set around a lovely big lake...but....theres no water in it!! they even have a load of boats by the side of the lake...im sure the guy that owns them is not happy!!..i think they have drained the lake to try and build a road through it to easy traffic through the town...
they call it the honeymoon city..some locl must have come up with the name and its stuck..they say because they produce vietnams only red wine...and they grown strawberries here thats its a romantic place for lovers ..etc.....we really didnt get it???
we did however go on a day tour and saw lots of stuff....we saw a cricket farm..basically a shed with a guy and some buckets fo crickets they breed for eating...
we saw a rice wine factory...again...it was a guys back shed with a a few gallon tubs of fire water...we all had a swig...its about 40% proof so gives a kick..kate had to try out duty..but started coughing...the 2 skooner screamer strikes again!!
we saw some lovely flowers..they grown lots of different kinds here and the cost is nothing..the thought of how much we pay at home compared to the prices here..its crazy..
i did really enjoy going to a silk factory..we got to see the silk making process from the silkworm through to the end product...its amazing how they spin the silk and how fine it is..next time im selling an armani tie ill be able to bore the hell out of the customer!!!
we also went to see elephant falls....a nice sized waterfall that called elephant because there are 3 rocks at the base that look like elephants..(they dont look anything like elephants but it sounds good!) we got to walk down and get behind the waterfall...im sure in the wet season its more dramatic but it was still nice to see...
on the way back to dalat we stopped at a hand-embroidery store..we were looking at the framed pictures that did look impressive..but it was only when we went into the back room and saw the ladies working that we realised exactly how much work goes into it..some of the pieces take 1 lady 5 months to make...and sell for about 700 pounds..so much work for not alot of return...they then tried to sell some to us..which was never going to happy on our budget so we made our excuses and headed home.....
we are catching the 7am bus out to nah trang in the morning...i have to say that i probably wouldnt have come here if i had know what its was like...but we did a nice day tour and made the most of our time....but now its time to keep moving north..
