Nha Trang to Dalat (or Easy Riders, the Sequel!)

Night buses aren't really the most comfortable form of transport (unless you're in Argentina) so we were feeling a bit spaced out when we arrived in Nha Trang, at 7 o'clock the next morning. After an extended nap, we went down to the beach to relax in the sun for a few hours. We were joined by a Swiss guy named Andy, whom Siobhan had met in Hanoi. 

The beach in Nha Trang

Nha Trang was a nice enough place but I was only there because it was a necessary stop en route to my next planned destination, Da Lat. So early the next morning I was on my way again, having finally bid farewell to Siobhan who was moving on to Saigon. Having read that the road to Da Lat was one of the most scenic in this part of the country, I decided to forgo the bus and go by motorbike again! Luckily Andy came along too so I had someone to wave to! 

Back on the open road!

It really was a beautiful road and along the way we stopped at a rural village, a local market, a waterfall, a coffee farm, the Cai river and an unusual type of stilt house (providing communal living to ethnic minorities, and unique to this region). 

Trying my hand at weaving a bamboo mat

Village Bridge

A villager ploughing the rice fields

More hairpin bends...

We also crossed another high mountain pass: Long Lanh. 

View from the Long Lanh Pass

However as we got higher and higher into the clouds, the rain started... slowly at first but it quickly became a downpour and we had to pull over and don plastic ponchos (always an excellent look). From this point on I found it hard to fully enjoy the ride, as the roads were wet and slippery and we seemed to be whizzing in between the big lorries a bit too quickly for my liking! It was actually quite a relief to arrive in Da Lat - a little different to how I'd felt at the end of the Le Family tour, but then I'd known it wouldn't be quite the same experience. 

Actually had a proper motorbike this time...

Da Lat is a small European-style town in the central highlands of Vietnam. Lakes and pine-covered hills give it quite a different feel to the rest of the country. It's also considerably cooler, which was one of the main reasons I'd come! The first day was a "cool" 25°c and there was even a breeze - bliss! 

I'd planned to do another motorbike tour around the local countryside, but when I woke up the next morning I realised I was absolutely exhausted, and what I really needed was a chilled-out day of wandering around town and finding cute cafés in which to read my book! 

I actually walked all over the town that day, which was a good bit of overdue exercise! 

Da Lat

By the lake in Da Lat

In the afternoon I checked out one of Da Lat's "major" attractions: The Crazy House. This was a fantasy house designed by a Vietnamese architect (presumably a somewhat wealthy and self-indulgent one!). It was a surreal place - a bit like being in Alice in Wonderland - but it didn't really grab me and was overrun with tour groups.

The Crazy House

All in all Da Lat was a nice enough place, but I didn't feel the need to hang around for any longer. The next day I caught another bus onwards to Ho Chi Minh City...