Da Lat to Hoi An

Da Lat, built by the French as the capital of Indochina, this small town was nestled in the cool hills of Vietnam. The French influence was everywhere, but particulary in the arcitechture. We stayed in a fantastic hotel with a very french feel.

Including this elevator.
(You could open the outer gate without the lift actually being at your floor! Health and What did you say? - K)

The old post office had been turned into a restaurant, and in fact the whole town had been converted into a very fancy golf resort where rich Asians frequent.

The town itself was based around a large market. The difference between the golf resort and the locals area was more than evident.

I had heard that one could go horse riding here and, as I missed my horse more than anything, we decided to go. Very dissapointed - we were led around the town for 40 mins on very uncomfortable ponies!

We did ride around the fantastic lake which was purpose built here in the town.

At least I got a quick horse cuddle to remind me of Minstrel back home.

The guide books told of an organisation all over Vietnam called the 'Easy Riders'. They will take you anywhere you want to go back of their motorbikes. The guide books say there is no need to find them, they will find you. True to advice we were not in Da Lat long before we were 'contacted' by the Easy Riders. We hired one to take us around the area.

Me being me, decided that I would rather have my own scooter to ride. The rather attractive hood-under-helmet look was for safety not style as the helmet did not quite fit. (At least I had one!)

We set off up the valley, once I had negotiated the crazy town driving.

The terraced farms provided food for the plenty as well as growing things like coffee and flowers for export. (Most of the coffee is exported to Brazil!!) The farm children enjoyed playing with Kenny or rather Kenny enjoyed playing with them!
(They were violent, attention seeking little kids, who kept pestering us to be picked up. When you refused, you got hit. So I picked them up. Don't think they expected it like this! And yes, I know, I'm sure back home I'd be in court for child abuse!- K)

Communal farming.

Terraced fields.

Roses waiting to be exported.

More rice Whiskey.

Silk farm.

Scrambling downt to a local waterfall.

Waterfall.

On the way back our Easy Riders bike failed, so Kenny had to ride with me for a while. This is easier said than done as the bike was harder to balance. Shortly after this, the guide caught us up and Kenny went back on his bike. We then had a race agaist time to get back to have something to eat before catching our bus to Nha Trang. It started to rain, very heavily. We got soaked and as it is not very warm here I became very cold. Try controlling a scooter when you have uncontrollable shivers! As we were riding through town I managed to lose sight of the guide & Kenny and for the 2nd time this trip was MIA for awhile. Long story short, I finally made my way back to the hotel only just in time to catch our bus (no lunch).

That was OK as the busses always stop in a dodgy road side cafe on the way. Pringles & ice cream for lunch then?

Nha Trang is all about the beach.

It was a lovely beach but I get very bored sitting on one all day so we only stayed here for one night.

The roads in Vietnam require more explanation. Firstly crossing the road is a leap of faith everytime. Yes, there was a crossing here - it means nothing. There were very few cars, only scooters who swerve around you as you cross. You could wait for a gap but you possibly would be waiting all day. Best thing was to set off very slowly and keep moving forward, very slowly and steadily. It does work, but requires some nerve as the barage of scooters come towards you.

Due to the non-stop recklessness of the traffic and lack of any apparent road rules, there is a very high accident rate here. 30 people a day die on the roads! We were sat having a cocktail when some poor chap was thrown from his bike. I would not ordinarilary take photos of accidents but the situation that unfolded was incredible. The guy was unconseious on the road. The traffic did not stop, not even for a second. In fact they continued to drive around him beeping their horns! Instead, a group of people (fellow scooter riders) stood around him as a human shield until help arrived. A taxi got there before the ambulance so off he went in the back of that. The police finally arrived, drew a chalk mark around the bike, moved it off the road and left. The ambulance arrived, saw that the casualty had gone, did a u-turn in the m,ad traffic, and left empty. The whole thing happened with 3 lane heavy traffic continuing to drive around the site!

A seafood lunch before we left was a must.

Waiting for the night bus - time means nothing here.

The night bus. They looked so inviting in the photos but what they really were was a bus with very narrow metal bunk beds throughout. There was no where for your hand luggage, so that also had to fit into your tiny bed. As if the bed was not bad enough, the constant beeping of the horn never stopped (literally honking through the night every few minutes!) and the bus played Asian karaoke on the tv! Not the best night's sleep.

Hoi An was worth the journey, though. I had been here before, with Mum, 4 years ago but the whole town was flooded, so we saw very little of it. It was one of the most beautiful places in SE Asia. The river was lined with lanterns and fantastic restaurants. The whole place had a wonderful atmosphere.

River in the day light.

The streets were wonderful and very French in feel.

There were many historical things to see, like this old "Chinese" house.

Which had marked on the flood levels from over the years. (I am looking at the flood marker from when Mum & I were here in November 2007 - no wonder we had a very different stay!).

I could have wandered around the streets all day.

The old Japanese bridge linking trade in the past.

Incense in the temples.

Why was there a big horse in the temple? (Answers on a postcard please)

Everywhere was beautiful culture, history & architecture.

We met up with a couple, Anne & Nick, who we first met in Ecuador all those months ago. Travelling is great for this, as paths often cross. We decided to do a cooking course one afternoon. It was led by a fabulous girl whose English was self taught (from american music & films). She was brilliant and had us all in stiches most of the afternoon, "Hello Chilli".

The students.

Enjoying our efforts.

Wandering back along the river.

'My Son' is not far from Hoi An and is the attraction to visit in Hoi An. Built by the Champa kingdom between the 4th & 13th centuary, this historic site was constructed as temples to the Hindu gods. It was made out of bricks without the aid of mortar.


Overcoming the jungle and the Vietnamese war there was still a good deal to see.

Not quite Angkor Wat but set in beautiful jungle.

The French kinda ruined it a little by taking all the heads of the god statues for French museums.

Our stay in Hoi An was too short, really, but Hanoi was calling so we had to leave. Not before nearly getting run over by scooters on the pavement. Well the road was being re-surfaced so where else would they go?