The bus trip from Saigon to Dalat was rather uneventful. There was a lunch stop at one of the amazing bus stop restaurants where we find all the other passengers have ordered and eaten half of their meal before we even decide what we want. Christine wasn’t feeling well so opted for plain rice while I had a beef soup with thick rice noodles, I have decided these are my favourite noodles. The 6 hour journey took about 7 hours and when we arrived at the bus station we were immediately approached by some ‘Easy Riders’. This is a tour company which takes tourists on the backs of motor bikes for tour from a half day right up to a couple of weeks touring the whole country. We agreed to get a ride to the hotel from two of them and were impressed when they managed to balance our huge packs on the handle bars of the bike. When we got to the hotel we were less impressed with them as one had a hard time saying goodbye without us committing to a tour the following day. In the end we had to walk away which did feel a bit rude especially given they gave us a free ride. The hotel is nice but not great value since its double the price we have been paying, and 2km from the town centre. We were both pretty tired so opted for a night in with the hotel cooking us dinner. 
A sleep in was very tempting but we had decided that if the weather was good we would visit a mountain and waterfall. We had breakfast, ordered a bike and were on our way, well nearly, there were quite a few wrong turns but finally we managed to fill up the gas and head out of town in the correct direction. We hired the bike through the hotel, which was also a bit more pricey, and an older bike, with one mirror, and one broken helmet! We stopped a number of times along the way to check we were going the right way and finally arrived at Langbian Mountain. Christine was horrified at the masses of local tourists, Vietnamese coyboys and white horses painted to look like Zebras. The walk up the mountain was supposed to be about 3 hours so we started but after a while the Jeeps speeding past tooting their horns became a bit much. We turned around and reassessed the situation and after a drink decided ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ and booked our spots in a Jeep. 
The Jeep driver hammered it up the 6km mountain and we arrived in no time. We had 1hr before the jeep would run us back down to the carpark. There wasn’t a great deal to do at the top, there was a café, some nice views, although not 360 degrees, markets and touristy statues. There were also a lot of local tourists running around taking photos. While we were at the top a big rain storm came through and we were forced into the café for the last 20 minutes. While everyone else piled into the jeep Christine posed for some photos with some Vietnamese tourists and nearly missed her ride. 
Back on the bike our plan was to ride across to Elephant Falls, apparently the nicest of the falls in the area. We think we made it most of the way, however one wrong turn and we were somehow back in Dalat. We turned the bike around and headed off for another attempt to find it, but were thwarted by a flat tire, about 10km up the road. It had started raining also which made it even less fun. Riding slower back to the hotel, some of the roundabouts were a bit hairy on one wheel! When we picked up the bike I the morning we thought it looked a bit flat, but didn’t say anything, it was a lot flatter now. The hotel then tried to charge for the repair, which we argued. Since we had already paid for a full day and only had a half day use, we weren’t paying anymore. 
Frustrated at not seeing the falls we headed to our room for a shower and nap. We are still glad we did it, the highlight was not the touristic mountain, but just the villages and countryside we rode through. We headed into town a bit later with our washing and searched everywhere for a laundry, but no luck. Tired and hungry we gave up and settled for eating in a restaurant, we were the only ones in there which is never a great sign. The food was ok, and as we were leaving we mentioned we had been looking for a laundry. The owner then walked us down the street and into an alley, where there was a laundry. It was going to cost $2.50 for our 4 kilos, and would be ready tomorrow afternoon, perfect!
Next morning we slept in, had breakfast, and then lazed about a bit more. Both feeling a bit average and tired today. It wasn’t until about midday that we walked into town. We had big plans of visiting the Crazy House, an arty amusement place and the Summer Palace. First we had a look at the lake in town and as the rain started again, we wandered the markets. Maybe bartering is not as common here, but we think we upset a few of the local lady’s. We were trying to buy some fruit, but after we offered a lower price then they wanted, they simply ignored our presence at their stall. Eventually we had secured some banana’s, avocado, bread and a dragon fruit. The market also had an incredible array of dried seafood’s as well as a whole stand full of eggs, 10-15 different types. The icing on the cake was the local buying a live chicken, they spoke in Vietnamese, weighed the chook and then killed it.
As the rain continued we abandoned our plans to visit the sites and headed to a restaurant instead. Actually we went looking for one that Christine wanted to try, but found it wasn’t open so choose one we had seen last night. We ordered simple noodle dishes and that is what we got. The owner’s daughter was running around the restaurant and playing hide and seek while we ate. We asked her how old she was and she told us she was five, her dad then explained she is three, bit five is easier to say! After our late lunch we picked up our washing and headed back to the hotel for some more lazy time.
The hotel had told us to arrange our bus reservation through them, which we did thinking it would be easier, wrong! We had been told we would be picked up at 12.30. We were ready with heaps of time to spare. After waiting we asked the hotel to call the bus company, which they did begrudgingly. It wasn’t until nearly 1.30 that the bus company called back to say they had forgotten to collect us and they were sending a taxi. After waiting nearly an hour and a half we were rushed across the other side of the city to the bus which was sitting on the side of the highway waiting for us. We were glad to finally be on the bus headed back to the coast. While we haven’t had a great time in Dalat, the scenery on the bus ride was worth the journey alone. We drove, in the oldest bus we have ever seen, through the mountains and forest. There were low clouds, waterfalls and landslides partially covering parts of the road. The mountains gave way to rolling hills and rice paddies the by about 5pm we arrived in Nha Trang.
A sleep in was very tempting but we had decided that if the weather was good we would visit a mountain and waterfall. We had breakfast, ordered a bike and were on our way, well nearly, there were quite a few wrong turns but finally we managed to fill up the gas and head out of town in the correct direction. We hired the bike through the hotel, which was also a bit more pricey, and an older bike, with one mirror, and one broken helmet! We stopped a number of times along the way to check we were going the right way and finally arrived at Langbian Mountain. Christine was horrified at the masses of local tourists, Vietnamese coyboys and white horses painted to look like Zebras. The walk up the mountain was supposed to be about 3 hours so we started but after a while the Jeeps speeding past tooting their horns became a bit much. We turned around and reassessed the situation and after a drink decided ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ and booked our spots in a Jeep. The Jeep driver hammered it up the 6km mountain and we arrived in no time. We had 1hr before the jeep would run us back down to the carpark. There wasn’t a great deal to do at the top, there was a café, some nice views, although not 360 degrees, markets and touristy statues. There were also a lot of local tourists running around taking photos. While we were at the top a big rain storm came through and we were forced into the café for the last 20 minutes. While everyone else piled into the jeep Christine posed for some photos with some Vietnamese tourists and nearly missed her ride. Back on the bike our plan was to ride across to Elephant Falls, apparently the nicest of the falls in the area. We think we made it most of the way, however one wrong turn and we were somehow back in Dalat. We turned the bike around and headed off for another attempt to find it, but were thwarted by a flat tire, about 10km up the road. It had started raining also which made it even less fun. Riding slower back to the hotel, some of the roundabouts were a bit hairy on one wheel! When we picked up the bike I the morning we thought it looked a bit flat, but didn’t say anything, it was a lot flatter now. The hotel then tried to charge for the repair, which we argued. Since we had already paid for a full day and only had a half day use, we weren’t paying anymore. Frustrated at not seeing the falls we headed to our room for a shower and nap. We are still glad we did it, the highlight was not the touristic mountain, but just the villages and countryside we rode through. We headed into town a bit later with our washing and searched everywhere for a laundry, but no luck. Tired and hungry we gave up and settled for eating in a restaurant, we were the only ones in there which is never a great sign. The food was ok, and as we were leaving we mentioned we had been looking for a laundry. The owner then walked us down the street and into an alley, where there was a laundry. It was going to cost $2.50 for our 4 kilos, and would be ready tomorrow afternoon, perfect!
Next morning we slept in, had breakfast, and then lazed about a bit more. Both feeling a bit average and tired today. It wasn’t until about midday that we walked into town. We had big plans of visiting the Crazy House, an arty amusement place and the Summer Palace. First we had a look at the lake in town and as the rain started again, we wandered the markets. Maybe bartering is not as common here, but we think we upset a few of the local lady’s. We were trying to buy some fruit, but after we offered a lower price then they wanted, they simply ignored our presence at their stall. Eventually we had secured some banana’s, avocado, bread and a dragon fruit. The market also had an incredible array of dried seafood’s as well as a whole stand full of eggs, 10-15 different types. The icing on the cake was the local buying a live chicken, they spoke in Vietnamese, weighed the chook and then killed it.
As the rain continued we abandoned our plans to visit the sites and headed to a restaurant instead. Actually we went looking for one that Christine wanted to try, but found it wasn’t open so choose one we had seen last night. We ordered simple noodle dishes and that is what we got. The owner’s daughter was running around the restaurant and playing hide and seek while we ate. We asked her how old she was and she told us she was five, her dad then explained she is three, bit five is easier to say! After our late lunch we picked up our washing and headed back to the hotel for some more lazy time.
The hotel had told us to arrange our bus reservation through them, which we did thinking it would be easier, wrong! We had been told we would be picked up at 12.30. We were ready with heaps of time to spare. After waiting we asked the hotel to call the bus company, which they did begrudgingly. It wasn’t until nearly 1.30 that the bus company called back to say they had forgotten to collect us and they were sending a taxi. After waiting nearly an hour and a half we were rushed across the other side of the city to the bus which was sitting on the side of the highway waiting for us. We were glad to finally be on the bus headed back to the coast. While we haven’t had a great time in Dalat, the scenery on the bus ride was worth the journey alone. We drove, in the oldest bus we have ever seen, through the mountains and forest. There were low clouds, waterfalls and landslides partially covering parts of the road. The mountains gave way to rolling hills and rice paddies the by about 5pm we arrived in Nha Trang.
No comments:
Post a Comment