We were at the correct bus station at 5.45am, and luckily so was my helpful security guard. Five minutes later we had tickets and were packed into a minibus, this picture was taken before we left the bus station, but by 10 minutes down the road we had picked up some more passengers. We were then up to 25 passengers and believe me it was beyond cosy
So 2 hours later we arrived in Nha Trang, i was by this point just wanting a shower, so we took a taxi (luckily not metered) to the area where there seemed to be the most hotels. After about 10 minutes wandering we found the perfect place, near the beach, with a fridge, a/c and balcony for $15 per night. Now Nha Trang is known as Vietnams premier beach destination and is pretty over developed. There are no little huts on the beach, it is all high rise hotels, so thats where we were.
The reason for coming to Nha Trang was of course to spend a couple of days on the beach, but also to get a visa extension and book an Easy Rider tour. I mentioned both of these things when we arrived to the receptionist at the hotel when we arrived. As it turned out Minh is the most effective woman in the whole of Vietnam and half an hour later we had booked the tour and our passports were on their way to be stamped.
We then had a couple of lazy days on the beach, not as picturesque as some beaches but nice all the same.
The whole area is surrounded by mountains which results in thick cloud coming over at about 1/2pm everyday and sometimes rain, quite spectacular.
We managed to book a snorkeling tour for £9 each, so we got picked up from our hotel and transferred to the boat. This was not Phi Phi style at all, no speedboats, we went on a very slow fishing boat. Eventually we reached the first of 3 snorkeling spots around Hon Mun Marine Protected Area. Despite the weather being a little overcast the water was crystal clear and visibility was really good. There was massive variety of fish and massive coral gardens. Of course our waterproof camera has packed up but it is somehow still recording underwater, so here is some not great footage of what we saw. The one thing you cannot capture (without equipment that costs the earth) are the colours of the fish and the coral, they are totally breath-taking.
The one down-side of snorkeling in Vietnam is the jelly-fish. The guide said when we got in that we would see them but not to worry as they will go away and they dont sting. Well he was wrong on both counts, they certainly dont swim away from you, they seem to drift towards you and especially are drawn to your face. They are really creepy little things and you dont see them till the last minute, i really dont like them. And secondly they do sting, the actual sting is not that bad, maybe like touching stinging nettles. But afterwards they itch, and by the following day i realised i was pretty much covered, which was not so nice. But all in all the snorkeling was awesome and it was nice if little slow boat trip.
After another exhausting day in the beach it was time to go on our easy-rider tour. We had wanted to make Dalat part of our trip and had heard that the drive from Nha Trang to Dalat was one of the best to do on a bike. Sensibly we realised that this was little beyond our skills and hired two very competent Vietnamese men to take us. So the plan was drive up one day, spend the night and the following morning in Dalat and then drive back. The city is located 4,900 ft above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands. The city’s temperate weather stands in contrast to Vietnam’s otherwise tropical climate. Mist covering the valleys almost year-round leads to its name "City of eternal spring". Its temperate climate also makes it ideal for agriculture. Indeed, Da Lat is renowned for its orchids, roses, vegetables, and fruits.
So there we were all packed up and ready to go.
Dont panic we weren't driving, but we look pretty cool though eh.
First stop was the Nha Trang city limit, there are four of these points, and they divide the Government run Nha Trang from the outer villages run by local people.
Next stop was a friend of one of our drivers who made rice paper. Basically they boil the rice with water until it liquidates, then they spread it over a film, like a pancake. Then very carefully peel it off and lay on specially designed racks to dry. These ladies make around 2000 pancakes a day which they sell at the local market.
Next stop was a little village for the drivers to refresh before the drive up the mountain there started. There the guy had all manner of odd things in jars, one of which he made us try. I have no idea what it was but it was from the first jar pictured, it tasted like 100% alcohol and had a big snake in it, odd. Apparently whatever it was is illegal to sell, so these are all for his own consumption, which is a little worrying.
When I asked to use the toilet i was pointed towards a shack next to a very sad looking chained up monkey. Our guide told us that the people here keep them like pets and that they bought him from some ethnic minority people in the mountains for £10. He was is only a baby, and despite having a tree to climb, he had really sad eyes. My initial instinct is always to try and free these monkeys, but after much discussion i realise that 1, this would not go down at all well with the people that paid for him. 2, most of them have been in captivity since they were babies, so they would not have the first idea how to fend for themselves in the mountains. 3, the Vietnamese dont see it any differently keeping a dog, and who I am to interfere with their way of life. But all of that aside just look at his little sad eyes, its a battle everytime!
Back on the road again, as we started to climb higher into the mountains we could see why it was named one of the most beautiful drives to do. Especially on the back of a bike it was totally breath-taking, if a little scary at times.
The water was pouring out of the rock in some places and there were various waterfalls. Apparently in the wet season they are a lot more impressive, but they did provide lots of opportunities for cooling off. After watching David Attenboroughs Africa the other days, we learnt that butterflies use the waterfalls like highways. They basically follow the water up and and fly out of the canopy to mate, we had noticed that they seem to like waterfalls. Here we saw a species that we had never seen before and it looked like it was made of tracing paper. For those interested its called a Cyrestis Themine
Onwards and upwards we stopped for lunch in another little village, and just to totally top off the sugar rush, a sugar cane juice.
After some particularly hairy driving on the last push up the mountain (my knee nearly touched the road on a few occasions) we made it to Dalat at about 4pm. First stop was a old Train Station, and then onto the Crazy House. People come to see the unconventional architecture of the Crazy House. Described as a "fairy tale house", its overall design resembles a giant banyan tree, incorporating sculptured design elements representing natural forms such as animals, mushrooms, spider webs and caves. Its architecture, consists of complex, organic, has been described as expressionist. Its creator, Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga who holds a PhD in architecture from Moscow State University, has acknowledged the inspiration of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi in the building’s design. Having seen quite a lot of Gaudis work when in Barcelona, i can see how there are some vague similarities. But for me this just did not compare, it felt a lot more kitsch and disneyesque. I am not convinced that Mr Gaudi would be entirely chuffed to have inspired it, but it was interesting none the less. They actually operate as a guest house, but be warned that when the Crazy House opens at 9am, people will be walking past your bedroom looking in, all a little odd.
The view from the top was pretty special
After that it was off to the hotel, and an evening of exploring Dalat. As soon as we started climbing the mountain the air was definitely cooler, and when we reached Dalat it was positively chilly, which made quite a refreshing change.
We walked down to the lake and along to the market which was totally crazy. They sold all the normal stuff, with the addition of tons and tons of dried fruit and thousands of stalls selling knitwear. It was pretty amusing to see all these people bundled up in jumpers, jackets and scarfs etc. Mmmmm something on a stick?
We managed to find ourselves a cheap but not that great dinner on the street, just as we were about to head back to the hotel we ran into our bike guides. We were immediately accosted and told that we were going somewhere local to drink vodka, what more do you need to know.
We went about 10 minutes out of town to down some tiny alleyways and ended up in a place that looked a bit like prison cells but without the bars and doors. It was like a little maze of bare concrete rooms, quite odd. It turned out to be quite an amusing evening and we enjoyed the promised bottle of vodka and a lovely goat bbq (my new favourite meal!) The goat and the veg gets rolled into rice papers which you have to wet before you roll them, its really hard to get the hang off, especially after a few vodkas.
The following morning we headed off for our first stop which was a waterfall. On the way our of town we passed a delivery of ducks.
And we drove past the man-made, 5 km² Xuan Huong Lake, which was pretty. We also stopped off at one of the hundreds of strawberry farms, we stocked up on strawberry juice, jam and sweets, little strawberry overload.
What we hadn't realised was that included in what we had paid were tickets for the little "Alpine Coaster" to and from the waterfall, which was a relief as it looked like quite a walk. It actually was pretty funny, totally random and quite a nice start to the day.
Our last stop in Dalat was what our guide told us what the temple of broken tiles. Luckily broken tiles ring a bell with US and we were fairly certain that it was a mosaic'd temple, sooo excited.
And it seriously did not disappoint, for those of you that avidly read the blog it was totally different to the one in Bangkok. The level of detail and variation in each design was totally amazing. The temple was huge and consisted of about three buildings, you could see that work was being done on the upkeep and it really showed. There were so many different types of animals and flowers, I could have stayed there all day. I was totally inspired, it was a brilliant end to a brilliant trip to Dalat.
So then started the descent back to Nha Trang, as soon as we set off the clouds gathered in. The heavens then literally opened, luckily our guides were very organised and had wet gear so we suited up and off we went. Obviously there are no pictures of this as we no longer have a working underwater camera. So of course the views were quite amazing, and very creepy. We were literally driving through the clouds, there was thunder and lightening, the whole shebang. It really was quite an experience and especially on those windy mountain road, but we still made it back in about 3 hours.
The trip was totally amazing i really enjoyed being on the back of a bike, and even started to relax after a while. Although i will never get used to the leaning thing, when your leg nearly touches the road, it just doesn't seem right. What a fantastic experience!
We found out on our arrival back in Nha Trang that our visa extension was back, so in the next couple of days we will be getting the overnight bus to Hoi An........
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