Wed 15 Mar
After breakfast picked up train tickets from Son, back to hostel to pick up bags, ooh time for a Starbucks on the way (Alan rolling his eyes!) then walked 200m to the Futa bus depot . Comprised of an office where you all sit and wait for the minibus to pick you up to take you to the coach. Never anyone to tell you what’s going on you just follow like sheep and see what surprise awaits you. Squashed like sardines in the minibus, bags thrown in after we got in so no way you could escape! After about 15 mins drive and sitting at the side of the double-laned highway (not knowing what adventure awaits) we were suddenly told to quickly get out and load into a coach that pulled in behind us. Now we are introduced to our first sleeper bus (I thought they only operated at night but apparently not) – we had chosen seats and the lady where we bought the ticket had told me to go for the back row on the top level! No shoes allowed on coach so driver gives you a bag to put them in. Very new bus and nobody on our level so Al & I had 5 seats to stretch across and make ourselves at home. You cannot sit up straight on these seats – recline or go flat only. The ride was very twisty but I seemed to be fine lying down and looking out the window . Stopped in the middle of nowhere for a lunch stop – look like the bus co owns these stop places with restaurant and washrooms… Spent lunch chatting with an English guy travelling on his own, a resident surgeon taking a quick 2 week holiday and a young Canadian girl also travelling alone. Very scenic drive and very green and lush – you could feel the temp cooling as we climbed up into the mountains to reach Dalat. As we got closer to Dalat we passed so many greenhouses, all on the terraces around town, apparently they are all full of flowers and strawberries. We were surprised to see minibuses awaiting our arrival in Dalat – all part of the service to deliver us right to the door of our guesthouses! Great service! We had told the English chap about our guesthouse and he had said was coming but at the last min thought it would be more fun following the Canadian girl to her hostel! Dalat is dotted with elegant French colonial villas as the French were the first settlers here. Locals from southern Vietnam like to come and spend time or even retire in Dalat as the weather is so much cooler . It was spared the heavy bombings of other Vietnamese cities. We were dropped at the door of the Dalat Central Hostel – paying US$40 for 2 nights. The names Hostel, Guesthouse, Homestay & hotel can be deceiving as all offer the same standard – we just look for a room with private bathroom, pref with breakfast and air con if we are in a hotter area – plus I look for ratings on the booking.com that are 8 or higher and always go by the reviews – taking negative ones with a pinch of salt unless there is a common thread to them! Wandered around town to get our bearings and find the Futa office again to book our next journey from Dalat to Nha Trang on the 17th. Went to a lovely restaurant recommended on LP called Da Quy. Run by a very friendly guy and has a sophisticated atmosphere but cheap prices. Had a tasty clay pot fish dish and discovered the red Dalat wine – very light but quite drinkable and cheap!

Thur 16 Mar
A simple breakfast – basically eggs and baguette with coffee which seems to be the standard fare in most places. Rented scooter for about $5 for the day from the front desk and set off for our day of adventure. Started off at the Hang Nga Crazy House – busy roads to negotiate and bedlam – came knee to bumper with one vehicle – didn’t seem like he was going to stop even though we were in the roundabout! Weaved through the street trying to find the place! The Crazy house is designed by Mrs Dang Viet Nga who lives in it and got her PhD in architecture from Moscow University . She started the project to enhance people back to nature and appears to have got more weird and outlandish as she has added on. Its an ongoing project and now has hotel rooms in the house. All odd shapes and beds made in nooks and crannies – skinny walkways & bridges rising out of a tangle of greenery, wild colours, spider web windows and swooping handrails resembling vines. Totally bizarre place! Onto the cathedral which wasn’t worth the stop – closed up and very modern unattractive building – back on the bike to head out of town a bit and find the Linh Quang Pagoda. For this I have my headphones plugged into the phone so can hear the street by street instructions on Maps ME. We eventually found our way but had a few mystery turns – Maps ME playing up so had to switch to Google Maps! Found the Buddhist shrine – flanked by enormous dragons and featuring a young Buddha sitting on a lotus flower – this is the oldest and most colourful pagoda in Dalat – built in 1931. Some fantastic ceramic and glass statues but very modern and bright shrines and Buddha’s – this one even had neon light halo! Apparently 70% of Vietnamese are Atheist so def not the Buddhist culture we have seen in the other 3 countries we have been travelling in . We escaped just in time as many bus loads of tourists just arriving. We got back into town, drove around the picturesque lake and found the historic Cremaillere Railway Station. An art-deco station that only has 5 daily trains running to Trai Mat. We then followed directions to Dalat Flower Gardens (Google directed us to the nursery greenhouses at the back so parked the scooter and just ambled in for free!) – beautiful gardens with so many stunning blooms and displays as well as some very touristy horse & carts for photo opportunities. The gardens are beside the Xuan Huong Lake so is a beautiful restful place to wander around and spend time. Then spend ages trying to find the Linh Quang Pagoda as Maps had us going around in literal circles! Eventually found it and it was a very dark wooden Pagoda – very Chinese looking and some lovely wood carvings on the roof and doors. Had a chat to Nikki on the phone and then decided it was time to find lunch – Alan wanted to see the golf course we’d seen on the Lake so went to see if we could eat there . Pretty golf course where we ended up only having a cappuccino as food very expensive. Not many people playing golf! Went back to the Da Quy restaurant street for lunch (Truong Cong Dihn) as had lots of cafes and restaurants. Ready now to set off for Elephant Falls – about 30km from town – headphones on and headed off into the back hills – passing 1000’s of greenhouses and terraces -Maps ME & Google sending us on goose chase! Didn’t correct us when we made a wrong turn or didn’t make a non existent turn. Many stops of the bike and Alan getting frustrated with his navigator! When we finally worked out we were 20km further away from our destination than when we began, and it was approaching closing time at the Falls we decided to call it quits and try and find our way back to town! Very pretty back country and again many greenhouses! Later read that neither Google Maps or Maps ME works well in Dalat! Explains it! Headed back to GH to put our feet up and shower before finding a dinner spot. Staff at GH very friendly asking us what we had been up to and always welcoming and ready to help. Headed out on scooter to Truong Cong Dihn again and found another pleasant place to eat. Then went across to the Escape Bar in the Munag Thanh Hotel as has live music most nights – we were too early so walked up the street to the Beepub for dessert and a drink. Found that there was a couple singing and playing piano there so enjoyed that for a while, they then packed up apparently to go to the Escape Bar so thought we would give that a miss now as had already watched them! Scooted on back through the melee of traffic and chaos to get to the GH.