From Mui Ne we caught a local bus which was heading inland to the mountainous area of Dalat. On waiting for the bus we got chatting to an Ozzie guy from Melbourne called Zach who was also heading our way, so we warned him that catching any local transport with us was normally bad news and we weren't too wrong!.......As usual our expected transport was not quite what we were expecting, air conditioning consisted of large windows that didn't close, cracked windows, open doors (everything I like!), bags thrown in the back etc... but it was with mainly locals heading home for 'tet' so that was cool! After about 5 minutes our driver stopped and got off to have a 5 course meal much to our amusement...we could see we were in for a long 6 hours! Back on the bus we started to head inland towards the mountains and really started to see the contrast that is Vietnam - many locals say that the highlands are the true Vietnam and this realisation started to run true....

On route to the Highlands however, our trusty bus made a rather loud bang underneath my seat and yes, we had a blow out! Everyone got off the bus to watch the driver then attempt to change the tyre. Out came the boldest spare tyre I had EVER seen in my life! To add to the amusement he also must have thought this as they then decided to use it for balance and we carried on on 7 wheels only!

On the journey we headed up the mountains and passed shack villages and small towns.. it was beautiful, I really felt like I was back in New Zealand or even Scotland looking at the scenery, large forested mountains and winding roads, amazing smells from the many flowers and coffee plantations......fantastic!

The local school kid on the seat in front of me then offered me one of his local sweets which I was really touched by...I thought it was toffee but to be honest it didn't really taste like that at all but I managed to swallow it quickly and smile sweetly that I liked it! All I could give in return though was a dry Ritz cracker...our staple bus journey cuisine!!He ate it though and smiled sweetly back...probably thinking the same as me!!!

On arriving in Dalat, the town was larger than we had expected and pretty cold so out came all the fleeces and long trousers for the first time in 6 weeks! We had sent most of our 'cold stuff' to Oz so were pretty cold to say the least!! The three of us then headed to a food place to eat with the locals which was cool and VERY cheap, then wandered to see the highlights of the town...the first one consisted of what can only be described as the most bizarre song and dance/congratulations ceremony on a makeshift stage in the centre we had seen to date! It seemed to be part of the start of the Vietnamese New Year celebrations whereby all the spectators sat on small plastic kiddie chairs still in their moped helmets!! Very amusing!
The singing wasn't too bad but the one guy who obviously didn't have a clue as to what he was meant to do was just the best! We then headed down towards the manic market, full of hundreds of HUGE water melons and ladies selling everything on the streets....I just love wandering round these!By then it was getting dark so a beer was needed, after which I enjoyed the delights of my first bakery and slice of chocolate cake!!!, then we headed home uphill...

On our final day in Dalat, we did a tour of the countryside......in our leaflet the first stop was called 'nice view' which amused us when the guide said we had reached it.... we then continued onto to see how the local countryside people make a living.The local transport was just class - kids riding cattle everywhere!

First stop was the 'flower factory' which Zach and Ads seemed to be more interested in a wheelbarrow made of 2 44 litre gallon drums welded to gether than the flowers.....I attempted to show interest though! After here we saw coffee making plantations, tasted rice wine (which tasted abit like weak vodka, result!), saw how the minority villages make silk, then visited a Highland Pagoda and the famous Happy Buddha! This consisted of a spearmint, plastic looking large buddha with neon lights around its head so not the historic relic we expected, but our guide said it had only been made about 5 years ago! We then walked to see 'Elephant Falls which, considering it is the dry season, had alot more water in them than expected - I found this out when I climbed near the spray and got soaked!!! Our trip then ended at a place called the 'Crazy House', which I can only describe as an awful version of some of the scenes at Blackgang Chine on the IOW! I didn't last long at this one...

After having some local 'Pho' (beef noodle soup) on the roadside for all of about 20 pence! we headed down for a drink on the huge beautiful lake in the centre of Dalat (apart from the plastic swan paddle boats for the tourists!!)then went back to the market and had yet another random moment....... it was getting dark by now and we seemed to be in a very closed section of the market, whereupon we came across two old ladies playing badminton in the street! One of the old ladies was a real dude, baseball cap on back to the front, really competitive and cool for her age.... on passing they stopped us and gave Ads a racket and we all then attempted to play them at badminton! It was so dark, i was rubbish and couldn't even see the shuttle cock and basically they won almost hands down...the smile on their faces was awesome and it one of those moments again we won't forget.....just wish I had had my camera!

We were really glad to have visited the Highlands, it is so different from the other coastal areas on the tourist track and in a few days we were soon to see even more of it... but for now we decided to head back to the coast and into the warmth!!!