I said goodbye to Lop as I got on the bus in Hue, heading for Da Lat, Vietnam. It was 1:30 in the afternoon. Around 7:30 the next morning I was getting off the bus in Nha Trang, Vietnam. I still have a long ways to go to get to the "French Alps of Vietnam", but cannot get there on a full size bus. I will transfer to a minibus.

Evan had asked if this was the bus to Da Lat when she got on at one of the stops . I was in the first bed at the front of the bus and she figured I spoke English. The drivers and helpers often don't speak English and sometimes don't try to be very helpful. She is from the Netherlands.

When we both changed from the bus to the minibus in Nha Trang, we got a seat together. We had a nice talk on the 5 hour trip up the mountainous roads. It was slow going as the road was steep for almost the entire trip. The scenery was wonderful but I wondered if I was headed to a cold place so far up in the mountains.

Da Lat is located in the South Central Highlands of Vietnam. The French, who colonized Vietnam at one time, built villas here to escape the heat and humidity of Saigon. Many of the hotels and buildings are built in a French style. People say Da Lat looks like a cross between Vietnam and the French Alps.

As we  near the city, there are pine-covered hills and we start to see hundreds of greenhouses spread all over the hills . I've never seen so many greenhouses. I wonder what they are for.

The city itself spreads across the rolling pine-covered hills. It's a pretty place and looks like it will be a nice stop on my tour of Vietnam.

Evan asked to come along with me to the hostel I had booked to see if they had a bed for her. After walking around town with my directions, we finally found the hostel, hidden down a small street, right at the end of the dead-end.

It's s small place owned by a mother and daughter. The daughter speaks good English and deals with the customers. The mother doesn't seem to speak a word of English but smiles and talks constantly to the customers. She offers us tea and snacks while we are waiting to check in.

Evan and I and two other backpackers leave our bags and go out to explore the town. There is a lake in the center of Da Lat. We eventually come to a flower garden . Da Lat is famous for it's flowers. They have an annual flower festival for a week each year. We just missed it, but there is evidence everywhere that it was a big deal. Viewing stands are still in place and flower displays are all over town.

 Da Lat is a great agricultural area because of it's high altitude and very fertile soil. Coffee, tea, many types of fruit and vegetables along with flowers are produced here that don't grow in the lower elevations in Vietnam. In Hanoi and other places many sellers promote their "made in Da Lat" produce. 

The Flower Park is gorgeous with thousands of potted flowers. The entry archway is made up of potted plants as well as everything else in the park. There is a picture of Ho Chi Minh, made entirely of potted flowers.

There are 300 varieties of flowers here. There's bonsai, orchids, mimosa, roses, beautiful hydrangeas and topiary and hundreds of varieties of native and exotic flowers . This explains the hundreds of greenhouses we passed on the way into town!

Back at the hostel, we are invited to eat with the hostel owners. The mother enjoys cooking traditional Vietnamese food and having her guests join in. We crowd in around the round table and she brings dish after dish of things, many of which we do not know what it is. She smiles and speaks in animated Vietnamese. We know she is wanting to know if we enjoy her cooking.

She is so hilarious. She can't understand or speak English, so, when someone comes in asking for a room (only foreigners stay here) she nods and smiles. These Asians always like to please you. Today the daughter that speaks English was in one of her univeristy classes for awhile. The mother booked some rooms while she was gone. The backpackers were all waiting for their rooms when she returned. The only problem was......there were no rooms. The hostel was full.

After all these years,  I end up in the crazy house.....but that's for the next entry!