Thursday 6th March 2008

We were up early for the free breakfast this morning, but also because we were moving on - and someone had decided that 7.30am was a good time for our coach to be leaving. We'd packed our bags last night so we were in no rush and pretty soon we were all being loaded in to a minibus, which drove us North for a couple of hours before we changed to a proper coach.

Our next stop is a place called Dalat and it is more inland than Mui Né. The drive had some pretty spectacular scenery, all through the rice fields, and at one point we had to drive up some of the biggest mountains I have ever seen. It should've been a nice experience, but our driver was a nutter and insisted on throwing the coach around the sharp corners at high speeds and overtaking at every opportunity. When we'd safely reached the top, all the open fields disappeared and the city of Dalat came in to view - it was like a secret place, built behind the mountain.

When we got off the coach, we couldn't be bothered to look around for accommodation and so we booked into the first hotel by the bus stop - the Lam Son Hotel. As we were only staying one night, we decided that we would share a room, because they had two double beds. The hotel wasn't the best and was a bit of a dump compared to the Canary Resort we left this morning, but Mum was up for staying there... Keith didn't seem quite so keen, but didn't say anything and just went with it. No sooner had we checked in, we went for some lunch and then straight out on a city tour.

Our tour was pretty good. The guide, Viet, was EXCELLENT and really knew his stuff, so we could ask him anything about Vietnamese history. The tour included riding on some cable cars that took us high above the hills and countryside, down to a place called True Lam Meditation Centre, where the Monks live. That was a very tranquil and peaceful place and had some beautiful grounds for us to explore. Next, we drove to a place called Bao Dai's Summer Palace - which used to belong to the King but, since he moved to France in the 70's, now stands empty. Next, we were taken to a hand embroidery picture gallery, where a group of women are taught from a young age to sew. Then, as they get older, they start to work on pictures that can take months at a time. The final pieces are stunning and from a distance look like large paintings or even photographs. Mum and Keith were very impressed and I think had it not been for the price, they would've probably come out with some pictures!

The last stop of the tour was at a place called 'The Crazy House'. We weren't really sure what it was, but I think some lady has taken it upon herself to build the weirdest hotel in the world! We were able to explore and look in some of the bedrooms (some had guests in, and their doors were locked). Each of the rooms had a different theme - usually an animal like a bear or bird of some sort. The thing about each room that put me off was the bed - not only were they weird shapes and sizes, but they were FILTHY! If it's gonna be empty for people to look around, they could at least put some clean sheets on... well, that's what I think anyway!

Tonight, we went out onto the streets of Dalat to look for some food and ending up going into a restaurant full of locals. It was nothing to me and Nikki, but I didn't have a clue what my Mum was going to eat? Fair play to her - she did try some stuff and seemed to quite enjoy her rice meal. Keith had noodle soup (again) and loved it (again).

Please, please, please, please, please... don't let them snore tonight!?