So, we left Mui Ne painfully early the next morning- a 7am cramped bus to Dalat. Fairly uneventful journey, apart from the mini-drama of an American guy wanting to get dropped off in a random town on the way, and continually fretting that the bus driver had forgotten. We're loving Dalat: its lush green hills, quaint pastel-coloured French villas, and its Spring-like cool (in both senses of the word). Our search for suitable guides for the Ho Chi Minh trail up north has had its perks. An introduction to new foods: fresh Vietnamese spring rolls with a peanut satay sauce- DELICIOUS- and French-influenced snails; I thought they were tasty, Patrick not so much! A ride to beautiful, peaceful Paradise Lake, though the lonely elephant there made me sad- an elephant needs friends! A visit to the Old Railway Station, where we went in the front of Vietnam's oldest steam engine, and I discovered that I'm a secret train geek. A visit to the Crazy House- it was crazy. Trying rice wine- an...interesting taste. And generally riding around beautiful Dalat, with its stunning pastoral scenery.
The downside...trying to find a guide with a reasonable price. We turned down the offer of our hotel manager last night, though he gave us rice wine and serenaded us with his guitar! Though we loved the guide, Yam, we just didn't like that the manager was unyielding with a price bumped up for commission purposes. Wandering around Dalat on this fresh morning, we found our two guys- or rather, they found us. Genuine, knowledgeable, funny, and affordable to boot...well, after we haggled a tad. Phuong (he calls himself 'Denis' after the Easy Rider movie!) and Phong (his nickname is 'Windy'- English translation of his name) are going to do us proud, I know it. I can't wait to see the 'real' Vietnam...see you further up the Ho Chi Minh trail!
The downside...trying to find a guide with a reasonable price. We turned down the offer of our hotel manager last night, though he gave us rice wine and serenaded us with his guitar! Though we loved the guide, Yam, we just didn't like that the manager was unyielding with a price bumped up for commission purposes. Wandering around Dalat on this fresh morning, we found our two guys- or rather, they found us. Genuine, knowledgeable, funny, and affordable to boot...well, after we haggled a tad. Phuong (he calls himself 'Denis' after the Easy Rider movie!) and Phong (his nickname is 'Windy'- English translation of his name) are going to do us proud, I know it. I can't wait to see the 'real' Vietnam...see you further up the Ho Chi Minh trail!
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