Ha Noi > Nha Trang > Da Lat > Home (well, Can Tho)

Let’s see, I left off where we left Ha Noi to Can Tho, but we decided to take a detour along the way...
So, instead of flying back to Ho Chi Minh City, we flew to Nha Trang, which is a little city along the south-western coast. We had read that the airport was so close to the city that you could easily walk to where our hotel was, so we (being the efficient travelers that we are) decided to take advantage of this opportunity. We got about 20 feet out of the airport, accompanied by many strange looks, and then someone drove up and told us that this was a new airport, and that it was about 35 kilometers to Nha Trang. Boy, did we feel like idiots. So, we jumped into a cab and drove through what looked like desert for about a half an hour when we reached Nha Trang.

Nha Trang is another pretty touristy area because it is a beach town. But we are here during the monsoon season and in the months of November and December, the beautiful aquamarine waters of the South China sea turn a murky brown, and the weather is often windy and cold (for Vietnamese standards). Well, that didn’t stop us from taking a swim in the ocean anyway. Then, we did some laundry, had a good dinner and got into bed early for the big bus ride the next day.

The main reason for us taking this detour was to see the city of Da Lat which nestled in the south-central highlands. We boarded a bus from Nha Trang, and drove up the mountains, stopping at a cool Khmer (another ‘ethnic minority’!) pagoda along the way.

Da Lat is famed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the country, was nicknamed “Le Petit Paris”, and it is home of the annual flower festival. Well, it certainly lived up to it’s reputation. It reminded us a lot of Can Tho in the size and friendliness of the people, only in the mountains and with a big lake, which immediately improves any city. We spent our first night getting the lay-out of the town, going to the big night market, and tasting some Da Lat specialties, namely strawberries, avocados, and artichokes.

Da Lat, along with the aforementioned things, is famous for a group of guys called the “Easy Riders”. They are certified tour guides who take people around Da Lat and the surrounding area on their motorbikes, giving tourists a complete look at the area. Now, our program does not allow us to go on motorbikes, so we passed up this opportunity. But, if we had gone on their tour, I would tell you about the beautiful pagodas we saw, the crazy house, the Chicken Village where people farm many crops, weave beautiful fabric, and let you help make incense, the huge waterfalls and the lunch you have looking over these waterfalls, the coffee fields, and the beautiful countryside. Not to mention the flower gardens and fruit trees that were everywhere. Ah well, maybe next time. (Picture of what my easy rider may have looked like)

After some more strawberry eating, tea drinking, and wandering around the beautiful city, it was time to say good bye to Da Lat. The next morning we waved goodbye to Kathryn, who was headed in the other direction for her ISP, and boarded another bus headed to Ho Chi Minh, and then another to Can Tho. After 13 hours of traveling, we were ready to be back in the place we refer to as home. Our trusty program assistant picked us up and took us to the university housing where we will be staying for the next month or so. After all that traveling, we were pretty exhausted, but I had a meeting with my advisor at 8 o’clock the next morning to start my own ISP, so there was not too much relaxing going on. Woohoo ISP time!

More on that later,

Julia


(nun making incense, field in the country side, beautiful pagoda, Da Lat market)