Day 10 – off roading
I have mapped our progress manually (our GPS mizmo didn't work :c ), and will continue to do this as long at it works... Zoom in for some nice detail on 'Sat' view.
Okay, so we spent a lot of time trying to get to Dalat. And it very odd. The guide books describe it as the Paris of Vietnam, and they weren't wrong. This place is ultra kitsch! It even has it's own mini Eiffel tower! People here dress with a European flare, fashion seems to matter, there are more bars, hi-end electronic shops, and some of the architecture here resembles what you might find in the French Alps. This was indeed a place the French (when Vietnam was a French colony – 1858-1954) decided to make a home-from-home to escape the sizzling heat of the dry season. At nearly 1500m above sea level the climate is certainly different to what we've been used to – you need a blanket at night, and it even rained here today. This is a place that many Vietnamese come as a honey-moon destination, and is popular with tourists due to it's cosmopolitan vibe, and golf course at the centre (flickr).
We read a lot about this place when researching and it sounded promising, especially being the so called capital of the highlands – the area where we expected to find many rural (stereotypical) Vietnamese sights. The morning consisted of driving to a monastery, which was really lovely – a very tranquil place with some nice views (apart from the tourist shops with caged monkeys to attract attention). After which we went to the main waterfall in the area – horrible! The falls were okay (it is the dry season after all!), but it was SUCH a tourist place tacky as hell. So we did our thing and left.
After we went back into the city toured around the central lake a little, then ventured east. We decided to get off the main roads and start exploring the countryside a bit. And boy was it the country side – massive valleys, filled with beautiful countryside, stepped farmland & paddies that just went on forever. Truly awe-inspiring! We enjoyed ourselves so much we forgot about time, distance, and petrol again. This time it was Lukas that ran dry, quite literally at the top of the hill that takes us back onto the main road, where by another amazing stroke of luck there just happened to be a petrol pump (there are stations like at home, but most are barrels linked to hand pumps in people drives you can buy from)10metres away – lucky lucky boy! :)
By this point we were covered in head-to-toe in red dust from the off-road paths we'd taken. I haven't been that dirty in a while. But we have some amazing pictures to show for it (to follow once we find somewhere decent – Lukas isn't having a good time with his machine...). After some more driving around, we settled for one of the best meals we've had in the country so far, and back into an internet café to update our progress.
Tomorrow we hope to hire an 'easy rider' biker dude for the day, to take us to more remote places that we can't find in any guide, and show us more of the real countryside we loved so much today. More stories to follow.
Okay, so we spent a lot of time trying to get to Dalat. And it very odd. The guide books describe it as the Paris of Vietnam, and they weren't wrong. This place is ultra kitsch! It even has it's own mini Eiffel tower! People here dress with a European flare, fashion seems to matter, there are more bars, hi-end electronic shops, and some of the architecture here resembles what you might find in the French Alps. This was indeed a place the French (when Vietnam was a French colony – 1858-1954) decided to make a home-from-home to escape the sizzling heat of the dry season. At nearly 1500m above sea level the climate is certainly different to what we've been used to – you need a blanket at night, and it even rained here today. This is a place that many Vietnamese come as a honey-moon destination, and is popular with tourists due to it's cosmopolitan vibe, and golf course at the centre (flickr).
We read a lot about this place when researching and it sounded promising, especially being the so called capital of the highlands – the area where we expected to find many rural (stereotypical) Vietnamese sights. The morning consisted of driving to a monastery, which was really lovely – a very tranquil place with some nice views (apart from the tourist shops with caged monkeys to attract attention). After which we went to the main waterfall in the area – horrible! The falls were okay (it is the dry season after all!), but it was SUCH a tourist place tacky as hell. So we did our thing and left.
After we went back into the city toured around the central lake a little, then ventured east. We decided to get off the main roads and start exploring the countryside a bit. And boy was it the country side – massive valleys, filled with beautiful countryside, stepped farmland & paddies that just went on forever. Truly awe-inspiring! We enjoyed ourselves so much we forgot about time, distance, and petrol again. This time it was Lukas that ran dry, quite literally at the top of the hill that takes us back onto the main road, where by another amazing stroke of luck there just happened to be a petrol pump (there are stations like at home, but most are barrels linked to hand pumps in people drives you can buy from)10metres away – lucky lucky boy! :)
By this point we were covered in head-to-toe in red dust from the off-road paths we'd taken. I haven't been that dirty in a while. But we have some amazing pictures to show for it (to follow once we find somewhere decent – Lukas isn't having a good time with his machine...). After some more driving around, we settled for one of the best meals we've had in the country so far, and back into an internet café to update our progress.
Tomorrow we hope to hire an 'easy rider' biker dude for the day, to take us to more remote places that we can't find in any guide, and show us more of the real countryside we loved so much today. More stories to follow.
Plus, due to popular demand, we'll do our best to get some pictures up of our hair cuts ;)
posted by Darkejon @ 14:10
2 Comments:
Ha, ha - popular demand = 1 person... (see 1 person CAN make a difference...!)
Well it's business as usual here... coding away, rain outside...
FYI (if u don't already know) Craig has announced that he is leaving 26 to move to Amsterdam & Matt may be stepping down too (taking on a more consulting role) due to his back problems...
DVC's last day today...
L8r,
DK
I'll add to the popular demand - get your heads out for the lads :-)
You missed a good night on Friday but I suspect you can live with that. Plus now we have somewhere to crash in Amsterdam.
Looks like you're having one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of experiences - lucky bastards :-) (Mind you I could tell you a few tales of deepest Siberia that might make your hair curl.)
Keep on riding!
NH
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