Thursday 20 Mar 2003
Dalat, Vietnam
Arriving in Dalat
Took a AC bus from Saigon this morning at 7.30 on the journey to Dalat (the first stop on my open bus ticket which only cost 21 bucks and will take me all the way to Hanoi!). The journey wound through some pretty lush scenery and the mountains are really staggering.
Were pretty high up though (about 1500 metres above sea level) so my ears were constantly popping, but Dalat is a complete contrast to Saigon (only 6 hours away). Everyone is dressed in heavy coats and there is a definate chill in the air, which is very welcome after Saigons heat wave! The people also look and behave quite differently... moto drivers (and the public in general) dont seem to pay any notice to the few foreigners about the place... even in the market you could walk through without being constantly hassled (or grabbed as in Saigon!) by shopkeepers. Its a refreshing place in EVERY way
Myself and a friend are sharing a room for 3 dollars each which has a balcony over-looking the fantastic mountains... so time for a few beers and chill out tonight I reckon and then maybe rent a moto each tommorrow to check out the waterfalls nearby... in the meantime Im getting viciously bitten by mozzies so better sign out...
Heard about Iraq getting bombed so were in wartime... I think Ill just keep my eyes out for any places with too many Americans... and avoid them just in case some passing extremist gets trigger happy*
*very unlikey