Vietnam is not a big fan of the Blues so far. Woke up at 0440 to some sort of construction going on outside our hotel. Seriously what could possibly be so important at 0440 in the morning????? Got up for the bus at 0600 then made our way downstairs to wait for the bus which was supposed to come at 0630. Of course it didn't come until 0700. Coulda slept a teeny bit longer. While we were waiting I had the pleasure of providing breakfast to a family of Mosquitos. Seems to be a common theme with our early bus rides.
The bus isn't much of a bus in the terms we're used to here in SE Asia. It's more like an airport shuttle like you'd see in the US. Except the seats were made for the average Vietnamese not the average westerner. In other words, if you're of average height in the US, these seats give you just enough room to squeeze your pinky toe in. Carolyn and I are completely squished.
The bus is full. Like people are spilling out full. At one point an old man lit up a cigarette on the bus. I guess he figured we haven't inhaled enough carcinogens in this lovely country yet. Thanks Vietnamese Marlboro Man!!!!
About an hour into our trip the local lady in front of me attempts to lean her seat back. It ain't moving cause my knees are firmly planted in her seat and they're not going anywhere. She turns around and gives me some sad'ish face and says something like 'my back'. I politely explain that I too am suffering from a painful ailment. My particular ailment is called being over 5'5". My knees and legs are numb from the pain. She tries again to move the seat. I motion to my legs and say 'ma'am, your seat isn't going anywhere right now cause my legs have nowhere to go. She is clearly not happy ... Join the club lady.
In other news the drive is through wonderful mountains and greenery. All the movies I saw as a kid and books I read painted Vietnam as a dusty, crappy, gross, undeveloped place. Well I'm sure there's some truth to that in places but it's actually very pretty and maybe the most modern of all the countries we've been to do far.
Dalat is wonderful. Well I can't really speak for the city as a whole. But if you just judge this place by the weather then it's heaven on earth!!!!! No humidity, no bugs (so far) a cool breeze and I didn't immediately look like I fell in a lake as I step outside (i.e. no sweating!).
Anyhow, we made it to our hotel but only after being followed by an 'easy rider' tour guy. FYI, the easy riders are a motorcycle touring group operating mainly in the central highlands. So we already knew we wanted to do the easy rider tour and figured we'd meet with this guy to see what it's all about. After chatting with him for a bit and getting all the price info ($85 / day / person ... Expensive ) we thanked him and went on about our day. Did a little research and digging and ended up going to the 'supposed' original easy riders cafe and chatted up 2 guys about a trip. Right away they seemed like super nice, fun loving, great guys. They poured us some tea and talked about all the things we'll see, the 'real' Vietnam and some history. We agreed on a price ($75 / person / day) which is still pretty expensive but after all we've read it seemed worth it. The price includes the motorcycle, the guides and our accommodations for a 2 night, 3 day trip from Dalat to Nha Trang. We'll be leaving tomorrow AM right after breakfast. Super excited! We've heard nothing but great things about this trip. Our guides are Mr Thai and Mr Young.
Moving on to our hotel. It's nice. Like JLo would stay here nice. Ok maybe not JLo, more like Kathy Griffin. The bed has a headboard! There's a safe fridge and the shower has a 6-head massaging thing ... Celebrity!!!!! Best part? A hair dryer for my Mrs!!!!
We went out for dinner and headed towards the central square. The city cordoned it off from cars so there were tons of people hanging out. Kids were skating, adults were chatting and everyone was dressed like it was late fall in NY. I mean hats, gloves, scarves, winter coats, they were astonished at our outfits. We walked around a bit and then settled on a local place for dinner. Carolyn had tofu and fried rice and I had tofu an vegetable. My meal was rubbish and Carolyn's was cold. Ohwell. Hopefully the food gets better.
So tomorrow we head out on our motorcycle tour. Not sure about connectivity so it may be a few days before we post again.
Pics:
1) our bus ride
2) hair dryer!!!!
3) Easy Rider Cafe (supposedly the original).
4) us on the bus.
5) Dalat city at night.
6) Dalat has real cows milk!
7) our room (dreams hotel ... $25/night).
8) Who has a beautiful wife and 2 thumbs? This guy!!!!
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