Nha Trang to Dalat

Dalat street scene




Friday 19/1/2007

We spent a couple of days in Nha Trang "relaxing" and plannig our itinerary for the remainder of our travels. Yeh, I know, that should only take ten minutes, but as far as mental agility is concerned we seem to be grinding to a halt.


Rita's been missing her mates....




On the Friday we took a bus from Nha Trang to Dalat.

Dalat is South West of Nha Trang, 205 kms in distance. It is in the south of the area known as the Central Highlands.

The journey took 5 hours, and was the sort of drive that you feel it is better not to look through the front window. As stated before, there are many, many motorbikes on Vietnam's roads. There are also horses, bicycles, stray dogs and stray people. The roads are narrow and generally potholed.

None of the above hazards seem to deter the bus drivers though. They career through the built up areas at high speed, blaring their horns in order that moving obstacles before them will scatter and leave the road clear. In the journeys that we took to Dalat and then back to Nha Trang, we witnessed one dog killed, a horse rear across the road, trailing its cart behind it and a motorcylclist on the inside of the bus so squeezed out by the bus's actions that his only alternative appeared to be to plunge into an eight foot ditch that was conveniently dug alongside the road. Fortunately for him the bus pulled away from him at the last moment. The fact that the normally stoical Vietnamese Motorcycle rider brandished his fist in protest, spoke volumes.

When we arrived in dalat, the sun was shining.

We were talking to an American couple at a cafe (teaching at Dalat Uni) and they informed us that this was potentially a malaria risk area. As we had't taken any anti-malarial precautions, we returned to the hotel, smothered ourselves in deet, put the mozzy nets up around the beds and sprayed the rooms. Nowt like being cautious.


Mozzy nets round hotel bed (Bridal suite)


2nd day in Dalat. I went out on a mission to get myself a white t-shirt and hat. I was feelinfg warm and my black Bob Dylan shirt was absorbing too much heat.
Rita had a 'quiet' coffee at a street cafe.
During my mission, I found myself at the back of the market. Interesting.
I witnessed a chicken about to be executed, but averted my gaze before the blow was struck (sensitive Westerner), then I slipped on a flapping black fish that was making a bold escape bid across the pavement. I also witnessed the vast quantities of meat lying unrefrigerated on the market stalls, with hosts of flies partaking of their breakfasts from it.
Hey, well, this is life, isn't it?

In the afternoon, we took a walk around the lake and visited the flower gardens - adrenalin junkies that we are.
Rita wasn't feeling too well today - I think the constant noise & buzz of things was getting to her.

In the evening we went into the town - and hey - all the motorbikes had gone - apparently on certain days/nights of the week, motorised vehicles are banned from the centre of town (we were later to find the same rules applied in Hoi An).
What a difference this made. You could actually breathe clean(er!) air and hear human voices and birds chirping.
Day 3, we were actually travelling back to Nha Trang, prior to getting transport to take us further North up the coast to Hoi An.

Some guy, with no legs has just come into the cafe selling newspapers, This is not at all unusual. There appear to be loads of victims of the Vietnam war (known as the American war here in Vietnam). I can only assume that these poor souls have been injured by land mines.