Yesterday we arrived in Da Lat after a bearable but long bus journey (that we left our mozzy net on). The bus was a little like a tour in its self. We passed houses with tin roofs that looked more like sheds with small herds of cattle in the garden, people watering their huge rice fields by hand (2 very large watering cans attached to a pole which is carried across the workers shoulders) and then you’d pass a tourist town or a posh looking school and it was a different world… Huge mansions built next door to tiny wooden houses. There’s a big contrast between rich and poor. It affects you in different ways on different days. Some days you feel a little ignorant and nothing sinks in because you’re used to seeing it. Yesterday I soaked it all up like a sponge!
We got off the bus in Da Lat and the cool air we felt was really nice. The first cool air since the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Last night we went out for tea in jeans and a fleece. It’s nice to be cool and wrap up warm for a change. We stayed in the Dreams hotel where they had a sauna, steam room and an open jacuzzi on the roof that we made full use of. Again, the cool air was just so nice when you were in the hot jacuzzi. Their rooms are really nice, with posh bathrooms and the breakfast this morning was really really good. Price - 12 quid. Receptionist - excellent. But they’re full tonight which is a blessing in disguise really because it has forced us to shop around and we found “My dreams” hotel a few doors down for half the price, 6 quid. We thought it’d be pricier up here because lots of honeymooners flock in, but everything’s really cheap, especially food.
Da Lat is a nice little area. We’re surrounded by mountains and there’s a lake at the bottom of our hill and waterfalls reachable by motorbike. We’re renting a bike today for “3 dollars” which is 54,000 dong or just over 2 pound for us. There are lots of outdoor activities going on and Taz wants to try the mountain biking! They do climbing courses but only for complete beginners so we’re going to give that a miss. The people here are noticeably nicer. I heard from Sammi (Finland) that the people in Vietnam aren’t as nice as everywhere else in Asia. In Ho Chi Minh City this was the case unfortunately and it actually got you down, but Da Lat is very different and everybody we’ve met here is incredibly friendly and helpful. In Ho Chi Minh City it was like the Vietnamese didn’t want tourists at all. They didn’t seem to like us! It wasn’t always the case but we’ve never been snubbed in Asia before quite like we have in Vietnam. Maybe they think we’re Americans! They usually lighten up if they bother asking where we’re from. I didn’t like pimp guys coming into the restaurants trying to sell Taz a “massage” either…
This morning the sky is bright blue and the weather feels like spring at home. They call this place “The city of eternal spring” and it’s just lovely to be here 
We may stay for a while to save cash and be cool! This little place might save me from thinking Vietnam was about to become my least favorite country when I expected it to be my favorite!
Ps - The tour we did the other day to the temple and the Cu Chi tunnels was very long and a little boring. 6 hours in total on the bus. 2 hours off the bus. The hour we spent at the tunnels made it worth it though, we got to climb through a widened tunnel. It was dark and hot down there and I almost freaked out but shimmied to the end. You don’t have to be claustrophobic to feel trapped in a Vietnamese tunnel! I don’t think anybody on our tour was small enough to squeeze down the unmodified tunnel. The thought of trying and getting stuck was frankly quite horrifying!