After our time in Ho Chi Minh City, we flew first thing in the morning to Da Lat. You have to love being ready by 4 a.m.! Because we didn't have much time, it made more sense for us to fly. It was a lot faster and decently cheap. I've got to say that I was not impressed with Ho Chi Minh City's airport. We anticipated a long ride to the airport, but in reality we got there in no time. So we sat around for a while. Most of the airport was still asleep. You could see people sleeping on the floor behind the counter of their shops. When it was time for our flight we walked outside to small plane that was waiting. The flight was a little less than an hour. We got to Da Lat by 8 a.m..
This turned out to be a highlight of my trip. I read online that it was a quiet town but people seemed to really like it. I was glad we went. We stayed at the Pink House. This was by far the best hostel/guesthouse I've ever stayed in. When we walked up to the door we were quickly greeted with hugs and smiles. Everyone was so friendly. Our rooms weren't ready so we grabbed some breakfast and asked about what we should do while we were in town. We jotted down some ideas of things to do, but didn't really set a plan. They were quick to start marking things on a map for us. We had also read online about a tour that a guy does at the Villa Pink House. When we asked about it, he said that he did do the tours but only on certain days. If we wanted to go we'd have to wait and go the next day. Originally we were only going to stay for a full day and leave the following morning. I was in somewhat of a rush to get to the beach! That quickly changed and we tacked on an extra day. Everyone raved about this tour so it seemed like a must. So we decided to spend the first day doing the main tourist attractions and the second day on Rot's tour.
We rented a motorbike for the day. They asked if I'd ever driven a motorbike. I said I did.... a year ago. I did a quick test drive and seemed fine so we headed to the gas station. I will admit I was a little rusty at first. I was trying to turn left when I noticed something in my mirror. One of the guys that worked at the guesthouse was following us! He said he was worried and wanted to check up on us. I didn't even make it 5 feet down the road. It was a nice gesture on his part. The first place we went was to Datanla Falls. It took some time to get there because of my fantastic sense of direction. A lot of the roads seemed to go in circles so it took a little longer than it probably should've. At one point we pulled off to the side near the center of town and I just yelled at the closest person for help. It worked! They gave us good directions and we made it in no time. To get to the waterfall you can take a kind of roller coaster that you can control to the bottom. It was a lot of fun and something different. Once we got to the bottom it was very touristy. (Like we had been warned.) It was pretty, but small. It's something I wouldn't go out of my way to see though. Beside the waterfall was a man dressed like a cowboy with a horse that you could pay to take a picture with. I didn't realize it was like the wild west in Vietnam?! This wasn't the first time I saw this! If you walked a few more feet over, there was s cable car. We weren't sure where it went but figured why not. It was short and just took us to another waterfall. Actually, that one was much better and in more of a natural setting. We ended up with a cable car with 4 others speaking another language. What was funny, they were speaking Korean and certain words stuck out. For example, "foreigner". My friend was quick to speak Korean back to them. Their reaction? They pretty much stopped talking when they realized we knew anything they were saying. It was a good laugh. Once we got to the second waterfall we snapped our photos and went back to the roller coaster to head back up the hill.
After we left Datanla Falls we drove our motorbike up to the Crazy House. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it here, but I'm glad we did. There wasn't much to do there, but it was a cool place to see. I've never seen anything quite like it. We didn't spend much time there before moving on. We had worked up quite an appetite driving around all day. We ended up at a small vegetarian restaurant that I think was the one recommended to us by the staff at our guesthouse. We got a little confused following the map. What can I say, my sense of direction isn't the best... Once our bellies were full, on to the next site. We headed down the hill to the Flower Park. From the outside it looked beautiful. From the inside, just ok. The were some beautiful flowers, some that I'd never seen before and wish I could figure out the names of them. We saw some funny looking animal shaped plants, but that was about it. We ended the day across the street at the famous lake in the middle of town, the Xuan Huong Lake. We rented a goose-shaped paddle boat and spent an hour racing random people and battling the wind. It was an exhausting day considering how little sleep we'd been getting. So back to the guesthouse to get ready for the famous 'Rot' tour the next morning. But we had a little detour. I couldn't find our way back. We pulled over to look at a map and a guy came up to us and asked where were trying to go. We told him and he said he show us the way. We didn't know where to go, so why not. We just kept a little distance to be safe. But turns out he's also a teacher and just wanted to practice his English. We found the Villa and parted ways.
Finally, it was time for the tour we kept reading about online. We woke up early hurried downstairs just in time to grab a quick bite to eat and have some coffee then rushed outside to meet the group. Everyone stood in a circle, holding hands and introduced themselves. It was a fun way to start the tour. We grabbed our motorbike from the day before and lined up. Naturally, I went to the front of the pack. (I don't like to be in the back. You could say I have a need for speed so I prefer the front.) We all filled up and began our journey. There were 3 guides on the trip to make sure no one got lost. Good thing for this, we lost some within 10 minutes of leaving! But no worries, we found them a little while later.
The ride was a little far out of the city. Some winding roads, but a gorgeous view the entire time. It made staying worth it just for that. We sped a long the country side until we came to our first stop, a cricket farm. There wasn't much to see, but we didn't leave before having a snack. Weird snack number one of the day. Yup! You guessed it, we ate crickets dipped in chili sauce. Can't say it was terrible either. It actually didn't have much taste. Mostly you could only taste the sauce. Here was where we found our lost drivers. They picked up a friend along the way, a weasel. They rescued it from another man. They bought him and left him in the bag until we could let him go in the jungle. The gang was all here, so back on the bikes. This time they were watching me. I maybe passed the leader and went a little too fast for there likings. (No worries though, I never wrecked!)
Our next stop was a small market. This was a lot of fun. We learned about some customs that concerned burying loved ones. The celebrate the anniversary of death more than a birthday. Every year on the anniversary of someone's death they leave these children-like toy sets of clothes, money, and cigarettes to burn and pass on to the spirits. It was funny because we thought we had seen US dollars on the side of the road but never stopped. I'm glad we didn't because it turns out it was fake. But the families toss the play money along the road as the drive to the resting place for good luck. After that we went on to the food part of the market. We saw everything from fruits and vegetables to fish and live chickens. I spared myself from the meat section. A little too graphic for me. My friend and I spent out time buying some fresh beans to eat later. At the end of the market, Rot collected a variety of mostly tasty treats for us to try. There was a thing or 2 I could've gone without.
Just down the road was a silk farm. We got to see the entire process of how the go about making the silk from the beginning to the finished product. As soon as we walked inside we saw a woman working with a bunch of silk worms in a bowl of hot water. As our one of our tour guides was explaining things and walking around, she came in front of me. I thought she was going to say something. Nope. Instead she popped a silkworm into my mouth! I can only imagine my facial expression. I seemed to be the only one that this happened to. Being the trooper that I am, yes, I ate it. Honestly, it wasn't horrible. Once I was over the shock, I kept walking through to see the different stations throughout the factory. It was amazing to see, especially how many of the women were wearing sweat clothes and it was ridiculously hot outside. We ended up seeing the how it ends. It's crazy to see it go from a a silkworm to a beautiful sheet of silk with a pattern across it. We had a short rest time and back on the bikes.
Also just down the road was the Elephant Falls. At first glance, you could see a few elephant statues and nothing else really. But if you walked over to the edge you could see the falls. It was gorgeous. The trek down was actually quite dangerous. There wasn't much of a path and everything was wet. A few times I slipped and was a little nervous. But it could've just been my lack of balancing skills. The trek was worth it though. The waterfall was amazing to see from directly beside it. Then I followed everyone else, thinking we were heading back up. I was wrong. We actually went underneath it! It was extremely windy and we got soaked, but I would do it again. Even though we had to drive around wet for a while. When we got back to the top I saw a guy that had climbed the large elephant statue for a photo. In my head, it looked easy to get up. I couldn't of been more wrong. I took his advice to climb onto the smaller one and jump. I didn't make it. I did a splat right into the side of it. And yes, it hurt. He helped me crawl up after that so I could at least get a picture. It would be a waste to get a massive bruise and not even get the picture. I also got stuck getting down... Confession: I'm terrible at climbing statues, but it probably won't stop me.
After this elephant debacle we drove for a good while before reaching our next intended destination. We did make a quick pitstop to look at some of the coffee beans since it's become a large industry for the highlands of Vietnam. They're now number 2 in the world of producing coffee behind Brazil. Fun fact! Rot was kind enough to throw a fake snake at us and scare us half to death. This was a common theme on the tour. I fell for pretty much all of his antics!
Moving on, we reached the highlight of the tour. Rot's home village where he grew up. We drove on an off beaten path and came up upon some rice fields. We stopped to take a look when a truck driver passed by and decided to stop and see what all the foreigners were doing. He was entertained by letting us climb on his truck for some fun photos. Then kept on his way. We parked our bikes at Rot's family's house. His parents and siblings all live next to each other. His sister, a Buddhist monk, had offered to take us in and cook lunch for us. While she was cooking, he took us on a tour of the village he grew up in. He doesn't live there anymore, after getting an education he now resides in Da Lat working at the Pink House. (Lucky for us!) A few of the women invited us in to their home for a humous hour about their village. Rot had us speak their native language to us and vice versa. Maybe some words we shouldn't of said. But it was all in good fun. It was crazy to think of how different of a life it is from the one I know. Women give birth outside by themselves with nothing but a bamboo stick to assist them. Families pay in money, livestock, or jewelry to afford husbands for their daughters. Once a suitor is paid for he comes to live with the wife's family, Many homes were 1 room with as many as 12 people living there. But they were all very happy. I was definitely intrigued by all of it. They even shared a few of their customs with us. They passed around a hollowed tube with ginger in it and said to try it. Afterwards, we learned they also grind up mice and mix it with the ginger. So yes, weird snack number 3 for the day, ginger and mouse. They showed us how they weave and make skirts for special occasions like weddings. And at the end, with a donation, we were allowed to take a skirt. It was the best part of Da Lat. For me, it really put things into perspective more than anything else.
After that we went back to Rot's sister's house for lunch. She made an insane amount of noodles for us to eat. It was impossible to finish. But it was delicious. While we rested before our return home, another tour guide spoke to us about Vietnamese culture. It was quite different than that in the village. She told us about how different tones can change a word to the extreme. She also spoke to us about the fruit there. She brought a giant bowl of mixed fruits that I'd never seen before like jackfruit, rambutan, mango, dragon fruit, and durian along with more. We had a taste-testing of each. Some good. Some not so much. The last testing was of "Vietnamese" chocolate. To this day, I'm not sure what it really was. They told us about a popular delight that is feeding weasels coffee beans and using their coffee flavored "droppings" to cook, dip in coconut, and eat. I'm pretty sure this is what we ate. But no positive. They just kept laughing so I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. What are you going to do? Too late now. So we drank a little more coffee then began our drive back.
On the way back we made a few pitstops again. This time to check our the elephant mushrooms. We also stopped to free our friend, the weasel. It was a long time coming. We waited all day to free the little guy. We only pulled over for a few minutes then continued before it got too dark to drive.
Once we got back we played a few games in the driveway. (Which of course I won a round!) Then showered off and Rot took us all to dinner. He ordered a bunch of dishes for us and just said to try them all and didn't really tell us too much about what they were. Most were pretty delicious. But one I had a problem with. Mid-chew, he made a "woof, woof" sound. My jaw dropped. I've avoided dog living in Korea for 2 years. I'd been in Da Lat for 2 days and didn't make it! I wasn't a happy camper about it.
After dinner we went to watch Rot sing and danced around. He was having a blast picking everyone up, including the big guys and dancing. We ended the night at a bar we heard was a good place for us since most closed earlier here. Saigon Nite Bar. I felt like at any moment vampires were going to come out and kill me. My drink tasted like toothpaste, there were barely any lights, and the bartender just plain creeped me out. Needless to stay, we didn't stay long. I was terrified. We walked back because we had an early wake up time the next morning to head to Nha Trang. When we arrived back at the guesthouse, surprise, the gates were locked and we couldn't get in... again! I've never seen this happen before going to Vietnam. I'm sure it's for safety, but not great for me when I'm on the outside.
We were able to get inside and make our way to our beds for a little R and R. The next morning I had a mini dance party/wake up session with one of the workers there who does break dancing while we waited for the bus that was late. To find out what happened in Nha Trang, stay tuned for part 3...
After we left Datanla Falls we drove our motorbike up to the Crazy House. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it here, but I'm glad we did. There wasn't much to do there, but it was a cool place to see. I've never seen anything quite like it. We didn't spend much time there before moving on. We had worked up quite an appetite driving around all day. We ended up at a small vegetarian restaurant that I think was the one recommended to us by the staff at our guesthouse. We got a little confused following the map. What can I say, my sense of direction isn't the best... Once our bellies were full, on to the next site. We headed down the hill to the Flower Park. From the outside it looked beautiful. From the inside, just ok. The were some beautiful flowers, some that I'd never seen before and wish I could figure out the names of them. We saw some funny looking animal shaped plants, but that was about it. We ended the day across the street at the famous lake in the middle of town, the Xuan Huong Lake. We rented a goose-shaped paddle boat and spent an hour racing random people and battling the wind. It was an exhausting day considering how little sleep we'd been getting. So back to the guesthouse to get ready for the famous 'Rot' tour the next morning. But we had a little detour. I couldn't find our way back. We pulled over to look at a map and a guy came up to us and asked where were trying to go. We told him and he said he show us the way. We didn't know where to go, so why not. We just kept a little distance to be safe. But turns out he's also a teacher and just wanted to practice his English. We found the Villa and parted ways.
Finally, it was time for the tour we kept reading about online. We woke up early hurried downstairs just in time to grab a quick bite to eat and have some coffee then rushed outside to meet the group. Everyone stood in a circle, holding hands and introduced themselves. It was a fun way to start the tour. We grabbed our motorbike from the day before and lined up. Naturally, I went to the front of the pack. (I don't like to be in the back. You could say I have a need for speed so I prefer the front.) We all filled up and began our journey. There were 3 guides on the trip to make sure no one got lost. Good thing for this, we lost some within 10 minutes of leaving! But no worries, we found them a little while later.
The ride was a little far out of the city. Some winding roads, but a gorgeous view the entire time. It made staying worth it just for that. We sped a long the country side until we came to our first stop, a cricket farm. There wasn't much to see, but we didn't leave before having a snack. Weird snack number one of the day. Yup! You guessed it, we ate crickets dipped in chili sauce. Can't say it was terrible either. It actually didn't have much taste. Mostly you could only taste the sauce. Here was where we found our lost drivers. They picked up a friend along the way, a weasel. They rescued it from another man. They bought him and left him in the bag until we could let him go in the jungle. The gang was all here, so back on the bikes. This time they were watching me. I maybe passed the leader and went a little too fast for there likings. (No worries though, I never wrecked!)
Our next stop was a small market. This was a lot of fun. We learned about some customs that concerned burying loved ones. The celebrate the anniversary of death more than a birthday. Every year on the anniversary of someone's death they leave these children-like toy sets of clothes, money, and cigarettes to burn and pass on to the spirits. It was funny because we thought we had seen US dollars on the side of the road but never stopped. I'm glad we didn't because it turns out it was fake. But the families toss the play money along the road as the drive to the resting place for good luck. After that we went on to the food part of the market. We saw everything from fruits and vegetables to fish and live chickens. I spared myself from the meat section. A little too graphic for me. My friend and I spent out time buying some fresh beans to eat later. At the end of the market, Rot collected a variety of mostly tasty treats for us to try. There was a thing or 2 I could've gone without.
Just down the road was a silk farm. We got to see the entire process of how the go about making the silk from the beginning to the finished product. As soon as we walked inside we saw a woman working with a bunch of silk worms in a bowl of hot water. As our one of our tour guides was explaining things and walking around, she came in front of me. I thought she was going to say something. Nope. Instead she popped a silkworm into my mouth! I can only imagine my facial expression. I seemed to be the only one that this happened to. Being the trooper that I am, yes, I ate it. Honestly, it wasn't horrible. Once I was over the shock, I kept walking through to see the different stations throughout the factory. It was amazing to see, especially how many of the women were wearing sweat clothes and it was ridiculously hot outside. We ended up seeing the how it ends. It's crazy to see it go from a a silkworm to a beautiful sheet of silk with a pattern across it. We had a short rest time and back on the bikes.
Also just down the road was the Elephant Falls. At first glance, you could see a few elephant statues and nothing else really. But if you walked over to the edge you could see the falls. It was gorgeous. The trek down was actually quite dangerous. There wasn't much of a path and everything was wet. A few times I slipped and was a little nervous. But it could've just been my lack of balancing skills. The trek was worth it though. The waterfall was amazing to see from directly beside it. Then I followed everyone else, thinking we were heading back up. I was wrong. We actually went underneath it! It was extremely windy and we got soaked, but I would do it again. Even though we had to drive around wet for a while. When we got back to the top I saw a guy that had climbed the large elephant statue for a photo. In my head, it looked easy to get up. I couldn't of been more wrong. I took his advice to climb onto the smaller one and jump. I didn't make it. I did a splat right into the side of it. And yes, it hurt. He helped me crawl up after that so I could at least get a picture. It would be a waste to get a massive bruise and not even get the picture. I also got stuck getting down... Confession: I'm terrible at climbing statues, but it probably won't stop me.
After this elephant debacle we drove for a good while before reaching our next intended destination. We did make a quick pitstop to look at some of the coffee beans since it's become a large industry for the highlands of Vietnam. They're now number 2 in the world of producing coffee behind Brazil. Fun fact! Rot was kind enough to throw a fake snake at us and scare us half to death. This was a common theme on the tour. I fell for pretty much all of his antics!
Moving on, we reached the highlight of the tour. Rot's home village where he grew up. We drove on an off beaten path and came up upon some rice fields. We stopped to take a look when a truck driver passed by and decided to stop and see what all the foreigners were doing. He was entertained by letting us climb on his truck for some fun photos. Then kept on his way. We parked our bikes at Rot's family's house. His parents and siblings all live next to each other. His sister, a Buddhist monk, had offered to take us in and cook lunch for us. While she was cooking, he took us on a tour of the village he grew up in. He doesn't live there anymore, after getting an education he now resides in Da Lat working at the Pink House. (Lucky for us!) A few of the women invited us in to their home for a humous hour about their village. Rot had us speak their native language to us and vice versa. Maybe some words we shouldn't of said. But it was all in good fun. It was crazy to think of how different of a life it is from the one I know. Women give birth outside by themselves with nothing but a bamboo stick to assist them. Families pay in money, livestock, or jewelry to afford husbands for their daughters. Once a suitor is paid for he comes to live with the wife's family, Many homes were 1 room with as many as 12 people living there. But they were all very happy. I was definitely intrigued by all of it. They even shared a few of their customs with us. They passed around a hollowed tube with ginger in it and said to try it. Afterwards, we learned they also grind up mice and mix it with the ginger. So yes, weird snack number 3 for the day, ginger and mouse. They showed us how they weave and make skirts for special occasions like weddings. And at the end, with a donation, we were allowed to take a skirt. It was the best part of Da Lat. For me, it really put things into perspective more than anything else.
After that we went back to Rot's sister's house for lunch. She made an insane amount of noodles for us to eat. It was impossible to finish. But it was delicious. While we rested before our return home, another tour guide spoke to us about Vietnamese culture. It was quite different than that in the village. She told us about how different tones can change a word to the extreme. She also spoke to us about the fruit there. She brought a giant bowl of mixed fruits that I'd never seen before like jackfruit, rambutan, mango, dragon fruit, and durian along with more. We had a taste-testing of each. Some good. Some not so much. The last testing was of "Vietnamese" chocolate. To this day, I'm not sure what it really was. They told us about a popular delight that is feeding weasels coffee beans and using their coffee flavored "droppings" to cook, dip in coconut, and eat. I'm pretty sure this is what we ate. But no positive. They just kept laughing so I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. What are you going to do? Too late now. So we drank a little more coffee then began our drive back.
On the way back we made a few pitstops again. This time to check our the elephant mushrooms. We also stopped to free our friend, the weasel. It was a long time coming. We waited all day to free the little guy. We only pulled over for a few minutes then continued before it got too dark to drive.
Once we got back we played a few games in the driveway. (Which of course I won a round!) Then showered off and Rot took us all to dinner. He ordered a bunch of dishes for us and just said to try them all and didn't really tell us too much about what they were. Most were pretty delicious. But one I had a problem with. Mid-chew, he made a "woof, woof" sound. My jaw dropped. I've avoided dog living in Korea for 2 years. I'd been in Da Lat for 2 days and didn't make it! I wasn't a happy camper about it.
After dinner we went to watch Rot sing and danced around. He was having a blast picking everyone up, including the big guys and dancing. We ended the night at a bar we heard was a good place for us since most closed earlier here. Saigon Nite Bar. I felt like at any moment vampires were going to come out and kill me. My drink tasted like toothpaste, there were barely any lights, and the bartender just plain creeped me out. Needless to stay, we didn't stay long. I was terrified. We walked back because we had an early wake up time the next morning to head to Nha Trang. When we arrived back at the guesthouse, surprise, the gates were locked and we couldn't get in... again! I've never seen this happen before going to Vietnam. I'm sure it's for safety, but not great for me when I'm on the outside.
We were able to get inside and make our way to our beds for a little R and R. The next morning I had a mini dance party/wake up session with one of the workers there who does break dancing while we waited for the bus that was late. To find out what happened in Nha Trang, stay tuned for part 3...
Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae
Elissa Rae
