Grey but never dull: Dalat

In an attempt to keep this short (maybe even sweet?) our first stop out of Saigon was the seaside resort town of Mui Ne. Never have I seen so many extravagant hotels and spas in one place. To be honest, it was all a little too much. The beach itself was nothing to write home about and the town was way too expensive for us little backpackers. We searched under the moon light for a cheap place to stay, but our luck was out, it was going to be another 7$ night. Unfortunately this time, the cost wasn’t really reflected in the accommodation. The strip we were staying on was like walking down something from a 90210 episode, ‘life styles of the rich and famous’ came to mind.

We left the following morning.

Back on the road and possibly on the bounciest bus imaginable (my back will never be the same) we headed towards Dalat, high in the hills and famous for its coffee and wine: two of my favourite things. As we climbed the mountains, views of lush greenery surrounded us and made for a strong contrast from the cities and seaside places we had visited so far. We expected Dalat to be a small town, tucked away between the hills. It turned out to be quite different. Tucked between the hills yes, small, not so much. As we topped over the final brow of a mountain, Dalat spread out beneath us, far larger than we both imagined.

Sock horror, we weren’t dropped miles out of the centre. Things were looking good, but there was a reason why our little mini bus had struggled through the afternoon traffic to drop us at the first hotel. I think there were some family ties between the driver and hotel staff. Admittedly, it was a nice looking place, but way out of our league. It didn’t take long before we started walking. With no idea of where we were going, and only a vague idea of bearings, we started down the hill – an easier option than trekking upwards. This didn’t last long. Soon we were at the bottom, with only one option regardless of what road we picked; we were going up.

The weather here took us completely by surprise. From 30 degrees in Mui Ne, we had arrived in a place where the weather resembled something more of a British summer: cool, overcast and a little grey. This helped us as we climbed the endless hill to our guesthouse.

The large building looked good from the outside, and didn’t really disappoint on the inside either. The rooms were spacious, but there was no fan? We knew it was 6$ a night, but still, surely we would fry at night? Like I said earlier, the weather was too cold for any need of external cooling systems. In fact, after a rummage around at the bottom of our bags, our jumpers came out, albeit smelling a little damp. Nice.

It was a family run guesthouse and although not a home-stay by normal definitions, it really felt like we were part of family. It was lovely playing with the young children and the host spoke great English which really helped us out. We went through different tour options and tried to set an itinerary whereby we could see as much as possible. This was a none starter. The distances between all the attractions were just too great, and the costs of doing everything over 2 days was quickly climbing to an unfeasible high. Whilst here, we wanted to see some coffee plantations, explore the countryside, visit the Elephant waterfalls and ride elephants, surely not too much to ask for? There was only one solution, another scooter hire.

Malene’s new friend.

Early the next morning, we hired our scooter (unfortunately not pink this time), filled it to the brim and set off into the mountains. It was incredible. Everything was so green and the soil was a rich orange colour that made for a dramatic panorama as we hurtled our way through the hills. Our first stop was the Elephant waterfalls. Supposedly named because the rocks either side of the water resemble elephant heads, we couldn’t quite see it though. What we did see, was nature at its finest. After a slightly daunting descent, over slippery rocks and down to the river, we were rewarded by a beautiful waterfall. Not a bad place for breakfast we thought, and so grabbed our sandwiches and tucked in, occasionally being splashed by the cascading water.

Slippery slopes, was it worth it?

Yep!

Behind the water.

Back towards Dalat, we stopped at a coffee farm. Their most famous coffee is the weasel variety. Not sure on the name, we enquired as to its origin, not expecting the answer we got. As we walked into a little back room, we saw large cages with sleeping weasels. The process behind this coffee is as follows: feed the weasels coffee beans. The weasel then excretes the coffee beans. Make coffee out of what comes out. I was pretty disgusting and I really don’t know who thought of the idea. Ingenious or a little twisted? You decide.

My total concentration face.

After filling up our trusty 2 wheeled steed in Dalat, we continued to head through the city center and out the other side. It didn’t take long before we had to come off the main road and onto a pot holed ridden side track. But it was fun, occasionally felt like motocross and kept us excited for our next stop: Elephant island. To reach the small remote island, we had to cross the lake. The skies were starting to grow a little darker and with the silent water, it was all a little eerie. The island had the same feeling. Desert of people, we stumbled over large tree roots and passed empty swinging chairs. Eventually we found a guy and saw what we had come to see: an elephant. We promised ourselves that we would only go for ‘a ride’ if the animal looked like he was in a comfortable, nice place. With so many stories of animal cruelty, we definitely didn’t want to be part of that. But this elephant was having a great time. And as we climbed the rotting wooden stairs and onto the platform, we gingerly stepped over and onto the wild beast. It was a slow, surreal experience. He (I think it was a ‘he’?) plodded carefully through the forest and down to the waters edge. All the time chewing on a huge bamboo shoot. Naturally, I felt like I was sitting on top of an Imperial walker from Star Wars, another dream fulfilled!

Eerie lake.

Riding through the forest.

Same same but different.

The entire day was something of a dream. This was kind of the underlining tone for this entire trip so far. Right from the start, at the orphanage with the children, to the playground of Nepal and Thailand, Cambodia and now Vietnam: we were ticking so many life long ambitions. It’s all going so well and hopefully won’t change. The way things are turning out…how can it get any better?

We’ve lost out camera.

It turns out that Malene had hidden our camera behind the television in our room in Mui Ne. Without blaming her entirely, I was left in charge of packing our things together in preparation for the bus. Silly me for not checking behind the tv! Okay, I should have done a simple checklist of all important items, but it had happened and we needed to fix it. Luckily, we managed to get in touch with the previous hotel and they had found the camera and were keeping it safe. They then popped it on the bus and we were reunited with our trusty camera later that evening. I was seriously considering buying a new one, as the scratches on the lens are starting to get really noticeable. I hope the photos in this post are passable, as it was my trusty phone that took them.

Our final near miss came when we were to board our bus to Nha Trang. The confusion started with the fact that there are 2 buses, heading in opposite directions and leaving at the same time. We were supposedly booked on the Nha Trang bus, but in fact, the booking hadn’t gone through, leaving us potentially stranded. Luckily (using that word a lot at the moment!) our host managed to book us with a different company which all went through fine. What it does mean is that the company we brought our open bus tickets from, would have had to pay for the same journey twice. Mistakes on their behalf had started, and this would echo for the rest of our Vietnam trip.

Nha Trang here we come. With more beaches and Malene itching to take her PADI open water diving course, we were both eager to get there. We just had to ride out the 12 hour bus journey it would take for us to get there. Good times.

Hard to say goodbye to these views.

4 million motorbikes, must be Saigon.

It’s starting to become clear that the buses and taxis are all working together. Like a not so sneaky plan, the bus drivers drop fresh faced tourists off on the outskirts of a city and then literally feed said tourists to the pools of taxi sharks lurking at the bus door. I’m positive there is either commission or/and a cut that the bus drivers take from the taxi drivers after tourists pay the extortionate rates they offer. I haven’t met a traveller yet, who has coughed up the price of a taxi (motorbike or car), and frankly, if I did meet him/her, I’d probably want to slap them. Laziness and stupidity come to mind. You’re often being dropped in a bus station, with other buses, many of them local. It doesn’t take to much energy to realise that the chances of one of these local buses going your way at a fraction of the taxi price are pretty high. Maybe I’m being short sighted, but that last option is what Malene and I tend to do and Saigon was no different. After barging our way through the crowd of blood thirst taxi men, we eventually found a local bus that was going the right way. Not only saving money, but making it a little easier for future travellers passing through. If tourists insist on paying these crazy prices offered by taxi drivers, then there’s no reason why they should ever lower the price of their services. If more and more travellers use local methods of getting around, then hopefully (I might be wrong, it’s happened before) taxi drivers will bring their prices back down. Just an idea.

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city in the guide books) is an alive and buzzing city. With its complex road system as its veins and the motor bikes its blood, its life. Yes, there are 4 million motor bikes racing around the streets but its these two wheeled machines weaving in and out and over pavements, that give the city it’s energy. It’s totally daunting at first. Even deliberating crossing the road seems like an impossibility. Waiting for the green man at the zebra crossing doesn’t help either as (a) they can still turn right on a red and (b) 70% percent of them don’t actually adhere to the traffic lights. So watch out when the little green guy gives you the nod to cross…have a good look first, in all directions. That’s another strange rule that we’re slowly getting accustomed to, you can ride on what ever side of the road you like. For example, people in Vietnam drive on the right. However, if they turned left out of a driveway, and wanted to turn left further down the road, then the would stick to the left hand side of the road, thus saving crossing the road and traffic. Whether that makes sense or not, rest assure, it’s always a challenge crossing a street, but kind of fun at the same time.

After dropping Malene and our bags off at a very expensive coffee shop and ordering one ball of ice cream (cheapest item on the menu), I headed out it the sweltering heat in search of accommodation. With our bags getting heavier and heavier, this was always the easiest option, and since I can use the map on my phone a little better, it was often my duty to search out shelter. It often felt like a cave-man-era thing to do. I would go out, make a hut out of dried palm leaves and then kill a pig for dinner. In reality, I just wanted to find the cheapest place possible. Cheap and Saigon don’t really go hand in hand. 15$, 20$, even 25$ for a room, in the heart of the backpacker district, this was ridiculous! After a little more sweat and a few more tears, I managed to find a few places for 10$ a night – still way over budget, but probably better than sleeping on the streets. We took it, along with its incredible A/C and fridge! Living a life of luxury.

Saigon is a great place to just wonder the streets. There is so much happening that you really don’t know where to look. I would say, keep one eye on the traffic (both front and back) another eye on the food stalls and street life and maybe your final eye on the fantastic architecture found in the buildings that line the roads. Sit down at any of the beer Hoi stalls in the evening and watch tourists dodge traffic and locals blow flames of fire from their mouths. Eating wise, it has to be street food. Vietnam is so famous for its delicious range of food and no where serves it up better (or cheaper) than the little glass cabinet vendors that you’ll see everywhere, normally with a sea of locals around them.

Feeling a little bit more fashionable.

Exhibit from the excellent war memorial museum.

Street food, the best there is.

We took a one day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, approximately an hours bus ride from the city. Again the sun was blazing hot, which we tried not to complain knowing what it was like back home. These tunnels are the original homes of the Vietnamese during the war and were dug by the Viet Congs in order to protect themselves and battle with the invading Americans. They dug tens of thousands of miles of tunnel networks and included booby-traps, secret entrances, kitchens, hospitals and weapon making factories. We got to go down and feel heat and closeness of the tunnels – even if they had been made wider for us fat tourists! In parts, I was on my stomach crawling through, almost imagining the American army squads walking just a few feet above me. It’s a well preserved and historically, very important area. We both gave it a big thumbs up and recommend it highly.

One of the many secret entrances.

A fat tourist.

Standard tank pose.

M60 time.

We made a lot of plans here in Saigon for the rest of our Vietnam travels, often slightly under the influence of cheap Bia Hoi. One thing we decided was to buy an open bus ticket that would take us all the way north to Hanoi and stop in all the cities we wanted to visit. At 40$ a ticket, it felt a bit expensive, but we were assured that its a lot cheaper than buying individual tickets along the way. We just hoped it would all run smoothly, and with just a receipt in hand, we left the bus office. We had no idea how many problems we were about to have.

Kampot: pink scooter, crab and coffee

The riverside town of Kampot is a charming place. It’s relatively quiet streets are easy to walk around and the people are warm and welcoming. There were a few things on our itinerary for Kampot, but weren’t sure how to tackle it. The sea side fishing town of Kep was just 15km away and then there was the locally grown coffee plantations that sounded like fun. As our final stop in Cambodia, we wanted to make sure we could see as much as possible, but didn’t want to be tied up in an organised tour. It left us one option: scooter hire! This would be my first time on a scooter, but more importantly, my first time on one in Asia! As a keen cyclist, I felt that my road sense was good and we both decided to go for it.

I’ve got to admit, hiring the scooter was the best thing we have done in Cambodia, possibly the best thing on this entire trip. Being free to see what you want and at the speed that you’re comfortable with makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable. The roads were not over crowded and we felt safe on our hot little pink scooter! A couple of occasions, the road got pretty bumpy, but it was fun traversing the holes. We had incredible weather, and with the constant breeze cooling us down, we didn’t think too much about the raging sun. Of course my arms were covered in a generous coating of sun cream, but it was the back of my hands that really suffered. A few days later, I had blisters full of water, not pleasant!

Hot in pink.

We found a coffee plantation and walked around the strange towers of green bushes. These bushes are dotted with little green and black coffee pods and really interesting to see. For those coffee lovers out there, traditional Vietnamese coffee is quite different. I wouldn’t say it’s an acquired taste, but its consistency is a lot thicker than normal and it has quite a chocolate taste to it. It is usually served in glasses with their own drip feed system (excuse the poor terminology) and condensed milk. It is…delicious. It’s so think and creamy and filling, it also has a good amount of caffeine in it to kick start your day!

Amazing Coffee maze.

From the farm, we followed the map on my phone and zoomed along towards Kep. This town is famous for its sea food, more specifically, it’s crab dishes. On arrival, we walked around the fish market and watched the ladies as they dragged in their wooden wicker baskets hopefully full of crabs. They would then delve their hands in and pick specimens out. How they haven’t lost a couple of fingers is beyond me.

The locals…who all had 10 fingers.

We walked down the main sea front street, and browsed through menus. Crab is expensive! 5-6 dollars is the going price at the moment – a lot when you consider we were paying 50 cents for a meal on the street. Still, it was something we really wanted to do and in the end, we found a place that did a sea food platter and rice for 2 people and for 10 dollars. We sat on their balcony over looking the sea and watched as the fishermen worked hard out in the waters. Our platter included a red snapper fish, octopus, squid, prawns, crab and a few other delights. It was so fresh and tasty and we felt like royalty dining in a 5 star restaurant. The meal was served with a black Kampot pepper sauce, mixed with lemon that was so delicious and of course local.

The best sea food platter ever…and the view was pretty good too.

A few kilos heavier, we hopped back onto our scooter, did a loop of Kep and then headed home. We stopped on the way back to walk around a little floating village and saw salt fields which was certainly interesting. Back in Kampot, we gave our trusty steed in and then noticed just how dusty we were. I had perfect sunglasses marks and looked like I had spent a week on a sun bed. Time for a shower and bed.

Looking like a cross between a Mexican and a miner.

The following morning we arranged a bus to pick us up and take us to our new distinction and our final country: the highly anticipated Vietnam. Needless to say, we were both very excited!

On a final note, Cambodia…WOW! This entire country is full of mystery, love, history and happiness. We had the pleasure to meet some amazing locals and feel so lucky to have had the chance to visit this beautiful part of the world. I might go as far as saying that this is my favorite place so far. We could have easily spent longer visiting different places and hopefully one day, we can return and do just that. Thank you Cambodia, we will certainly miss you.