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| Morning in Saigon aka Ho Chi Min City! |
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| Diana makes friends so quickly... |
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| Pho vendor in Saigon |
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| 'The Grid' |
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| Saigon street scene |
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| Food market in Saigon |
Saigon market video
During this episode, Diana, (not usually this squeamish), is still adjusting to the altered states of hygiene and cleanliness.
After 3 nights in Saigon, we decide to head to a quieter setting.
A 5-hour bus ride takes us to the coastal resort town of Mui Ne....
From our bungalow on the beach, we decompress from our long flights and the hectic pace of Saigon.
Joe takes to this lifestyle rather quickly....
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| The beach on the South China Sea |
Avoiding the tourist joints, we headed to a family-run eatery for a breakfast of Pho Bo (noodle soup with beef) with all the fixins. This was the best pho we've ever had - rich, beefy broth, aromatic with anise, clove and garlic, tender meat and crisp, fresh herbs.
During breakfast, Joe makes a friend....
Then we ride our motorbike over to enormous the sand dunes.....
....and go sledding, of course!
Back on the bike, we ride along the coast towards the city of Phan Thien....
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| Coastline on the South China Sea |
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| Joe gasses up our ride |
We pass harbors with colorful fishing boats. This region is possibly Vietnam's most prolific producer of fish sauce. Photos cannot convey the odor.....
Remarkably still craving seafood, we arrive in Phan Thien and find a popular seafood restaurant. We had whole, steamed, squid, served with a dipping sauce, and incredibly fresh, flavorful, tender, steamed shrimp.
Squid...after the onslaught.
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| The evening commute home from Phan Thien, back to our little bungalow. |
The following morning......
Joe, (with helmet hair), eats breakfast - pho again!
Then we boarded a bus and climbed into the mountains...
...we did encounter some commuter traffic
We stopped over in a small, mountain village along the way...
...and then arrived in Dalat, a city in the mountains.
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| Who says safety can't be stylish? |
We stayed at the Dreams Hotel - with a balcony overlooking the city, a hot tub and sauna.
Being in the mountains, Dalat has many fleeting rain showers. Fortunately, we were prepared.....
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Another unexpectedly gorgeous meal, bought for a dollar at a night market...
chicken curry with coriander and crunchy baguette.
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Sept 29th
Happy Birthday Joe!
Complete with a surprise cake from the owners of our guesthouse.....
Then we hopped on a motorbike and toured the countryside.....
...in search of a waterfall that we never found (despite helpful directions from 8-year olds!) We passed by extensive networks of greenhouses where flowers are grown, and climbed some winding roads until we were in the country, riding past plantations, water buffalo and farmland.
As we pulled back into Dalat, a few hours later, it had just started to rain. We went into a vegetarian restaurant and had one of our best meals yet in Vietnam! Tender, fluffy, aromatic, peppery, tofu and savory mushrooms in a clay pot, and fried spring rolls - crisp on the outside and satisfyingly tender on the inside. And strong, sweet, Vietnamese coffee, of course.....
Later that evening, we discovered a spa that had 90-minute hot-stone massages for 7-bucks each.
Needless to say, Dalat was very hard to leave.....
For our final day, we walked across the city and climbed to the highest point:
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