Da Latt

Today we traveled from Nha Trang, on the coastline, to Da Latt in the highlands. The traffic on the roads up the mountain is totally insane. There is a system to the madness but one that I have not mastered! People pass on blind corners on the side of the mountain, all intertwined with mopeds. Its a little nerve racking. The added poor road conditions and lack of shocks on the bus added to the uneasiness of the road trip.

All in all the trip wasn't too unbearable. We made it to Da Latt in a about three hours. Da Latt is a large Agriculture area in the highlands that produce alot of Strawberries and other berries. Da Latt is extremely cold throughout the entire year. I have been to Da Latt during the winter time and new it was cold, however I expected it to be a little warmer during the summer months. It was cold! I luckily had brought my jeans and long sleeve shirt so I was fine!

Da latt is known as the Vietnamese Honeymoon city. You see lots of young newly weds touring the city. We went to a park in the mountains called Love Valley. It featured areas where you could ride horses through the mountains, listen to birds chirping, paddle boats in the large lake, and small huts for private dinners and drinks. The park was extremely beautiful!

It was interesting to visit a town that I had been to before. We went to the market where I purchased a bottle of Da Latt wine and some strawberries. The wine in Da Latt is extremely good, something I learned last time while in Da Latt. We walked around the large lake where we were approached by several people asking if we needed a ride. Khong is Vietnamese for No! This was our standard reply throughout the night. It started raining so we decided to slip into a coffee shop to pass the time. We enjoyed peach tea and coffee as we warmed ourselves from the combination of rain and frigid temperatures.

When the rain let up we walked back to the hotel and found another coffee shop across from a disco club. It was interesting to watch the couples and singles leave the bar late at night. People watching is something that Charles and I love to do. We try to figure out how the people interact and what they are doing.

It was still an early night but the town was shutting down so we returned to the hotel where we laid in bed and all read our books for an hour or so. Just to show how chilly it is in Da Latt none of the hotels there have Air Conditioning due to the fridget temperatures. Charles, Hong and I have truly bonded from the challenges we have faced from the trip. We all talk about the wonders of life, what the future holds, and the human race and challenge each others thought on theses subjects. It has been not only a cultural experience, but truly a thought provoking trip.