Dinner at last night...

Nha Trang...

It was a 5 hour bus ride from Da Lat to Nha Trang thru some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Starting high in the mountains we went across the ridge top with farms of every fruit and vegetable you can imagine, then dropping down to the flat farm land of rice and sugarcane. Every mile brought warmer temps and dryer air. We made a couple of stops on the way and one was at Mui Ve which had the temple you see in the pic below. After about 4 hours into our ride we came around a corner to a awesome view of the South China Sea and followed the coast line to the town of Nha Trang. We checked into our hotel and could not believe the view from our room, it was a corner room with 2 walls of windows looking at a 180 degree ocean view on the 8th floor. I couldn't wait any longer and put on my trunks and walked across the street and jumped into the ocean. Air temps were 95 to 100 with the water at 90 degrees. Tu and I sat under a palapa and enjoyed the sites. The next day we were picked up by van and taken to the harbor to get on a boat with about 30 other people for our day cruise to 4 different islands. On this boat were French, English, Germans, Dutch, Italians, Israleas, Aussies, Kiwis, Chinese, Cambodians, Viets, and one lone American "Me". Some very interesting conversations were heard on this boat ride. The ocean was smooth and it took almost an hour to get to the 1st island where we pulled into a cove for swimming and diving. The reef had great corals and lots of reef fish to see and we had a great time playing in the water. On the 3rd island we were served the most incredible lunch I have ever had. 30 or so different types of sea food and vegetables that all tasted great. On the last island was an aquarium showing the many types of fish that inhabit these waters. By late afternoon we arrived back at our hotel fully drained from having soo much fun. Every afternoon around 2 o'clock a sea breeze picks up that even with the hot sun makes the air very comfortable, we really enjoyed this spot and were not ready to go back to HCM.
But it was time to leave and it took 11 hours to get back to our hotel with a great stop for lunch on the beach at Mui Ne which I will try to return to for a stay at this small beach town in the future.

This is a temple at Mui Ve that is on the road from Da Lat to Nha Trang. I wish there had been time to check this out but it was a good hike to get to and we only had 15 minutes to rest off the bus.

This was at island number 3 just before heading to the last island on the trip.

Drip dry after a swim/dive

This was the first dive spot...

One of the coves we stopped at to swim and dive.

Looking from the foot of the bed straight ahead.

Sitting on the bed in our hotel and looking right.

Sunrise on day 1 in Nha Trang

Sunrise day 2 taken from our hotel room balcony.

This is looking south on Main beach in Nha Trang.

Da Lat

On the second day in HCM (Ho Chi Minh) Tu and I went to a Viet travel agency and booked a 5 day 4 night trip to the North. 2 days later we took off by bus to the beautiful mountain town of Da Lat.
This town was founded back when Vietnam was a French colony and has been the home of many French and Viet leaders thru the years. DaLat is known as the city of eternal spring as the weather is perfect all year around. Every flower and vegetables you can imagine grows here. The bus ride was 7 hours long and along the way I saw the small towns and countryside from the South towards the middle of the country. Our hotel was a building built by the French and was very fancy with a big double bay window the opened up to a great view overlooking the city. This was Tu's first western style hotel visit and we both enjoyed our stay here. The next day after our arrival we were picked up in a small van with our quide, a driver, and 2 French ladies that were guests like us. We were taken to the highest peak in the city that overlooks everything and climbed into a cable car for a 20 minute ride to a Buddhist temple by a lake with these incredible gardens. After seeing and taking in as much as we could we were driven to the Chicken Village where indigenous people live a life like they have for many years and now protected to maintain their culture. They had some great crafts to sell and had the biggest smiles you have ever seen. Next we went to the sacred waterfall and got to go on an elephant ride thru the jungle, into the river, then back to the waterfall. This was quite exciting and after the ride I fed the elephant a stalk of banannas that he really enjoyed. We saw some other site seeing places and beautiful crafts before making it back to our hotel late afternoon. We saw the Kings Palace and gardens the next day and then it was time to leave the mountains and head for the beach. I will tell this story with pics in my next post.

Dinner at the French complex across the street from our wonderful hotel that was a building built by the French way back when.

This statue was at the park where the waterfall and elephant ride were...

How many times in your life do you get a chance to ride on a elephant? This elephant was so sweet and was treated very well. I fed this elephant a whole stock of bananas after the ride thru the jungle and river.

Waterfall in the jungle at Dalat...

Famous waterfall between Chicken Village and Dalat.

Crazy house in Dalat...

This is taken from the Kings balcony overlooking his garden with the symbol he used for his stamp.

This is the Palace where the last king of Vietnam ran the country before the communist took over and he went into exile in France where he died.

House at Chicken Village...

This is taken at the Chicken Village where a race of people that speak their own language and look much different than the Viets in the rest of the country are protected and share their culture with visitors.

No wonder the French fell in love with this city. This is where they ran the country when this was a French colony.

The lake at the Buddhist temple in Dalat

Dragon Bush in the garden at the temple...

Top of the peak with Dalat in the background

This is the gardens at the Buddhist temple at Dalat

This is taken from inside the cable car on the ride from the top of the peak overlooking the town of Dalat to the temple and lake you see in the distance.

Cam on Ba Xa

We were both tired and very very happy...

This is another type of Dragonfruit that is red on the inside as you can see on the ones cut in half

Dragonfruit

Some of Tu's family

Tu and Ann

This is Thuyen Tu's baby sister

This is Ann who is Tu's youngest niece

Where is this...

I was walking thru LAX going to my departure gate and saw this departure gate sign. I couldn't find anybody to explain where this flight was going to.

Vietnam Revisited

On April 1st I flew back to Vietnam and tested out my skills of language and knowledge as I went by myself with no friends to translate or show me around. I think I passed with flying colors as the trip was fantastic. I will share this with you in post that tell of my adventures and what happened on this trip. When I arrived in HCM city after along flight with some delays I was greeted by my lady Tu and her big sister and niece. It was great to see that big smile and kindness that Tu always has for me. During the whole trip 90% of all conversation was in Viet, so I really had my hands full. This was also my first time meeting Tu's family so that was a big thing in itself. Tu's family really made me feel special and we had some great times together. Tu and I stayed in HCM for 3 nights and left on a trip to Dalat for 3 days and 2 nights then on to Nha Trang for 3 days and 2 nights then back to HCM for 3 last nights before coming home. I will share the pics and stories on this trip.