Posted by TwoLively
Today we are boarding Emergency Exit, and Cousin is going to drive us to the city of Dalat. It is a mountain area, and we hear the temperature is about 68 degrees. We are leaving at 11:00 AM, and we were told we won't get there "until dark" and there will be no bathrooms along the way. Seeing how our previous excursions took twice as long as usual, we aren't sure how to gauge this one...
LATER:
Suprisingly, it was only a 3 hour drive. Heading out, we made a pharmacy pitstop, and The Travel Agent helped Tootsie buy some Dramamine--which really, really helped.
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| Tootsie, The Travel Agent...and the "little blue pill." |
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| Meat pie (shaped like chicken leg/thigh)...Banh Bao (steamed bun with pork filling)...sausage-hot-dog-thing...Vietnamese sandwich ("cheese" on top is actually dried chicken)...Pig-shaped cake...pizza (spicy sausage, chili sauce) |
The road from Nha Trang to Dalat is one continual winding road. We were so high into the mountains that we were surrounded by clouds! We stopped for some scenic pictures, and some crazy daredevils went precariously close to the edge (and, yes, it made me cry to see this, 'cause I'm afraid of heights--so I had to wait in the bus.)
Our hotel is...well...not as pictured in the brochure. However, Monte likes this hotel BETTER than the last hotel (maybe 'cause he doesn't have a view of roof rats?) Unlike the last hotel, this hotel doesn't have a balcony view overlooking the ocean, so we're feelin' kinda sad... There isn't an elevator at the main floor level, so you have to hike to the first floor (an American "second floor") to catch it. The stairs are spaced nicely though, so it's not-so-bad to take the stairs (and, thankfully, Brother carried my heavy suitcase up for me!) Once again we have Ricky & Lucy beds. I thought it was kind of cute the way they had princess canopies above them--until The Travel Agent came into our room, and said, "Oh, you have mosquito nets, too." Princess canopies...mosquito nets...meh! Oz and Glinda had a few extra visitors in their room: a lizard, and a giant mosquito! (Guess the mosquito nets and the Permethrin spray we lugged along will come in handy here...) Oddly, the bathroom drainpipe empties directly onto the bathroom floor. There is no air-conditioner or heater (so I guess we like whatever temperature our room may be. Fortunately for MarcoPolo, our room is cool.)
This evening, we went to dinner. Oz and MarcoPolo ordered Anteater from the "Wild Beasts" page of the menu. C-R-A-Z-Y! It was 200,000 dong -- which was kind of pricey -- but, unless you're Andrew Zimmern, how often do you get the chance to eat Anteater?
After dinner, Tootsie went back to her room to nurse her persnickety stomach, while the rest of us walked to the market across from our hotel. Right now, it's 9:00 PM, and the garbage truck is emptying garbage in the alley behind us. It's weird to see hours that are kept in Vietnam.
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| Oz with weasel POO coffee (If offered coffee by Oz, don't drink it! We hear it's pretty CRAPPY. Badum-dum! Thank you, thank you--I'll be playin' Vietnam all week)...Duck eggs preserved in straw and salt... Pitcher plant...Brother & new friend...Monte, Sister & The Travel Agent looking at watches. |
***Monday: We're going to breakfast at 6 AM our time, so we may possibly SKYPE earlier, around 4:30 PM your time. Or go to G&Gs and try calling our computer. Hopefully we can get thru -- the internet connection here is horribly BAD!***
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