A few days later I moved my way to Dalat, Vietnam. This area really was a great place to be. I reminded me a lot of Taiwan. It is set up in the 'Central Highlands' of Vietnam and was a lush green area on the side of a mountain. This took me away from the craziness of Ho Chi Minh City for sure. This is a slower paced area and more locals are around with less foreigners.
While on the bus heading there I was seated next to a Vietnamese girl who is my age and we got to talking. Turns out she lives in Dalat and studies in Ho Chi Minh City. So we decided that we would meet up one day and she would show me around the area a bit.
When I arrived I stayed in the worst hotel I have ever seen. A motorbike picked me up at the bus station and drove me to some really horrible place. I don't remember the name but I know I didn't really sleep at all because everything looked like it was out of the 1970's and very dirty with bedbugs. So I kind of slept but didn't at all. The next morning I went out on a mission to find a new place. Found a beautiful one and settled down there for the next few days.
On the day that I found the good hotel I went for a walk around the day market to see what was being sold and bought. Went through shops to see what locals eat and drink. Nothing too out of the ordinary but still had a lot of fun doing it. That night I went out to the night market they hold on the main street. This city is really beautiful because it is lit up at night and has a really nice river in the middle of the town. The town is quiet in the daytime but so busy and hectic at night.
The next day I rented a motorbike, something I have never done before in my life so I thought I would give it a try just in case I wanted to buy one when I got back to Taiwan. I was nervous but got the hang of it very fast. It was difficult at first because it was rainy and I didn't know what to expect on one. But I went for a ride through the hills of Dalat to see what else I could find outside of the town center. There is not much outside but some beautiful mountain scenery. I made my way on the bike to see a waterfall. The waterfall was not much to look at but still was a cool place to see indigenous Vietnamese.
The next day I just walked around a bit until the night when I met up with the friend I met on the bus. She showed me around the night market and told me about all the local foods of Dalat. We tried many different foods. She paid for a lot of it which I felt really bad about, I tried to offer to pay but she refused. One thing about many Asian cultures is that when they refuse you just accept it so you don't make them upset. I have found that, it isn't really getting upset but disappointed, Asians like to treat people but don't always like to be treated (same goes for South East Asia). But we ate egg pancakes that were just very thin egg with spices on it. She bought me some lychee for the bus and some more traditional Vietnamese foods.
The next day I had to leave Dalat to head back to Ho Chi Minh City to head into Cambodia, I found as I was going that I could have taken a bus from there but I was at the wrong place, so 8 hours sort of wasted. It wasn't fully wasted because the same girl who showed me around was on my bus again so we were able to eat together before we had to part ways.
Stay tuned for Huge update 4: Phnom Phen, Cambodia
While on the bus heading there I was seated next to a Vietnamese girl who is my age and we got to talking. Turns out she lives in Dalat and studies in Ho Chi Minh City. So we decided that we would meet up one day and she would show me around the area a bit.
 |
| Dalat night market in the background foreground is racing RC cars |
When I arrived I stayed in the worst hotel I have ever seen. A motorbike picked me up at the bus station and drove me to some really horrible place. I don't remember the name but I know I didn't really sleep at all because everything looked like it was out of the 1970's and very dirty with bedbugs. So I kind of slept but didn't at all. The next morning I went out on a mission to find a new place. Found a beautiful one and settled down there for the next few days.
On the day that I found the good hotel I went for a walk around the day market to see what was being sold and bought. Went through shops to see what locals eat and drink. Nothing too out of the ordinary but still had a lot of fun doing it. That night I went out to the night market they hold on the main street. This city is really beautiful because it is lit up at night and has a really nice river in the middle of the town. The town is quiet in the daytime but so busy and hectic at night.
The next day I rented a motorbike, something I have never done before in my life so I thought I would give it a try just in case I wanted to buy one when I got back to Taiwan. I was nervous but got the hang of it very fast. It was difficult at first because it was rainy and I didn't know what to expect on one. But I went for a ride through the hills of Dalat to see what else I could find outside of the town center. There is not much outside but some beautiful mountain scenery. I made my way on the bike to see a waterfall. The waterfall was not much to look at but still was a cool place to see indigenous Vietnamese.
 |
| Dalat Watefall |
The next day I had to leave Dalat to head back to Ho Chi Minh City to head into Cambodia, I found as I was going that I could have taken a bus from there but I was at the wrong place, so 8 hours sort of wasted. It wasn't fully wasted because the same girl who showed me around was on my bus again so we were able to eat together before we had to part ways.
Stay tuned for Huge update 4: Phnom Phen, Cambodia
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