Our next bus stop was the charming mountain city of Dalat- ‘The City of Eternal Spring’. The main attraction to Dalat for tourists is the Easy Rider tour- i.e. sitting on the back of a motorbike for a few hours visiting the local villages. The city also holds a beautiful lake, great for a stroll around. We took the cable car up to a lovely botanical garden and visited a 'crazy house' which was cool. While Dalat is a great town and really pretty, if you’re on a tight schedule time wise and have no interest in motorbikes or adventure sports (canyoning, biking, abseiling, rock climbing…) or shelter from the sweltering sun- give it a miss.
After a few days, once we had cooled down sufficiently from the humidity and heat of Vietnam we ventured up coast to Nha trang.
Nha trang
Our next stop in Vietnam led us back to the beach- yippee. This town we predict will explode in a few years. Already it has lots of accommodation, nice restaurants and great cheap amenities. Presently under construction is the Sheraton Hotel and other 5 star options. Our main reason for stopping in Nha Trang was diving. It’s Vietnam’s premier diving location. We booked an amazing package for $36 each including two dives, all equipment and prescription mask for me, a dive master to ourselves, tea, coffee, water, fruit and on our return to land a lovely lunch in a local restaurant! Forget what I wrote about the Mekong Delta trip, this is the deal of the century! The diving was picturesque, safety standards were impeccable; we were impressed!
Hue
Next we hit the central coast to Hue, famous for its citadel and perfume river- although not literally. We didn’t love the place- three days there being far too long. A day’s stop is enough- if at all. The citadel was amazing, but mainly reconstructed or undergoing construction.
The river was nice but we opted out of a tour, instead we walked along the back streets, visited the market and when we got stranded at a dead end at the river a local woman ferried us across.
Here we got to see some of the local river boats and unfortunately witnessed the cramped and crude homes these river people inhabit. Before leaving we found a gorgeous little Buddhist restaurant that served a gigantic meal for 50 cents!
Hoi An
Hoi An was our next stop- a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a charming town that won us over with its pretty buildings, quaint shops and narrow streets. Hoi An is only 4km from the beach but we didn’t venture down to party there- partly due to the rain.
The main attraction in Hoi An is the tailor shops- they specialise in tailor making any western clothes from catalogues or any picture you show them for an extremely cheap price: in comparison to home that is. Quality varies I assume and ‘if you pay peanuts you get monkeys’ as a lady in India reminded us.
The river was nice but we opted out of a tour, instead we walked along the back streets, visited the market and when we got stranded at a dead end at the river a local woman ferried us across.
Here we got to see some of the local river boats and unfortunately witnessed the cramped and crude homes these river people inhabit. Before leaving we found a gorgeous little Buddhist restaurant that served a gigantic meal for 50 cents!
The main attraction in Hoi An is the tailor shops- they specialise in tailor making any western clothes from catalogues or any picture you show them for an extremely cheap price: in comparison to home that is. Quality varies I assume and ‘if you pay peanuts you get monkeys’ as a lady in 
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