Dalat and Hoi An

After I left Saigon, I went up inthe the mountains to a place called Dalat. It's a cute, tiny little town that is best known for its coffee farms and it's crazy house, which is a Gaudi-esque building, where you can actually stay over night! Also, I ate crickets. They were deep fried and served with some good sauce, so they weren't actually too bad!!!



My favorite part of Dalat, however, was going into one of the local villages and sitting in the home of some hill tribe women. They were five sisters, all living in the same house, along with their mother and various children. We sat with them for about an hour, introducing ourselves, and our guide, Mr. Rot, translated and told us stories about their lives. Apparently, when these women give birth, they go off on their own, deliver the babies themselves, and then stay alone for 7 days. People will come to give them food and water, but it's bad luck to touch the new baby, so they leave them alone for a week. Interesting, huh?



We rode around the countryside on motos...(me riding on the back of course), and by the end of the day my stoach was full with delicious food and fruit, and lots of good memories!

I then flew into Hoi An, an old fisihing city right on the water. It was such a quaint city, there are parts that no motos and cars are allowed to go, just walkers or bikers. At night the city is lit up with lanterns, and the streets are fillllled with tailors and shoe shops. I treated myself to a few things, and then a few more....and then a few more. And then I treated myself to a new bag to carry it all in! I stayed in a beautiful hotel near the beach, but it was unfortunately quite far from the city center. I either had to take a shuttle bus or ride a bike, which I did a few times. Here's a pic of me setting a lantern into the river while making a wish!




Hoi An was probably one of my favorite cities thus far...it was so cute, not too much to do besides wander around, shop and people watch. There were lots of little old houses and museums that we could go into, but I found myself more interested in just walking around.

It was then off to Hue, which was kind of a wasted trip...not a lot to do there but see the citidel (ask me who lived there....) and see some tombs. It was a nice day yesterday, though...

And now I'm at my last stop before home! Tomorrow I'm going into Mai Chau, a city up in the mountains where we'll stay in a house on stilts and see some local people at work, and then Sunday I start my Halong Bay cruise for two nights before home! It's defnitely been an amazing and quick month...but I'm excited to get home and see the family before I take off again!