Hello :)
It's 2:11pm and I'm sat overlooking the beautiful highlands of Da Lat, Vietnam.

Today I'm in my own as to be honest I've had a pretty horrendous 24 hours! I've got a throat infection and to go with that an upset stomach too! I was meant to be canyoning today but simply didn't have the energy to do that so I've given it a miss and I'm exploring at a leisurely pace instead.

After checking into the Green Valley hotel and escaping the hell that was The Family Hostel, Martin and I had a rest before heading back up there for drinks. We played some pool and mingled with fellow travellers before getting a taxi into town to Maze Bar!

It was a nice chilled bar in a cray building! There were stairs and alleys everywhere and it was very very easy to get lost and separated from your friends! It was like something out of Alice in Wonderland! I had a few drinks but then started to feel really ill so headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Martin and I both slept until 12:00pm the following day and I enjoyed chatting to Tara and friends on FaceTime :)

After a lazy morning we got up and decided to head for the Elephant Waterfall. Being in the highlands everything is really spread out and up and down hills, because of this we decided to rent a scooter from the hotel to get around. I drove and Martin was on the back and was a brilliant Sat Nav! We drove for around 30km down the winding roads of the mountain. Thankfully it was a brand new tarmac road for most of the way so it was a pretty good ride. On the way the views were incredible and we enjoyed looking over the countryside at strawberry farms and coffee plantations. We stopped off spontaneously at a coffee shop with a fantastic view but it wasn't just any old coffee shop.... It was a Weasel Coffee shop! Basically Weasel Coffee is a local speciality and is made by feeding coffee beans to the weasels and collecting them again once they have been through their system! The beans are then used to make the coffee and it has a different taste because of this whole process. The Weasel Poo Coffee was extremely strong but it wasn't too bad and I enjoyed drinking it and taking in the views around me.

It wasn't much further to the Elephant Waterfalls and after making our way down the steep steps and rocks to the bottom we enjoyed taking pictures in the spray! The falls were pretty impressive and it was worth the drive. Once we were satisfied with our pictures we made our way back to the top and had a pizza before setting off back up the mountain. On the way it started to rain so we both put on our very stylish ponchos and luckily made it back to Da Lat avoiding most of the storm! We called at a pharmacy on the way to get some tablets for me and when we got back had a nap. After a while we went back down into town for some food but by this point I was beginning to feel really rough and my stomach wasn't being kind either. I dropped Martin of back at the hostel and went home to bed. It was a horrible night to say the least and the last thing I wanted to do this morning was go Canyoning in water all day! I was gutted to miss out but I know that I wouldn't have enjoyed it feeling like this and don't think it would have been a good idea or safe either to do it with such little energy.

After another lie in this morning I took my time getting ready and opened a few of Tara's letters. It's 3 months today since our first date... the day I took her to a chamber, handcuffed her and locked her in a room!! We went to a Challenge Chamber where we had to work our way out and it was a great date... Afterwards we did go for a lovely meal and then for cocktails next to the Burj Al Arab so it wasn't all handcuffs and rooms! Haha!

It's now 15 days until we both get back to Dubai and I cannot wait to be with her again! She makes me incredibly happy and I'm a very lucky guy!!

Once I had got ready I decided that I would head out to explore a little of Da Lat again staying in and around the city. I thought I would find a nice Strawberry Farm for Martin and I to visit tomorrow and I also wanted to visit the waterfall to see if I could find the Canyoning team! After getting petrol I headed to a lake and found a stunning hotel that I went in to get a map of Da Lat. I could now navigate myself around the place and set off to the waterfall. I parked up and took the roller coaster toboggan down to the second level. This was lots of fun and just like one I had done in Llandudno when I was little! It went really fast as fortunately nobody was in front of me so I had a clear run! At the bottom the waterfall was beautiful and I enjoyed taking pictures before walking down to the next level. It was here that I found the canyoning team and enjoyed watching Martin and the rest of the gang abseil down the waterfall!

I then took a cable car back up the waterfall to level 1 before taking the return leg of the toboggan back up to the top. I got back on my bike and decided to head for the cable car I have just been in to get to where I'm having lunch. It's a beautiful ride for about 10 mins over the top of the city of Da Lat and over plantations and mountains too! This end of the cable car is near the hotel I went in this morning so I know where I am. I've just had a look around a beautiful Buddhist temple before having a meal of chicken and rice, I'm praying it doesn't upset my stomach again!

From here I'm going to get the cable car back over the mountains to my bike and then head into the city to the Cathedral. I'll then see if I can find a doctors or something to get some antibiotics as my throat is killing me before I head back.

Today has turned into a pretty good day after what was a dreadful night! I'll take it easy tonight too and hopefully I should be ok soon!

Bye for now :) x

Good evening!

So this afternoon was just as good as this morning but a little more chilled. After lunch I got the cable car back across the valley back to my bike, spotting our hotel on the way. I rode down into town and found a pharmacy as my throat felt like I had a thousands daggers down it! I was able to buy some antibiotics produced by Glaxo, who Lucy used to work for, containing Amoxicillin. Hopefully after a few of these I should be feeling a lot better!
I then had a ride around the city and took the loop road around the lake. After this I drove past the Cathedral for a look before heading back to the hotel as it began to rain.

Since then I have uploaded my pictures from my Go Pro and chilled until the guys have just got back. Tonight we're heading back to the steak place Martin and I went to last night. I'm looking forward to some more food as i'm starving!!

Tomorrow we're heading to Mui Ne by the beach again before moving on to our final stop in Vietnam, Saigon.

After a tough but enjoyable 24 hours I'm signing off to get in the shower.

Bye for now :)
Tom x