So...this is the 3rd time ive attempted to write this blog entry as each time the bloody computers crashed ggrrr so here goes 3rd time lucky!

So...I left Ho Chi Minh for the beach resort of Mui Ne which all in all turned out to be pretty pointless as the whole place was dead!!! Except for Chinese tourists and honeymooning couples! I did however get my tan well and truly back on lying by the pool at my resort so not all wasted. I left on Wednesday morning to go to Da Lat, a city up in the mountains and was looking forward to some fresh air. The bus, as is often the way in Asia, was of course late and took me on possible one of the worst journeys of my life! As we careered along the roads overtaking traffic at ridiculously high speeds I realised that sleeping was not an option, as i was too busy concentrating on just being alive! Things however did get worse, as the crazy speeding gave way to hideous old pot holed roads (imagine Miekes road, only for 2 hours!) Luckily the driver had reaquainted himself with the brake pedal by this point but as I was sitting over the back wheel I was thrown up, down round and about for the next half of the journey. Twas lovely. Luckily I have a strong stomach, and by the end of the trip was relieved that my breakfast was not all over the floor.

Da Lat was beautiful, and has strong French influences so was a funny mish mash of a place. Id got talking to a British guy on the bus Ian so we traipsed off together to find a guest house, and man did we strike it lucky! Each got a massive room with 2 double beds, cable tv, hot shower and breakie included for $7! Spent that afternoon exploring, tried some local food which turned out to be wafer (Ian delighted in telling me I was eating a giant flat ice cream cone!), and I actually followed my map and found the sights I was aiming for! Yey for me!

The next day I decided to take an Easy Rider motorbike tour of Da Lat and the mountains surrounding it and it was fab! The Easy Riders was set up by a group of Vietnam War veterans who's expert knowledge of the area led them to become tour guides. My guide was called Rocky (and didnt look old enought to be a War Vet so reckon he joined after!) and his hard sell included informing me that he wasnt just a motorbike driver, he was a tour guide, source of information, friends, and singer! I was sold! haha. Cost $20 for the day but was great as saw loads of sights I wouldnt have seen on my own. Hopping on the back of his motorbike I felt oh so cool and really enjoyed all the riding round the curvy mountain roads. First stop was the Dragon Pagoda which was beautiful. Next Rocky took me to a silk worm factory and I got to see the process from start to finish - how the silk worms make their cacoons, then once theyre reads theyput in hot water and the factory workers basically unwind the silk and hook it onto spindles then it is processed and made into scarves, etc....was fascinating! And I was a bit shocked to learn the worms all die and are basically boiled to death! So Ill be thinking of the poor little worms next time I but a pretty scarf.

We also stopped at some strawberry fields at which point Rocky started serenading me with Stawberry fields forever by the Beatles haha. Da Lat is famous for its strawberrys and that evening I tried a strawberry smoothie and the strawberry jam the next morning - was yummy! We stopped at a flower farm, I tried fresh coffee beans, had fresh Vietnamese coffee made with condensed milk, and a traditional Vietnamese lunch with about 8 different dishes for 1 pound! In the afternoon we went to a huge waterfall and another beautiul pagoda, then a place called the crazy house which is the picture ive used for htis blog post - and it was indeed crazy! The architect has spent years building this amazing place that is like a giant hollowed out tree. Theyve made litle rooms and are going to make it into a hotel as well. It was like something out of a film set! A cross between Harry Potter, Howls moving castle and Labrynth! So all in all a pretty good day!Had a ridiculously early night which was lovely. It was also really cold which was sooo nice, I got to wear socks and trainers and my fleece and snuggle up in a big thick duvet in my massive room - bliss!

Me and Ian both left Da Lat on friday morning for the 5 hour trip to Nha Trang, the main beach resort area in Vietnam.