Day 73 (Sunday 17th Feb 08)

Up very early this morning (5:30am) to be ready and checked out for the bus at 7:30am to Da Lat. The bus journey started out ok and we stopped for lunch and a toilet stop at about 12noon. Again the bus journey surprised us as we thought the open buses would be full of backpaackers doing the same thing but its acutally mostly other Vietnamese travelling around. Then when we got back on the bus it wasn't so good! Very scary trip up the mountains. Steep very small road and they still carry on at a scary pace! Em didn't like it at all as there was nothing to stop the bus going over the side of the montain and the driver was going so close to the edge fast before making a sudden turn. It wasn't fun overtaking the other buses and trucks on these roads either!!! Finally got to some more flat roads which was nice but then as we were travelling though a village a dog ran out into the road. The driver didn't stand a chance of stopping but should have at least stopped after to see how the dog was but no chance! Em now finding it very diffcult to ignore their animal cruelty. Arrived at about 3pm and very glad to get off the bus. Found a very cheap room for USD 7 which was basic but would do! Colder up here in the mountains so need our fleeces again. Went for a walk around to investigate and went down to the lake. Decided to walk around it and didn't quiet realise how big it was! Saw lots of badly treated horses which wasn't nice. As we were walking along by the lake and road a guy went up to one of the horses tied to a tree and untied it. As another horse was being led towards it with its foal running alongside it was obvious that the horse was a stallion and they just let them at it there and then! Very different way of doing things over here! Carried on our walk and still saw lots of tired ponies harnessed up to much to big carriages and some knackered as they were being forced to trot along with a whole family in the carriage. Not very nice! After our walk found a place to eat and then popped to the shop and back to the hotel for a cold night!

Day 74 (Monday 18th Feb 08)

Lazy morning after our early start and long day yesterday. Played some cards and read our books. Then decided we should probably venture out of bed and go and find something to eat. Luckily they did a few things at the hotel. Then out to find internet. Very cheap over here but so slow and it seems impossible to upload photos. Taken all afternoon to manage to get into the blog and write it! Frustrating! Mark had fun playing on the games in the internet cafe! Went for a walk up the hill to find somewhere to eat. Saw a dog in the smallest cage. It only just had enough room to stand and if it wanted to lie down it would have to have tucked its paws under it to fit. Tempting to let it out but then they would probably just catch it again. Found somewhere to eat where we were the only people but had a good meal and went back to our cold hotel room.

Day 75 (Tuesday 19th Feb 08)

Booked to do the City Tour so we could see some of the sights so had an early start to be ready for the minibus. After we had picked up everyone went to our first stop which was an amazing viewpoint over Da Lat. It was very cold and windy but worth it to see the amazing view. You could also pay to take the cable car across to the other side but we decided not too. Back in the minibus we got taken round to the Meditation Center which is where the cable car had finished. We then realised we were glad we hadn't bothered with the cable car as you won't have seen much. Walked around the Meditation Center and saw the amazing buildings. Then off to Prenn Waterfall. The Lonely Planet didn't recommend this waterfall as it said there were lots of badly treated animals and we soon saw why. It was good to see the waterfall but not very nice to see the ostriches being pushed around by 2 guys constantly with people on their backs. Also seeing all the poor ponies tied up in the blazing sun with no water or food was horrible. They were all stood around and every so often had to put up with the weight of an adult on their backs. Our guide got on one of the ponies and started messing around and noone cared when it slipped because of their carelessness and needing better shoes. Em gave some water to some of them but we couldn't really do anything else. It was nice to move on. We then went to the old railway station where there were a couple of old trains to have a look at and then onto a cafe for lunch. After lunch we went previous King and Queen's holiday house to have a look around. Again there were lots of badly treated ponies around. Our next destination was the Silk embroidery, on the way we passed a couple that had just had an accident on their scooter and gone down the ditch. We weren't sure how it had happened but probably forced off the road by a truck or something! The guy on the front didn't seem to be moving so the girl behind was trying to pull the scooter up so she could free both of their legs that were trapped underneath. The guy's other leg was also caught between the wheel and the mud guard. Luckily we were passing so our guide jumped out and helped get his leg out and get the scooter up. The guy was concious but just couldn't stand or walk. We were then on our way again as some other people had come up the road to help. At the Silk embroidery we had a look around at the very impressive hand made pictures and then sat down on the steps and chatted with 3 germans that were on our tour and waited for everyone to be finished and to move on. We all felt like a museum piece as the Vietnamese all started videoing us taking pictures. Mark got annoyed with one guy as he kept starring all the time and taking photos so started taking photos of him. Once the rest of the group was ready we then walked a short way to the Valley of Love. Amazing scenery but again lots of horses tied to rails in the heat with no water. Em again gave them some water but think the guys around were getting a bit annoyed. Got taken back to the hotel and went to the same place as the night before for some food.