Our experience of the night bus to Da Lat was interesting...we had little bed-like chairs that went back which would have been comfortable had the bus not been constantly vibrating/bouncing over the bumpy road. It also wasn't the kind of bus you could get away with wearing your pyjamas on, however I didn't care and got comfy in mine anyway and it was nice that Johnny had packed us a little lunch-type back of snacks to take with us when we left. We got on at 10pm, were awoken at 1.30am for a rest stop and then stopped at 4am at a chaotic bus stop where everyone was shouting directions for people to be herded into mini buses. It was a good job Lauren had the address of the place we were going on her phone because we stood no chance of communicating with any of them (something we are now making sure we do before we leave a place is have a screen shot of the address). After a drive and also nearly getting dropped off at the wrong place, we got to our hostel at 5am to have a slight panic when it was closed, but then thankfully the owner was asleep on a beanbag on the inside porch and opened the door to us. The hostel was called Zostel which was alright for the money but I had a really strange cartoon granny staring at me on the wall which gave me nightmares and unfortunately both Lauren and I came away with bed bug bites.

Two hours later and we were up again as we had booked an 8am trip (we had booked this when we thought the night bus was going to be sleep-able on), another lesson learnt not to do in future! Anyway, two Vietnamese guys pull up on motorbikes and we're sat watching them as we eat breakfast....both Lauren and I were expecting a bus so when we then were told they (Long and Win) were picking us up we were a bit surprised. It was very nerving getting on the back of the motorbike but at least I wasn't driving it and he drove fine. Another observation made whilst being here though is that everyone drives like they're on a game of Mario kart out - one minute you will be walking and then a motorbike will just be driving along the pavement - and they beep at you like you're in the wrong! As for Zebra crossings, there is absolutely no point of them existing here they do NOTHING for you, and the purpose of the horn I think is for it to be constantly pressed whilst driving.

I really enjoyed the tour itself, when we were driving through the mountains with the sun on my skin and seeing the views I realised moments like that were the reason I've come away to do this. I thought about my colleagues back at my last work office and hoped they were to have a good Friday (always aware I'm 6 hours ahead). One of the guys did most of the talking and it was very informative. There were really good parts and then bad parts as well which opened our eyes to the Vietnamese culture. For example it was disturbing at one point we came across two dear in a small barn-type room and had been using/cutting the horns of one of them for medicinal purposes which was awful to look at the dear and listen to the fact it had been harmed, both our jaws dropped in shock of what he said about it being known to cure cancer etc. I thought about if my friend Harriet was there she would have gone mental but I didn't really know what to say I was so surprised he was so laid back about all the captivated animals there (they had really cute guinnea pigs they were fattening up to eat!) On the other hand, the highlights were seeing the Elephant waterfall and I loved the Zen Meditation area. It was the grounds where monks lived and was just absolutely stunning and so peaceful, however I was confused to Vietnamese people answering mobile calls when giving a dedication/prayer in one of the main rooms! You'd think that respect of not letting technology interfere with those moments would be a universal thing.

We learnt a lot about coffee and Weasal coffee being from the feaces of the Weasel which was odd oh and Lauren ate a fried cricket. Our last stop was to the Crazy House which was really weird, there were different rooms there and having been to festivals I thought it was the kind of place where you go into the rooms and explore, the first room I let myself into I walked into two Vietnamese smoking at a table, they started hysterically laughing at me and looked a bit embaressed and I slowly realised I'd let myself into their hotel room. Anyway flick through and enjoy the photos.

After an early night we got up and went for a wonder around Da Lat city centre the next morning and lay on a bench next to the lake while waiting for 12.30 to hit to get a bus to Nha Trang. We chatted to a couple of people and I was really impressed that a girl from North Carolina (18 years old) was doing all this travelling on her own, she was really mature and talked about her family living in all different places and only seeing them twice a year. The thought of seeing my family that little makes me feel sick, but I guess that's why she's so independant and grown up! The bus was an experience of many bumps and turns in mountains, but was also very beautiful.

Arriving in Nha Trang we got lost trying to find our Hostel, but made it in the end (Mojzo Dorm) which is the most sociable place we've stayed in yet. As we walked up the stairs people had doors wide open and were sat drinking and chatting, it reminded me of being back at University. The girls who run it are nice, one of them stroked my hair and said I was really pretty which was funny. We met two Vietnamese girls in our dorm (Ho and Who we think their names were?!). Nha Trang is much more of a tourist type holiday hot spot, we think there are a lot of Russians coming to stay in the hotels here. It feels the most familiar to places I've visited before and Lauren reluctantly joined me at a Spanish type restaurant last night where they were also doing Salsa dancing which was fun to watch before we went onto some bars and a beach party and chatted with other travellers and were made aware of scams and things people have experienced.

Today its been nice and relaxing to just go to the beach, we've decided to stay here tonight and tomorow to revive a bit and chill out. I'm missing everyone back home and it hasn't even been a week yet, I'm sure the first week is bound to be the hardest though and its nice to have the internet to keep in touch when I can J