What an exciting 2 days!

We left Nha Trang on the back of two motorbikes for a two day trip to the Highland town of Dalat. Our guides loaded up all of our luggage onto to the motorbikes and we hit the road!

Our first stop was a brick factory where people (mainly women) work out in the sun all day making bricks out of clay and then dry them in the sun before going into the oven (the bricks not the workers!). I helped carry one load of bricks out of the oven and that was enough for me, I couldn't do it all day long! The people work so hard here.

Our second stop was an orphanage, Lisa had bought some note books and pens to give them. I had bought a football for them (in the hope of a kickabout once we got there). It was fun to play with them and learn about their lives, although I (Rich) couldn't go near one little boy without making him cry, whoops! Some children just get dumped by their parents as they can't afford to look after them. Its run by a nun and a few volunteers and the only funding they get is from donations. They are very happy and well looked after though.

After lunch at the orphanage we hit the road again to drive further north to Lak Lake. The journey was amazing! We drove up winding roads high in the hills, past rice paddies and through little towns and villages far from the tourist trail. We both have loads of wonky photos taken from the bikes!

That night we stayed in a posh hotel looking out over the lake. We ate dinner with our guide who explained all about his life during the war and how tough life was during the strict communist regime that followed. He's had the most amazing life, and it was really interesting to hear about exactly what life was like here during and after the war from a Vietnamese perspective.

The next day we visited two villages, it was amazing to see how they live. They all live in huts and rice seems to be not just everyone's food but everyone's job too. Most people we saw were either out in the rice paddies or back in the village drying it out on the side of the road.

We also visited a silkworm farm where they grow the little grubs in order to sell their cacoons to the silk factories. In the factories we saw the whole process from unravelling the cacoons to then making the silk gaments to sell. Its amazing how they do it! Although all the little silkworms get boiled alive and killed in their cacoons to give us lovely silk.

We ended our long journey in Dalat where we arrived last night. We have spent today exploring although Lisa burnt her leg on the motorbike exhaust (she's got a blister the size of a two pound coin on her ankle!) and I have a cold so we are taking it easy. Hopefully we will both get better soon.

We head to Saigon tonight so will update from there.

Bye for now! x x x