Good Morning Vietnam,

Well we have had an action packed first day in Dalat. We arrived about 4am in the morning at Dalat bus station which was a bit of a surprise as we had been told by the hotel that it would be 7am and be central Dalat, so after quite a bit of confusion we reluctantly got in a taxi from the bus station to the town centre. There had been a sign at the bus station saying that taxis to town were free for people who had travelled on the long distance buses but as soon as we pointed this out to the taxi people they all conveniently lost the ability to speak any English!

Once we arrived in the centre of Dalat we didn't have any more luck; everything was shut (unsurprising for 5am in the morning) so we had to make do with sitting on the steps of the central square for a few hours with our bags until the hotels started to open and we could find somewhere to stay. Once everything was open we quickly found a café that sold breakfast and happened to have a hotel attached which we ended up staying in because the women who ran it was so friendly and it was a steal at $10 for a family room. Once we had got ourselves settled we asked the hoteliers about the possibility of booking a bike tour in the area which is part of the reason we had decide to visit. No sooner had we asked then a book was presented to us with reviews, photos etc from one of the groups we had heard about from the guidebook as a slightly safer bet. Later over breakfast we were introduced to the bike guides who we got on quite well with pretty quickly and they agreed to take us exactly where we wanted and would take us on a day tour that day around Dalat to ensure we felt comfortable. It turned out one of the riders was married to the hotelier, which is why she had all the information and it all happened so quickly and easily but it sounded exactly what we wanted.

We had an hour or so sorting our stuff out and having a shower then met the drivers back down in reception and set off out for the day on the bikes to see the sights surrounding Dalat. This area has attracted tourists for years as an escape from the heat of the rest of Vietnam. Sitting at around 1475 metres above sea level it is located in the central highlands of Vietnam. It is famous for its fertile land and a lot of flowers, coffee and vegetables are grown here. The area was originally colonised by the French so there is a lot of French influence on the architecture. Since then, the Vietnamese have put their own twist on it and now they even have a mini Eiffel Tower in the centre of town (in the form of an electricity pylon!). These days the town is immensely popular with Vietnamese tourists on weekend trips and the occasional backpackers.

Our tour was to be around the area surrounding Dalat and we started off with a short ride up to one of the Buddhist Pagodas (temples). This was quite different to many of the Buddhist temples we have seen around the rest of Asia because the Vietnamese put their own symbols of Dragons, Lions and Phoenixes around the grounds surrounding the temple. It was also quite nice to have an English speaking guide showing us around because he could provide much more information than we had previously. It turned out he had even spent a short time as a Monk in one of the local monasteries and therefore knew a lot about the subject. Once we were done exploring the temple we set off on the bike and out in to the countryside surrounding the town. As we rode we passed loads of terraced fields growing cabbages, flowers, artichokes and coffee. The riders stopped every so often and explained about the plants and the history of area and of rural Vietnam as a whole. It was particularly interesting to hear about life from real Vietnamese people about their own personal struggles.

A bit later in the morning we rode to a flower farm a bit further up in the mountains passing the highest peak (Lang Bian, 2400m) in the country known as Lady Mountains because the range of peaks looks like a women laying down. The flower farm itself was quite interesting to see and was certainly not something we had expected to come across in Vietnam. Apparently they only export Orchids; all the other flowers are sold internally and that it is tradition that men give women roses on a Saturday when they are in love before marriage. The flower farm was located right round the corner form a coffee plantation where they grow Arabica and Moca coffee, although me and Katie had seen plantations before it was quite nice to show Gemma and none of us had seen Moca plants before.

Just before lunch we were taken to a large waterfall known as elephant falls, we don't know why it was called that but they had now put a couple of elephant statues at the top. The waterfall was quite impressive but the path there was quite worn and broken in parts. Next to the waterfall at the top was another large temple, called Linh An, which we had a short explore around before breaking off for lunch with the riders over the road. They had promised us good food and they weren't wrong. We regularly get jealous in restaurants when we see tables of locals eating amazing food that we can't even find on the menu, but this time we were the one with the huge impressive spread. The riders had ordered us a kind of buffet with loads of different dishes from spring rolls to tofu it was all really good.

In the afternoon our first stop was at silk factory called Cuong Hoan where we saw huge sheets of silk being produced using traditional machinery. I don't think I had ever really thought about how silk was made before but it was fascinating to see the cocoons being boiled and then the silk striped off them and on to large reams. The silk was then woven into sheets of material using old fashioned machines with spindles flying around at rapid speed. After the silk factory we headed to a family home where they make sweeping brushes; the family were friends of one of the riders but it was crazy to see these brushes being made in a house backyard; they stripped pampas grass and turned it into full sized sweeping brushes. It took them no time at all and apparently they can make about 150 a day between 3 of them. Our rider explained that the reason there is so much family manufacturing like this is because for many people since the war, their families have not been allowed jobs by the government because of previous affiliations with the USA and they therefore had to work from their homes to make a living.

Our final short outing of the day was a visit to the Crazy House which is a strange themed house designed by an architect who was the daughter of one of the country's previous presidents. The idea was that it was supposed to bring nature inside but in reality it was all a bit odd and run down. It had been listed in the guidebook as a must visit sight but we weren't overly impressed so our visit didn't last long. Luckily this wasn't too far from our hotel because as we left the Crazy House it just started to rain. We all quickly threw on the Cagoules that the riders had given us and sped off back.

In the evening we had a short wander around the town and the market and then met back up with Rich at the hotel after his flight. He was 'refreshed and invigorated having sampled the delights of Vietnam airlines business class' as he put it and was even jammy enough to have been offered a refund because the plane was a small propeller plane and therefore had no Business Class seats even though he made full use of their airport lounge etc. Much better than our torturous bus journey - some people have all the luck!

Once we were a foursome again we ventured back out to the market and to have a wander around town. None of us were overly hungry so instead of having a full dinner we went in a small patisserie just to buy something small to eat. Due to its French influence there are quite a few bakeries in Vietnam but this one was really good so much so that we even went back a to grab another bit of food later on.

Dalat was a completely different town by night compared to the day time. As it was a Saturday there was a large market on and in the centre of town there was even a show being held on a large stage. We have no idea what it was about, but it looked like Vietnam's got talent - it all made for a good atmosphere. We ended up sat in a kind of beer garden overlooking the chaos below and just sat people watching over a couple beers.

Tomorrow all four of us are off on a 2 day bike adventure from Dalat to Nha Trang on the coast. As this is only a one way trip it is not just us but all our backpacks and belongings that will be strapped to the bikes for the journey (hope they will stay attached). Hopefully it will be as good as today which turned out to be fantastic and really good fun. Will keep you updated as we go.

Lots of love

Martin, Katie, Gemma and Rich