Da Lat - Vietnam's honeymoon capital and answer to Disneyland! An amazing place 5000' up in the mountains with four lakes and a very pleasant climate as well as numerous theme parks such as the "Vally of Love" and "Mong Mo Hill" which left us having difficulty believing that we were in Vietnam! These slightly tacky but also somewhat quaint parks are set on lovely lakes where the Vietnamese come to have their photos taken riding in a paddle boat swans, sitting under concrete mushrooms, or driving a reconstructed American army jeep.

An embroidery museum which housed the most incredible pictures made by intricate and time consuming embroidery quite astonished us with pieces which looked more like artful paintings than embroidery.

Another stop which left us shaking our heads was the "Crazy House" which has been (and continues to be) built by a female architect who studied in Russia and whose father was Ho Chi Minh's successor in the government here. It is a many roomed concrete house and hotel built in a totally whimsical way which is a combination of Gaudi run amok with a little Alice in Wonderland thrown in - a totally impractical but imaginative structure that takes a creative mind with deep pockets to construct.

Our last stop of the day was the "palace" of the last emperor of Vietnam. It was built in the 1930s in art deco style and is really quite modest for an emperor's home. Sadly, it has been neglected and is getting quite run down as the structure is not high on this government's priority list.

Our hotel here is right in the main business area and overlooks the market which we checked out yesterday. This area grows many fruits and vegetables - strawberries and artichokes seem to be in demand at the moment. We grazed our way through the food stalls for dinner last night and found some tasty, if unrecognizeable dishes. So far, the food here in Vietnam has been good, but not memorable. We will keep searching!