But so worth it. The bus ride flew by thanks to my Kindle. I can’t believe I rode for 7 hours and no carsickness! Wheeee!

Anyway I am ridiculously excited about being in Ho Chi Minh city. So much to do! Within one mile there are dozens of things to see.

I hope a week will be enough. Ive been told that 2 days in HCM is too long. We’ll see!

Exclamation points!!

Anyway, the bus company gave me a shuttle ride to within 2 blocks of my hostel so that was a relief. Arriving at night is stressful if you’re not interested in a taxi.😁 so that saved me a little money.

Dinner was super and the hostel good enough for me, a hot shower made every little thing better.

Goodnight All

What a strange day. In some ways, like any other Sunday. In some ways, wow. 

Asians have taken some of the Christmas traditions to heart. Just like our tradition of playing loud music outside, like caroling. But at dawn, for a straight hour. And not Christmas music. Lol.

Anyway, sightseeing was good today. Everything was open, and busy.

I had a great breakfast and walk to Bao Dai’s summer palace. Admission was cheap and the grounds pretty. The “palace” is from the early 40’s. This last king/emperor loved golf and hunting.

Another long (too long) walk to the Truc Lam Monastery. This is a good one. Actual monks live and work here. The grounds are immaculate. Really nice place. They have their own nursery to provide plantings,  even.

After this, a coffee break and taxi to the third stop. The Linh Phuoc temple and pagoda are completely, ridiculously covered in decorated tile. It’s a very popular sight, but it felt heartless. No monks or nuns to be seen, but dozens of shops and restaurants. Complete commercialization has been achieved.😢

After that I was hungry. 

A good lunch and rest later, I found yet another temple and pagoda,  Lihn Son. So peaceful and private, after 4 PM is the magic hour here. Roommate Emma and I had a nice time looking around.

Christmas dinner was Indian food and it was great. We had a nice meal with two other hostel guests.

On to Saigon tomorrow. I’m excited to finally see this large, chaotic, filthy, thrilling city.

Miss you all very much

❤

Just the afternoon,  really. Rolled off the long distance bus at 1130 and discovered a free shuttle. Yay!

After checking in I took a walk and got some lunch. Just ok.

The weather in Da Lat is a lot like Bend. Hot, sunny, dry. Love it! It’s hilly but not too much so. 

Not a ton to do in town so I just took it easy looking around. The lakefront area is really nice. A lot of effort has been made to beautify the area. Many honeymooners come here apparently and I can see why. The cathedral was shut tight. Probably getting ready for tonight?

I found a Big C and got some snacks and found a nice place to sit and read a while.

After a bit I realized that I’d forgotten some errands.  That took until 5.

As soon as the traffic picked up I went out to see what Christmas Eve in Vietnam on a Saturday night might be like.

The answer is….busy.

Vietnam Christmas traditions include bundling up against the cold lol, walking to see Christmas lights, taking lots of pictures of your kids dressed as Santa, and eating a lot. Sound familiar?

The night market was on fire. So busy, so many people, so much to see. Is it bc it’s Christmas eve, or its Saturday,  or the weather is so perfect? Dunno. People having picnics, so many cars and scooters, just insanity. It was too busy, tbh. I called it a day.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

What an amazing day.

Woke up early, had some free breakfast of eggs and coffee (my favorite) and ventured out into Nha Trang.

The oceanfront walkway is well constructed, this being a beach town. Easily found the bus office to buy my ticket for tomorrow. The walkway ended at my first stop.

Po Nagar Cham Towers is a complex of extremely poorly reconstructed Cham buildings. The site is lovely, on a breezy hilltop overlooking the bay and ocean. The admission is only a dollar. The bathrooms are clean,  the coffee shop inside isnt overpriced. The archaeological value of the buildings is the problem. It’s a tourist attraction, and pictures look nice, but I’m glad I’ve been to the Cham Museum and My Son. Anyway, it was a nice place to sit in the shade. There was some kind of music performance too.

After a hot walk across a bridge or two, I found the Long Son temple and pagoda. It’s free, so that’s awesome. It’s also very beautiful.  I got there between tour buses, so that’s even better. The guards are serious about keeping order, thank goodness. Free sites in Vietnam are completely nuts sometimes. So this place is fairly peaceful. There’s a big Buddha on a hilltop with great views of the city, and another shady spot to cool off in the breeze.

A short walk on my sightseeing tour brought me to my last stop, St Josephs Church. It’s one of several Roman Catholic churches in the area, popular bc of its proximity to the beach. It’s also quite nice on its very own. Also, the church is open, which is unusual. Most of the Catholic churches are locked at all times.

I was done sightseeing early, so I had a couple of expensive beers at a beachside bar. Lovely!

Time for a late lunch, then a nap and shower. It was hot today! 

Before dinner, some laundry and a long walk.

Dinner was a pretty good meal at an Indian restaurant, my first “western” food in a while. It  was still only 6 bucks.

What a nice day. I got 40,000 steps in, sunburned feet, a nap, beers, yummy dinner, and 3 sightseeing stops all managed by 8 PM. 

Life’s good.