Well it took just one day in Da Lat for me to lose my acclimatization to the humidity lol.

Got up early for a movie. Finally saw the new Star Wars movie. AWESOME.

I had a plan and it all fell apart as soon as the weather hit 89. So I just walked and rested as needed between stops. Luckily, everything is so close together in District 1, you can just drift around.

Had my first Starbucks in 2 months and man, it was bitter tasting. Is it always like that?

I’ve got a great business idea. Come to Vietnam and go into the concrete business. There is so.much.construction going on. There’s so much work here for engineers and contractors.

Thats pretty much it. Had a nice day looking at stuff. I’m out of clean clothes so tomorrow I’ll have to take it easy until my stuff comes back from the laundry.

Peace out

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!!!!