Cable Car Ride

Before we leave Dalat we have to take a cable car ride and it doesn't disappoint. The views are wonderful.

More Crazy House

The rooms are all themed around different animals. It's really quite bizarre.

Crazy House

We visit this bonkers hotel where the architecture is Gaudi meets Alice in Wonderland meets Walt Disney.

Silk Factory

Here's the thread being spun, cut into hanks & then woven into fabric.

Silkworms

We visit a silkworm farm & silk factory. Mr Bin talks us through the process of getting the silk from the worm & I'm ashamed to say that I never even thought about how this happened before. It's pretty barbaric. The silkworm grub spins the silken thread out of its mouth & around itself in order to form the cocoon in which it will transform itself into a moth. The silk farmers wait for the grubs to do this then throw the cocoon, silkworm & all into hot water which allows the silken thread to be unravelled from the cocoon & spun on a machine & boils alive the silkworm grubs. The boiled grubs are then sold on as food to local people who eat them fried.

I've already stopped eating fish because of things I've learned on this trip. Think I might have to reconsider wearing silk as well.

Elephant Falls

Another amzing waterfall.

Datanla Falls

The spray off the water is lovely. At the bottom of the falls there is a minature waterwheel and two lifesized plastic deer that have been spray painted gold. I feel like I'm in a cuckoo clock.

The Valley of Love

Oh dear. You've been warned. It gets really kitschy now. We visit the 'valley of love' which reminds me a lot of a honeymooners' version of the treewalk in Scarborough. Sorry!

Tribal village visit

We visit a tribal village which is known locally as 'Chicken village'. I wonder why! We watch this girl weaving a beautiful intricately patterned scarf on her hand loom & are tempted by these & the other local handicrafts.

Afterwards we visit a mushroom farm. Local villagers fill bags with sawdust from rubber trees mixed with mushroom spores & hang them up in humid huts. The most amazing mushroom grow right out of the sides of the bags & these are then dried out in the sun to be dehydrated for later use.

Laughing Buddha

Couldn't help smiling at this giant smiling fellow in the gardens of a pagoda.

Dalat views

Here are some views of Dalat. It's a strange mix of Swiss alpine village & Asian kitsch.

Dalat

We arrive in the beautiful town of Dalat, high up in the misty mountains. It's decidedly chilly which makes a welcome change. We stop being scaredy cats & arrange for Mr Bin & his colleague to give us a day long tour of the town on the back of their motorbikes. Mr Bin is a retired English teacher & a fountain of knowledge on the local history.

First stop is visiting a family who make the rice paper that is used to form spring rolls. We watch how they are made & then the family insist that we sit with them, eat some ricecakes & down a glass of rice wine in one. It's not bad stuff. One of the elderly men of the family takes a bit of a liking to me & tries to persuade Paul to leave me behind. Paul considers it but decides to put up with me for a bit longer.

Pagodatastic

There was a real atmosphere of excitement in this pagoda as they were preparing for a festval, hence the poor pigs. There was such a feeling of calm in all the pagodas we visited. As well as a place of worship they also seemed to be a place to chat & gossip.

More Pagodas

The smell of incense is overpowering. The red coils that look like lanterns are also incense and hang burning from the ceilings.

Pagodas

These nice gents take us around on their cycle rickshaws for a tour of Ho Chi Minh City's pagodas.