About town

After a leisurely Sunday breakfast listening to CBC, we headed downtown, to the popular District 1.  There is a park on our way where native English speakers are approached by students who ask for an impromptu English lessons.  They come equipped with pad and paper in hand.

Frank quickly found himself surrounded and happily gave them a few gems.  This is a typical Sunday activity.

A view of the park.  We then walked through Bin Than Market which has dozens of narrow aisles with hundreds of stalls.  Vendors are anxious to sell you something. This is all under one roof.  For lunch we ate at a beautiful open air Vietnamese  restaurant.  Part way through our meal the heavens opened and we had another Biblical downpour.  

Many buildings still remain from the French colonial era.

I aborted a trip to the Art Gallery as we were caught in the downpour and I was feeling a bit like a drowned rat.  So we lingered at a French pastry shop and watched the rain and enjoyed the cracking rumble of thunder. Hardly a boring place.

working hard

Here is a peek at some of my students.  Reports went out this week and interviews with parents were held today.  A long but rewarding week.  Hallowe'en is celebrated at the school and the kids are pretty excited.  They do not go out a night.

pool side

It's Sunday and it looks like Frank is making a recovery although he is feeling pretty weak.  We ventured downstairs to our pool and relaxed for a bit and both of us went for a dip.

Yes, he looks like he will live:)

I headed downtown for the afternoon and found a new market the has everything you could want. I am sure it will take me a whole year to find all the neat little spots here.

the walk home

Yeah! it's Friday.  It has been a bit of a crazy week at school but that is all done and it is time to relax.  Frank unfortunately is quite sick.  We wanted him to go to the hospital today but his passport is at Immigration for a week so that he can get his Residency card.  (Call me an outlaw on my second week here. fbe)
Here is the view of my 10 minute walk home from school.

 The tall buildings in the background are our apartments.

A garden along the way

Some lovely homes along the way.  

Frank recuperating;(

morning

A morning scene from our balcony.  Back to work and busy.  Frank has now come down with a flu bug and is staying put at the apartment.  Folks at school are also coming down with the illness.

An early morning Tai chi class.  I can follow from my balcony - if I wanted :)

People are out at the tennis courts and yoga by 5 or 5:30 since it is light and cooler.

KOTO

After resting most of today I was ready for an outing.  When we visited Vietnam 3 years ago we learned of a restaurant called Koto which stands for Know One Teach One.  It was started by an Australian who opened a school/restaurant for street kids.  They were given an opportunity to learn a trade in the restaurant business. Frank found out that there is one here as well and so we set off to enjoy a sunday dinner.  It was a roof top location and we chose the outdoor area and enjoyed the thunder storm that went on for hours.

We shared fresh vegetarian spring rolls.

The duck confit was PERFECT.  We finished off with fresh fruit and coconut ice-cream .

A view of the inside part of the restaurant.  Although the meal was not as inexpensive as some venues ($37US) for both of us with an Italian wine, some of the funds go towards helping the students.  A great way to end my week holiday and now it is back to school until mid December.  

last day in Da Lat

Before checking out, we enjoyed a quiet swim in the pool and lounged since the sun was out .  We had rain most afternoons and so took advantage of the sunshine.  WE checked out at noon and had hired a driver for the afternoon to give us a tour since the flight did not leave until 7:45.  For about $40US  we got a tour of a coffee plantation, a pagoda and elephant falls.  At the beginning of our drive we had such torrential rain and road washouts that I was sure we would get stuck somewhere but as we approached the plantation the rain stopped.  Had to think of my mom who would say'Wenn Angel reisen, scheint die Sonne'.

We ordered a coffee and enjoyed the refreshing air and view.

coffee beans

We also visited a silk making factory.  The elephant falls were much grander than I thought.  We managed to climb down part way to get different views and am always amazed at the lack of any safety features at these venues.

Our flight was delayed by 20 minutes but our cab ride home was one of the quickest for a Friday night. Unfortunately  my cold has taken a turn for the worse.  Saturday I visited the hospital again and walked away with a bag full of meds.  I slept for most of SAturday and 12 hours that night.  Today - Sunday our house cleaner has arrived and I am going to rest most of the day.  Frank is out shopping for groceries - what a guy :)

Gaudi - esque

We had a very full day.  We started the day with a visit to the 'Crazy House'.

There are also rooms that you can rent.

For the afternoon we booked a 80 minute massage.  We chose an Asian massage which is quite intense.    

Frank also booked us for a cooking class for 4:30.  Our host picked us up downtown and took us to the market to pick up items for our class.  We chose pumpkin soup, vegetarian curry and steamed coconut fish.  

Monastery

Went to the edge of town and took a cable car to a location with a monastery.

View from the monastery

Throughout our walk of the gardens and buildings, you could hear the gong and chants  from the temples.

The monks were quietly going about their business.

The rain held back until we were back at our hotel.  A nice long afternoon nap before going back into town for dinner.  I had one of my best meals of curried coconut chicken with rice.  Vegetable spring rolls for an appetizer and then waddled out to catch a cab.

Market in Dalat

Breakfast is included in our hotel cost.  It was a feast.  Everything from European style with cheeses, cold cuts and breads of all sorts, to Asian fare and then American foods such as omelettes made to order, pancakes, eggs and bacon and much more.  Also fruits and cakes.

After a short rest we went to the town centre and strolled through the many markets.  Unfortunately  I have not been feeling well and so we returned home shortly after noon.  I napped most of the afternoon.

By evening I had enough energy that we headed back into town and enjoyed a dinner of pizza and then found an amazing little coffee shop for dessert.  

Dalat

We just made it to our Dalat flight with no time to spare.  Rush hour traffic and line ups at the airport were the cause and I was already thinking of plan B because I was sure we were not going to make it.  It is a very short flight and here is the view of the road to the town.  A very different scene.  We soon started to climb to 1,460 metres from 1,100.  The Ana Madaras Villa and Spa is heavenly.

Our room was not ready so we enjoyed lunch on the terrace.  All the food is organic and we saw some of the gardens in our walk.  I had a curry dish and Frank enjoyed steamed vegetables and rice.

Outside our petite villa.

Our entrance 

The pool is heated and the black tiles make for lovely reflections.  I went for a swim and had the whole pool to myself.  There is a bar and billiard table in the pool house as well.  There are not a lot of people here it seems - perfect.  After the swim I came back to our little villa and had a warm bath in the antique claw tub.  The air is fresh here and I am soaking in the quiet and nature.

A view down to the town.

Sunday/Thanksgiving

Enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal at a pub in our neighbourhood.  But there was no pie :(
Did a morning walk to a local market and picked up some items we still need for the apartment.  It is an adventure at these markets due to the crowds and the motorbikes which also use the alleyways in the market.  It would be the same as if someone drove down the aisles in our grocery stores and shopped without getting off their vehicle.  You are always on the alert to avoid getting run over.


After coming home in the afternoon we went for a swim and then prepared for our flight tomorrow.  I booked with a broker called Cheap-O Air.  We are having difficulty confirming our flights so it should be interesting to see how things work out tomorrow.

Downtown

Saturday afternoon and we headed to District 1 which is the older and historic part of Ho Chi Minh.  I took Frank to my favourite café - L'Usine. We enjoyed a great lunch followed by a double chocolate cake that we shared.   We took the #139 bus to get a feel for the local transportation.  Coming home we used the GRAB cab which is similar to Über.  Finished the afternoon on the upper deck with some salty treats and a beer as the sun set.  There is usually a nice breeze up there.