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Catching up with the blog from yet an other sleeper bus, Phong Trang is the company we are using and the company we used to travel from Nha Trang to Da Lat. We've received free door to door shuttle bus service to and from the Homestay we stayed at in Da Lat, tonight we get a free meal and I'm not being blasted with ice cold air con.. By far the most impressive sleeper bus company I've experienced yet. I'm going to have to give this one a quick, WOO!! I've brushed my time in Nha Trang underneath the carpet so I won't be going into detail about that one. It is true when they say though, that every cloud has a silver lining and that silver lining for us was our next stop (Da Lat) and the Cam Ly Homestay that we ended up spending 3 nights at.
I honestly couldn't give the two families that keep this Homestay ticking over at such a high quality enough praise. To begin with on arrival, late evening of the 4th January we were greeted by one of the owners "Tri" with the most hugest smile ready to accommodate us both. We were guided to our dorm which consisted of 10 mattresses on the floor, to our very pleasant surprise they were only memory foam mattresses that we would just melt into every night weren't they!! We squealed for about 10 minutes with excitement! After check in, Tessa and I was invited to sit round the table where a couple of Vietnamese travellers had bought some sesame seed crackers to use as a scooper for a pigs ear salad they had purchased. Not only was we invited to sit and mingle with them but they were so generous and let us share their food with them also, we then had a beer bought for us by another Vietnamese lady who host biking tours all around Vietnam. It doesn't even stop there, Tri the owner then bought us a beer, then this French guy come strolling with a bunch of flowers to distribute out to all the ladies, two more pork and beef broth/soups with vegetable were popped on the table to share and then to top it all of the Vietnamese travellers then displayed this tropical fruit across the inch of space that was left on the table called "Jack Fruit" on to then go onto teach us how to peal and eat. What a welcoming to say the least, we were totally overwhelmed. We were fan of the Jack fruit from then on after trying that Tessa and I went slightly OTT and brought a kilo of the dried version.. Haha! Da Lat really was amazing. Everyday we experienced something that totally blew our minds. The first day was spent getting in touch with the surroundings, we managed to be in the right place at the right time to sit and watch the production of a music video that was being filmed at one of the temples we went to visit. SO cool! We put ourselves forward and was invited into their kitchen as an extra pair of helping hands when it came to dinner time. The meal consisted of crispy spring rolls, a sea food hot pot, white noodles and vegetables to place into the hotpot, bbq cooked chicken and half another exotic tropical fruit - dragon fruit to finish. It was to die for... Whilst in the kitchen preparing and cooking the feast we bonded with the family as they taught us how to make and cook the spring rolls. One to bring back to the Cronin household! Day 2 and we were finally blessed with some high temperature rays of sunshine, so you can imagine how glorious our cable cart ride over the forest was. On the other side a wander round yet another temple decorated with a garden blooming with brightly coloured flowers. Once again that evening we decided to have dinner at our Homestay seeing as the food we had the previous night was by far the best we've had in a long time.. All hands on deck again when it came to organising dinner where Tessa and I were sent over the bbq to assist with cooking the endless flow of fresh shrimp. I has my very first taste of Octopus that evening also, it was beautifully marinated then bbq'd ready for us to eat.. I must admit I found it rather tasty. Today sadly was our last day in Da Lat so we made sure that we were alive and kicking ready to take on the day earlier than usual so we were then able to cram in as much as possible. Our day consisted of a trip to the coffee farm, a trip to the elephant waterfall, a trip to another temple where Da Lats biggest laughing budda is situated, a trip to the silk factory and last but not least a trip to Tri sisters restaurant. The coffee farm was no ordinary coffee farm, this particular coffee farm has weasels producing their refreshment.. Once berries ripen from green to red over a 3 month period they are then fed to the weasels who then go onto excreting what looks like an uncoated Lion bar. The bean produced is 100% coffee so we decided to both have a cup. We couldn't help but laugh whilst sipping on our coffee that in actual fact we were drinking weasel poo.. The after affects were powerful! I'd felt like I'd been plugged into the main power station with my heart nearly pounding straight out of my chest and this went on all day! Haha!! Once silk worms have matured after months of munching on Mulberry leaves (sassy little things) they cocoon and produce a coating of fine silk. At the factory we went to we were shown the sorting machines that unravel the silk from the worm and afterwards the worm can be fried an eaten. I couldn't handle another bush tucker trail so I passed up on the offer of that one... Tessa give one a little nibble though, sometimes I do question if she's alright in the head. It's safe to say that we were gutted that we had to leave that evening as our whole time in Da Lat brought us so much joy.
My time in Vietnam has now so sadly come to end, the country has my heart and also the whole of my knee cap after a motorbike accident I had in Da Lat. I feel I can joke about it now but it's not something I'd like to elaborate too much on. The reason why I have mentioned it is to share with you the kindest and support we received from the guys at the Cam Ly Homestay.. After revealing my wounds from the bust up I had with a road covered in gravel, they were running around after us with so much empathy making sure our cuts and burns were attended to properly. As I was having my knee cleaned I caught eyes with a raging burn on Tessa's leg, then the guilt kicked in even more so (I was driving the motor cycle at the time of the accident) and I come over all nauseous, moments away from yacking the whole entire content of my guts up. Head in my hands, out of nowhere like a witch doctor I had this older Vietnamese lady (I do believe she was somebodies Grandmother) soaking my pressure points and forehead with this Chinese medicine to then go onto a massage to the back, neck and shoulders. I felt brand new after about 5 minutes! I felt so thankful to have such kind and comforting team of people around us. I would highly recommend this Homestay if you ever happen to visit Da Lat, an easy 5 start rating! I ended my time in Vietnam with a couple of nights stay in Ho Chi Minh City one being at an apartment in the Binh Than district. Back in Da Lat we met a Vietnamese girl at the Homestay we were staying at who invited us to stay with her once in Ho Chi Minh. It was the sweetest offer and one we easily snapped up! The name of lady we stayed with is Tu (Tanya is the English version of how to pronounce her name), her hospitality was impeccable.. We were even taken out for dinner to a restaurant, where she ordered a proper Vietnamese dish for us to eat. The food didn't even touch the sides it tasted that good! After a suggestion of grabbing a few drinks somewhere with Tu to get to know her in a little more depth and to show her our appreciation we ended up clambering to the highest peak of a 12 story block of flats with a bag of beers in hand to then go onto having a real girly gossip whilst peering over the whole of Saigon. Wow, what a precious moment!
In conclusion I simply loved Vietnam, found the country to be very diverse which made every place we stopped and visited so interesting and full of character! The people couldn't do enough for you and a place I could happily go back and visit. Now to see what Cambodia has to offer...
P.s.
Tessa and I went our separate ways today as she has already visited Cambodia. This is the real beauty of traveling, mingling and connecting with people from all over the world to then have the best of friendships blossom between you both. We honesty have had a blast together and I will really miss having her around. We plan to meet up again in the south of Thailand as I know she'll be missing me too much by then! Haha.
That's all for now..
Lots of love xx
- comments
Chris Harrison xx Hey Orla and all your mates. Just caught up on all your blog. How exciting it all sounds. Here I am watching Big Brother (which is pretty brill) but not brill in the way you are living. Hope you are ok. Often think of you. Went to see CATS the musical. Really enjoyed it. Look after yourselves and look forward to your next edition of news. Lots of Love Chris xx