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Mike & Benedict's World Adventures
Next up we decided that it would be good to visit a mountain town and national park on our way to Saigon. Da Lat is a very strange city, it has some really nice flower displays in places (where they've tried to make it look good) and is ridden with poverty elsewhere with cracked pavements (when i say cracked, i mean massive holes, i would imagine very treacherous if drunk).
After ditching out stuff at a hotel (which we were paying $4 a night for) we head off to find the night market and see some of the sights as we were only in Da Lat for the evening. The market was hectic with street kids everywhere asking for money and food so we decided to head for a restaurant.
This took us past the lake which was looking very pleacent surrounded by greenery as the sun sank.
Malte had read about a place called Larry's bar which we found on the grounds of a 5-star hotel (never a good sign for someone on a budget) after being lost for a while. We popped in and popped straight back out (i don't know if this was because of the prices or because its never good when there's a cheesy painted portrait of the owner on the wall plus we were the only people in there). We eventually found a restaurant and all was good.
I was knackered after dinner so i hit the sack as it was another early start the next day to go to the national park.
On the way to the national park we took in chicken village which is a minority village (people of cambodian origin) where the people get school, electricity and water for free from the government. The giant rock chicken is the reason it's called chicken village. Kids followed us all the way thrugh the village before we got back in the car.
Next was pagouda waterfall however after turning onto the road to the waterfall and travelling a couple of km we found the road blocked as they were building a better road. So we set of on foot for the final 3.5km to the waterfall in the baking sun. It was definitely worth it as i took the opportunity to swim in the pools and climb the waterfall whilst the others chilled out in the sun.
Our guide managed to organise us mopes back to our minibus (which was very good as i didn't fancy another 3.5km at 1.30 in the afternoon). This took two trips as there were 5 of us and only 2 peds (and drivers). So Ben andStefie took the first lifts. Me, malte and the guide the second. I had to share the ped with the guide so he sat in front of the driver and me behind as we went down the dirt track. Halfway down we got a puncture and fortunately after 5mins 2 other workers from the waterfalls were passing by on peds who gave us a lift the rest of the way (i thought it was time to get walking again).
After brief stops at a coffee and tea plantation we arrived at Cat Tien National park in the evening we were taken on safari in a jeep seeing a few deer and wild pigs before getting back to our room for Ben to find the biggest spider i've ever seen under our cupboard as he undertook his usual anti-insect room search. Much to my amusement Ben wasn't happy and after several attempts of trying to catch it i gave up and went to bed.
In the morning it was time for a jungle trek, which was good but in the baking heat it took a lot out of me. Before we left we visited the vet area where they had black bears and crocodiles. One of the bears really didn't like us and kept roaring (lucky for him he was in a cage otherwise i would have gave him a backhand). All the cubs were coming to the gates and sniffing at us whilst we fed them.
That was it for this part of the journey now onto Saigon.
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