Vietnam, the final chapter.

I can write my tidings of the next three Vietnamese towns in one (shortish paragraph), simply owing to the fact that they were all unremakable. Nha Trang has a lovely beach and I got a second chance at swimming in the South China Sea, but it is simply a clean city without much charm. Although, had I known what Dalat was really like, I would have definitely chosen to explore more of Nha Trang

Me aboard my trusty steed.

Dalat promised to be a charming quiet town, an example of the francphone influence in Vietnam and while the buildings did hold to more European ideals, the city is growing and very busy. There are road works and construction everywhere and rather than breathing cool mountain air, we inhaled dust and grime! The bus ride to Dalat was very beautiful as there are small waterfalls next to the road and in order to find this beauty again, Dave and I rented a scooter to head out of the city. Once you leave the city there are some quite remarkable forest views (Dalat is on top of a mountain range; yet was surprisingly still hot), however the waterfall (while pretty) was very commercial and the other sights we had planned were either much more expensive than promised or closed. We did quite enjoy the flower garden and for less than $3 we rented a giant swan and paddled around the large lake in the centre of the city. There is also a 'crazy house' in Dalat. Built by a Vietnamese woman who studied for 14years in Russia, the house is a miss-match of themed rooms in a giant gnarled tree - it's fun but I believe that because I am a member of the desensitized youth of today, I found it less crazy than promised.

From Dalat, we went to the capital of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh). Again, as I hate large cities, this place held no value for me. We went to see a water puppet show on the authority that this cultural event is quite worth it. I hesitate to recommend this to anyone else, it was interesting and the music was very cultural but it really is for children. Good thing I am a child at heart cause it was a fun 40 mins. We were anxious to leave Saigon and in order to get across the border to Cambodia Dave and I decided rather than another long bus ride, we would take a 2-day Mekong Delta tour and arrive in Phnom Penh by boat. This involved a trip to 'floating markets' (really about 7 big boats with some melons on them, quite disappointing), a tour of a coconut candy making and rice paper making factory, a trip to a crocodile farm (so boring!), dinner on a floating resteraunt (we ended up hungry as the food was minimal) and a visit to a fish farm and Cham village. Please take my advice, save your money! While it saved us a 12hr bus ride (instead we endured several 2 and 3 hr rides), this tour was dull, and a waste of my time and the tour guides time. The only benefit is the slow boat to Phnom Penh, which is lovely and much better than a bus.

Overall I believe I was dissappointed with Vietnam, but I supposed I was expecting great things. I have to say that Vietnam in general has sacrificed it's culture/traditional charm for cleaner streets and more tourists and the food is NOT like the tasty Vietnamese we have in China town back home - it's so dull with little flavour.