Well,as the sun sets over Da Lat I sit in a resturant and punch out another blog post. Before I do, Ill say ghat Im really enjoying this style of travel, I can be as full on, crazy, relaxed and move when and where I want. Dont get me wrong I like a relaxing cruise now and then, but man...you really do see a lot more sights travelling like this. Theres been a lot of laughs, and the odd serious moment. Im only a few days jn, but Im loving it.
Anyway, enough jibber jabber....
The day started with me waking from an amazing full 12 hours undisturbed sleep ... sleeping like a starfish!
The owner had kept my passport as they sometimes do, and said I could have it back last night and 8pm ... even though I had already paid. He had also not given me a reciept. I climbed out of bed, had a good shower, then headed down to sort out both things. He insisted he would give it back when I returned the bike, and to me I was not okay with that... and he refused to give me a receipt. We had a very heated argument, and he gave me 100,000 vnd and my passport back, and still would not give me a receipt ... for the two night stay. His wife went nuts at him presumably for giving away business, and they got into a shouting and pushing match. I slipped away unnoticed and rented a bike elsewhere for the same 100000 vnd. (I only to leave my licence for this rental).
I zoomed away with my sexy helmet, and thought I'd tackle a crazy roundabout to get my 'eye in' lol
Going around about 40 times is lots of fun, I will do a video of this in somewhere like Hanoi. .. its very funny.
I came off (exited) at a random road and rode for a little way. Then checking my GPS and a map, I found by pure chance I was in one of the several French Quarters of the city.
I didn't see too much that pushed my buttons really,so looking on the map it seemed I was near the main road to the waterfalls and monastery. (Yesterday, the tourist office had told me of a cable car trip up to a monastery). It is apparently two kms out of town, as the odometer on my bike did not work, I rode right past the road and found another road, it soon turned into a narrow track, but looking up I could see the cable car lines above me.
I persisted up the track on the hill, and travelled though a slum type of area all this time avoiding starved chickens, dogs, tyres and bits of tin on the track... many times I had the scooter slightly airbourne (note to self : never buy and ex rental scooter in Vietnam). The track came back to the road I had driven out of town on, so I found another slight side road, which headed up the hill to the cable car station. It was only 70000 vnd for the 2.5 km round trip.
I enjoyed the monastery and cablecar trip, I stopped to try and talk to some monks who were gardening, they had a great sense of humour and giggles ljke little girls, although neither of us knew what we were talking about.
I left here about 10:45, I'll head to the waterfalls for some photos, they are about another 4 kms down the road away from town.
