Purpose

Our reasons for travelling so soon after Bougainville are pretty simple.  Vik has a Masters thesis to write and Wellington is cold and wet during winter.  So a trip back to the tropics was in order and when we found $400 fares to Vietnam and read about a lovely town in the Highlands that was know as the City of Eternal Spring - it seemed a very simple choice.

That decision was made 5 months ago when all we could do was read travel forums and look at a few photos.  Now, we are here, in Dalat, Vietnam and have spent our first day looking around (fixing Vik's swollen little toe by getting a doctor to stick a needle in it), buying veg, fruit and herbs from the market, walking around the lake in the centre of town and generally just loving the place.  Its hot in the sun but cool in the shade and the air is not heavy or humid.  For me, thats almost enough already.  But it has more.  They can grow almost anything at any time of year.  The market has bananas, pawpaws and mangoes but also carrots, potatoes and strawberries.  There are nuts, herbs and all the usual weird Asian jars of things that are probably best left alone.  Then there's the fact its Vietnam's only wine growing region.  And main coffee growing region.  And tea growing.

If you want to have an idea of it then watch the Top Gear episode where they motorbiked up the length of the country and even better the BBC show The Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve.  But if you REALLY want  to know, come visit us...