Dalat - “Mountain air is clear as wine…”

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I’ve just arrived at Dalat and I’m staying tonight at the very nice Dreams hotel. My arrival here wasn’t the most pleasant one… and I’m still a bit upset.

As I was recovering from figuring out from an Australian-Vietnamese that I was extremely overpriced for the bus ticket to get here, which is a daily thing, I was asked which hotel I want to go to. I quickly browsed through the Lonely Planet and just said the first one on the map from the north - Dreams Hotel and was confirmed that they will indeed take me there, as promised in Saigon. When the bus arrived, they said I should wait on the bus as they call and reserve the hotel for me or maybe book me another hotel if full. When I said I don’t want them to call since I’m not sure if I’d like it, the driver became all upset and took me off the bus saying - “if you don’t want me to help you then you deserve to walk”. And I walked… almost a kilometer with a big bag on my back. Thank god for the lovely Dreams owner that took nice care of me and restored my forgotten faith in the Vietnamese people.

Dalat is high up on the mountains. Indeed, the walk did display a very nice - cold - city. I forgot what it was like to feel cold outside with no A/C. I actually have to go put on my long sweatshirt before I go out to get something to eat…

(Side note - I’m praying to what ever religious entity that wishs to embrance my unfaithful self that the crappy travel agency in Saigon will mail my passport with the VISA extension to my hotel here in Dalat as promised (and highly paid for). I have a really bad feeling that by coming here before my VISA extension was processed I’m taking a huge risk… and that I’m getting my self into a Vietnamese mess…)

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