The week that was

Since we're working full time now, going to gym after work, and have still been teaching a couple of classes on the weekends, we haven't really had too much time on our hands to get up to too much. Here are a few snaps of the few things that we have managed to do:

One lunch time we decided that, instead of going for our usual coffee, we would go and sit on a bench outside. It was a lovely (aka hot but not rainy) day, but staying on the property made it feel like we didn't really have a break.

Friends of ours are moving back to America. Mike was given this bottle of whisky by one of his students so we cracked it open for a farewell dinner and drinks with them. We also played Monopoly Deal which was loads of fun!

We needed to pay the rent on our bikes so while we waited for the mechanic to check something on Ross's bike, we had a vanilla milkshake and some iced chocolate at the cafe across the road.

Every Saturday should officially be pancake day! We've been meaning to have these for ages but just haven't gotten around to making them, so last Saturday we did it! Honey, cinnamon and lime - deeeeelish!

Laaaast Sunday we had a little bit of time to kill after lunch and before Ross had to go back to work. So we decided that coffee was in order (also to give Ross the boost he needed to teach another class!). Mel had a cappuccino and Ross had an iced coffee.

During one of our lunch breaks, we had some errands to run and they went way quicker than we thought, so we decided that some pie and (you guessed it...) tea/coffee at one our favourite places (Master's Cup) was in order.

Chocolate pie and tea for Mel and pecan pie and iced coffee for Ross.

 Just as we left work the other evening (on our way to gym!), we got a flat tyre. Luckily it happened in a pretty convenient place, as there was a guy with a repair kit not too far down the road (we had to cross a very busy intersection by foot - which was rather scary). He had the tyre fixed in no time, and off to gym we went.

On Friday, lunch at school was rather average so, we decided to order some Chinese food with our work colleague / friend, Emily. We sat on benches in the school grounds and enjoyed some 'fresh' air.

Since we have been very good about going to gym, we decided to spoil ourselves with some new gym clothes. Ross went off to work on Saturday morning and Mel went shopping! Unfortunately she arrived at the market a little bit early and was not allowed to park outside. So down the road to a coffee shop she went (just for a change), to wait until opening time. Mel got some new (purple!) gym pants, as well as a very bright pink top, and Ross got a green workout shirt (not pictured).

In an effort to stay healthy, we are trying to eat as many meals as possible at home (as you can tell from this post alone, we have decided to ignore our caffine intake in this 'health drive'). Mel made this quiche, packed full of veggies, for lunch on Sunday.

The 'bell' at VStar is something quite unlike any bell that we've ever had in South Africa. One of the security guards smashes this drum as hard as he can, to signal the start amd end of the school day, and boy is it loud! Do not walk past it when it is being beaten, or risk rupturing an eardrum!

Saigon is hosting its annual Oktoberfest in a few weeks time and we've decided to go. We went in search of some outfits but first, we had to stop off and have huge fruit smoothies!

Mel and Emily with their smoothies.

An exciting development is that we have officially finished working at VUS, and will now have our weekends free to do with as we please. (We are RIDICULOUSLY excited about this!)

Bribery and teaching

One of the most successful forms of bribery at the Language Centre we work at is allowing the children to watch a music video if they work well (or if you have a few minutes at the end of class and you've finished everything that you need to). What does the fox say, Pharell's Happy and Let it go from Frozen (if you haven't watched this movie, then doooo it! It's so great) are the children who we teach's absolute favourite songs.

Here's a video of one of Ross's classes rocking out to 'What does the fox say'.

Da Lat - Day 2

After a long first day in Da Lat, we decided that a bit of a sleep in was in order. We woke up (not too late), got dressed into our warmest clothes and then headed out to find some breakfast. We decided to try and find a restaurant that comes highly recommended on TripAdvisor and in The Lonely Planet - V Cafe. After a bit of a walk, and a few wrong turns, we found the place. We both had eggs, bacon, mushrooms and shared a fruit platter - it was great. In a city that's definitely not known for it's Western food, it did alright. We then booked our bus tickets back to Ho Chi Minh at the travel agency across the road and score, they were cheaper than the tickets we booked on the way to Da Lat!

Yummy eggs and bacon

A delicious fruit platter

Next, we thought we would go and find the old railway station. Our guides from the day before had told us to go and visit it, so we thought we would take their advice. After consulting Google Maps, we saw that it wasn't too far away. And since the weather is so nice and cool up in Da Lat, we walked the few kilometres. There wasn't too much to see unfortunately, just two old trains and the building which was pretty but nothing too spectacular.

The railway station

We then walked back down the hill and started to make our way to our next stop - the cable car. We kept saying that we would find a taxi, but we actually really enjoyed the walk so we never stopped to get one. We walked back down to the central lake, and then walked through a beautiful garden up to the main road. We then continued on until we eventually reached the cable car. It started to rain quite hard just as we arrived, so we thought that our walk there was in vain (as the mist had rolled in with the rain and there wasn't too much of a view). Luckily, the rain stopped fairly quickly and it cleared up enough for us to see a bit of a view, so we decided to go ahead and go on the cable car. We certainly weren't disappointed. We went high above the forest and got to see a different side of Da Lat. We haven't seen that many trees in Vietnam, so we definitely think that that's where the whole of Vietnam's oxygen is made! The trip took us over, and then through, the pine forests that surround the city and to a building at the other side. We quickly discovered that there isn't really anything to see or do on the other side, so we caught the cable car back to where we started.

Da Lat is full of beautiful gardens so we decided to take a short cut through this one.

The misty view that greeted us when we arrived at the cable car. We almost didn't go on but luckily
the weather cleared a bit and the rain stopped for a little while.

In the pine trees

Da Lat

After that, we decided that it was definitely lunch time! We walked back towards our hotel, saw a cute-looking cafe and decided to try it. We couldn't decipher a single thing on the menu, so we just ordered some coffee. It was the strongest coffee we have ever had! It was so strong that it was thick and syrupy and Mel even had to put sugar in (which is something that she never does)! We knew that our hotel had an English menu, so we headed back to get some lunch. Ross ordered a pork chop and rice, while Mel ordered macaroni and pork. Ross's lunch was a winner, it was delicious! Mel's however, came as a soup! Boiled pork and slimy pasta in a weak broth... not so great. You win some and you lose some when ordering local cuisine (not all of the translations are accurate).

After a bit of a rest, we decided to venture out to find some dinner. This was rather a mission as Mel decided to be very fussy after the lunch time fiasco. This left us wondering around in the rain looking for a restaurant until Ross made an executive decision and we ordered some beefsteak and french fries at the next restaurant we saw. When we got back to the hotel, we ordered some homemade ice-cream which definitely helped to end the day off on a high. Despite the food drama, it was rather a successful day and we ended up walking 16 kms in total!!

After a good nights rest, we were picked up by the bus company and taken to the bus stop. From there, we boarded our sleeper bus for the long journey back to Ho Chi Minh. We were a bit more prepared this time and took socks and jerseys with us on the bus so that we didn't freeze this time. We started off by looking at the scenery however, after a few close calls and seeing how narrow the roads are we decided that it's much safer to try and sleep rather than watch the road. Eight hours later we were back home. We had a great time and Da Lat and we'll definitely try to make it back to see the sights that we missed!

Rice paddies

The sign for the loo at the place we stopped for lunch

Trying to read and ignore the zooming cars and buses going past.

The sleeper bus

Da Lat - Day 1 (part 2)

To see part 1, click here.

Afte a little break at the waterfall, we got back onto the bikes and continued on to a silk factory. There, we were shown the whole process of 'farming' silk. First, they place the cocoons on shelves and let the silkworms do their thing. Next they soak them in hot water to get the larvae out and they try to find the end of the cocoon. They then stretch it out and spin it onto reels (one cocoon can contain a single thread as long as 1km!). After that, the silk is ready to be used, spun into fabric and dyed. There was a shop at the end of the tour where Ross bought a tie. As he was paying, there was a bowl of larvae ready to be eaten. Feeling very brave, he decided to sample one. Unfortunately, Mel decided that that was a good moment to be technologically challenged and she managed to stop the video before he ate the larvae! So while there is no evidence, we can promise that he did do it!

Cocoons lined up and ready

Unravelling the cocoons

Larvae

Spinning the silk

We thought that after the silk factory we would be driven back to Da Lat, as we had covered all the places listed on our itinerary. However, our guides had way more in store for us. Earlier in the day, the guides pointed out a grass that is dried and then used to make the brooms that everyone, everywhere, uses. We  stopped off at someone's house, where we were lead around the back and shown how the brooms are assembled. Our next stop was at an oyster mushroom farm. 

Making brooms

Oyster mushrooms

After seeing how the mushrooms are grown, we stopped off to see how rice noodles are made. First, rice is soaked until it is soft. It's then placed into a machine which compresses it and then spits the noodles out. The noodles come out really sticky so they need to be soaked before being placed into banana leaves. Much to the amusement of the people who owned the noodle factory, we were completely besotted with a crate full of ducklings! They were by far the highlight of this stop.

Washing banana leaves to place the rice into after it is made. 

Rice noodles - the finished product

So many cute duckies!

IT'S SO FLUFFY!!

Our guides insisted on stopping to take photos of people wearing traditional hats while working in the fields. They were quite far away, so Mel had to jump over a ditch and wade through spiderwebs to try get a good shot. Luckily there were some people working in a rice paddy a little bit further down the road, and we were able to get a much better shot there. We then stopped to see a modern day blacksmith who repurposes old shells from the war. Next, we wound our way back up the treacherous mountain road and had a little pit stop - to see how the people who work on the road break up the rocks. Our next stop was at a flower 'warehouse' where there were ladies assembling bouquets to send to Ho Chi Minh City. The roses were absolutely stunning and Mel was lucky to be given a gerbera from one of the guides.

Working in the rice paddies

Ross with Mel's gerbera

Our final stop was at The Crazy House, a very apt name for this house, built by a famous Vietnamese architect. She studied in Russia before coming back to Vietnam to build this house. It comprises of a number of branches with staircases that sprawl out and connect all of the different parts of the house. It is a functional hotel and there are rooms for people to stay in. The architect and her family actually live in the central unit. Unfortunately, there were bus loads of rude Russian tourists with very little manners and they were very intrusive. As a result, we made our visit to The Crazy House a very quick one.

The Da Lat skyline

A giant spider web at The Crazy House

The guides then dropped us off at the Da Lat Flower Park. After they very kindly insisting that we keep the ponchos that we were wearing, as it was still raining, they bid us goodbye. We then meandered around the beautiful gardens admiring all of the insane topiaries. Unfortunately there were quite a few rude people around who ruined the experience a bit (a theme for the day?), but it was still very pretty and well worth a visit.

Funny characters in the beds

A very impressive dragon topiary

The rose house

After the flower park, we went and found some food since we'd only had an ice-cream to eat all day! It was then straight back to the hotel where we had an awesome, hot shower to thaw out our cold limbs before hitting the sack. We had an absolutely wonderful day and ended up walking a whopping 14.5 kms! If anyone is ever in Da Lat, then we highly recommend doing an easy rider tour - and more specifically get in touch with our guides (we'll give you their numbers!).