Off To Dalat We Go !!!

On Saturday we left HCMC at 8 AM by a limo bus, now you might wonder what a limo bus is. Well it is a bus that stops along its destination to pick up those who have reserved a seat. It has extra wide seats, which we like and they recline so you can sleep away the long 7 hour trip. The only problem is the horn. I was at several points ready to tare it out. You see in Vietnam they honk at everyone just to make sure they know you are coming and don't get in their way. Imagine you are all comfy, ready to fall asleep, with the music playing in the background when all of a sudden that blasted horn goes off not just once but it keeps going until everyone is out of the way. This goes on for the the entire 7 hour trip. If my ears could take the ear plugs I would keep them in but mine are very senstive. On the trip we made two stops, the first was a 10 minute bathroom, snack break and the second a 30 minute lunch break. We decided to fast during the lunch break as nothing really appealed to us at this truckstop type place. As we began climbing the mountains the view was awesome. So many trees and waterfalls and narrow roads that only one vehical at a time could pass through, they were still working on the roads. We were seated about 5 rows back so much of the oncoming view was blocked. Thank goodness. We finally arrived in the town of Dalat. It has a beautiful lake in the middle and a tower that was made to look like the Eifel tower since the French were the ones to build it. The first thing I noticed when we got off the bus was the cold, windy weather. Such a difference from HCMC. Since we had taken the limo bus part of the package was a van ride to our four star hotel. We had stayed there last year on our trip to Dalat and it was so nice we thought we would stay there again and then to help things out Mark found a great online deal. The first evening we met our friends who had come up at a different time, for dinner. They recommended a local eatery and it was very good. On Sunday we went to visit a home of some friends of our friends and Mark got to share about the meaning of Christmas. We were invited to stay for lunch and we had a meal of local food. Our hostess called it a fish steamboat. It reminded us of tomato soup with steamed fish. They also added noodles and veggies. It was wonderful and warming. Sunday night was a special event, for Christmas at a local coffee shop. They sang Christmas music and again Mark shared and then they had a drama of the Christmas story. The place was packed with local university students. We also were treated to some yummy drinks and ice cream. They asked five of us to sing in English so we sang O Come All Ye Faithful. It made me homesick. Monday was a tour day for us. We took a cable car, sky ride type thing which was about 12 minutes long through the mountains and into an area with a lake and temple. It had a beautiful view. We then went back, acutally we could not find a cab so we started to walk and after about a mile, as the street was starting uphill, a taxi stopped and asked if we wanted a ride. By that time my face was sunburned and I felt like I was back in HCMC. We then visited the local market where the farmers bring their goods to sell. We bought, avacados, they grow them really big and potatoes, which I have a hard time finding in the city and some of the yummiest strawberries ever. They also grow the most beautiful roses and other flowers. On Jan 1-4th they have an actual flower festival. Then as a Christmas present I went and got a body massage at our hotel. The cost for a one hour body massage was only $7.00. This tiny slip of a girl came in and she actually got up on the table and cracked my back and gave me a great massage. I enjoyed every minute of it. Our final night in Dalat Mark was hungary for what else, Pizza. We found a place and for $6.00 we got Pizza, two drinks and bread. You can't beat that. On Tuesday we again took the limo bus back to HCMC and arrived just in time for rush hour traffic. Oh to live outside the city would be great but not practical.

It is Christmas eve here and we want to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and blessings for the year 2010. We love and miss you all and wish we could celebrate our Lord's birth with you our family!