S: As we travelled up and over the Central Highlands from Dalat to Nha Trang we covered a distance of 140km. We made stops at the Zen Buddhist Meditation Centre – Vietnams premier meditation retreat – and a fish farm – breeding fish for Russian export in its one-of-a-kind ‘jungle waters’.
We also…

Visited Dalat’s artichoke tea factory

Took in the patchwork views at 1800 metres above sea level

Crossed a wobbly bridge

Travelled through some stunning scenery

Took a break roadside

Hung on tightly

And joined the road traffic madness
With windswept faces and numb posteriors our thirst for motorbike travel had been quenched. Huge thanks go to Star and Thien for their invaluable insights into the lives of the Vietnamese people and Vietnam. From what we have seen of the country so far, and in particular Dalat, we have been suitability impressed. Relatively prosperous and hard working Vietnam has oodles of hidden delights.
And now it’s over to Nha Trang, our first beach destination in over two and a half months. How have we coped?!
As mentioned in our previous blog entry, Nha Trang is southern Vietnam’s premier beach destination. Determined not to be disappointed we kept our expectations low and were pleasantly surprised.

As we walked across the beach the one thing which stuck out to us was the diversity. Not only were there backpackers and holiday makes on the beach, their was also a steady mix of families, couples and locals too. Looking back at our Thai beach encounters such diversity was nowhere to be seen.

We made valuable use of such a charming location and relaxed beach side each afternoon. Richard was fortunate enough to catch some windsurfing waves. The equipment was a bit ropey, the wind a bit patchy, but it just about did the job.

Look at him go!
With our time fast approaching its end in Vietnam, tonight we travel by bus further north on the east coast to Hoi An. Much like Nha Trang we hear it is another of Vietnam’s picture postcard beach towns. Mindful that we are to return to a Scottish autumn, we think it’s only best to take in the rays while we can…