Feb 21: This was the first day of our 4-day trip to Dalat and Mui Ne, also booked through Sinh Cafe. It was a good 5 hours of bus riding to get us to Dalat, a beautiful almost-European-feeling city in the Central Highlands. With our early departure, we were there by 1:30pm and had the rest of the day to walk around the city on our own. We whipped around the Dalat Market and just kind of wandered the streets. In fact, I don't even know the name of most of the things we saw, but there was a large church, a mini Effiel Tower, a Seaman Beer sign I joked about, and then a very ordinary dinner at a restaurant we found along the way. Early on, we wondered why everyone wore thick jackets and pants. But when night fell, we realized just how cold it could get in the mountains with us just wearing shorts and t-shirts. DAMN cold.

Feb 22: The second day of our 4-day trip featured a Sinh Cafe tour of Dalat. It was fairly rushed along the way with only 15 - 45 minutes at each stop, and then it was back on the bus. Go Go Go! Again, without taking anothe look in Lonely Planet, I won't be able to name the places we went to. Basically, we saw a flower garden, a place with a waterfall and some caged crocodiles, the Chicken Village (where they have a huge cock statue), a monastary, a poorly-kept Summer Palace, a guesthouse called "Crazy House" because of it's odd appearance (it's Cra-a-a-a-zy!), the XQ Hand Embroidery Centre, and the Valley of Love. The XQ Hand Embroidry Centre was probably the most impressive stop, where they make astonishing embroidery pieces by hand. It was a brilliant display of delicate skill and workmanship. Just jaw-dropping.

After the day tour, we again headed through the Dalat Market, to another temple (where I was chased by swarming mosquitos), and finally to a nice restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet.

Feb 23: Another day, another bus ride. This time from within the mountains down to the beach. We arrived at our resort hotel in Mui Ne in the early afternoon. With our free time, we taxied to a stream called Fairy Stream. This was another highlight of our trip. Fairy Stream is a shallow stream that you can walk along (barefoot in the water). On one side is canyon-like red and white sand structures, on the other side is some greenery. It was a leisurely stroll which should take about an hour round trip, but much longer if you take as many pictures as we did along the way. After we got back to our hotel, we dipped into the private beach behind the hotel and then spent a little time in the pool before having a very tasty seafood dinner (for about $5USD / person no less!). The day couldn't have been more perfect (other than the bus ride at the start of the day).

Feb 24: On the last day of our 4-day trip, we had a short 1/2 day tour. First we went to a fishing village which was an incredible sight. It was a scene from Troy where the armies storm the beach, but instead it was fishing boats. One of those things that make you say "Wow" when you see it. After that, we took a walk through Red Canyon, and finally went to the White Sand Dunes.

Back on the bus in the early afternoon and arrived at our Saigon hotel just as night fell. Dinner was at a French restaurant called "La Fourchette", which we made a reservation earlier because the last time we tried going it was full. It was our best meal, and came at the largest price. $20 - $25USD / person. But a meal of that price would have easily been x3 if it were in North America. A most excellent dinner made even better because NK treated us.

Feb 25: We started our day with a morning visit to Reunification Palace, the History Museum, and Jade Emperor Pagoda. We went to Ben Thanh Market (and bought nothing), had dinner and sweet soup with Saigon Hotpot girls, and quickly walked along a footwear street (and bought nothing). I'm not sure why this day passed so quickly, but it did.

Feb 26: My 26th was mainly spent around markets. Binh Tay Market in Cholon, Dong An Market in District 3, and there really wasn't much going on that day. But still, I was all "marketed out". I did spend copious amounts of time buying coffee though. It's amazing how cheap coffee is. Throughout this trip, I bought 4 kinds of coffee. The best price I got was 65,000 VND / kg. Now THAT's cheap. There's cheaper, but even a coffee novice won't do with crap coffee.

Feb 27: Morning was a relaxing walkaround. Bought a few gifts for friends and family. Afternoon was more of the same. Spent most of the afternoon in Ben Thanh Market buying dri-fit type t-shirts and sleevelesses. Between $3 - $4 USD. Why not buy more? Well, I did.

Feb 28: On our last day, we had very little time in the morning. Basically, just enough time to eat breakfast, swing by Ben Thanh Market again for a few more t-shirt purchases, and head out to the airport. And that was about it! You can read more about the misfortunes of this day here.