I Love Dalat! The journey here was so beautiful; weaving through the mountains
in a comfy bus. I hadn't realised how flat, dry and dusty Cambodia was until arriving in the rich green mountains of Vietnam. The town of Dalat is a bit un-navigable (is that a word?) but luckily there are 'Easy Rider' motorcycle riders who are willing to take you wherever you want to go in the city or countryside.
Yesterday I teamed up with a couple of Scottish folk for a motorcycle tour of the countryside. We visited a hill village, waterfall, pagoda, some flower and strawberry farms... hmmm, what else? The most amazing house I've ever seen! It's called Crazy House and it is seriously crazy! The architect is a woman who studied overseas (can't remember
where and don't have Lonely Planet on me as a reminder) and was influenced by Gaudi. The buildings all interweave and adjoin via quirky staircases and each room has a different animal theme- one of them had a large concrete kangaroo with a red light bulb eye, Scary! Her philosophy is to follow the lines of nature so there wasn't a straight line or corner in the place... wonderful!
in a comfy bus. I hadn't realised how flat, dry and dusty Cambodia was until arriving in the rich green mountains of Vietnam. The town of Dalat is a bit un-navigable (is that a word?) but luckily there are 'Easy Rider' motorcycle riders who are willing to take you wherever you want to go in the city or countryside.Yesterday I teamed up with a couple of Scottish folk for a motorcycle tour of the countryside. We visited a hill village, waterfall, pagoda, some flower and strawberry farms... hmmm, what else? The most amazing house I've ever seen! It's called Crazy House and it is seriously crazy! The architect is a woman who studied overseas (can't remember
where and don't have Lonely Planet on me as a reminder) and was influenced by Gaudi. The buildings all interweave and adjoin via quirky staircases and each room has a different animal theme- one of them had a large concrete kangaroo with a red light bulb eye, Scary! Her philosophy is to follow the lines of nature so there wasn't a straight line or corner in the place... wonderful! We finished the tour with a visit to the 'Valley of Love', a kind of garden/themepark for 'newlyweds and oldlyweds' according to our guide. It was tacky and funny and great! We shot arrows and took photos inside love hearts.
Last night I joined the meditation group at my guesthouse, the 'Peace Hotel' and enjoyed a gorgeous Asian tea ceremony followed by a guided visualisation. So much what I needed!
Last night I joined the meditation group at my guesthouse, the 'Peace Hotel' and enjoyed a gorgeous Asian tea ceremony followed by a guided visualisation. So much what I needed!
Today, I went Canyoning with a young fella from Sydney. We travelled about 5kms out of town 
and made our way down the river where we practiced our first abseil on a short rock wall. We did a few more increasingly high abseils as we travelled down the river, one of which dropped straight into the river. Along the way we flew down a natural waterslide, feet first then head first (head first was HEAPS FUN!), then the highlight (and most terrifying) moment of the day. We came to a 25 meter waterfall, and abseiled over the edge... those first moments with the water crashing against my feet and having the guides warnings that it is slippery were
rather tentative. As I got further down the waterfall, the water pressure became stronger and was drenching me from foot to head. I slipped once or twice, letting out a suitably girly scream each time, but slowly made my way down, with the simplest of prayers filling my mind... "Please God!" At about 3 metres above the water level, the rocks became to far away to abseil so there was only one choice - LET GO!!! I counted to three and flew into the water. It was nerve wracking and awesome and I am my own personal hero right now!! After a short hike we came to another drop - a 10 or 7 metre leap into a rockpool. Of course I took the 7 metre option, but spent some time breathing and praying before making the leap. My own little mantra for the adventure, I am safe, I am safe, I am safe. 
After a steep climb (what goes down must come up) we found our taxi waiting and found our way back to the peace hotel for well-deserved hot showers.
Awesome day!
and made our way down the river where we practiced our first abseil on a short rock wall. We did a few more increasingly high abseils as we travelled down the river, one of which dropped straight into the river. Along the way we flew down a natural waterslide, feet first then head first (head first was HEAPS FUN!), then the highlight (and most terrifying) moment of the day. We came to a 25 meter waterfall, and abseiled over the edge... those first moments with the water crashing against my feet and having the guides warnings that it is slippery were
rather tentative. As I got further down the waterfall, the water pressure became stronger and was drenching me from foot to head. I slipped once or twice, letting out a suitably girly scream each time, but slowly made my way down, with the simplest of prayers filling my mind... "Please God!" At about 3 metres above the water level, the rocks became to far away to abseil so there was only one choice - LET GO!!! I counted to three and flew into the water. It was nerve wracking and awesome and I am my own personal hero right now!! After a short hike we came to another drop - a 10 or 7 metre leap into a rockpool. Of course I took the 7 metre option, but spent some time breathing and praying before making the leap. My own little mantra for the adventure, I am safe, I am safe, I am safe. 
After a steep climb (what goes down must come up) we found our taxi waiting and found our way back to the peace hotel for well-deserved hot showers.
Awesome day!
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