Alla inlägg den 7 juni 2017

Av Magnus Ekstrand - 7 juni 2017 12:58

We got up at 03:30 to make our fligt to Da Lat. I almost didn't realize how tired I was before I fell asleep right after takeoff. We arrived in Da Lat 1 hour later. The cooler temperature and somewhat chilly wind was more than welcome after spending time in Ho Chi Minh city. We ended up taking a taxi from the airport to the hostel. In view of happend yesterday I was somewhat apprehensive. Especially when the driver asked for the sheet with the adress, pulled over and then phoned the hotel. Not being able to understand what was being said I, sadly, braced myself for the worst. I had however in mind that there are bad people everywhere and I shouldn't judge him just because of yesterday. In the end from what I gathered at the hostel he'd just told them that we were about to arrive. He also, for some reason cut 100 000 dong of the taxometer. Maybe because he failed to take us the last 100 m to the hostel because a truck was blocking the way and hokning at him? Or just because he was stressed out of being honked at? Maybe both. It did renew my faith in humanity.


Being more tired that we'd taken into account we slept for 3 hours before leaving to explore Da Lat. The city seems to be thriving. New buildings are being built everywhere. And many of the existing ones seem to have been build recently and showcases some impressing architecture. During our exploring we also met Binh. A MC guide that asked if he could render his services in anywa and showed some skills in Swedish language asking both me and Martin for our names and lenght of stay. He also had a book where people had written down their experiance traveling with him. He had tales in german, english, vietnamnese and many more that I couldn't figure out. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and touring with him would've been great. But we had already made plans for tomorrow and our trip to Nah Trang.


After that we went around the Xuan Huong lake in Da Lat which feautured multipple great buildings, a temple and a flowergarden that seemed amazing(we are probably going tomorrow) with a guided tour. Inside the temple i spend a few minutes alongside what I beleive was the keeper facing the altar of Buddah. I tried to remember the steps of letting go of everything and for a fleeting moment into objective nothingness, but failed. While exploring the temple the same man came back for me to show me some of the other altars.When he saw Hotch he suddenly burst out singing "Is it me your looking for?", stunned and a bit taken aback i couldn' help but to grin like an idiot and laugh. He then tried to give me a smoke and gestured for me to join him outside. I declined as graciously as you can using facial expressions and body language. He didn't seem to mind and went outside to smoke by himself, and I went back to find Martin who I'd left behind while exploring the temple.


One of the gardens we passed by walking around the lake.

       

Horses grasing without restriction, in the background some older building being renovated.  

One of the many sites where construction is taking place. You got the feeling the city was growing and evolving  

Found our first temple!    

Hall of prayers.  

Garden outside the temple.


 

 

It featured two miniature mountains with small satues on them as well as the "thing" in the background.  

 

Buddah on top of the mountain.

 

Exploring the streets.  

View of the lake and many things around it.  


     

One of the newer constuctions. Unsure what it was used for.

This thing however was a café, kinda cool.

Av Magnus Ekstrand - 7 juni 2017 00:41

So from now on we'll do this in english so Esther, Sören and other we meet may follow and know what I write. Yesterday(2017-06-06) was in many ways the worst of days. Martin had come back late and after that we stayed up chatting. To add it up someone was using a hammer the morning through. In the end it meant we didn't wake up at 09:00 as planned. Even if Sören banged on our door.


So when we got up 11:30, a bit hungover and still sleepy we had missed our meeting with Esther and Sören. We agreed to meet at the Ho Chi Minh statue at one of the larger walking steets. Going there was stressful, knowing we already made them wait in the morning. Plus this we were running late by 20 minutes yet again. Thus bad decisions were made. We had a biketaxi drive us, without negotiation price or making sure they took us to the right place before going in. We ended up paying a shamefull amount for a 15 minute bike ride that we might as well could've walked since they ran the long way. For those who've been in vietnam the sum we payed is outrageous. Lets just say it would cover our hotelstay, the food for three days and som more. How come we paid this knowing it was outrageous? Lots of shouting, angry arguing and lots and lots of anger and frustration + being stressed about being even more late. To sum it up, it was the worst start of a day I've ever had. Thus I spent the following 30 minutes with the team saying little, fury, anger, disappointment running wild within me. Only a phonecall with my partents, lots of laughter, the best of company, a glas of tasty wine, a rooftop view(23:th floor, long considering and contemplation later makes it easier to think about. But it does leave a very sad mark on the otherwise very friendly and helpful Vietnamese people. But there's bad people in all countys. I hope they spent the money well.


The bad day did however not end there. We went to the botanical gardens and Zoo. Only to find everything from snakes, otters, birds and elephants contained in small enclosures. For most animals pure concrete with minor details of actual nature. I was happy to find the did not have penguin, I do not think my heart could handle that. Not during that day, and not ever. Seeing the sad, almost lethargic animals took my thoughts away from money, deceit and anger to the larger picture. Once again I found that there's more important thing than losing money, even if it stings. Leaving the zoo, almost all anger, ditt and bitterness hade been replaced with contemplation and sorrow.


After this the day made a semi recovery. We went to a bar and had a drink. Then we went to another bar, this time at the 23:th floor at a hotel that seemed too expensive to even consider staying in. The bar featured kinda expensive drinks, a magestic view and yet again; my lifeline for the day, the best of company. I don't think I've enjoyed just sitting around drinking wine like this for very long.


 

On our way from the Ho Chi Minh statue towards the Zoo and botanical garden. Suddenly there was rain.  

We stood around, trying to wait for it to ease out but no luck.  

Instead we geared up, of course making sure everyone matched.  

"Lost?" "Maybe, I don't know."  

Sonner rather than later(after using google maps) we found our way to the Zoo/gardens. Was very excited until i realized how mistreated most of the animals were.  

Osterich that didn't facy us too much. They have a nack for looking angry.  

Some animals looked semi-well treated.  

Otters with access no nothing but concrete and water...    

The last elephant swaggering back and forward, seemlingly trying to avoiod being put in his/her separate pen for the night.

German beer! Made Sören alot happier. Be having a bad day went for juice instead.  

 

The hotell with the skybar.    

It was a really impressive sight!  

The others went for a picture while I was away. Hotch made sure to represent.    

"Sunset" = the world became a darker shade of grey. But still beautiful. It was hard to tell if the blurring of the horizons was due to rain or smog.

 

Many buildings lit up the night. Making for quite the show.  

Last night picture with the team. Sören, Esther, me, Martin and our host Harry. Harry also cooked for us a traditional soup with noodles with spring rolls as a sidedish. It was the single best thing I've eaten so far. We said goodbye to Sören at 20:00 ish, his plane leaving for germany soon. Esther me and Martin stayed awhile and chatten. I also got to play a league of legends on the Vietnamease servers, and I'm sad to say I fed. All together it was a really good day.

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