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Jul - Sep 2002: This is a continuation of my China trip, but includes travels to other countries in Asia.

Southeast Asia, month 2

Jennifer Radcliffe
2005-11-12 10:50:55

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Vietnam; and a group of beautiful young girls aged 5-11 who approached me in the park and giggled and struck poses as we took photos together. As in many other countries, I am impressed with the amount of warmth and friendliness of Vietnamese people.

Saigon is one of my favorite cities that I've visited so far, and I would love to spend much more time here. I only have 3 weeks left before I need to return to Hong Kong though, so I need to keep moving so that I have time for the rest of Vietnam. As I board the bus to the central highlands, I feel very sad to be leaving. But that feeling passes soon enough and is replaced with curiosity and excitement. My favorite place is always the next place!

Dalat

Dalat is set high in the hills of Vietnam's central highlands, and it enjoys a delightfully cool climate. The setting for the town is beautiful - on a lake with conifer stands (a rare sight in Asia) and knotty little green hills in the surrounding area. Clouds and mist hug the hills in places and you can see the hills getting rained on. Yet just a little ways off the clouds are big, fluffy, white ones with the bluest sky in between. It rains several times a day here but only for a few minutes at a time. Then the clouds blow off and the sun is shining and the sky is once again that dazzling blue. It's a charming town, and even more charming because of the coolness. I've missed the sensation of feeling cold!

Today is a very sad day. My trusty black Nine West sandals are finally finished. I bought them 4 years ago in Atlanta and broke them in while tramping around New York City for 2 weeks that summer. Since then they've been to 15 countries and at least that many states. I've been patching them up as needed with string and safety pins, but now one of the straps broke and I think they're done. So sad. Oh, but I do have some duct tape in my bag! Maybe there's hope yet... ;)