sapa& beyond to Dalat!!!

Hi there everyone,
Im getting so confused about where we are up to; because on every computer in Vietnam, we have never been able to view any previous posts!!!!! so I keep wondering where the hell were we????
So, today or should I say tonight.... I think Ill just confuse myself & you a little more by writing about today.......
because I keep thinking Im never going to catch up. now weeks have rushed by & you probably dont even know where we are!!!!. 2 friends have thought we were in Thailand; we haven't described or shock horror!!! even sent photographs of the food that weve been eating!!!!
OK... ready....
I am sitting on a plastic chair, at a round steel table; there is so much noise around me. Possibly added to with the dalat markets which are about 50 metres away. Its busy, alive & vibrant. There is a scrawny malnourished cat slinking around the other tables in this cafe; I can tell it doesnt want to be noticed.The night is slowly moving in. Its cold ,but I have my eskimo jacket (as tashi calls it) wrapped over me; so I sit calmly holding this moment close to me.
I am the only westerner here, but that too feels like an advantage. Many people stare shyly at me; sometimes I smile at them; sometimes I giggle just for no reason other than it feels good. They often respond in a similar way.My food arrives. Its Pho Bho pronounced fir birr!!!( but without the red meat or pork, instead its chicken!)
I eat joyously. The food here is exciting, delicious & different. Ive just finished my papaya shake, tashi had a strawberry shake. The total bill comes to 31,000 dong ( less than $3.00!)
Here in dalat the tourist stats are different from other places in Vietnam; 90% of tourists here are from Vietnam. We have a respite. The hawkers harrass the vietnamese.!! I like it!!!
Whenever we said we were going to Dalat next, locals from vietnam sighed softly & said " Ah, Dalat.... Romantic!!!"
Its so cute. we cant really determine why this place is so romantic to them, except for the weather!! It is winter & it is cold!! Here is the only place where there is no air conditioning in the rooms; & the" Valley of Love"( vallee' le mour) where the tourists get their photos with these guys on horses dressed as (american) cowboys!!! but the cowboys are vietnames anyhow. The ultimate in vietnamese kitch is to get married in this valley of love. It all sounds sooooo tacky but I think it could be fun, ( to see!)although we decided against it because instead we had this strange exhilarating experience !!!!
We were told by the 2 aussies on the train to Sapa, that in Dalat if you get the lucky the "easy riders" will find you. ie. you dont find them!! they have to find you ! The easy riders are a group of about 75 ex vietcong who ride large motorbikes (not like the 4 million other scooter riders here!) & will take you on a tour of dalat & surrounds for around $10 (USD); anyway as tashi & I were arguing in the street today about how to get to the cable cars (about 5-8 kms away); she wanted to get a taxi & i wanted to get a motorbike taxi!!!!
Its very weird. in many ways we have reversed roles!!! she has become the parent /mother & I the child!! she wants safety & security & propriety & i often dont care!!!
Anway, next thing I hear. "Hello Madame!!!" Thats another thing here that I really like; "AGE" is respected & revered. Teenagers are like nothing , which is of course the opposite in Australia!! We all know "teenagers rule!!" But here, everyone defers to me & treats me with so much respect; & it annoys Tashi, that no matter what ,they always honor me!!!
So this guy starts talking with me in quite good english & then he says "We are the easy riders & we would like to take you on a tour today!!" Well this was my answer come true!! but not so for tashi.; her pout became longer & she wasnt playing!! Please (Mum) I pleaded with her but no, she wanted the safe taxi. I wanted the thrill of these guys & the bike experience. Maybe bring back a bit of the freedom that I felt as a teenager on the back of my boyfriends speeding karge motorbikes!!!!
Well, I won & we were off up the mountain. My rider was called Biens. I liked him & felt really safe with him. It was a cloudy cold day & it was exhilarating. They dropped us off at the cable cars which we went across the valley in; all very exciting & challenging for me as I hate heights. Tashi got hers back by rocking the car & reminding me the windows were open, & "Oh its only perspex!!!!" we met them at the other side & walked down to the beautiful Tuyen lake& Truc Lam meditation Centre. Beautiful flower gardens, views, a couple of forlorn caged monkeys, incredible architecture & a young girl weaving silk on a hand loom brought us back to the easy riders & another thrilling ride to the Datanla waterfalls. But this time Tashi got hers back again with the sight of the "Coaster bobs" a little car that runs on a rail built for asians but not for long legged aussies!! well I am not going on that 90 degree drop (dream world like) ride. But how could I say that when tashi had begrudgingly come on the easy riders tour with me.
So off wewent !! she worked the brakes & promised to go steady. It was wild & scarey but wild & fun!!!. My rider calling out "would you like me to protect you madame.??over the railing I so wanted t say yes!! but refained !!!
Now, this guy Biens, was so nice to me. He kept saying "with me by your side, you will always be safe!!" good line huh? but I think he meant it! We talked a lot. I asked him lots of questions about the vietcong. Its all very fascinating. After the war these guys were sent to reeducation camp for 3 years! to work & be brain washed. Anyway its about time I got so much attention from someone. he said he will be waiting for me when I return.....
Tashi is normally the one getting all the attention!!! The vietnames guys almost fall over when they see her!!! She has already been proposed to in Nha trang by our lovely friend Huan we met at the 'sailing club' on the beach (even though there were no yachts!) When he real;ised tashi was only 15, he said he could wait 5 years or could he marry her sister celeste who is 19; I said I didnt think he & celeste would be such a good match; he then said " well could I please be his Mum, cause I didnt have a son & then he would be tashis brother & could he have his other sisters birthdays & addresses please. he was so cute!! Calling me Mum all night!!!
He was an aquarian & we had such fun with him it was delightful!!
Its amazing how close weve become to a few people, its been hard to leave them & when they touch you physically, its euphoric!! I cant explain it but its true.
I have a lot more to wite but every thing is shutting down.
Our days are usually packed full. the trip with the boys was only half a day. Theres a whole other story.. but I must pack now as we leave at 7am tomorrow for Ho Chi Minh city for new years eve tomorrow night.
We have visited the dalat foreign language school here & sat in on some classes.
If accepted & all goes to plan I'll be on probation for 1 month & then Ill consider a 6 month contract.
Tashi & I both love Dalat!! Its very french & very picturesque. The traffic is still wild but Im praying I could get used to it. Many do....... I might even get a scooter!!! OMG!!!! I can see us living here!!!! We will find a 3 br apartment so you can all visit us 1 by 1!!!!:)
Happy New Year My loved ones.
I love you & I miss you. Ill try & wrte more.regularly.... so much to tell..... keep well. be kind & loving with yourselves.....
All our love from the travelling tandem
Isabella & tashiXXXXX
PS Ill try to load some photos afterXXXXX