Chilling in Dalat

Well Reece, Gail, and Kevin all left this morning and it was sad to see them go.  We really enjoyed our time with them and hope that they enjoyed their time here aswell.  After we said our sad good byes, Missie and I quickly hoped into a cab and headed out to the jungle for a day full of action packed adventures (repelling down cliffs, waterfalls, hiking and jumping from the top of waterfalls)

Lets Go!

We arrive at the hiking trail full of  fresh cheese baguettes and full of nerves as we knew what we had got ourselves into.  I had heard about this trek from other travelers and what sold me was the idea of repelling straight down the middle of a 70 foot water.  At first Missie wasn't too keen, however after seeing a few pictures I could see in her eyes she wanted to do this just as much as I did!  So we got to our first cliff, which was where we undertook our 5 minute crash course and before we knew we were experts on repelling (or so they thought so!)  

Missie Jumping down

Going Down

Missie going down

Beautiful river we were hiking through

Me and one of our guides at the bottom of a fall

Only way down is to JUMP

Since we were experts now we made our way to the first cliff which was 18 meters of sharp rock straight down to the bottom.  It was a little tense at first but once you start making your way down it's not too bad. Both of us look like seasoned vets, repelling down the first couple of cliffs and started to walk with a bit a swagger as we thought that we were quite the naturals.  

We suddenly realized that we were not so hot, as both of us turned a little white as we approach the 70 foot fall.  As it gushed water at a rather insane PSI rate, one that might topple a house if firefighters used it, never mind two Canadians legs as they tried to repel down the thing.  But with a little courage we made it down with the biggest smiles and one of the best experiences we have done so far.

After the big water fall we ran into Dalat, Vietnam's version of west edmonton mall's water slides, which were nothing more then hard rock with a layer slippery film on them into a river.  Our guide pointed at a random rapid and said, " ok now you slide" we thought are you crazy, what about hidden rocks under the water.  "no worry he said" so we listened and slid down the rocks every which way possible, it was great!  After the slides we made our way down the river and came to point that we had to jump from 12 or 8 meters down a fall.  It was great! And I was so proud of Missie as she jumped as high and far into the bottom of the river.

Water slides, I mean water rocks

Missie is going backwards, head first!

All and all the river trek in Dalak was amazing and we enjoyed it so much and Missie is quite the adventure girl now! I was very proud of her accomplishments today.

Take care everyone, Shaun

Bit of a break down on the way to Da Lat! 

We definitely have had ourselves an action PACT day today! Like Shaun says the river trek was amazing and we are love love loving the scenery of Da Lat.  The trek went way beyond  comfort levels for me and at the end of the day Im so proud of our accomplishment!  I keep thinking wow, this is ONLY the begining?!  We are so lucky! I cant believe we have the chance  to be here and  do all of this.  And, I am incredibily happy to have someone like Shaun who is so positive and adventurous. He is always pushing boundaries, making us do the things that  I would think are impossible, and proving they are indeed definitely.. possible!  

They say in the Lonely Plant book that Da Lat looks a little bit like the french alps. ( I am not sure what the alps look like, but anything like Da Lat and they would be simply breath taking! And I imagine just as cold too haha ) Every time I open my eyes here, there is always something so beautiful and new to see.  The landscape and architecture alone are a must see here and I am going to be sad to leave.

             

 

Country tour

Along with the river trek, we also did an "Easy Rider" country tour. The 5 of us each were on a motorcycle with an easy rider, except Reece and Kevin, they hopped on their own bike and doubled up.  We spent the whole day on tour crusing the country side, we drove though the mountains, local villages and farms, a pagoda, and a waterfall.. all before having a delicious home cooked authentic vietnamese meal with our guides.  I love meeting the local vietnamese people,  just as inquisitive as we are,  so inviting, and always smiling and waving as they are shouting hello! 

Lunch time! 

This last week the five of us spent together has truly been a blast! Shaun and I were really sad to see our friends leave.  We had many laughs and there was NEVER a dull moment.

Last night we all went for a stroll downtown to the market and out for dinner for our final goodbye.  After dinner Gail, Shaun and I went to pick up some local Da Lat red wine for some midnight reminiscing and before we knew it Reece and Kevin were no where to be found. 

They suddenly turned up and surprised us  with a big box of cake to go with the wine!  So we had a great fun, and although there was not a cake fight, it was awesome none the less. 

Tomorrow we are headed to Na Trang, we are ready to get back to the beach and soak up some sun! We will be keeping you posted and we hope you are enjoying the blog :)

Be sure to leave a comment to say a hello, we would love to hear from ya. 

Thank you all for staying tuned. We love you very much. 

xo Melissa