Day 12
Country
As we had bypassed the waterfall yesterday we thought we'd retrace our steps for 35 km or so and visit the waterfalls. We arrived at Elephant waterfalls at about 10.30 am after having stopped for a coffee at what looked like a very popular Me Linh coffee garden. We had "proper" coffee (as we know it) for the first time in Vietnam. Despite paying over the odds for a latte it was worth it just for the view from the balcony/terrace.
We arrived at the top of the waterfalls, paid the entrance fee and headed down a dodgy, rocky path. It'd be treacherous in the wet but the sun was shining and it was a pleasant morning. It was still early in tourist terms so it was quiet for which we were grateful. Took a zillion photos at the bottom of the falls which was spectacular and headed back up as we still had a fair way to travel that day to Nha Trang. We set off around midday but had to zip up our jackets as it was chilly in the shade this high up. We travelled back through Dalat and headed east on the Khánh Lê pass (DT652/QL27).
Today's ride from Dalat to Nha Trang along the DT 652/QL 27 via the Khánh Lê pass or Đèo Khánh Lê has to be one of the best roads I have ever ridden a bike on! Full stop.
The roads were fabulous but we had to watch out for pot holes and dogs. Dogs everywhere in Vietnam. They looked like strays but I don't think they were. They would carelessly walk across the road or be sleeping in the middle of the road! Ron had a couple of close calls today. We would meet other bikers later in the trip who had not been paying attention to dogs and had wounds and scars to tell the tale. Talking of dogs, we knew it would be on the menu in Vietnam so I had learnt to avoid ordering "thit cho" quite early on.
It got warmer as we descended into the valleys and our ears popped. We reached Dalat at about 5pm and found a cheap hotel - $9 for the room with mountain view. But you only got the mountain view if you looked beyond the immediate empty land which also served as a rubbish dump for locals.
We went out to eat but didn't stay out long in what I would describe as the Benidorm of Vietnam. Dalat was full of Russians out partying. Each to their own.
