Welcome to the Jungle . . .

Literally Going Around Dalat

Vikoda natural mineral water which is exploited from Danh Thanh mineral source, is becoming the famous quality in Viet Nam. It was being exploited directly from the depth of 220 meters. The mineral water is conducted to the workshop and bottled by modern line from Germany. Vikoda provides necessary mineral for our body and it is very good for our refreshment.
- Label off of Vidoka bottled water in Vietnam that leaves one wondering many things: all the way from Germany?; what is that one mineral?; do they really need to exploit Danh Thanh?

Gateway out of Jungle Beach

Greetings all! Nadine and I are finally out of Saigon and we hope all are well.

Previously on Globetrotting Around the World, Nadine and I had just finished our teaching stint in Thu Duc, but we were still being held as we waited for our visa extensions to be granted. Exactly a week after we turned in our passports, our passports were returned with a small stamp (#89 out of 89 stamps Peppers) extending our stay, as we were free to roam Vietnam without having an unexpected quick departure to China.

After a month in Saigon, from the side of the road, we jumped on a bus headed for the cool mountain air of Dalat and began actively travelling again. No more staying in one city for a month crap. So I would describe Dalat as the Cusco of Vietnam for its unique feel and the relief from the warmer temperatures closer to sea level. We passed a lot of time commenting to each other on how cool it was in Dalat.

Overlooking Dalat and overlooking Nadine overlooking the city

Actually we did do a few things in the city of flowers. In addition to strolling around the man made lake in the middle of town, we made a visit to the Crazy House. Now this house was designed by this artist in Dalat and the house is still being constructed. This house is very Gaudiesque. There were a bunch of rooms called the frog room, bear room, or some other name of an animal or plant, along with concrete giraffes standing around the premises. The house itself was pretty interesting and when I asked the lady who designed it later on where another site was in Dalat, she gave the perfect lifetime, hippy artist response, "well . . . I am not exactly sure where this church is. . . maybe it's by the hospital or by the lake . . . I . can't . tell . you." After this interaction which should have taken max 20 seconds, took 2 minutes, and I left wondering where this place was even though the city of Dalat is not a big city. So what do those artists do when they are not being artistic? Hmmm.

Two Crazy People at the Crazy House

She's not so crazy now that she is pregnant, unless you count that crazy hairdo!

After two very cool days with two very cool people, we jumped on another bus and headed down the mountain to the beach. Jungle Beach that is. Jungle Beach is described as an isolated beach with great swimming, tasty food, and basic bungalows. All was correct. The beach was the most isolated beach we had visited on our entire trip outside of Aitutaki, Cook Islands. We spent the next two days lying on the beach reading or lying in a hammock deciding where to go with the remaining 4 weeks in Asia.

The View of the Jungle Beach from the South China Sea

All of our meals were included in the price, which was good since there was no other places to go. For lunch and dinner, everyone staying at the Jungle Beach would come to one big communal table where all of the food was laid out in front of you. With your bowl of rice, you would pick what you wanted and mix the two. The food was great. Good thing we had a little volleyball in the evening to offset the sumptuous food.

3 months pregnant inside our bungalow

Life is still good and enjoying non-freezing weather. We are now at the point of moving up the coast until we hit China. February 15th, we leave Hong Kong and Asia for South Africa. Hope all are well and you can always email me at jwhit003@gmail.com or Nadine at pickles9178@hotmail.com

This weeks question, which group performed the song that is our title of this week's entry?

Peace
JW