Dalat

“Honey Mooners and Kitsch Seekers love Dalat” says the Lonely Planet. That has to arouse curiosity surely? It’s true. It’s a brilliant description! Not even sure how else it could be described. Right on your way in you realise there’s something different about this place. It could be the manicured public lawns, the round about monuments made out of hundreds of flowery pot plans or the concrete animals all over the place. It’s also lovely and cool being quite high up for Vietnam which seems to make a massive difference. The locals seem to all be wearing coats most of the time but that, frankly is ridiculous.

These guys have chosen now to pull an ancient encrusted peddleo (no idea how you spell that) up off the lake bed. Behind me, while taking this picture was a spangly horse and carriage and probably a selection of brightly colours concrete animals.

Floating peddle powered swan anyone?

No? Perhaps a dolphin with a wind screen and door instead?

Down at the market, famous for its jellied fruit sweets (what else for the kitsch capital of the east?). Free samples too.

Just find a nice spot on the street and you can pretty much see anything go by, maybe not quite on the bizarre scale of Hanoi but hey!