Some background is required. My wife and I met in Dalat. When we got married, we took our parents there. We really like the city. Its cooler there than on the plains. The architecture is different and there is a fair bit of nature that hasn't been spoiled by a rice patty or coconut grove. Instead there are greenhouses everywhere in the city limits, but you don't have to go far to enjoy a pine tree forest and there is a lake in the middle of town. It wasn't a priority for us to visit on this trip, but a good opportunity presented itself, so we decided to take it.
There is a new road to Dalat. What used to take 5 hours, now takes 3. There was also significantly less traffic on this road than the previous one. We hardly passed a single motorbike, bus, truck, ox cart or bicycle. There was some traffic (of course, this is Vietnam) but it was quite light for Vietnam standards. But the road is up a number of mountains so it is very twisty and turny. This is a new road, so the potholes were at a minimum, but there were still some. Vietnamese are not used to driving in closed vehicles for long distances (heck, they're not used to either situation) so unfortunately most people got at least a little carsick... On the way up, I have to admit that my stomach was a bit twisted as well. We have a very good driver (the family uses him whenever they need van transportation) so he did his best by keeping speed down and watching out for pot holes, but there is only so much one can do.
When taking a van, you also need a place to park it, and Vietnam does not really do parking lots for anything that has more than 2 wheels. Some hotels have courtyards or space on the ground level to park a vehicle. It took us a little bit of time to find us an affordable hotel, but we found one for less than $15 a night. It was alright, except it was on a main road and quite loud at 6am. But it was central and close to the lake. It also had reliable wifi.
We went to a few of the attractions, took a lot of photos, and just had some relax time. I took kid1 to bed about 7:30pm and I played on the tablet for a few hours while my wife hung out with her sister and brother and friends until 10:30. She even took a tandem bike around the lake. But the trip was short. I didn't want to spend that much time away from kid2, we have things we still want to do in Nha Trang and of course my wife still wants to visit with her parents. We could have seen a lot more, but there was also the issue of keeping kid1 occupied. Kid1 is the type of kid that needs to keep his hands and head busy (at the same time). You can keep him occupied for a considerable period of time with something new, but once he has something figured out, he needs something else new. He often complains of being bored... He is only mediocre about sighseeing. He likes taking pictures though and is pretty good at it.
We got back and kid2 didn't even really care that much that we got back. She is really enjoying the time with the grandparents and as long as she is with people, is happy. Apparently she is a lot like my wife when she was this age. Naturally happy, always wants to make people laugh and smile.
So the quick trip was good. Keeping kid1 occupied is a work in progress and a continual learning experience. I'm personally getting a lot of relaxation in - I'm working on a book and a game on my tablet. But that relaxation usually happens once the kids go to bed. Fortunately kid1 goes to bed no later than 8pm... if it gets later than that, he'll go and put himself to bed...
There is a new road to Dalat. What used to take 5 hours, now takes 3. There was also significantly less traffic on this road than the previous one. We hardly passed a single motorbike, bus, truck, ox cart or bicycle. There was some traffic (of course, this is Vietnam) but it was quite light for Vietnam standards. But the road is up a number of mountains so it is very twisty and turny. This is a new road, so the potholes were at a minimum, but there were still some. Vietnamese are not used to driving in closed vehicles for long distances (heck, they're not used to either situation) so unfortunately most people got at least a little carsick... On the way up, I have to admit that my stomach was a bit twisted as well. We have a very good driver (the family uses him whenever they need van transportation) so he did his best by keeping speed down and watching out for pot holes, but there is only so much one can do.
When taking a van, you also need a place to park it, and Vietnam does not really do parking lots for anything that has more than 2 wheels. Some hotels have courtyards or space on the ground level to park a vehicle. It took us a little bit of time to find us an affordable hotel, but we found one for less than $15 a night. It was alright, except it was on a main road and quite loud at 6am. But it was central and close to the lake. It also had reliable wifi.
We went to a few of the attractions, took a lot of photos, and just had some relax time. I took kid1 to bed about 7:30pm and I played on the tablet for a few hours while my wife hung out with her sister and brother and friends until 10:30. She even took a tandem bike around the lake. But the trip was short. I didn't want to spend that much time away from kid2, we have things we still want to do in Nha Trang and of course my wife still wants to visit with her parents. We could have seen a lot more, but there was also the issue of keeping kid1 occupied. Kid1 is the type of kid that needs to keep his hands and head busy (at the same time). You can keep him occupied for a considerable period of time with something new, but once he has something figured out, he needs something else new. He often complains of being bored... He is only mediocre about sighseeing. He likes taking pictures though and is pretty good at it.
We got back and kid2 didn't even really care that much that we got back. She is really enjoying the time with the grandparents and as long as she is with people, is happy. Apparently she is a lot like my wife when she was this age. Naturally happy, always wants to make people laugh and smile.
So the quick trip was good. Keeping kid1 occupied is a work in progress and a continual learning experience. I'm personally getting a lot of relaxation in - I'm working on a book and a game on my tablet. But that relaxation usually happens once the kids go to bed. Fortunately kid1 goes to bed no later than 8pm... if it gets later than that, he'll go and put himself to bed...
No comments:
Post a Comment