Update 26

After leaving Dalat by bus, the first hour and a half every valley was filled with green houses! Thousands of them! I had to wonder about all the workers needed to plant & harvest so many products. A bit later we could only see clouds as we were in high elevation. Eventually, as we got closer to Nha Trang, & out of the mountains, rich green rice fields started to appear. Nha Trang is a bustling city with lots of new hotels lining the Main Street that follows the seemingly endless clean, wide beach. No hotels are allowed to build directly on the beach. the wall facing the beach in our 25th floor hotel room is all glass. Gotta love that view! Also we're less than a block to the beach & a McDonalds!! So I got my first McD hamburger, fries & fountain Coke Zero…for $2. I am an McD expert as I get a hamb in every country we've traveled if we find a McD. Hamb did not taste the same but fries were great. They also sold fried chicken & rice. Rog opted to go to a local restaurant which had pork & con cartilage on the menu. He got shrimp & we shared a scrumptious crème burpee. Next morning there was another multitude of selections. Rog is enjoying the opportunity to try lots of different dishes he might not order. Today he tried (& liked) the ostrich. Next we rode on a gondola that went over the water to an island about 1 mile from the mainland. Loved that view! The island is now a Disney like resort surrounded by food & shopping area that was cleverly decorated. The afternoon we spend watching young families get walloped by the huge waves…and then laugh hysterically. Our bus plans for that night didn't happen so we just added another night to our room with a view. No problem. We called Rob & Bek & found out they have a new granddaughter, Wrenly…born on leap day! Also heard Travis & Lindsey's baby was born the day before. Can't wait to hold both of them. Last morning in Nhu Trang, we headed to see the Ponagar Tower which dates back to possible the 8th century & is where the Cham people still worship. We watched a large banquet that was being blessed by an elder. Also enjoyed watching some traditional Chan dancers perform while flutes & drums played. Interestingly the pagoda was a blend of Hindu & Buddhism worship. It seems we often have to maneuver around the many tourist who seem to be there only for photo ops. Mostly Chinese we think. From the hilltop view, we cold see the older, poorer side of town. Back to the beach for a bit then to our hotel where they gave us a free late checkout so we could shower, repack & get ready for our next bus trip to Hoi An—9 1/2 hour overnight! Our sleeping areas were big enough to stretch out so we both slept fairly well!