School Daze

We road home school today with some local kids. Actually, we took off from the hill town of Dalat in the morning and while cycling through the pass we went through several villages. This one we passed as the morning school session let out for the day. Vietnamese kids go to school only half days -- one group in the morning and the other in the afternoon. These girls are wearing their school uniform, an "ao dai" style dress that is common in Southern Vietnam. Each time we passed a group of kids in these villages, they all yelled "hello!" to which we yelled back "xim chiao". I even got a few high fives from some of the bolder kids, it was rather funny.

Once over the pass, we coasted 17km down the hill to the valley where we stopped for some yummy fried noodles with beef and vegetables. The food here is fantastic -- more on that later!

We arrived in Nha Trang in the early evening just as it was getting dark. We had a bit of a Mr. Toad's wild ride the last 10km or so -- riding in the dark, weaving in and out of traffic (mostly motor scooters) and trying to keep up with our guide who appeared to be in a really big hurry. I must admit it was the most exhilerating part of the ride that day.

We hung out in the beach resort of Nha Trang for a day of rest, sun and seafood sampling. This morning we're on our way out again, riding 90km up the coast.

More later....