The next stage of our adventure is another travel day, this time from Đà Lạt to Nha Trang back on the coast, a three-hour ride in a 12-seater minibus – plenty of room to stretch out and snore.
The journey was again along very windy roads as we descended from the mountains (Đà Lạt is at 1500 metres) down to the coast.
Our driver had our destination in Google Maps and he cheerfully dropped us at the Annova Hotel, a very posh and luxurious hotel. Unfortunately, they could not find our reservations and it was then we discovered that Google had the address wrong and we should have been a bit further down the road at some “luxury” apartments. After discovering Google’s error we trundled our suitcases down the road and eventually got settled.
Sadly, it was Penny’s turn to deal with a squiffy tummy. She felt well enough for a short stroll along the beach and then back to our “luxury” apartment and a movie on the laptop. Mercifully, she was snoring long before the film finished.
The next day started overcast but still swelteringly hot and with 129% humidity. Penny and I went in search of groceries and other supplies and, after a 20-minute walk, found our way to the Moon Milk supermarket which had most everything we wanted or needed.
We stocked up on such essentials as they had including sourdough baguettes! Neither of us fancied the 20-minute walk back to our “luxury” apartment so we hailed a cab and the twenty-minute walk turned into a six-minute, air-conditioned ride. Lovely.
Adam was working and Jessie was doing school work so we laid around until it was swim time in the afternoon. All three pools were more or less empty and the girls had great fun.
Back upstairs again to our “luxury” apartment to get sufficient rest so that we could do justice to dinner at the Stockholm Bistro which was excellent.
While we were at the waterfalls in Datanla, we met an English couple who are doing much the same as Adam and Ava. They are spending a year back-packing around Southeast Asia with their two young children. They had previously been to Nha Trang and suggested a visit to iResort just up the road as a fun thing to do. So, we packed our swimming costumes and set off.
The resort offers the opportunity to soak in some hot mineral springs and, as an optional extra, to be slathered in mud. Thankfully, we decided not to opt for the mud baths and instead spent most of the day moving from pool to pool, all of slightly differing temperatures, all undoubtedly with magic, healing properties.
And, it was very nice. Very relaxing and not overly crowded. Jessie had a blast although she was just a tad too short to go into the “adult” pools. Even I spent more time in the water than I normally do – in the hot pool with jacuzzi-style jets of bubbles massaging my back and neck. I felt twenty minutes younger!
The next day was a “stay at home” day. We Zoomed with Ben, Brex-Anna and Max in the morning and afterwards Jessie made us some delicious scrambled eggs on toast. We then lounged about until it was swimming in the pool time. Lunch of left-overs and then we spent time on the beach. A very relaxing and relaxed day.
Having said that, my day did start with a bit of frustration as well as a fair bit of humour. Bear with me on this.
We’d booked an airport transfer for our flights out on Monday. However, as you may remember, the address given for our “luxury” apartments is not accurately placed on Google maps – our initial taxi driver dropped us at the luxurious Anovva Hotel, about a block and a half from where we actually are.
So, I wanted to edit the pickup address for the driver on Monday. Not able to do so online I foolishly decided to use the chat feature of Opodo’s online support. When I finally persuaded the bot that I needed to “chat” with a real person I was greeted enthusiastically by Janinda who would happily solve all my issues.
I explained I needed to give the driver some information about where to pick us up.
“That’s fine, sir. So, you want to change your flight? You’ll need to contact the airline direct.”
No, this is not a flight I am needing help with, it’s an airport transfer which I booked through you. (And, I had already given her the booking reference).
“So, you want to find out about car rental. Is that correct?” (And remember, this is a “real” person).
No, it’s an airport transfer. I need to give the driver instructions on how to find us since Google Maps has the address wrong.
“I want to inform you that the airport is exist and you can search Google as well which is: (and she then gave me the address for the airport).
“Please inform the driver that you need to go to the airport and provide them with the airport address. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Yes, I know where the airport is and the driver knows that is where we are going. I need to let the driver know that Google Maps has our address in the wrong place and to give him better directions so that he can find us.
“We regret to inform you that we can only provide assistance with flights that were booked through our services. We are unable to assist with enquiries related to Google Maps or driver’s query.
We booked the airport transfer through you (and I gave her the booking reference again).
“Are you talking about the car rental services?
No, I am not renting a car. I have booked an airport transfer.
“Did you book the car service with us?
Yes (thinking we’re making progress here).
“OK. You need to contact our car rental department on +44 203 966 7739.
Thank you for being a valued Opodo Prime member.
“Have a nice day!” at which point I gave up!
Next time – a few more days in Nha Trang and a farewell to Vietnam.
Here, back in real life, we’ve had another week of splendid weather, bordering on fabulous. Some folks are “complaining” about how warm it’s been – 26o C Thursday (79o F) but just about everyone has been delighted with the clear, bright blue sunny skies.
I took advantage of the fine weather on Tuesday to do something I’ve not done in more than a year – I went for a bike ride on the road! If you’ve been paying attention, you will know that we have a Peloton-type bike which I ride every morning. However, I’ve not been out on the road for a long time – when Mr Sciatica visited last February I was off both bikes for some time. And, I did wonder whether I would ever ride on the road again – the roads are in such terrible condition following fourteen years of Conservative austerity that I feared the jogging and jostling my back would receive as I cycled along would be too much and set off the sciatica again. The weather was so grand, however, that I couldn’t resist. So, out I went for a short circuit “around the block” (just over eight miles) to test things out. Yes, the roads are indeed appalling – in the whole of our trip around southeast Asia we never encountered roads that are in as poor a condition as ours – but thankfully, the jostling and bumping did not reawaken Mr Sciatica so all is good.
Finally, I ran across an article the other day concerning the benefits of “Fart Walking.” Apparently, according to the article, if you take a walk and allow the escape of some intestinal gases (i.e., fart) along the way, it can have a number of health benefits and lead ultimately to healthy aging. Allegedly, fart-walking can help reduce one’s risk of cancer, diabetes and dementia.
Once again, I am way ahead of the curve on this one. Although I hadn’t appreciated the health benefits, I’ve been fart-walking for years!
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg