Ho Chi Minh City to the South China Sea

25 June Took the morning bus to Dalat from HCMC today. Its a 7 Hour bus Journey covering only 300 Klms. Dalat is a small French town in the Central Highlands and is slow going on Mountain roads. I met a couple of English Girls ( Sarah & Jo) on the bus and they are finishing the same trip as me but in reverse. Needless to say they were full of useful information. We all checked into the same guesthouse and went out for a nice feed and some Dalat red wine.
26 June We all went off for the day on a tour of the area and saw a silk factory where everything was done from the silkworm to the shop selling their stuff. Women in the factory were paid $3 US per day and worked 7 days per week. The noise and smell were terrible. Apparrently the men dont work there as they cant stick it. We also saw coffee, tea, and rice plantations. We visited a hill side tribe and sampled their rice wine (Poitin) strong but not bad. That night the girls got the night bus to HCMC and im off to Na Trang tomorrow at 7am.
27 June Got the 7am bus this morning to Na trang. Its a popular seaside resort with Vietnamese and foreigners with super beaches, islands and overlooking the South China Sea. On the way there we stopped at a roadside diner where Stir fried Vegetables with beef is available but without the beef is not, very strange. Im told that this is not uncommon and if its not on the menu, you dont get it. Met a few people on the bus, a kiwi, an english girl and a retired American couple. Had good craic with them but the driver left the English girl behind at the half way stop. We didnt notice until we reached our destination when the driver dumped all the bags on the footpath and didnt seem to mind that he had left her behind and that he had left her bag on the side of the road. We protested and he finally agreed to bring it to their office in the town. Thankfully we met her on the street later that night and all was well. Going to rent a motorbike tomorrow and see the sights.