Today's plan was to catch the 7:00am bus to Da Lat so the alarm was set for 5:20am because we still had to cycle to the offices of th Futa Bus Company and check the bikes in. As usual we were up before the alarm went off.

After using the bathroom, I couldn't open the door. Stuck ! Thankfully I'm not the largest person so I was able to squeeze through the ventilation hatch at the bottom of the door. Not the best way to start the day but the photo Leigh took of me squeezing through the hatch has provided a laugh for a few people on Facebook.

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Once at the bus company, we were helped in the most professional way by one of the young ladies at the ticket office who ensured that the bikes were checked in at the freight section and even organized a discount - down from 390K VND to 232K VND for the two bikes.

The route to Da Lat is beautiful and it would have been great to have been able to cycle it. Although the climb is around 1500 meters over 30 kms, there are few steep sections and if one can do the 140 kms from Nha Trang to Da Lat over a few days it could be a great cycle. There seemed to be few places to overnight so this would probably suit cyclists with camping gear.

Da Lat is busy and touristy, both local and foreign. Once we arrived and had cycled from the bus terminus into the town centre, we parked ourselves at the Veronica Cafe and had an iced coffee while we used their WiFi to look up a place to stay. We ended up at the Hang Nga Hotel (NOT the Carzy House which goes by the same name) in Ly Tu Trong Street. 250K VND for small room with no A/C or fan but very clean and neat. With the temperature forecast to reach the mid twenties over the next few days we didn't think A/C was essential.

Both Leigh and I are a bit off colour. Not sick but simply tired and listless. So we plan to have an easy afternoon and do some birding around Da Lat tomorrow.

Lunch was Banh Xeo Chao at a restaurant that seems popular with locals about 100m up the road from the hotel. Bahn Xeo here seems very different to Banh Xeo in Quy Nhon. There the pancake was cooked over coals and served with rice papers while here it was deep fried and served on its own. One of the great things about regional food in Vietnam.