so this post was going to detail the first 3 days of my trip through the central highlands, but instead i got drunk on banana-rice wine with my tour guides. i'll try to do my best, but i'm wasted so no promises.

while drinking all that rice wine, i also ate a bunch of organ meat and cow brains. the brains were quite tasty, and very delicate. of course the last time i ate organ meat in southeast asia i got dysentary and a doctor removed my appendix shortly thereafter. good thing i don't have to worry about that anymore.

so we started the tour in da lat. da lat is like a ski-town in switzerland. It sits on a picturesque lake and is situated high in the mountains. the main difference being that there is no ski slope. however, it's witner here, so everyone bundles up, hats, coats, gloves, scarves, etc and that only add to the feeling of being in the alps. then of course i remember that the temperature at night only dips to 65. in their defense, when i my flight landed in da lat, it was 78 and i was freezing. apparently spending 6 months in weather that never dips below 85 will do that to you.

From da lat, we headed to Lak Lake. Vietnam is one of the most beautiful countries i've ever seen. however, it is a bit emasculating riding on the back of a motorcycle, but thats how things are done around here, so what am i gonna do?

we checked out a few minority villages, watched some traditional minority dances, etc. My sister then insisted (read: whined incessetantly)that we go on an elephant ride this morning. elephant rides are really really fun - when you're 8. after that though, elephants are a slow form of transportation, they're constantly getting whipped and poked by their riders because all elephants want to do is eat and its fucking uncomfortable.

this afternoon we rode to a fairly large town - the name escapes me - and checked out a few waterfalls. tomorrow its up north for a few hundred kilometers.