Dalat, vietnam

So, been in Dalat for a couple days. This city is definitely more quaint yet is still quite urban. There's not as much going on here, but the nice break is the weather. It feels cold sometimes withe the weather being a relatively not humid 85 or so.

Beyond the cable car ride, I've just spent a lot of time running around the city checking stuff out. Nothing too exciting, but one interesting site was the "crazy house." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_Nga_guesthouse. It made Gaudi's stuff in barcelona look like he was designing quaint libraries. It was so trippy that I doubt any of the pictures I took could do it justice. It sounds like its actually used as a guest house, or will be, but I didn't see anyone staying there. The rooms are weird and themed and some have animals with crazy glowing eyes, disjointed stairwells and walkways between buildings that made me feel like I was going to fall.

That being said, I've started to learn how to more easily deal with the salesmen here in vietnam. When someone asks if u want something and you say and shake your head and say "no thank you" in a kind voice and keep walking the conversation should be over right? Wrong sir! They often follow you for a block arguing with u as to why I should buy their noodle/tour/kebab/dog picture/massage?/cat/dog/child/flower/etc/etc/lizard/etc.  Hell, showing them an empty wallet wouldn't get them away.  It just gets anoying. Esp when the same person harrasses me four times in a day. When watching vietnamese deal with eachother it seems like they're always yelling, arguing and angry. So, just as in israel where bluntness isn't rude, its just a way of life. I've decided to be like the locals. When they offer me something I don't want, there's no need for pleasantries, just a flat "no" a wave of my hand, and presto, no annoying salesjerk. In fact, they don't look insulted. And the truth is that I'm not being rude by their standards. So...by american standards I'm being a jerk, but it seems that by their standards I'm just not wasting their time.

Up up and away!

Tomorrow morning we're back off to the heat of Saigon where my goal is to see a performance of Miss Saigon!