Of Flowers and Fish...

Although Dalat is not as hot as elsewhere, it is beary sunny, so I decided to wear my Vietnam hat today. Our hotel had a cute bonsai tree in the courtyard - it looks like it's a perfect size for little bears!

Oh, and there was a drain cover (for Beanie). There aren't a lot of pretty drain covers here - lots of them are just concrete with a pull handle. Quite boring. But this one looked cool!

Ummm... do you see what I see??? That looks almost like the Eifel Tower!! Ben would like that! Dalat is called the "Paris of Vietnam" and it's not hard to see why. The French built it in the late 1800s and left behind a tonne of French villas (like our hotel). It's beary pretty but leaves little bears confused as to where they really are!

There is a lake in the centre of town - well, a reservoir. It is quite a busy place and we walked around the lake (7 km!) on a paved pathway.

You can rent paddle boats on the lake - all shaped like swans. The funny thing - there were no real birds on the lake - no ducks or swans or anything else. Quite strange.

Mind you, there were herds of goats wandering around... and crossing the road!

And even some stray horses standing on the pathway.

And a dragon or two for good measure! Ooops.... that's just a topiary dragon! They guard the entrance to the Flower Gardens of Dalat. Our guidebook says it is "kitschy" but I thought it was beary interesting!

First off, they have super-interesting garbage cans! This is a little bear.

And a penguin.

A Dolphin...

A panda bear.

Some sort of Mickey or Minnie Mouse impersonator... I think I got them all!

There were actually some flowers as well. This greenhouse had the most beautiful cactus plants with gorgeous pink flowers.

And there was a strange building... can anyone tell what it is?

Some pink bouganvillea (I think)...

Here's another hint on the building!

And a rose garden too!

So beautiful and they smell super good too. Dalat is famous for its vegetables and flowers.

Have you figured it out yet? It's a windmill!!!! Hammie and Sullivan should like that!

And more bonsai trees. They are great to hide in! I can scamper up there very easily and then leap down and go "boo"!

Some bonsai creations have rock features with little trees clinging to them. This one even had a tiny pagoda on it.

Oh... one more garbage can!!! This one is a fishy.

And look!!! They have some familiar looking flowers too... Those are pansies.

And now a rabbit garbage can... I think that is truly all of them now!

Oh... and a motorbike Gold-fish store.... go figure... It's amazing what the Vietnamese can fit on the back of a motorbike!