Mel and Matt on the Move

Greetings from Cambodia! It feels like ages since I wrote a blog entry; apologies to the dedicated readers out there who have been following our travels closely over the past few months. As you may have caught in my last post, our fun-filled backpacking days slowed significantly when Matt and I arrived in Phnom Penh and I started working full-time for the United Nations World Food Programme . My schedule has been very busy as I’ve adjusted back to a 8am-5pm office job, so “Mel & Matt on the Move” was pushed to the far corner of my mind for a while. More on my month-long Cambodia gig in a later post…but for now I want to zoom back in time to Ho Chi Minh City —the final stop of our 3+ week Vietnam adventure. Formerly called Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of 8.4 million. Also known as the country’s economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City is located in the southeastern part of the country and was the capital of South Vietnam...

A few long, busy days have passed since Matt and I left the Vietnamese mountain town of Dalat , and we are still regularly gushing over how incredibly fun our stay there was. Located a 16-hour bus ride south of Hoi An (yes – we took a 16 hour bus, and yes – it was pretty unpleasant), Dalat is nestled 4,900 feet above sea level in the Central Highlands region of the country. With temperate year-round weather and frequent afternoon rain showers, Dalat is nicknamed “City of Eternal Spring” and serves as a popular tourist destination for domestic and international visitors. Winding and hilly roads throughout Dalat are lined with beautiful, fragrant flowers and pine trees, and the area is an agricultural hub for many luxury products, most notably fresh-cut bouquets, coffee, and wine. A large lake is located in the center of the town, ringed with a walking path and colorful gardens. It’s absolutely heavenly! We stayed in a stylish and comortable hostel in Dalat’s northe...