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surrounded by jungle on all sides.
Vietnam, it turns out, is the world’ s second largest exporter of coffee, only surpassed by Brazil. Dalat, situated in a pleasant mountain area, about seven hours ride from Ho Chi Minh City, is a favourite vacation destination, because of its temperate climate, and a hub for the coffee industry. A wonderful place to spend a day or two, and a good place to order the Vietnamese“ egg coffee” specialty, a very rich espresso made with egg yolks, sugar, and condensed milk.
Finding a place to stay overnight, was never a problem in Vietnam. I used several types of accommodation, hotels, homestays and, not least, the Nha Nghi’ s, offering cheap, comfortable, clean, and good quality rooms everywhere in Vietnam. Nha Nghi means“ rest house” and have become a euphemism for“ love hotel”, as some are rented out on an hourly basis to young couples seeking some private romance away from the watchful eyes of their family. The vast majority of Nha Nghi’ s, however, operate as proper guest houses, and only cost around US $ 8.00 per night.
Despite Vietnam ´ s great culinary reputation, ordering the“ right” food became a bit of a challenge for me. For breakfast I would generally stop at a“ Banh Mi” stand and order a bread roll with vegetables and an egg or some kind of paté. Lunch would be some fruit, noodle or rice dish from a street vendor, and dinner would also be some kind of
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