Please explain this item to me.

Da Lat was a bust. Heralded as the Paris of Vietnam, it was like a cheap Disney version of a generic European city. There was a distinctly European feel through the hilly and tree-shaded streets, along the stone stacked walls, the open markets, the terraced buildings but the details were not there. Aside the river is a radio tower made to look a small version of the Eiffel tower. Cheesy.

We stayed two nights but started planning our escape rather quickly. Kip was arriving into Hoi An and to meet her there we needed to take two buses over the course of 24 hours. The first bus was from Da Lat to Nha Trang and carried only four passengers. In Nha Trang it was drizzling so our plans to spend the day by the ocean were drowned. We ate lunch at a place called Cheers Cafe and went back to the hotel to watch Jurassic Park while waiting for the bus.

I knew it was going to be an unhappy event, this overnight bus, so I was glad to have two seats to myself. The rain started late in the evening and continued to alternate between a light mist and a torrential downpour all night. Water poured in through cracks around the window, making it difficult to find a dry place to sit. As the morning began to brighten the surroundings the amount of accumulated water was astounding. Fields were flooded enough to make them look like wide coves. Homes were flooded several feet high in places. The water rushed over the road and turned it into a river, causing us to swerve occasionally. A sixteen wheeler was overturned in our path and caused a brief delay.

The rain continued until the MOMENT we got off the bus in Hoi An. Then the sun broke through the clouds as we set off to find a hotel. There have been several more serious storms since we arrived. Sometimes at night the sounds of wind and water seem to be bringing the building down. The ceiling in our bathroom is constantly dripping like a cave.

It is fantastic to see Kip in Asia again. It's wonderful that she's here, because it saves me from having to buy insane things (which are appropriate gifts only for her) like this: