To Ho Chi Minh City

I'm on my way to Ho Chi Minh City from Da Lat by bus. It's a beautifull early morning leaving Da Lat. Just outside the city, it's a breathtaking scenery with Pine forests, Agave plants deep walleys and mountains. Except from the Agave plants and some other tropical trees the place reminds me of my homeplace in Norway.
Here are small farms along the road and people live scattered around and not so much in villages. The small farms are growing all kinds of vegetables, some Bananas and other fruits but also some flower production like Orchids, Anthurium and flower bulbs. Some things I can't recognise from my bus window although it doesn't go too fast...the road is not very good and also always a lot of motorbikes to consider. I think the average speed is closer to 40km/hour than 60km/hour.
The houses are special and quite nice, long and narrow, 2-3 floors and in bright pink, violet, blue or green colours.
It's almost unbelievable that a terrible war could go on for such a long time in this beautifull country with such nice friendly people. But it wasn't so much the Vietnamese people's war. The country became a victim between the two superpowers the USA, the Sovietunion and also China.
One of my best friends here was a child during the war and he remember it very well...the bombs and the fear. His uncle's whole family were wiped out and killed in a bomb attack.
After one hour drive we are still on a plateau around 1000 m above sea-level, but it's starting to go slightly more downwards. The vegatation changes a bit and more and bigger coconut palms appears, more bananas and the Pine forest diminishes. Now the Coffee plantations starts to dominate the landscape and this time the black/red/green coffeebeans are spread out on canvases along the road and outside the houses to dry in the sunshine. Some house entrances and surroundings are completely covered by coffeebeans so in order to enter the house they have to walk over the beans...but don't worry..it's being processed and burned before you drink
it.
We are passing through some villages and towns with busy markets. Only the main road is tarmac, other roads are dirt roads.
Vietnam is a predominantly Buddhist country but also more than 8% christians, mainly Catholics. Along the way I can see quite a few completely newbuilded churches, passing some Christian graveyards and some houses have a Maria/Jesus statue on the open third floor.
After 2.5 hours it suddenly starts to go steep downwards again and the road is twisting down the mountainside. The vegetation changes again and now it's more big tropical trees, more jungle like. Coming down it's a lot of Ficus trees, still bananas and coco nut palms, some Durian palms and Papaya trees with big, fat nice tempting fruits.
As we are approaching Ho Chi Minh City the roads are getting better and the bus speeds up a bit but still it's not a road you would call anything like a Motorway.
Ho Chi Minh City is busy and noisy with all the motorbikes and the few cars which tries to get through...using their horns all the time.
Stepping out of the bus, it's like a heatwave hitting you, narly 30 degrees and sunshine. Men on Motorbikes are offering you a ride but I go for a Taxi this time.
Later that night I had a ride on a Motorbike for one hour around the city, sightseeing. It's refreshing because of the high temperature although some pollution from thousands of bikes....also not being used to riding Motorbike your bottom starts to hurt after some time.