Lakes, mutant animals and crazy love

Marieke and I decided to hire motorbikes today. My blag that I'd driven one before probably didn't look too convincing went I couldn't start it and then lurched forward as I accelarated to hard, but it was very weasy to pick up as we'd gone for the safer option of automatics.

After a unintentional lap of the lake, we stopped off at a place that seemed like it was an attraction of some sort. We spent quite a while trying to find out what was actually there, but it just appeared to be a local beauty spot for relaxing amongst the trees, hills and mickey mouse and statues.

The other 'attraction' there was the 'strange and queer creatures' that we accidentally paid to see - these basically being mutant animals with too many limbs. So we had a few cows and a pig and a chicken with too many legs. But it wasn't like one might try to imagine a cow with extra moving legs of the same size and shape; basically these are lifeless pieces of skin and bone flapping around on it's back and which should really be removed. There was also a three legged dog - this is hardly rare and certainly no reason to put it in a cage. Suffice to say there are no photos and it's really worth not going to.

After that we thought we should see something nice and next door was the 'valley of love' which we thought might be a prettier sight. Indeed there is a nice looking lake there, but it was a good job we weren't there for the romance and this would have been quickly snuffed out by the numerous hideous statues and hearts that abounded.

After driving around a bit and failing to find the road to the waterfall, Marijn joined us for lunch by the lake, before well all went to take a look at the 'Crazy House'. This is the project of a Western trained Vietnamese artist who is building a hotel with different themed rooms but, avoiding the traditional idea of straight walls or corners. Due to be complete in 2010, it's a kind of psuedo-Gaudi fairy-tale castle and would probably be quite fun to stay in, assuming they regulate the tourists traipsing around a bit more when it's open.

The different standards of health and safety were quite evident here and at one point the stairs to an incomplete building just stop, with a sloping roof and then a 50 foot drop below with no hint of a warning sign or even taped off barrier.

We then took a trip to a old French railway station, which still runs a tourist service, but we just looked around, while a bride and groom had their photos taken, the bride's face suggesting she wasn't the originator of that particular photo idea.

Being in the highlands, it really got quite cool and with the many Christmas decorations around the place, it made me quite nostalgic for home.