Chilling out in Dalat

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Day 89

We left Nha Trang on the bus fairly early and made our journey to Dalat which is in the central highlands of Vietnam taking us away from the coast road that we'd followed so far and into a cooler climate. We arrived in the rain (we are in the wet season so the weather has alternated from swelteringly hot and humid to hot and rainy!) and noticed the temperature difference immediately - a nice change.

Having checked into a hotel (they don't really have hostels/dorms here in Vietnam but the prices for a double room with bathroom, TV, aircon etc. are generally less than we paid for 2 dorm beds in China) we set out to explore the town. Being described as 'the Jewel of the Central Highlands' in our guidebook we expected Dalat to be really pretty and it really isn't. We enjoyed some thick, sweet Vietnamese coffee (white coffee is made with condensed milk) and some cake as we planned what to do with the next few days.

Day 90

We picked up a moto in the morning to ride around and see some of the sights dotted in and around the town.

There are loads of lakes and waterfalls in the central highlands and we used the morning to visit two of them. Our first stop was the Datanla Falls and it struck us as tourism gone crazy. As well as a beautiful (if busy) woodland path down to the waterfall they have also added a rollercoaster style track down to the falls and music blaring though the once peaceful landscape. The falls were beautiful but we didn't stay long!

We next visited the Prenn Falls where you also have the option of a cable car down to the falls, an elephant ride, a horse ride, row boats, fairground style archery, dressing up for a photo - you name the money spinner...! However, these falls were also very pretty and we were able to walk behind the waterfall which was pretty amazing.

Jumping back onto the moto we rode back into town for lunch and then visited Emperor Bao Dai's Summer Palace. A large house built in the 30's with most of it's original decor and furnishings still in place it was well worth the visit.

We also visited a place called the Crazy House. A local architect has designed a place that looks like it comes right out of a storybook. It defies description really so you'll have to look at the photos. We had a fun time poking around the various stairways and the rooms that you can actually book into for a very different night's accomodation.

In the afternoon we drove out north of Dalat towards the mountains and stopped for a warming cup of coffee - it was pretty chilly compared to what we're used to in Vietnam and we've worn jumpers for the first time since Japan.

Back in town we visited the local market to stock up on picnic supplies and went back to the hotel to pack our bags for the three day jaunt we had planned for the rest of our time in this area.

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Photos

Mark in the crazy house
where he belongs!

Comments

[yum yum]

Crazzzzyyyy!!
Love the crazy house it look like is has just stepped out of a fairy book!!!