Blogs from Da Lat, Lam Dong, Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia - page 2

Bereits auf dem Weg nach Dalat machte unser Gepäckträger wieder schlapp - er brach einfach auseinander. Das heisst wir mussten das Gepäck inkl. Gepäckträger irgendwie festbinden. Ausserdem regnete es ziemlich stark und die Strasse war zum Teil mit RIESEN Löchern bedeckt, aber wir schafften es dann doch noch nach Dalat. Dalat stand auch weiterhin im Zeichen von Regen, es regnete eigentlich die ganze Zeit. Trotzdem liessen wir es uns nicht nehmen Dalat und seine Sehenswürdigkeiten anzuschauen. Bereits auf dem Weg nach Dalat, sind wir an 2 super schönen Wasserfällen vorbei gekommen. Beim einen haben uns ein paar Picknicker sogar eingeladen mit ihnen Schnaps zu trinken. Wir mussten aber leider weiter, um noch vor Anbruch der Nacht in Dalat zu sein. Weil wir spät in Dalat ankamen, nahmen wir den erstbeste Hotel, welches wir fanden, damit wir ... read more

Dalat was a brief, one-night stopover on our way to Saigon from Nha Trang, reached after a four hour bus ride up an incredibly twisty road. The main objective was to see a little bit of the apparently quirky town, and sample some of the local mountain biking trails. And quirky it was. Dalat was probably the most unusual place we visited, I can only describe it as an odd cross between a run-down alpine resort and a counterfeit Disneyland. Grand, French-built houses were dotted about in the surrounds of the large, man made lake just outside of Dalat's centre, a TV aerial made to look like the Eiffel Tower looms in the distance, and kitschy touches like the 'Valley of Love' - a romance orientated theme park - are in abundance. It's also much cooler ... read more

We were heading for Dalat next, about 650km south of Hoi An in the mountains. We planned a three day trip mostly along the Ho Chi Minh Road first stopping in Kon Tum which was a 286km drive. We knew this was going to be a long day but it turned out to be extremely slow because we were riding through some pretty steep mountains and twisting roads – which was lovely scenery but ended up having to ride in the dark for two hours which is pretty scary in Vietnam. Half an hour into riding in the dark we had a break down – the electrics had been dodgy in the bike from the first day and this was the first time we had to use the lights. We managed to get going again but ... read more

The drive up the winding roads to Dalat is quite surreal – the landscape changes, the light is different, the air is crisp and fresh and it is like crossing the border into the middle class. We had heard the Vietnamese refer to it as the Paris of Vietnam, where they come from all over the country on romantic getaways to the city of eternal spring, and that it was filled with kitsch and tacky touches, in true Vietnames style. But our experience was quite the opposite. By a fluke, the last room available at Dreams Hotel was the best, and 25 dollars bought us a balcony on the top floor with a huge tub, complete with jet streams, as well as the best breakfast we've had in Vietnam so far, and the friendliest guy in ... read more

So when I said it was going to be a 20h bus ride from Danang to Dalat, looks like I was being a little optimistic! Thanks to a supposed "big accident" involving the bus that was supposed to pick us up from the transfer stop at Nha Trang, we were delayed by almost 5h as we awaited the next available bus that the company could send us. As we were stranded at the transfer office, I asked them whether I could change my ticket and take the bus the next morning, thinking I could at least explore the beach resort of Nha Trang for one day instead of waiting around. The guy said no, and when I asked why not since the bus was delayed through no fault of mine, he merely said, "Your bus late, ... read more