DaLat Vietnam
Kicking Back in the Postcard Pretty
Vietnamese Highland Resort

by Fida Wild

DaLat Vietnam, the City of Orchids and honeymooners, lovely French villas, beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous lakes sits in a lush and green valley of postcard beauty.

It's also called "Little Paris" due to its replica of the Eiffel Tower built by the Telephone Company that looks like it fell into a pool of red and white colour. And really, after driving through tea gardens, coffee and rubber plantations, one feels almost transplanted to Europe.

DaLat was developed as a tourist destination after Alexander Yersin, a Swiss scientist with a taste for adventure, trekked 1839 into the region and persuaded the French colonial administration of its value as a highland resort.

DaLat sits approx. 1500 m (4921 ft) above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau and is surrounded by lovely mountains that raise roughly 3000 m (9842 ft) and, according to a local, carry lyrical names like Elephant's Head and Lady's Body.

via Wikimedia

Vietnam's "vegetable garden" was and still is the summer retreat of the rich and powerful. The last emperor, Bao Dai, shared the coolness of hot Vietnamese summers with concubines in his summer palace before he was permanently sent to exile to the French Riviera.

DaLat was the capital of the Federation of Indochina during World War II. The only time that it was involved in battle was between January 31 and February 9, 1968, during the Tet Offensive, when the South Vietnamese MPs regained control over DaLat.

The majority of visitors are Vietnamese. It seems to be the preferred place to get married. Honeymooners spend their memorable day amongst the artificial carved nature around the man-made Paradise Lake (Xuan Huong Lake), taking pictures and paddling on somewhat kitschy swan boats on the picturesque lake. Here, like elsewhere, people form nature to their own liking.

I had come to recover from the sweltering heat in the Mekong Delta. And after travelling for more than three month, I was in need of a holiday. I was so exhausted that I even didn't venture into the town centre.

via Wikimedia

I hiked the rather unspoiled and beautiful countryside in awe of the carefully planted vegetable gardens and was delighted by the fresh air and intoxicating scent of the pine trees and the fragrant hedges of jasmine and frangipani.

I ventured under tree canopies and over forest trails to waterfalls and circled lakes on footpath, struggled up slippery slopes and then criss crossed back to town through the fertile landscape.

At one point, a man, waving his arms and gesturing me to come closer, interrupted my walk. For a moment, I feared I had trespassed. Though his friendly smile was encouraging. "Come, come," he said, "have some tea."

But first, he showed me part of the family farm with gleaming pride. He and his wife cultivated a variety of vegetables, berries and dazzling orchids. He introduced her as 'my jail bird', and told me that before (doi moi) it was prohibited to sell vegetables. "But", he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "we had to survive somehow, so my wife did it anyway. She was jailed several times for failing to obey the government."

via Wikimedia

Over tea, he told me how lucky they feel. "We have no children, but our niece is the business woman now and continues to work on our farm. No worries anymore, I just complain," he said with a mischievous smile. They sent me on my way with a bag full of fresh goodies and dried fruits.

I climbed the 222 steps up to the fairly new Truc Lam Temple, built in honour of the Emperor Tran Nhan Tong who renounced the throne to become a Buddhist monk. He founded a new tradition of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism by incorporating three different sects into one, now called Truc Lam. Part of the working temple - there are nuns and monks in residence - is open to the public. It sits on a plateau and the view to the surrounding area was worth every step I took.

via Wikimedia

The Gardens of the Bao Dai summer palace are delightful, the palace itself not worth to write about. I wandered the streets past the Pasteur Institute right into the mad world of Vien Thuc, a business savvy monk and only occupant of the tottery pagoda Lam Ty Ni. He's fluent in five languages and has no problem to capture ones attention.

He was busy creating instant paintings for tourists. A sizable collection of his art filled a room. I loved the wonderful miniature gardens - amongst them a small jewel of a Japanese garden - which he created over time. He's quite opinionated and seems to fear nothing. Apparently, the gate is sometimes locked when certain nationalists frequent the area.

I had arrived on a tourist bus tour in DaLat, but left on the back of the motorbike of an Easy rider. Well, what can I say! I am born lost and left to my own devices, I would probably still be cruising Vietnam, trying to find my way home.

Getting Around

DaLat is a hilly town and quite spread out. One can rent a taxi or take advantage of the Easy Riders, DaLat's famous motorbike and guide crew. They tour the central highlands and provide access to places one wouldn't see otherwise. They offer tours on their own bike or guide a group on rented bikes/vespas as far as one wishes. I went with an Easy Rider from DaLat to Hue and only have praise for his knowledge and smooth driving skills. Son was as curious as I and together we visited places he wasn't even sure if they were worth the time. I was all game for every detour he proposed and loved every minute of it.

Getting to Dalat Vietnam

• Daily flights from Hoh Chi Minh City (50 min.) and Hanoi (1 hr 40 min.) with Vietnam Airline, frequently late departures or altogether cancelled - check before you go to the airport.
• Daily buses from Saigon - depending on road conditions and stops, it's a 7 to 9 hour ride
• Rental cars, motorbikes, vespas

Dalat Hotels

Accommodations in Dalat are plenty and range from cheap to very expensive, from simple to crazy, from normal to luxurious.

• Dreams Hotel Da Lat
  This budget hotel offers a pleasant stay, with simple clean rooms. Breakfast included, great service. A bargain, really.
• Thien An Hotel, Da Lat
  Spacious rooms, nice breakfast, great service and located in the centre of DaLat. Very reasonable prices.
• Compare Hotel Prices in Da Lat
• Hang Nga Guesthouse & Art Gallery aka The Crazy House
  Simple rooms, no TV/Radio or phone. Keep in mind this is first and foremost a work of art by the Vietnamese artist and architect Dang Viet Nga. There is little privacy during daytime. It's pricey for Vietnamese standards but offers a one of a kind experience.

  

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