Crazy house

  Dalat, Vietnam
Thursday, February 26, 2009

Known to be one of the most popular honeymoon destinations for Vietnamese, this is not what attracted me to the scenic, mountainous area of Da Lat. I ended up staying in the town for about 5 days and wish I could have stayed longer. I alternated lazy days and active days as this was easily one of my favorite places in Vietnam. I was traveling with a girl from Norway, who I met in Laos and randomly bumped into again in Saigon and after a couple days of settling in, we went rock climbing near the Dantala Waterfalls.

Bike ride to the mountains near Dalat

This was the most challenging climbing I did on my trip. I couldn't even get on to one of the first walls after trying about 10-15 times!!! The climbs were short and difficult, but still really fun. I would rather be challenged than scamper up a wall in a minute. The second wall was right next to a pounding waterfall and pool, which I was tempted to jump into after sweating up the wall, but the pool was filthy because of trash people had deposited in it.

My lazy days consisted of aimlessly wandering around town, sleeping, reading, blogging, and talking to locals. The woman who owned the Peace Cafe next to my hotel had quite an electric personality. She was always trying to get me to eat at her restaurant and she would just sit and talk to me (basically her talking the whole time) for an hour straight.

Bike ride scenery

She was very proud of her establishment and told me the whole history behind the Peace Cafe, involving some drama with the Peace Hotel. She was an excellent cook; her Hungarian goulash was delicious and so were her popular potato dumplings. She was willing to tell me her whole life story while I was eating.

The Da Lat central market was always buzzing with activity. There was one soy milk stand that I went to every day for 5 days and VERY expensive seafood, which was good, but not worth the price.

Can't explain this one...

The snails were the local specialty for some reason even Da Lat is quite inland. The snail vendors were apparently illegal because the cops kept coming over and telling them to pack up and stop selling food. I could tell this was a routine for the snail vendors because they were packed up and off the street in seconds, then the cops left and they set up again.

My favorite activity in Da Lat was renting a mountain bike for the day, exploring the countryside, and hiking Mt. Langbian, one of the highest in the region. The hike took about 2 hours along an unmarked parallel path to the road leading to the top.

Lake near Mt. Langbian

It felt great to reach the top, knowing that many other tourists were taking the easy way up by motorbike or jeep. I was offered a ride down by a local Vietnamese guy and I chatted with him and his friends for a while, but declined his offer and descended on my own. Biking around the outskirts of town was amazing and challenging because it was so hilly. I kept going further and further away from civilization and discovered some very remote villages where the locals were surprised to see a foreigner biking through.

Dang Viet Nga designed this "Crazy House"

I found some spots overlooking the lake to the west of Mt. Langbian that made me appreciate the peace and quiet, especially coming from and going back to the hustle and bustle of Saigon. Back in town, I visited the architecturally bizarre "Crazy House" designed by a Vietnamese architect, which was on display for tourists and also set up as a hotel.

The beach towns of Nha Trang and Mui Ne were short, enjoyable visits, but I was much more impressed with Da Lat....

Next Stop: Motorbike Central