Day 13 - Ba Na Hills

Today's day trip took me to Ba Na, which is located about 1 hour inland at an altitude of about 1,400 meters. It was transformed into a summer resort by French colonialists starting in 1919. After Vietnam gained independence, the locals destroyed the hotels and facilities to prevent the return of the French.

Today, several Doppelmayr cable cars take you through dense greenery to the misty mountains in two stages. The old French houses have been rebuilt, but you can still see the simplified construction with modern building materials. I felt like I was in an amusement park the whole time - similar to the recreated "villages" in Gardaland. There are figures and plant sculptures at every corner where you can take Instagram-worthy photos.

An underground amusement park has actually been built here. Escalators take you to the three levels where you can try out various rides and stalls. I myself went on a ghost train ride and visited a 4D cinema where we participated in a futuristic Formula 1 race.

In the outdoor area, I strolled through the French Village and even took a ride on the Ferris wheel. An excellent band played hits from the last 40 years in one of the squares. It was a bit strange for me to see the area of the "medieval marketplace" reminiscent of a beer festival. I couldn't quite associate Bavarian beer culture with the French flair.

At first, I found it strange that all hotels and most restaurants seemed to be closed. Then I noticed that everything at the hotels was labeled in English and Chinese. I suspect that this place primarily relies on Chinese tourists for its economy, and now that there is a travel ban from China due to the coronavirus, Ba Na Hills has been reduced to a minimum for the locals and the few foreign tourists. I'm quite happy about that because I already find the hustle and bustle here to be enough. I can't imagine what it would be like if hundreds of Chinese tourists were also roaming the streets.

Before taking the cable car back down to the valley, I enjoyed an iced coconut coffee while listening to the pop band.