DA LAT, the mountain city

The bus ride to Da Lat is quite bumpy and winding. But because of the bus's low horsepower, the curves were hardly noticeable.

First, we walk through the city with our suitcases. When we arrive at the hotel, we are somewhat disappointed. The first room has no windows and the second room has two holes at the top of the door because it cannot be opened due to the sloping roof. We decide to stay in the second room because at least we have windows. Fortunately, the noise is not a problem either. Apart from the usual barking dogs and loud early risers, there is not much noise to be heard.

Justin really likes the city. It has a rural and peaceful atmosphere. Above all, it practically only has local tourists. The city is very popular with the Vietnamese. What stands out is the abundance of kitsch in this city. Everything is extremely tidy and well-groomed. There are beautiful gardens at every corner, swan pedal boats on the lake, horses with and without carriages, lights at night, benches under roses, facades like in the West (you can see the French influence). Everything appears a bit artificial, like in a little dream world. But we like it. It's really something different. Unfortunately, we were unable to capture these impressions well in photographs, as we were caught in the rain that day and missed the sunny day, more on that later.

Here, too, we find a Night Market. What's cool is that from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, the city is only open to pedestrians. However, we are not sure if this is the case every day. In any case, we enjoy it and stroll through.

The next day, we rent bicycles to ride around the lake and explore the outskirts. First, we ride to a colorful flower garden. Since the weather is not cooperating, we decide to continue riding to get further before it rains. Unfortunately, we don't get far and it starts raining. So we ride to the nearby shopping center and spontaneously decide to go to the cinema. It's convenient here that the films are shown in English with Vietnamese subtitles. We watch Captain Marvel.

In the evening, we make it back to the city without getting wet.

The next day, we head into the mountains. We take our own tour and don't book a jeep like most people do. Along the way, we pass by great spots. There are many coffee plantations (now we know what a coffee plant looks like;)), rose fields, grazing cows, and wild horses at the edge of the forest. However, the latter also seem a bit cheesy.

The ascent is challenging. We start at 1500 meters above sea level and our destination is at 2165 meters above sea level. We practically don't encounter any other hikers along the way and we enjoy the tranquility. Just before reaching the summit, there is another steep climb. Once we arrive there, we have a breathtaking view. We feel like we're above the jungle.

The funny thing is the signposts, they say "Go Up" or "Go Down". We also encounter 7 local workers on the way, who are attaching a rope to the stairs for the final ascent.

We're in a bit of a hurry to get down in time to catch the last bus back to the city, which departs at 5 o'clock. Before departure, we buy a water bottle at the same place where we bought bananas before the climb. She is clearly happy to see us again. Communication is not always easy here, as many people speak little to no English. She tells us the amount and Kimena repeats it to make sure. She apologizes for her pronunciation mistake and tries to pronounce it correctly. A great encounter for us, as she is very grateful for our help. Such encounters stay in our memory.

Back at the hotel, we later go out for dinner. We find a great Italian restaurant. Yes, sometimes we want something other than Asian cuisine. We also have wine for the first time in a long time.

The next morning we continue to Nha Trang, of course by bus.