Trip to the Mountains: Dalat

After a long wait, a small bus with about 24 seats arrived, but nobody was sitting inside. Somewhere along the way, we picked up four other people and drove on bumpy roads towards Dalat. As we climbed higher, we passed hundreds of fields with dragon fruit trees and even more coffee plantations. The higher we went, the more green hills and valleys opened up, making the journey very beautiful, even though the narrow roads on the edge of the cliffs shook us up quite a bit.

Dalat itself is a very well-maintained town spread across several hills. It almost feels like a mountain village in the Alps, except for those cheesy swan pedal boats with loving couples on the city lake. Dalat is also known as the "Honeymoon City," where many newlyweds apparently spend their honeymoon. "Be fruitful and multiply" or something like that... that applies not only to these newlyweds, but also to fruits, vegetables, coffee, and flowers. Everything, and I mean everything around Dalat is covered with plantations, greenhouses, and forests, making it the "fruit capital" of the country. In short, we really like this town, and our hotel was so accommodating and great and new and affordable with perfect service (Maxim Hotel). After searching for the restaurant from the guidebook for a long time but not finding it, we sat down in a delicious vegetarian restaurant and had lotus flower rice for the first time.

Our hotel arranged a scooter for us to explore the surrounding area ourselves (instead of the usual guided Easy Rider Tour). With a good picnic from the bakery, we were ready to go. First, we visited an orchard, vegetable garden, and flower nursery. Then we went to a coffee plantation that also produced civet coffee. Unfortunately, captive civets eat the coffee cherries, and the undigested parts are turned into coffee. It sounds gross, but it's one of the most expensive coffees out there. So we tried a tiny cup and found it to be really delicious, mild, and fruity! However, we didn't want to buy the expensive ones on-site and thought we could find that special type elsewhere, but unfortunately, that was no longer the case.

Next, we visited the amazing Elephant Waterfall. After a adventurous climb, you could go into a small cave and go under or behind the waterfall - which Carsten immediately tried and was drenched in the spray from the 30-meter high waterfall after 30 seconds... During a break at the base of the waterfall, he was able to dry off a bit.

Right nearby was a silk farm that we could visit, even though nobody spoke English there. A short film explained the step-by-step production of silk. The butterflies lay eggs, which hatch into caterpillars. After a certain period of time, they spin a cocoon and then transform back into a butterfly. The cocoon is soaked in water, and the entire thread is unwound. Then, the silk threads are woven into scarves or fabric panels, and dyed in all imaginable colors by hand.

Up to this point, it is probably the standard tour offered in the city. But we wanted to go further to the next waterfall. We drove on slightly bumpier roads than before with our little scooter, which made strange noises at higher speeds, and continued through the mountains. Here, there are almost only coffee plantations as far as the eye can see!

When we reached the Pongour Falls, we had to climb down again to see the waterfall in its entirety - quite a sweaty affair. From below, the multiple rock levels over which the water cascades look really amazing! It must be even more impressive during the rainy season.

The day was quickly coming to an end, and we had to skip the stops we wanted to see on our way back so as not to have to travel the route in complete darkness. After the sun had set, it became terribly cold in the mountains, and we were relieved to finally see the lights of the city. At the night market, we warmed up with a hot Pho soup, but then quickly wanted to return to the warmth of the hotel.

Originally, we wanted to take another cooking class the next day, but unfortunately, none were available in the morning. So we set off again with the scooter to see a few things in the city. After a rather small breakfast with a view of the city lake, we continued to the "Crazy House." This house is truly crazy! Countless winding corridors connect different parts of the house, where you can also live. It was designed by an artist who wanted to connect with nature. See for yourself in the photos how strange this house looks... Afterwards, we bought a delicious box of strawberries (yes, they are currently in season here) and went to Robin Hill to take a cable car ride over the beautiful landscape. It almost feels like a ski vacation, just without snow ;) The cable car led through pine forests to the Paradise Lake, where there is also a large monastery with over 120 nuns and monks, which serves as a meditation center for some pilgrims. We took the cable car back to the city and made a short detour to visit Vietnam's oldest train station. There is still a very old train there, and you can visit the old tracks and buildings.

It was getting quite late by now, especially because we wanted to grab some snacks from the bakery and urgently catch our shuttle to the sleeping bus. When we returned to the hotel, the pick-up service had already been there, but they were going to come back later. After giving a good tip for the great service at our hotel, we were provided with enough water and fruit for the long bus ride to Hoi An and were waved goodbye a hundred times by the staff.

The bus driver asked everyone about 5 times where they wanted to go and then waited forever for something before we finally set off on the 14-hour journey. We had secured a kind of lying meadow with three seats attached in the back of the bus, which was actually quite comfortable, but had a very low ceiling because someone was sitting above us. Nevertheless, we were actually able to sleep a little, although somewhat restlessly... Good night!