Lush greenery in the DaLat Mountains
If you want to escape the city heat, do what most Vietnamese do during the summer—take the weekend off and head for the cool mountain refuge of Dalat. Dalat has been a popular area of retreat for most Vietnamese and an abundance of natural beauty. You can take advantage of the golf course, check out the numerous beautiful old temples, waterfalls, and of course haggle your way through the central market for bargains.
Dalat is totally different from Gia Lai, in that the city is a hub for tourist….most of whom are doing what I’m doing—trying to escape from the heat. I found the Gia Lai and Pleiku areas less crowded than Dalat but the weather was nice all the same. Dalat is perfect for nature lovers, but I got sick of looking at the shrubbery after 3 days because we visited so many parks.
Don’t get me wrong, I love and have a deep appreciation for the natural landscape in the area but after a few days I was ready to move on. The weather was the only thing that made me want to stay longer but other than that, I was ready to head to Nha Trang and hit the beach! I have to say though that the old French town area of Dalat is very quaint and nice. You can really appreciate the older style of architecture; they don’t build houses like that in Vietnam anymore.
Xuan Huong Lake is now dry as can be. There is just a dry lake bed where water should have been, maybe there was a drought or the local authorities drained it for some reason that we don’t know about . It would have been really nice to just drive around the lake at night. It got pretty crowded at night with people bicycling or running around the lake.
Check out the Central Market, it is the center of the city. They sell mostly groceries in the morning. This region grows pineapples, strawberries and according to my cousin,it is also the only region in Vietnam that grows broccoli. Request for strawberries are the most popular take-home gift for most people. I didn’t buy any because I knew they wouldn’t be any good by the time I returned home.
At night the Central Market is a hub full of vendors who mainly sell clothes, jewelry, and street food. It gets very busy at night as the air gets cooler. I found it funny that people were walking around with scarves and parkas. It wasn’t even that cold! I’ve gone clubbin in San Francisco in the dead of summer and the temperature drops to the 50′s at night. Freezin in that mini!!!!
Dambiri Waterfall Park
Damb'ri/Lang Chau park
Damb'ri Waterfall
Chauma Gentleman
-Damb’ri Waterfall is great for families. There is a zoo, a mini-circus show, and if you like there is a Chauma dance routine that allows audience participation. The workers there remind me of Laotian/Cambodian people. Most of them live in thatched straw roofs on stilts. It was really interesting to see how the Chauma caught fish with a cage-like basket that is completely handmade. At the Damb’ri waterfall, you can walk up and down the steps on the side of the mountain (I don’t recommend wearing heels to go walking down there, wear something with tread) or you can take the motorway for 10,000 dong each way. The entrance fee to Damb’ri is 30,000 dong. Lang Chau tea house is a restaurant that caters to the huge tourist crowds that arrive there hungry. I found clean restrooms with hand soap dispenser—a big plus for me.
Chauma Ladies
Chauma fishing basket
Oh and there is an opening to get the fish out in case you are wondering. The fish can swim in but there is no way to swim out. Dinner!!!
I guess in Vietnam we have an option after all. Can always stay here right?
Chauma ladies bidding us farewell
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