BikeDalat.com

Code: 063
Popilation: 188,400
Elevation: 1475m

Dalat is quite different from anywhere else you’ll visit in Vietnam. You would almost be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled into the French Alps in springtime. This was certainly how the former colonists treated it - escaping to their chalets to enjoy the cooler climate.

The French feel is compounded by a radio mast shaped like the Eiffe! Tower and the local bohemian artists’ predilection for swaning around in berets. Dalat is small enough to remain charming, and the surrounding countryside is blessed with lakes, waterfalls, evergreen forests and gardens.

[...Read more]

XUAN HUONG LAKE
Created by a dam in 1919, banana-shaped Xuan Huong Lake was named after a 17th-century Vietnamese poet known for her daring attacks on the hypocrisy of social conventions and the foibles of scholars, monks, mandarins and kings. The lake can be circumnavigated along a 7km sealed path that leads past several of Dalat’s main sights, including the flower gardens, golf club and the majestic hilltop Hotel Sofitel Dalat Palace.

HANG NGA CRAZY HOUSE
Tel: 822070 – Fax 831480 – Add: 3 HuynhThuc Khang - Admission: 8000d
A perfect combination of Dalat’s bohemian tradition and its taste for kitsch. Hang Nga Crazy house is a guesthouse in the form of an surreal artwork. The architecture is Gaudi-meets-Alice in Wonderland and cannot easily be described: there are caves, giant spider webs made of wire, concrete tree trunks and scary-looking animals with glowing red eyes. Yes it’s tacky, and exceedingly commercialized, but many are astounded to find such a counter cultural construction in Vietnam.

[...Read more]

Eating
Making the most of the local produce, Dalat has an appealing selection of smart eateries scattered throughout the town.

VIETNAMESE
Trong Dong
Tel: 821 889 – Add: 220 Phan Dinh Phung Str – Mains: 24,000-55,000d – Open: Lunch & Dinner
A good place to sample superb Vietnamese food house specialities include grill shrimp paste on sugar cane aod fish hotpot. It’s is a bit outside the centre, but well worth the walk.

[...Read more]

Getting Dalat & Away

AIR
Vietnam Airlines
Tel: 833 499 – Add: 2 Ho Tung Mau Str
Has daily services that connect Dalat to HCMC and Hanoi. Dalat’s Lien Khuong Air- port is located 30km south of the city.

BUS
Add: 3 Thang 4 Str
Dalat’s long distance bus station is 1km south of Xuan Huong Lake, although many private services will (if asked) pick up and drop off at the hotel of your choice. Services are available to most of the country, including several to HCMC (60,000d, six to seven hours), Phan Rang (40,000d, 4H houre), Nha Trang (60,000d, seven hours) and Buon MaThuot (65,000d, four hours).

[...Read more]

Valley of Love
Thung Lung Tinh Yeu – Add: Phu Dong Thien Vuong Str
Named the Valley of Peace by Emperor Bao Dai in a wonderful lack of prescience, this Valley had its name changed in 1972 by romantically minded students from Dalat Univeisity.

Today this ever-tacky place has taken on a surreal atmosphere and cynical locals call it the Valley of Shops. Tourist buses line up to regurgitate visitors and boats line up to accommodate them. Get into the spirit with some aquatic activities: paddle boats, 15 - person canoes and obnoxious noise-making motorboats can be hired to tour the lake. This is a good place to see the “Dalat cow boys”: Vietnamese guides dressed as American cowboys. We’ve also seen locals dressed as bears. The cowboys rent horses to tourists for a guided tour around the lake. The cowboys and bears expect cash if you take their picture. Refreshments and local delicacies (such as jams and candied fruits) are on sale at the lockout near where the buses disgorge tourists.

[...Read more]