Cooling Down in Dalat

Sometimes you need to just chill. With fresh memories of Flores, Indonesia we made our way to Dalat, Vietnam, with two single night layovers back in Bali and Ho Chi Minh City. A slow flight itinerary reduced the risk of a missed connection and meant we could enjoy a few nights of assimilation at modest corporate “airport” hotels with gyms and pools. Slow travels.

These travelers happy to be up in the cool climate of Dalat; at least for a bit.

We often get asked where we are going from other travelers and our responses often puzzle people a bit because we move slower than many and when you are nomadic, your needs and desire from travel merge with your needs and desires for general life. You need to back off the travel accelerator a bit and coast more from time to time. Flores, Indonesia was fantastic, but pretty demanding and we were moving frequently since landing in Taipei over a month ago. Our time home in the US was also a bit hectic, with lots of moving about.

Traditional ways are still embedded in the fabric of Dalat, despite so many new hotels and development. And agriculture is still key.

For example, we decided to spend 17 days in Southern Vietnam visiting just three places, starting with a week in Dalat (or Da Lat). In a normal Vietnam vacation, people might visit 5-10 places, this was also our third visit since 2007, so we didn’t feel the need to spread ourselves too thin. The country is huge, and there is still so much we haven’t seen.

Our home for the week was in the heart of the city on a network of hilly alleys.

Our comfy studio space at Feliz Homestay

We loved the view and lively energy of the car free alley we looked out onto. And mostly scooter free.

We had read a lot about Dalat as a favorite with other nomads and expats. But the draw for us really was finding a place to enjoy Southern Vietnam amidst cooler temperatures. After 18 days in Indonesia’s heat, the “City of Eternal Spring” sounded like a solution. And a place with enough to do and explore for a week.

What else do you do on a week apartment stay? Visit the local Go! Hypermarket.

Durians were specifically banned in our building but certainly available.

DaLat sits at over 1500m (4900 ft) on the Lam Vien Plateau of the Southern Highlands. It’s surrounded by hills and small mountains and has over 250,000 people in the city and over 650,00 regionally spread out from a fairly dense core. Like so many places in Vietnam, it’s seen tremendous growth and somewhat haphazard development over the past 30 years and many here say it has lost its soul. We could certainly see the development and growth, but it’s still an eminently pleasant place.

Mandatory stop at any bicycle themed coffee shop.

“Little plastic chair Street” (our name) was a scene and packed on the weekends with regional tourists.

The main roads in the center are closed to traffic on Saturday and Sunday nights, so it turns into a giant street gathering with vendors, food, themed mascots, and a cacophony of music and sound.

Cheryl enjoying the quirkyness and people watching on car free weekend nights in Dalat.

A week in Dalat meant we could really relax and explore.

And yes, civilization and tourists means a fantastic pizza feast at Primavera Italian Restaurant. And my first real red wine in months.

The historic Da Lat train station is a charming Art Deco legacy of the French occupation and footprint on the region.

They are advancing restoration plans for the entire 84km train line from Da Lat to Thap Cham where it will join the North-South main line. It ceased operations in 1973 when local fighting during the American War got intense. The restoration would be awesome.

Warm up sax on the train platform while boarding. Nice.

But for now you can enjoy a slow 7km ride to Trai Mat. It was a fun ride, especially when the music started shortly after departure.

And then the dancing! Amazing energy on the 9:55am train.

Enjoying the views and gardens from the train.

Lots of greenhouses and agriculture in the area. Da Lat is a huge supplier of year round produce, flowers, tea, and wine.

Vietnam National Railways actually runs the tourist train too, so they will be ready if the entire line is reopened and regular passengers service starts up again. Maybe less dancing and music though?

Cheryl and I got the last two seats on the train and were sitting at opposite ends. Luckily, she could spot me in the crowd.

Perhaps it’s not the charming place of yesteryear, but it still offers a lot to the visitor. We felt like if you spent a day or two in Dalat, you might easily miss the charm beneath the bustling main streets. More upscale restaurants, coffee houses, and craft beer is often a sign of the apocalypse, but for us, they were also somewhat welcome. Also, it’s a huge destination for Vietnamese tourists, so mixing in with that scene is always fun; and often more interesting than a place full of foreigners. What do striving middle class Saigonese like to do on their weekend getaways to hills and mountains? Eat, drink coffee, and take lots of selfies.

How to make more of a day of a 30 minute train ride? A temple visit followed by a 7km walk back to town of course. The pine tree forest and areas around Da Lat were actually very pleasant despite this bleak stretch of road.

Loaded up with lime, peppers, and assorted greens.

Classic local Pho Bo with all the fixings. It was the best we had so far on this trip to Vietnam.

After our noodle bowl top up, we were very surprised to hear sirens screaming by and leading a women’s bike race through town. Da Lat’s temperate climate and hilly terrain makes it ideal for cycling and training.

Off the main road on a bit of a single track adventure back to Da Lat. Cheryl being a trooper amidst my randoneering with the limited maps of Maps.me

As we got back closer to Da Lat, we were rewarded with some of the local development architecture. Not our style. There are dozens of much larger hotel projects sprouting up all around the city.

The temperature in Dalat was perfect for exploring, with peak temperatures of about 72-78F during our stay and lovely evenings that even required pants and a second layer. We also met some interesting people, including a nice couple from Davis, CA who were in Dalat for three months on her work assignment. (Hi Lori & Pete!) It was great to relax over drinks and food with some fellow Californians and get their insights from their extended experience in Vietnam.

The main market in Dalat is lively; but mostly focuses on selling flowers fruits, confections, and regional specialties. Oh, and endless supplies of cold weather gear, in case you need a thick down jacket when the temperature dips to 60 -;).

One of 100 stalls all selling the same thing? The peak local tourist season must fuel the business as it was slow when we visited in early March.

We couldn’t resist this charming place in our alley.

Dalat pork meatballs and Bahn Khao (egg custard pancakes).

The lively commercial corridor of Phan Đình Phùng just below our guest house alley. Dalat has decent sidewalks and the scooters seem to be making more of an effort to keep some space clear. Got our $4/month SIM cards here too -:)

This busy street also had our favorite local wonton and pork noodle joint, Tiệm Mì Tàu Cao

Although quite walkable, door to door scooter life is still the norm here.

Enjoying cool drinks and cool breezes at the classic Thuy Ta Cafe on the lake.

Another cool coffee house H.OG after our . morning walk and visit to the Crazy House (which is worth a short visit).

A hip coffee house (or two) a day was what the doctor ordered in Dalat.

Our good Vietnamese-American friend from San Francisco (Hi Dan!) thought Dalat was a bit ordinary and reminded him of parts of Northern California. We agree with that, it’s certainly not the most captivating or unique place in Vietnam, but it is an eminently pleasant place to hang out and explore. The hills, valleys, and alleys are fun to wander. And it is the new Vietnam in all its glory, for better or worse. Oh, and we did love the climate!

Sunday is a big wedding day around Dalat as we noticed starting another day of exploration around the lake on foot.

As we left the lake to explore the hills, this little guy joined us and seemed to be looking for some companionship.

We did not encourage him, but he was relentlessly dedicated. He was also mellow and seemed sweet natured.

Cheryl named him « Teller« after the silent member of the entertainment duo « Penn & Teller » since he disappeared often, only to reappear suddenly at your side!

One of walk destinations was a bunch of semi abandoned, semi-restored French colonial villas. They were a popular photo shoot spot for wedding parties. Teller liked them too.

We briefly looked at this large development in progress and thought we finally lost our little buddy. Nope, here he comes.

So we ducked into a fairly fancy coffee house in this upscale neighborhood and thought Teller would give up and maybe wouldn’t be allowed inside the mostly enclosed space.

Nope. Teller made himself at home and got a well needed rest! The restaurant owners all seemed to assume he was just our dog and paid us no mind.

So well sugared and caffeinated again, we all continued our doggy adventure and soon crossed the tracks to the next neighborhood.

Not so fast was the clear message from this pack of dogs that grew to about 12 or more! Alas, Teller’s adventure with us was over. We made it onwards, he did not.

More alleys to explore, but already missing our friend.

And finding out way home amidst the secret spaces, flowers, and gardens

Always coffee available, even from cute bicycles.

But in addition to the hidden alleys and hills of Dalat, which arguably take some sleuthing (and Maps.me) to find, Dalat is surrounded by hills, trees, and even larger national parks further afield. The challenge for the foreign visitor is finding places that you can actually hike or walk. There are really no published trail maps or networks…private and public land is vague, and access is often restricted. The locals are not really into hiking or even walking for recreation or transportation. A scooter always seems like a smarter solution. But we managed and it was certainly safe enough to walk places, even if sidewalks and road crossings were often a challenge. so we stuck to curated paths, like Dalatana Falls, or just exploring closer to the city center.