Two Nights in Dalat

We had really looked forward to going to Dalat which we heard was like a "little France" of Vietnam but it ended up being very different than we expected. Besides little cafed  and bakeries and a fake Eiffel Tower it felt a lot less European than Sapa, Hanoi and Hoi An.  It was a pretty hustling a bustling city and is known as a vacation spot for Vietnamese-- specifically a honey moon destination. The main appeal of Dalat was the climate-- it's mild and cool which was a nice change for the hot sticky weather in most of the country.

The four hour bus ride from Nha Trang to Dalat was had some beautiful scenery but was also a bit nerve racking as our huge bus speeded up windy mountain roads. The first day we found a nice hotel in the center of town for a good price and   walked around town. One thing that stood out was the abundance of bakeries (which I obviously loved). 

The second day we were planning on hiring a motorbike driver to take us to the surrounding areas of Dalat but we made the spontaneous decision to do a 4 day motorbike "easy rider" trip to Ho Chi Minh city starting the following day (see he next post).  Instead, Andrew and I decided to split ways for the day-- I explored the city and walked around the Xuan Huong Lakewhile Andrew rented a motorbike and took a hike up the tallest mountain in Dalat. 

My stroll around Xuan Huong Lake wich is catered to the Vietnamese honeymooners 

View from Andrew's hike

At the base of the mountain, they had horses painted to look like zebras to amuse the Vietnamese tourists

Overall, Dalat was not our favorite city in Vietnam (possibly because our expectations were too high) but we enjoyed our stay none the less.