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DA LAT of VIETNAM
- WHAT TO SEE
With its perennial cool weather, pine-clad valleys and weathered but elegant French hilltop villas, Dalat is Vietnam’s premier hill station.
In the words of one local restaurateur, Da Lat's tourist sites are more 'distraction' than 'attraction'. The best way to orientate yourself for a solid day of distraction is by using Xuan Huong lake. The lake's circumference is 7 km and all or part of it makes for good walking.
The Flower Gardens sit at the lake's northern edge and are average at best. Marble walkways lead through the flower displays and some comment that the design is not fantastic.
Not too far away from here, also past the lake to the north, is the Cremaillere Railway. An old Russian steam engine lies dormant here on the line that once ran from Da Lat to Thap Cham. Now it's only possible to take the train 5 kms down the line to Trai Mat where you have 30 minutes to explore a nearby pagoda before returning. Total journey time is 90 minutes and costs 70,000. Departure times are at 06:30, 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 14:00 and 15:30. The train needs a minimum of three people before leaving. The nearby Linh Phuoc pagoda in Trai Mat is a complex containing one temple with a five-metre high Buddha and one tower which holds a huge bell -- it is one of the most interesting pagodas in the area and worth a short look-in. You can also get there easily by motorbike.
Over towards the south of the city is the Crazy House. Designed by the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's third successor to the presidency of Vietnam, this may explain how she was able to get away with it. It's crazy in the sense that a kid's adventure playground is crazy. The bizarre structure has a number of rooms all linked to together by walkways, ramps and steps -- entertaining for a very short length of time.
A few minutes from the Crazy House is Bao Dai's Summer Palace. Bao Dai was the son of Emperor Khai Dinh. The palace, built in the 1930s, remains in it's original state, furnishings and all. Palace may be a tad misleading -- the building is more an elaborate French villa. It's full of interesting artefacts relating to Bao Dai's life and is worth a visit despite there being little information in English.
A few kilometres north of Xuan Huong lake is the Valley Of Love. It's not worth visiting unless you're in the market for some terrible kind of kitsch product, or taking a canoe out onto the totally unimpressive lake. The Valley Of Love has been turned into a bus drop off point for tourists, as the constant coming and going of tour coaches will show.
- WHERE TO STAY
A large selection of accommodation is available for visitors to Da Lat, from budget to 5-star luxury. Hotels are dotted all over the city, but are concentrated along a cluster of streets in between the central market and the lake.
Opportunities abound for meetings and incentives in boutique colonial hotels such as the Sofitel Dalat Palace, as well as mountain adventures of absailing, canyoning and even world-class golfing. For an opulent alpine retreat, Ana Mandara Villas Dalat is a good fit.
- WHAT TO EAT
Come out of Mountain Town and turn left along Nguyen Chi Thanh, you'll pass numerous coffee shops, as this is Da Lat's coffee house street. Eventually you'll arrive at the steps leading down to the market. Above the steps is Lotus Restaurant. Try the delicious claypot spicy fish, but watch the bones. This place, also known as Quan Sen, has a roof terrace area -- although not luxurious, it's a nice spot to observe the town below in the market square.
Again on the upper level of town is Pho Di Bo, also known as Walking Town, a centrally located and popular street side restaurant. Specialities here are Hue beef rice noodles for breakfast and Nam Vang Soup, a concoction of beef, seafood and noodles in the same bowl. They also have a vast array of fried rice dishes. A little further from the centre, about a five-minute walk away, is the Lamson Family Restaurant or Sapa Restaurant, serving Vietnamese food in another typical streetside setting -- metal tables and plastic chairs.
For elegance and expensive eating, you can't beat Ming Dynasty. Set in a renovated French villa on Tran Hung Dao St, the restaurant commands a spectacular view back down into Da Lat -- even better if eating on one of the balcony areas. As with it's Ho Chi Minh City counterpart, Ming serves fine Chinese food starting from 70,000 dong for a main and ranging up to 250,000 dong.
For a Western-style restaurant, you won't do better than V Cafe. Now open for five years, it is Da Lat's tastiest and most popular restaurant among foreign visitors -- you should find it busy evenings. The menu, as American owner Michael will tell you, is intentionally simple and coversboth 'East' and 'West'. If it's mashed potatoes and veggies you're longing for, this is the place to come. It's located opposite the Da Lat Sinh Cafe on Bui Thi Xuan St.
