A stroll through Da Lat was the order of things on Day seven, as we began to spread our wings and explore this amazing city. Beautiful scenery, amazing landscapes and a little less chaos than in [easyazon_link identifier=”1520422989″ locale=”US” tag=”fdt0c-20″]Ho Chi Minh City[/easyazon_link]. Da Lat is a city that truly amazes. Let’s take a look at this edition of travel diaries, Vietnam style.

A stroll through Dalat.

Best bit of the day

Xuan Huong Lake: This picturesque lake is a mesmerising 5km walk with beautiful gardens, horse and carriage and waterfront cafes that surround the lake.  The Bich Cau Garden, is on an island on the east end of the lake, that has amazing garden landscapes and also a nice cafe with amazing views. You can also enjoy a ride on the pedal boats at a couple of separate locations around the lake. We did, even if the old legs got a bit stiff.

A pedal on Xuan Huong Lake.

A waterfront cafe on the lake.

Best food

Poc Poc: Another grill at a much more well-known and central restaurant. This time the spontaneity came out. For the first time my wife and tried the deer and boar on a grill. You must thin we are huge meat eaters, we are not. But being in Vietnam and finding new foods unfamiliar in Australia has got us both exploring different food.

Grilled deer and boar at Poc Poc

Highlights of the day

A stroll in Dalat: Our stay in Dalat is so short that time couldn’t afforded to be lost. Leaving the Nguyen Minh Hotel by foot, a little after breakfast, the family and I went out for a stroll in Dalat. By foot I is always the best way to learn a thing or two about a destination. You slow down your travel and you find all those hidden secrets.

The Dalat Cathedral.

This was the case on this occasion, passing through beautiful buildings, The Dalat Cathedral, down to the Xuan Huong Lake and continuing our path around the lake until we stopped at the lovely Bich Cau Gardens for a coffee. Before making our way to the Dalat Garden Centre.

Bich Cau gardens and cafe.

After making our back and this time through the town centre, we had been on a stroll through the city for seven hours. A tough task for two young boys who handled themselves admirably. A much-needed rest was the only option once back in the hotel.

Admiring the view.

Dalat flower centre: A beautiful stroll amongst a lovely garden centre.  Amazing colour, decorative bushes especially the bonsai and picturesque views high above of this amazing garden from the top of the hill on the east side. Put it on your list if ever in Dalat, it cost very little and it is a nice little spot to enjoy a coffee or have a bite to eat amongst nature.

Dalat Garden Centre.

A stroll through Da Lat and see this stunning Cathedral

Want to have a stroll through Da Lat, check out hotels on TripAdvisor

• Check out day 6 of Vietnam Diaries – Welcome To Da Lat.
• Check out days 8/9 of Vietnam Diaries – Exploring Da Lat.

Spending the first few days in crazy Ho Chi Minh City, it was a pleasant relief to land in beautiful Da Lat. That’s right, welcome to Da Lat where the greener pastures, quieter roads, cooler weather and stunning landscapes make up this small city tucked away in the middle of the mountains of central Vietnam.

Straight off the bat, when I say quieter roads, it’s still quite busy in the town centre with a steady flow of traffic, but compared to the big city chaos in the South, it’s like walking into an abandoned village.

Dalet, Vietnam

Best bit of the day

Welcome to Da Lat: About twenty-degrees, tame humidity and a little rain, gave us a cool welcome on arrival in Da Lat. Pure relief. Straightaway you are captivated by its amazing scenery with a much cleaner smell in the air. Large mountains can be seen wherever you look and how beautiful it is to see so much green.

The town centre has unique difference. With soaring apartments suturing the town. Almost a European look. It is still busy and you need to watch your step as you cross the road, but not nearly the same rush as in Saigon.

Arriving at Dalat Airport.

The view from Nguyen Minh Hotel.

Best foods

Pho Nuong  – This restaurant was found by chance down a side alley street, sometimes those hidden restaurants make for great eating. On this occasion it was no different. We enjoyed the sliced beef and pig stomach on a charcoal grill we cooked ourselves. It was the first time I tried the pig stomach and fair to say with its crispy taste that it didn’t let down.

Highlights of the day

Dalat Night Market: Good old google came to the rescue on this occasion. Arriving in Dalat we were unsure what to do. With the markets about to open at 5pm, it was a good chance to check it out.

The markets are not too different to those in Saigon, crowded and a lot of cheap stuff that is a real bargain for a tourist. The Dalat Markets has all the basics that come with a market, fruit and veg section, butchers, food court and clothing. the atmosphere is buzzing in the evening and it is a great way to enjoy the nightlife of Dalat.

Dalat Markets.

Welcome to Da Lat where everyone is keen to make a buck.

Lien Hoa Bakery: It may seem strange to get excited about a bakery, but this one was quite incredible. A large range of bread, savouries, pastries, sweets and magnificent looking cakes. It was quite like a bakery I had never seen before and everyone seemed to agree, it was rather packed out. Grab yourself a tray and some tongs at the entrance and go nuts selecting a variety of breads. Lien Hoa bakery will get more than one visit.

Check out GPSmyCity for further details on Dalat in Vietnam!

Lien Hoa Bakery

Welcome to Da Lat.

Staying in Da Lat, check out TripAdvisor for hotels.

• Check out Vietnam Diaries Day 5 – Step back into history.
• Check out Vietnam Diaries Day 7 – A stroll through Da Lat.

Day five in Vietnam was about taking a step back into history. Even if it did happen by accident. The old feet got a good workout as we strolled through Ho Chi Minh City and discovered wonderful new areas of Saigon, old buildings and took a step into a tragic history that is the Vietnam War.

A portrait of a pretty Vietnamese women.

Best bit of the day

·         Vietnam War Remnant Museum:

A  War museum not for the light hearted but one that needs to be visited. Tanks, artillery guns and fighter planes that were used in the war are on showcase at the entrance before going upstairs to read about the history.

Thick skin is required for this exhibit, the photos are not only heartbreaking but horrific to view with pictures of missing limbs, dead soldiers and traumatic photos of young kids running and fearing for their lives.

Tanks at the Museum.

There are many  different Exhibits in the Museum but one that does reach the heartstrings is an exhibit dedicated to the photographers during the war that risked their life or even got killed taking the dramatic photo. Selfless acts so the world could see the tragedy involving in Vietnam.

Another gut wrenching room, there were many,  was that dedicated to Agent Orange. In the early part of the 1960’s Herbicides were sprayed onto food crops by US and South Vietnamese Air Forces, their aims was to destroy crops to deny the enemy soldiers any cover. The spraying had a disastrous effect on the health of the locals, with newborns coming into the world handicapped and without.

As disturbing as the images may be. The War Remnant Museum is a great history lesson on the Vietnam War. It is also great to see how far this country has come, considering the war was only 50-years ago.

A photo known to all the world.

Foods of the Day

–     At a local Vietnamese restaurant I had a change of meal. A very nice grilled pork, with egg roll served with cold noodle and salad. It was a nice change away from pho (soup), which is served up at most.

Grilled pork, egg roll and noodles.

·         Savoure’s for dessert. I had the delicious strawberry mousse cake with an ice vanilla mocha, both were incredibly tasty and it went down well, even if it does end up at the hips. A real treat if ever in the Tan Dinh area of district 1.

Yummy dessert.

Day 5 Highlights

·         Notre Dame Cathedral and Post office: In the District 1 area of Ho Chi Minh City, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic Post Office, both with a French architect flavour to it, two incredible buildings within a stone throw of each other.

Notre Dame Cathedral

The old Post Office

The area is not only for its Grand structures of two buildings, built in the late 1800’s, It also has a carnival atmosphere with market places, souvenir  shops, book stores and food stalls set up, providing that tourist feel. Even pretty Vietnamese women are out and about, dressed nicely in their traditional dress, making a stunning photo amongst the backdrop of the Cathedral.

The Post Office is still used today but not for its original purpose. tour agency’s are set up in the old booths for anyone looking at booking a tour in the city, to The Mekong Delta or the Cu Chi tunnels.

Inside the Post Office.

·         Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens: it may not be Sydney’s Taronga Zoo but for an entrance fee of only $3AUD there shouldn’t be any complaining. It’s a nice walk away from the craziness of city streets and it has all the big animals, giraffes, lions, tigers, giraffes and a whole lot more. From what I saw the animals were treated as normal as I have seen in any other zoo, which is sad a lifeless. Understandably being enclosed in a cage.

AN Enclosed tiger at Saigon Zoo.

For the kids it is more than just the wildlife. There are plenty of rides (they cost extra) and a small water park to keep entertained and cool on a hot Saigon day. The fun attraction of the day was the Vietnamese sausage tree at the entrance.  Given away for free, adults and kids gathered around the tree, pushing and shoving (all fair play) to grab their complimentary sausages. I had a try, it tasted disgusting, but that was my own opinion. I think I was alone.

The Sausage tree.

Heading Ho Chi Minh City, check TripAdvisor for hotels.

• Check out Vietnam Diaries Day 6 – Welcome to Dalat
• Check out Vietnam Diaries Day 4 – Mekong four Islands

The Mighty Mekong River and the Four Islands was the agenda on day 4, taking our first day tour since arriving in Ho Chi Minh City. At only $20AUD per person, it was certainly worth the trip to further explore this fascinating country.

Family fun on the Mekong

A little different  this travel diaries format as I go in-depth about the tour. Enjoy.

The boats line up on the Mekong Island cruise.

Tour highlights

·         The Guide: the guide almost made the trip. Solid English, good sense of humour and very informative about the Mekong River and the 4-islands. He spoke with a lot of passion about any topic, which is always a good thing since they just about repeat themselves day in, day out.

The guide was simply a hoot.

·         Cruising the Mekong River: Cruising the Mighty Mekong which begins in the Himalayas and travels through Southeast Asia is a great experience. The River itself is dirty and is full of crocodiles (don’t fall in) and tour and commercial boats all over the place in the part of the Mekong I visited, I expected a little more isolation in this part of the country but that was certainly not the case. It won’t be the most scenic part of the river you’ll ever see but it’s difference is what makes it unique.

Cruising the Mekong River.

·         Coconut Candy: Checking how the locals make their coconut candy without the luxuries of a factory was a real life learning experience of what their world is like. From shredding the coconut into powder, the mixing and the packaging, it is a detailed process with many workers mainly females involved. Watching the ladies work with speed as each candy was wrapped was quite an art.

A local busy at working wrapping candy.

·         Unicorn Island: Unicorn Island is where most activities took place. From making and trying their honey tea, pictures with a python and a horse and carriage ride (which was a sad experience). Local villagers also took the group on a canoe ride through the shrubs of a canal, which was hard enjoy with the villagers spending more time begging for a tip. The scenery was very nice however.

A Python wrapped around the neck.

Food of the Tour

·         Lunch: It was a basic lunch that was served to the group, marinated pork with rice and vegetables. You could purchase extra food and drinks with your own cash. After lunch, we had a good hour to wander Tortoise Island, where resting crocodiles could be seen caged n large numbers, a few market places were open with local souvenirs on sale, and the best part was the hammocks, which got a good workout with a few on the group getting a bit of a shut eye.

Resting in the hammock after lunch.

Crocodiles want to eat too. (Keep away from me)

·         Fruit tour and a Vietnamese concert: A bit of fruit with some tea was the last on the list and surprisingly we were treated to a marvellous performance by the locals of Vietnamese music. With a few basic instruments, their soothing voice and traditional dress was a beautiful way to end the day.

A little performance with fruit.

A mixture of local Mekong fruit.

Tour Lowlights

·         The bus ride: Forced at the back of the bus for the 2-hour journey made for a hair-raising experience, lots of bumps, lot of sore backs. The bus driver seemed in a real hurry overtaking over vehicles at will and avoiding head-on collisions on numerous occasions. Fair to say I feared for my life and hear it is quite a normal experience.

Extra pictures from the tour

Happy Buddha loves to make an appearance in Southeast Asia.

The little fella is not afraid.

Check out hotels in Ho Chi Minh City on TripAdvisor.

• Check out Vietnam Diaries Day 5 – A step back in history.
• Check out Vietnam Diaries Day 3 – Just Add water.