This 4th day of our Vietnamese journey would take us from the beach and the sun of Mui Né to the high plateau of Dalat, a mountain resort located at an altitude of 1500 m.
Quick tour of the Mui Ne market
We wanted to go for a walk around the Mui Ne market before taking the midday bus (because it was closed the day before, it was Sunday…) to our next stop, Dalat. So we arrived early, as we were the only ones, of course, we were stared at quite a bit, some (because there were a lot of women) approached us, especially Jitima, thinking that we were a Western-Vietnamese couple… Jitima often had to answer in Thai to make it clear that she was not Vietnamese (but sometimes, we had the impression that they understood something…).
It must also be said that that day, she was wearing her Vietnam-coloured t-shirt that she had bought during her previous visit (she had gone there with friends in 2005).
Going to the market is a constant for us that we do in every country (and I would even say practically at every stage of visiting a country…), it is the opportunity to see a typical daily scene that characterizes local life>
It is visually interesting, especially for the photo (the opportunity to take a few portraits), but also humanly, because it is the right moment for a more "natural" contact with the population since in a "non-tourism" context (generally, certain markets in other countries are an "attraction" like any other, but rare are the tour operators to include this kind of visit and that is the difference, oh how appreciable and in a logical sense).
On the way to the mountains of Dalat
After the market, we returned to our hotel; the Hai Yen Guesthouse, not without returning our motorbike to the rental shop. We pack up and head to Singh Tourist's premises, just 1 km away, no need for the services of a motorbike taxi, so that's still something saved.
We were surprised to find that our means of transport was only a simple van, which means only 6 people going to Dalat? After finding the last passengers, French people, who will follow us over the next few days, here we are, heading towards the mountains of southern Vietnam.
The road, although the main one from Mui Ne, is not wide, the average speed hardly exceeding 30 per hour at times... This leaves time to chat, and Jitima; as best he can; tries to have a little nap...
A short introduction to Dalat
During the French colonial period, this city was one of the resorts for the French from Saigon who liked to escape the hot tropical humidity by going to this place to recharge their batteries.
Dalat is called a romantic mountain city and has a significant tourist attraction thanks to its landscapes, waterfalls, lakes, lush meadows and flowery valleys. Its colonial villas whose style recalls the architecture of the provinces of the former metropolis.
There are Norman villas as well as chalets and Basque houses. Its train station is particularly famous.
We personally, apart from waterfalls and a few houses, we didn't see any of that (we only stayed one day too...)
Dalat is also called "the city of eternal spring" because the average temperature in winter never drops below 10°C, and in summer it does not exceed 25°C.
This mild and clement climate allows the city to have a great variety of flower and fruit crops. This is what Wikipedia tells us.
Dalat is very famous for its market gardening crops favored by an ideal climate. There are many farms around the city, and much of the vegetable production for southern Vietnam comes from here.
Dalat is also known for its wine and tea production.
Night walk near the lake
That same evening we will just take a short walk, in the cool of the night, after finding a hotel, run by the sister of a French-speaking Vietnamese woman, who herself runs a small hotel almost right opposite. An artificial lake sits in the middle of the city, but it was dry for work to improve water management (in particular to prevent flooding in the event of heavy rain).
We first stopped at the Thai Bao restaurant, which had a rather cosy look on the edge of the lake (dried up for work at the time of our visit), a small meal that didn't really delight us.
We will continue towards the roundabout around the market (still active this evening) before reaching a more chic area where we will be tempted by the window of a bakery, still feeling a little peckish.
The next day, it was a discovery in the surroundings of Dalat!
