So different Vietnam: Excursion to the city of Dalat

This tour is one of the most intense during the holidays in Vietnam, so we originally planned to go on it. But our tour operator offered to combine the pleasant with the useful - to go there from Fantiet, and to return to Nha Trang - the next place of our stay. That's what we did.

Dalat is located at an altitude of 1475 meters above sea level. And the road to it is not easy. The first problem is dangerous road serpentine. The road was covered with thick fog, as is often the case in the mountains. We were literally going to the touch – three meters from the bus, nothing could be seen, but we knew that somewhere there was a chasm. But an experienced driver overcame the most difficult area and our eyes opened a beautiful view.

But the natural beauty and well-groomed areas, unfortunately, very often borders on garbage. Vietnam has just begun to be ennobled, so such a contrast in this country is often close.

And the attitude of the locals to the environment is very negligent. Sometimes it seems that the Vietnamese bring purity and beauty only to attract tourists. They themselves give the impression of people unpretentious, slow and lazy. Even in the store or diner you can see a hammock, and while there are no visitors, a person calmly rests, enjoying life.

There is a special rule even for students. Lunch lasts from about 12 to 2 p.m., especially so that the guys have time to go home, eat and sleep for an hour. Without such “siesta” in countries with a hot climate nowhere.

Prenn National Park (Prenn)

One of the scheduled stops on the way to the city. Beautiful waterfall, after which the park is named.

The territory includes a lot of places for photography and quiet pastime - bridges, beautiful flower beds, fountains, mini-lake.

They even have their own “peeing boy.”

Dreaming of a special flower? You came to the right place. Here it is not expensive to buy bulbs of rare orchids, which you can easily take out of the country. And another product that you will not see anywhere else is a silver ring with elephant hair. As the ad says, it brings true love. I bought one for myself, but unfortunately after a couple of months it got damaged – it was too thin a layer of silver. But if you really want to own this “magical” object, there is a way out: it can be worn on a chain. Or buy it as a souvenir.

You will also have the opportunity to ride horses, elephants, ostriches! By the way, the fact that the ostrich runs very fast, I now know this not only in theory.

Datanla Falls

Impressive not only in size, but also in descent to its foot. Quickly and with the breeze to overcome the long way down will help "electrossani" - small strollers in the form of a sledge for two people, which are equipped with a lever of speed control and braking. Tip: If you want to go fast and non-stop, sit down first!

The cable car takes us up through coniferous and deciduous forests to the culmination of our little journey – the mountain town of Dalatu. The speed is great, and the path is not close, but the view is amazing! It's breathtaking.

We landed on the observation deck, where Dalat is in the palm of your hand.

The city itself met us with a mild coolness - the air temperature was about +23-25 degrees. To our surprise, the locals were wearing warm jackets and looked at us - tourists in summer shorts - as savages.

Clean mountain air is incredibly refreshing and invigorating after a week of heat and moisture, neat streets please the eye. And the next attraction can drive you crazy. Because it's CRAZY HOUSE!

Not just a house, but also the most popular hotel in Dalat. Each room is a unique work of art. In Russian, it means “Crazy House”. No, there are no mentally ill people living here. Fairy tales live here. This is the realm of fantasy. Somewhere in the middle of the bush, there must be a boar.

You wouldn’t believe it was made of concrete and wood. It looks so natural that it seems that nature created it. It was as if all these corridors were not built by people, but for many years the water washed the caves, and the vines weaved them.

Narrow paths-stairs lead to the roof, which dare not many.

Upstairs are scary, the railings are very low, you have to bend to hold onto them. But we're not timid.

There's one unfinished wing. The fact is that in Vietnam there is a law according to which unfinished housing is not taxed. So with the completion of construction work on this site is not in a hurry. In the meantime, it looks like a haunted house.

She lives here, behind the golden doors. Ms. Dang Nga received an architectural education in Moscow, where she lived for 14 years. She still keeps a Muscovite car in her garage, and in the architecture of the house you can see hints of Russian fairy tales. Previously, she was willing to communicate with Russian tourists, but now she does not go out to the public because of old age and health problems.

Silk Factory in Vietnam

A good place for profitable acquisitions – paintings embroidered with silk threads. The tour itself is for lovers to plunge into the history and technology of the process. She left me with some sad emotions. What girls do with their own hands is a real art, but only this beauty of exorbitant victims is worth it. All embroiderers after 15 years very badly damaged vision, and they can no longer work. That's why paintings are so expensive.

And the last stop in Dalat is the statue of the sitting Buddha on the lotus and the temple of love.

The big golden Buddha, looking at the city from the height of a hill, is majestic and powerful, gladly you feel like a little bug. Perhaps this is exactly the kind of awe that a Buddhist should feel before his deity.

The temple of love is a sacred place where you can establish contact with higher forces and ask for the welfare of your loved ones.

Author of text and photo: Tatiana Goncharova