A Lot in Dalat

Ah, Dalat. What a way to end Vietnam.

Dalat, the city of eternal springtime, brought some brief storms for Mom and me. When we first arrived, we got off at a bus stop about a forty-five minute walk from our hostel (with a private room, of course. We’re backpacking, but on our terms). That in itself wasn’t terrific, as our bags get pretty heavy after about twenty minutes. On top of that, though, the trek was uphill and, for a city renowned for its constant temperateness, it was hot. Thankfully, it was a beautiful journey past French colonial architecture and down cobbled sidewalks, but by the time we found our accommodation, we were more than ready to check in. We’d just spent the last eighteen hours on public transportation and, speaking for myself at least, were sorely in need of a shower and a nap.

Unfortunately, the Universe had a different plan for us.

When we arrived, the host politely informed us that we did not have a room. Um, excuse me? This was more than a little confusing as we had not only reserved the space, we’d paid well in advance. We had the receipts to prove it. But no, they insisted, we didn’t have a room. The conversation continued in broken English (theirs, not ours) for about 20 more minutes to no avail. In the end we were roomless and even more exhausted.

We left, unsurprisingly, in a bit of a huff and while I refrained from shouting, I did take more than my fair share of the candy they’d set out for guests.

So, not exactly the brilliant start we’d hoped for. But we managed to find a hotel for that night (a miracle, since most everywhere was booked to the brim as a result of Tet, the Lunar New Year) and a homestay for the next three. And we ended our first night with the most amazing fried quail egg things that we gobbled up too quickly for photos. We were optimistic that the homestay would prove a little easier to navigate and the next few days would be filled with flowers and relaxation.

Ah, the fickle hand of fate. Turns out, the room we’d booked was another forty-five minute shlep uphill in the intense heat and when we arrived, we entered a room that was, uh, not exactly the cleanest. Plus, we didn’t have our own bathroom. Great.

But things were about to take a turn for the better. Maybe even for the best. We decided to walk to a well-reviewed restaurant for lunch, one of our first non-street food meals of the trip. The atmosphere was lovely and the food was good, but what happened next may have been one of my top highlights of our entire trip.

Dessert.

And not just any dessert, the best freaking thing I’ve maybe ever had. I looked over to my mom and I’m pretty sure the look I saw was a woman having a life-altering epiphany in the form of toasted sesame chocolate-filled dough ball things. Words cannot do justice.

And while the rest of our time in Dalat did not measure up to that incredible dish, we had a plethora of other highlights.

We visited the Crazy House, which is an architectural wonder that was nearly impossible to capture on camera (sorry. Google it).

We walked around the main lake which wasn’t the most amazing thing ever, but pretty.

We saw a very photogenic church and I made my mom take a lot of pictures of me.

We did have other downs, though, too. Our homestay? Apparently, a wildly popular stop for Israeli backpackers, which meant that at any given moment there was what felt like the entire young adult population of Israel hanging out about twenty feet from our front-of-house and (very) thinly-walled room. They were loud, stayed up late, and clearly did not think highly of non-Israelis. Luckily, the host family was great and made us delicious dinners every night. A welcome relief from having to find every meal on our own.

In the end, Dalat proved to be a pleasant leg of our trip and we finished out our journey in what was simply the best airport I’ve ever flown in or out of in my entire life. It was so clean and light and the entire process from check-in to take-off felt like, as my mom put it, a ballet. It went that smoothly.

So, as we flew out of Vietnam, ready to end our trip with a much longer stay in Chiang Mai, we did so on a great note. Overall, I’m so thankful for these last two weeks in this country and I can’t wait to tell you all about Northern Thailand.

In love and adventure,

E