Dalat

Dalat was a very different place unlike no other in Vietnam. The city was located higher up in the mountains and the weather actually felt like home. It was a little colder and a jacket was needed at night. It was not too humid, yet unfortunately it did rain quite a bit. Damn rainy season. While in Dalat, Matthias and I drove around and explored the area and took in some sights. We visited waterfalls, went down this interesting roller coaster type of ride/slide down the mountain, and took a gondola ride up the mountain to a temple with some beautiful flower gardens. The gondola ride offered some amazing views of the city and the surrounding area/forests. It was a beautiful sight to take in and unfortunately my phone died! That night we were introduced to this crazy bar that is unlike any other I have set eyes on or been inside. There is no way to truly describe it and unfortunately they do not have any videos going through it online. It was a maze with so many different staircases, hidden passages, holes, secret rooms, created by a "tree" carved within a giant cave. That's the best I can give you. The rest is up to your imagination. Its called the 100 Rooftops bar in Dalat.

We met some very nice people at the hostel we were staying at and went on a canyoning trip with them the second day in the city. This included belaying down a cliff, down a waterfall, cliff jumping, zip lining and getting my first leech! It was a very fun day and I would love to go down more waterfalls once again. That night we went to a karaoke bar and got a private room with a lot of people form the hostel as well as one of our hosts. This was my first time going to one ever and everyone has heard about Asians and their karaoke. It was a really fun time actually and I was not expecting to have as much fun as I did.

That night we went back to the bar mentioned above (we went there every night, it was just so amazing). Day 3 a few more friends were made and a few older friends came to meet up with me. I showed them around the city, relaxed, and spent the night at the karaoke bar and the rooftop bar once again. It was a nice city and the people there were very memorable. Every hostel does a family dinner every night to bring everyone together and it was such a great environment. I would love to visit again.

I was a little sad to go but knew I had to continue on my journey. The ride back down the mountains was fun and beautiful eve though I had to stop for the rain three times. My next stop was a beach town called Mui Ne.