I love Dalat... da lot!

Ahhhh Dalat, Vietnam - what a beautiful city in the South Central Highlands of Vietnam. It felt fabulous to be back in the mountains... with cool, crisp air and not nearly as much traffic as Saigon.

Here's a shot from Google Maps that shows where Dalat (A) is located within Vietnam (you can see Ho Chi Minh City in the south and the capitol, Hanoi, up north)...

We had a 3-day weekend, as Friday was Vietnam's Independence Day. In 1945, this is the day when Ho Chi Minh stood in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi and read the Declaration of Independence for Vietnam's independence from foreign control (Chinese, French, Japanese).

I flew to Dalat (about an hour flight) with two other new teachers at the middle school: Donna --the art teacher-- and Kathleen --an English Language Arts teacher--. We arrived to our hotel late Thursday night and our return flight was Saturday early evening... 1 1/2 days to conquer Dalat. (I look forward to being able to get back to Dalat again sometime - it's such a do-able trip and a great place!)

My travel gals:

People kept telling me of the French influence in the architecture throughout Saigon but I've found that it's not as prevalent as I thought it would be... in Dalat, however, the French influence can be seen all over... the architecture throughout the city is beautiful. I was surprised to see many pine trees along with the palm trees!

Dalat is centered around Lake Xuan Huong - where many people hang out around at night... pedal boating in a swan boat, taking a horse-drawn carriage ride, sitting on a bench at the side of the lake, or taking a stroll. I love that Dalat is not super well-known among foreign tourists (yet)... it is very much a Vietnamese vacation locale.

Supposedly, Dalat is the number one destination for Vietnamese honeymooners! ...Come to find out, the hotel that we booked is more of a compound filled with bungalows and flower gardens... for couples on their honeymoon.  :P

We stayed in the main lodge - our rooms are behind the flag.

 View from my window.  :)

 Outside our room.

The hotel is filled with silk paintings for sale.

Other pictures from the hotel grounds...

Great greenhouse

 Rooftop

 WHAT are these?? We saw them at and around the market as well... always being sold with plants. 

(Do you think it's a type of plant??)

Karaoke tent at the hotel!

The produce is amazing in Dalat! Fruits, vegetables, flowers, and tea that I haven't yet seen in Saigon are prevalent among street stalls and the Dalat Market. I bought a good variety of dried and candied fruits (even some kind of gummy sweet potato) - it's pretty awesome.

This really couldn't have been a better weekend getaway.  :D  ...I'll post more from the trip over the next couple of days (trust... I took plenty of photos).  :P