We arrived at the mountain town of Da Lat after a long bus ride. Da Lat was used by French as a vacation town as its atmosphere and surrounding environment are the closest to the scenery of the mountains in France. Pine trees line the hills and surround the lakes that the town is based around. The fresh and cool air is definitely a nice change from the steaming lower lands. Much of the original european style architecture was preserved as American and French forces had a tacit agreement not to bomb the town. This adds the the European atmosphere of the town.
We took a bicycle through the mountainous roads for about 16 km to a waterfall area. After some tiring hills, missed turns, and gesticulating with locals we found the way to the waterfall area. We hiked through the hills, enjoying the air and looking at the farms built into the hill side. Finished with our wandering we went the the waterfalls themselves which has been transformed into a tacky park for locals. The story of the Tiger falls is that a great hunter was able to mortally wound a ferocious tiger that lived in the cave by the falls, but with a great roar the tiger disappeared, leaving only the cave. The park area had many large tiger statues, mushroom shaped benches, and even a statue of tiger missing a leg to represent the wounded tiger. The falls themselves were very impressive and we spent awhile just gazing up at them. A hike, a blazing fast downhill bike ride, and a 2km trudge with a popped tire later we were back in the mountain town.
More pitcher plants!
Hiking through the hillsides of Da Lat
Wrenching the tiger's mouth open
At Tiger Falls
The next morning we took a bus ride out to Nha Trang, Vietnam's biggest beach town for a 4 hour layover before our sleeper bus ride to Hoi An. The stopover at Nha Trang was jsut what we needed as we strolled along the water side and sipped fruit shakes at a beach table. Refreshed and relaxed we boarded our night bus to be whisked away north to Hoi An. The sleeper bus itself wasn't bad, and while trying to fall asleep I imagined the bus to be a space ship, and the passing lights to be stars as we hurtled to our destination.
Rest stop at Nha Trang
More pitcher plants!
Hiking through the hillsides of Da Lat
Wrenching the tiger's mouth open
At Tiger Falls
Rest stop at Nha Trang
Isn't Da Lat pretty? You're right, the weather up there is such a nice break from the humid land down below. I spent a few days there last year and it was the best part of Vietnam to me. The bus ride up there sure was scary because we were going super fast up the mountain and coming extremely close to trucks going down in the opposite direction.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, glad you're having fun :)
haha I like the picture in the tiger's mouth
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