Arriving in Da Lat

The sleeper bus from Nha Trang to Da Lat was actually a success. Given the route was through twisting mountainous roads we didn’t expect much comfort although were pleasantly surprised. We didn’t sleep as it was mid afternoon but we were able to lay back and relax during the four hour journey.

Da Lat is a high altitude city up in the mountains, the largest of Vietnam's central highland regions and as expected was much cooler than other Asian places visited so far. We arrived late afternoon and went straight to check-in, although for the first time so far we were actually disappointed at the £6 room. The room wasn’t clean, had a damp smell and mould on the walls. Thinking it would be fine as we were only there for 3 nights we ignored the issues and left to explore Da Lat by foot. Whilst walking around we decided to change hotels so after explaining this to the manager, he understood although offered no solutions to move to another room which says it all really! A bit of mooching around the town and we found another guesthouse. Basic, but the room was a good size and clean.

With that off our minds, we walked the market and enjoyed some street-side BBQ skewers for dinner. Da Lat is really busy in and around the central area just beside the lake. Whilst walking around, Jess was asked for another photo to which of course she happily obliged. We weren’t quite so sure why this time as there were a few other blonde tourists around. With Da Lat being 1500m above sea level, there is a noticeable difference in temperature of 22°C during the afternoon, dropping to 15°C at night. Such a contrast to the hotter, humid climate we've been exposed to for the past six weeks and for the first time on our travels, we've opted to wear jumpers! Rooms here don't even have air con.Read more