I returned from Bali, itching and peeling from my multiple sunburns sustained through my carelessness, and sat back for about 4 days until it was time for the next adventure: Da Lat.
The many faces of Anlee hiking down the mountain.
I had planned Da Lat with a group of 5 girls, which slowly dwindled down to 3 as the coronavirus crept through Vietnam and created fear of any sort of travel (never mind the fact that Ho Chi Minh had more cases than Da Lat!). Us brave (or stupid) 3 soldiered on regardless. We moved our lodging to Quynh Anh's cousin's homestay, which was quaint, lovely, and had somewhere between 3 and 10 dogs on site.
The adventure started out wonderfully, with Anlee and I booking flights 10 minutes apart on Friday night, and Quynh Anh arriving early Saturday morning. Our 10 minute gap soon stretched to over an hour as the notoriously unreliable VietJet Air failed even to inform us passengers of the delay, and we all stood in line...waiting...waiting...
Now arriving solo at the airport, I rushed to the first available taxi: my first critical mistake. Instead of booking a fixed price taxi from a reliable company (always go for Mai Linh!), I landed in the taxi of a local company which (unbeknownst to me) garnered a reputation for cheating its customers. I was soon able to verify this report when the driver attempted to charge me double what Anlee paid for her ride. Well-versed in the ways of Vietnam business, I gave him a little more than what Anlee paid and told him it was all the cash I had - oh well!
Anlee and I went to bed early to prepare ourselves for the hike we'd booked for the next day. While I am not in the greatest shape, I genuinely enjoy hiking and plan trips a few times a year at home. Anlee, however, although in far better shape than I, had never hiked before...ever (she's more of a coffee-shop-and-spa kind of vacationer). Poor Anlee was thrust into the middle of a half day hike - the first hour up an insanely steep trail, and the last 2 hours scrambling down a jungle path. Throw in Quynh Anh, who is currently training to hike to the Everest Base Camp, and we made quite a trio.
Needless to say, after this hike, Anlee was dead set to never, ever hike again, and I reluctantly agreed to relinquish all visions of hiking on our future trips (though am secretly planning to take her up to Mount Monadnock when she visits Boston!).
The many faces of Anlee hiking down the mountain.
After hiking, our outdoor adventure turned to the next stage: kayaking. This also proved a new experience for Anlee, and when our wide-open lake turned into winding creek, she and poor Quynh Anh invariably aimed straight when a 90 degree turn would have avoided some painful scrapes. Anlee took it all in excellent spirits, however, and by the end even she had demonstrated at least one successful turning attempt.
We made it all up to Anlee by plying her with barbecue and street food that night. Both are traditional in cold Da Lat; even I must admit wishing a warmer sweater that night (yes, I've gone soft). Our Da Lat street food consisted only of sweets, as we are 3 responsible grown-up women: avocado ice cream and hot soya milk. The soya milk was my favorite here: lightly sweetened and steaming in the chilly air, the milk was (dare I say) better than hot chocolate by a winter fire. I shall be replicating this tradition next winter.
Frog prince found during kayaking!
We made it all up to Anlee by plying her with barbecue and street food that night. Both are traditional in cold Da Lat; even I must admit wishing a warmer sweater that night (yes, I've gone soft). Our Da Lat street food consisted only of sweets, as we are 3 responsible grown-up women: avocado ice cream and hot soya milk. The soya milk was my favorite here: lightly sweetened and steaming in the chilly air, the milk was (dare I say) better than hot chocolate by a winter fire. I shall be replicating this tradition next winter.
homestay, hot soya milk, bbq: ideal Da Lat trip
The next day we promised Anlee to focus on the girly side of the trip: all 3 stops were for Instagram (though we'd never admit it). Our first was a tea plantation far outside the city; perched on a hill, the plantation suffered from biting winds sweeping up the valley, and we barely walked a kilometer before declaring it too cold to go on. We did, however, spot a picturesque swing, and instead stopped there to take Instagram pictures, our chill miraculously forgotten. We wandered further into a free tea tasting (Oolong was declared the favorite), found a not-free flower garden to wander through, and subsequently decided to defect to our next location: the flower garden.
After a quick lunch stop (we had rice cooked in bamboo!), we made our way to my choice: the Da Lat Flower Park, which turned out to be a rather disappointing, overly manicured garden. My Jane Austen fantasy of wildflowers leaning over crushed stone paths and tuberoses blooming above garden gates was not, alas, realized, and we quickly moved to our final stop: the inevitable coffee shop.
Tea plantation photo shoot
After a quick lunch stop (we had rice cooked in bamboo!), we made our way to my choice: the Da Lat Flower Park, which turned out to be a rather disappointing, overly manicured garden. My Jane Austen fantasy of wildflowers leaning over crushed stone paths and tuberoses blooming above garden gates was not, alas, realized, and we quickly moved to our final stop: the inevitable coffee shop.
Bamboo rice!
I've found all coffee shops in Vietnam to be the epitome of an Instagram statement: every one has a strong vibe, and the decor is on point - that's even more important than the coffee. This was no exception: every corner was ripe for Portrait Mode, and oh, did we make use of it.
We finally lazed our way to the airport, full of coffee and ego boosts after the photo session...and thus ended our weekend in Da Lat! Beautiful, chilly, and full of cozy times, it's the Vietnamese equivalent of a ski trip to the mountains. I'd love to come back - albeit next time with an extra sweater :-)
new neighbor
We finally lazed our way to the airport, full of coffee and ego boosts after the photo session...and thus ended our weekend in Da Lat! Beautiful, chilly, and full of cozy times, it's the Vietnamese equivalent of a ski trip to the mountains. I'd love to come back - albeit next time with an extra sweater :-)
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