Nicknamed the "City of Eternal Spring", it is often said that Da Lat has all four seasons in one day: spring in the morning, summer at noon, autumn in the afternoon and winter at night. Sitting at nearly 5,000 feet above sea level, Da Lat has an altitude very similar to that of Denver, CO.
We had a bit of trouble at check-in. The staff told us that they had never had foreign guests before, and that they usually only accepted local QR code payments linked to Vietnamese bank accounts. We had to ask our driver Alex to take us into town to find an ATM so that we could pay in cash.
With all of that settled, Dominik and I set off to see the sights.
Da Lat is one of Vietnam's youngest major cities, yet it has one of the country's most distinctive histories. Unlike ancient cities such as Hanoi or Hue, Da Lat did not grow organically from a traditional Vietnamese settlement. Instead, it was deliberately planned by the French Government in the early 20th century as a mountain resort; a place where colonial officers and their families could escape the tropical heat of the lowlands (not entirely dissimilar to the famous Ba Na Hills).
It was low season, and the streets were quiet. We decided to buy a ticket for the famous Da Lat cable car and were happy to find it ready to board without much of a queue. The air was cool, breezy, and dry, and I almost wished that I had brought a light jacket; I hadn't really expected to ever be cold in Vietnam!
Soon, we were soaring high above the pine tree-clad plateau with the city far below us. Fifteen minutes and 2.3km later, we arrived at the Truc Lam Monastery Station atop Robin Hill.
Though it looks very traditional, Truc Lam Monastery only dates back to the mid-1990s. However, it has become one of the most spiritually important Buddhist monasteries in southern Vietnam.
The monastery belongs to the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử school of Zen Buddhism, the only major Zen tradition that originated in Vietnam rather than China or Japan.
The Buddhist sect was founded in 1299 by Emperor Trần Nhân Tông. After successfully leading Vietnam in defeating Mongol invasions, he abdicated the throne and ordained as a monk, establishing a uniquely Vietnamese form of Zen. Rather than emphasizing withdrawal from society, Truc Lam Buddhism teaches that enlightenment can be pursued while fulfilling one's responsibilities to family, work, and community.
The monastery has a beautiful garden full of alpine flowers, pine trees, and beautifully manicured paths. Dominik and I spent a while wandering through the tranquil gardens before both coming to the realization at almost the exact same time that breakfast had been a very long time ago, and we were both getting hungry.
Back in town, we were dropped off in a cab in front of Bánh Tráng Nướng Dì Đinh, a restaurant serving Banh Trang Nuong, or "Da Lat Pizza". We were the only tourists there - the rest were locals, which meant the food had to be good!
Da Lat Pizza is one of the city's signature street foods. A thin sheet of rice paper is grilled over charcoal until crisp, then topped with scallions, shredded beef jerky, a number of delicate, tiny quail eggs, and cheese. Dominik and I took a tiny plastic stool across from one another, and our meals arrived shortly. We were each given a pair of scissors with which to cut our "pizzas" into eighths.
We both agreed that it was in our top three favorite meals that we had in Vietnam.
Fueled up, we weren't ready to head back to our hotel just yet. We still had some time left in the day, so we called a cab and made our way to Bao Dai's Summer Palace, better known as Palace III. We arrived about an hour before they closed for the day.
Nestled amongst fragrant pine forests on a hill overlooking the city, the hill station getaway of Vietnam's last emperor was completed in 1938 as a summer residence and working retreat.
Unlike the ornate imperial palaces of Hue, this residence embraced the modern Art Deco style of architecture, which was in vogue at the time, and reflects the changing world of the early twentieth century. Here, Emperor Bao Dai escaped the oppressive heat of the lowlands, received foreign dignitaries, entertained guests, and spent time hunting in the surrounding highlands, a pastime for which he became well known.
Walking through the palace offers a glimpse into the emperor's private life. Rather than the grandeur one might expect from an imperial palace, the home feels modern and very much "lived in".
Half of the stuff looks like something that my grandparents might have had in their house! It's a shockingly normal vacation home for someone who was the nominal emperor of an entire country.
Bao Dai was the final Emperor of Vietnam and the last ruler of the Nguyễn Dynasty. Ascending to the throne in 1926 at the age of twelve, he inherited an empire that existed largely only on paper. Real power rested with the French colonial administration, and although Bao Dai occasionally attempted reforms, his reign was defined by the growing struggle between colonialism, nationalism, and revolution.
In 1945, following Japan's surrender at the end of the Second World War, he abdicated in favor of Ho Chi Minh's new government, bringing more than a thousand years of Vietnamese monarchy to an end. He would later briefly serve as Chief of State of the French-backed State of Vietnam before being ousted once again by Ngô Đình Diệm and the South Vietnamese government in 1955, spending the remainder of his life in exile in France.
The palace serves as a reminder that Vietnam's last emperor lived not in an ancient citadel, but in a twentieth-century residence, and that history is never quite as long ago as it feels.
As we left the palace, we realized that we had just enough time left in the day to see another one of Da Lat's most famous sights: the "Crazy House".
Officially known as Hằng Nga Guesthouse (you can actually stay at the hotel if you book early enough in advance, although reservations fill up quickly), the Crazy House is the lifelong creation of architect Đặng Việt Nga. She is the daughter of Trường Chinh, one of the most influential political leaders in twentieth-century Vietnam. A leading revolutionary, he served as General Secretary of the Communist Party and later as President of Vietnam.
Visiting the Crazy House is a really strange experience.
It started raining as we finished walking through the hotel's grounds, but that was fine, as it was nearly time for the Crazy House to close to non-guests anyway.
We called a cab from the Crazy House back towards downtown. There, we visited a minimart where we bought bottles of water, energy drinks, and canned coffee for the next day's drive.
Da Lat is one of Vietnam's youngest major cities, yet it has one of the country's most distinctive histories. Unlike ancient cities such as Hanoi or Hue, Da Lat did not grow organically from a traditional Vietnamese settlement. Instead, it was deliberately planned by the French Government in the early 20th century as a mountain resort; a place where colonial officers and their families could escape the tropical heat of the lowlands (not entirely dissimilar to the famous Ba Na Hills).
It was low season, and the streets were quiet. We decided to buy a ticket for the famous Da Lat cable car and were happy to find it ready to board without much of a queue. The air was cool, breezy, and dry, and I almost wished that I had brought a light jacket; I hadn't really expected to ever be cold in Vietnam!
Soon, we were soaring high above the pine tree-clad plateau with the city far below us. Fifteen minutes and 2.3km later, we arrived at the Truc Lam Monastery Station atop Robin Hill.
Though it looks very traditional, Truc Lam Monastery only dates back to the mid-1990s. However, it has become one of the most spiritually important Buddhist monasteries in southern Vietnam.
The monastery belongs to the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử school of Zen Buddhism, the only major Zen tradition that originated in Vietnam rather than China or Japan.
The Buddhist sect was founded in 1299 by Emperor Trần Nhân Tông. After successfully leading Vietnam in defeating Mongol invasions, he abdicated the throne and ordained as a monk, establishing a uniquely Vietnamese form of Zen. Rather than emphasizing withdrawal from society, Truc Lam Buddhism teaches that enlightenment can be pursued while fulfilling one's responsibilities to family, work, and community.
The monastery has a beautiful garden full of alpine flowers, pine trees, and beautifully manicured paths. Dominik and I spent a while wandering through the tranquil gardens before both coming to the realization at almost the exact same time that breakfast had been a very long time ago, and we were both getting hungry.
Back in town, we were dropped off in a cab in front of Bánh Tráng Nướng Dì Đinh, a restaurant serving Banh Trang Nuong, or "Da Lat Pizza". We were the only tourists there - the rest were locals, which meant the food had to be good!
Da Lat Pizza is one of the city's signature street foods. A thin sheet of rice paper is grilled over charcoal until crisp, then topped with scallions, shredded beef jerky, a number of delicate, tiny quail eggs, and cheese. Dominik and I took a tiny plastic stool across from one another, and our meals arrived shortly. We were each given a pair of scissors with which to cut our "pizzas" into eighths.
We both agreed that it was in our top three favorite meals that we had in Vietnam.
Fueled up, we weren't ready to head back to our hotel just yet. We still had some time left in the day, so we called a cab and made our way to Bao Dai's Summer Palace, better known as Palace III. We arrived about an hour before they closed for the day.
Nestled amongst fragrant pine forests on a hill overlooking the city, the hill station getaway of Vietnam's last emperor was completed in 1938 as a summer residence and working retreat.
Unlike the ornate imperial palaces of Hue, this residence embraced the modern Art Deco style of architecture, which was in vogue at the time, and reflects the changing world of the early twentieth century. Here, Emperor Bao Dai escaped the oppressive heat of the lowlands, received foreign dignitaries, entertained guests, and spent time hunting in the surrounding highlands, a pastime for which he became well known.
Walking through the palace offers a glimpse into the emperor's private life. Rather than the grandeur one might expect from an imperial palace, the home feels modern and very much "lived in".
Half of the stuff looks like something that my grandparents might have had in their house! It's a shockingly normal vacation home for someone who was the nominal emperor of an entire country.
Bao Dai was the final Emperor of Vietnam and the last ruler of the Nguyễn Dynasty. Ascending to the throne in 1926 at the age of twelve, he inherited an empire that existed largely only on paper. Real power rested with the French colonial administration, and although Bao Dai occasionally attempted reforms, his reign was defined by the growing struggle between colonialism, nationalism, and revolution.
In 1945, following Japan's surrender at the end of the Second World War, he abdicated in favor of Ho Chi Minh's new government, bringing more than a thousand years of Vietnamese monarchy to an end. He would later briefly serve as Chief of State of the French-backed State of Vietnam before being ousted once again by Ngô Đình Diệm and the South Vietnamese government in 1955, spending the remainder of his life in exile in France.
The palace serves as a reminder that Vietnam's last emperor lived not in an ancient citadel, but in a twentieth-century residence, and that history is never quite as long ago as it feels.
As we left the palace, we realized that we had just enough time left in the day to see another one of Da Lat's most famous sights: the "Crazy House".
Officially known as Hằng Nga Guesthouse (you can actually stay at the hotel if you book early enough in advance, although reservations fill up quickly), the Crazy House is the lifelong creation of architect Đặng Việt Nga. She is the daughter of Trường Chinh, one of the most influential political leaders in twentieth-century Vietnam. A leading revolutionary, he served as General Secretary of the Communist Party and later as President of Vietnam.
Despite her family's prominence, Ms. Nga chose to pursue architecture rather than politics. After studying art and architecture in Moscow, Nga returned to Vietnam and set out to create a building that defied conventional architectural rules.
Construction on the Crazy House began in 1990. Rather than designing a conventional building with straight walls and right angles, Nga wanted to create something that looked as though it had grown naturally from the forest itself. Drawing inspiration from caves, ancient trees, and other organic structures, she designed fascinatingly unique building that really suits the name "Crazy House".
There are hardly any straight lines anywhere. Concrete tree trunks rise from the ground, twisting branches support elevated walkways, and narrow staircases made to resemble tree roots wind their way through giant trunks and rocky outcrops. Every turn seems to reveal another hidden passage or viewing platform.
Walking through the Crazy House feels more like exploring an elaborate fantasy world than touring a hotel. It's easy to get lost among the winding paths and interconnected buildings, but that's part of the experience. Every corner offers something unexpected, making it one of Da Lat's most memorable attractions and a fitting way to end our first day in the city.
We called a cab from the Crazy House back towards downtown. There, we visited a minimart where we bought bottles of water, energy drinks, and canned coffee for the next day's drive.
Before heading to the hotel, we stopped in at a local shop for a dinner of banh thit nuang, or grilled pork noodles. This southern Vietnamese dish is made with lemongrass-marinated grilled pork served over rice vermicelli noodles with fresh herbs, pickled vegetables, and a tangy fish sauce dressing.
The first day of our adventure was a success! We had worried that the long days on the road would prevent us from seeing as many sights as we wanted and that we would spend too much time in the car, but waking up and leaving early would give us plenty of time in each city to see the top sights.
Our hotel room didn't have air conditioning, but we didn't even need it. It got so chilly at night that we slept perfectly fine without it. The weather wouldn't be quite as good during the rest of our trip, but we really appreciated it while we had it!
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