The Goldstones - Ross and Mel: Da Lat

After a long first day in Da Lat, we decided that a bit of a sleep in was in order. We woke up (not too late), got dressed into our warmest clothes and then headed out to find some breakfast. We decided to try and find a restaurant that comes highly recommended on TripAdvisor and in The Lonely Planet - V Cafe. After a bit of a walk, and a few wrong turns, we found the place. We both had eggs, bacon, mushrooms and shared a fruit platter - it was great. In a city that's definitely not known for it's Western food, it did alright. We then booked our bus tickets back to Ho Chi Minh at the travel agency across the road and score, they were cheaper than the tickets we booked on the way to Da Lat!

Yummy eggs and bacon

A delicious fruit platter

Next, we thought we would go and find the old railway station. Our guides from the day before had told us to go and visit it, so we thought we would take their advice. After consulting Google Maps, we saw that it wasn't too far away. And since the weather is so nice and cool up in Da Lat, we walked the few kilometres. There wasn't too much to see unfortunately, just two old trains and the building which was pretty but nothing too spectacular.

The railway station

We then walked back down the hill and started to make our way to our next stop - the cable car. We kept saying that we would find a taxi, but we actually really enjoyed the walk so we never stopped to get one. We walked back down to the central lake, and then walked through a beautiful garden up to the main road. We then continued on until we eventually reached the cable car. It started to rain quite hard just as we arrived, so we thought that our walk there was in vain (as the mist had rolled in with the rain and there wasn't too much of a view). Luckily, the rain stopped fairly quickly and it cleared up enough for us to see a bit of a view, so we decided to go ahead and go on the cable car. We certainly weren't disappointed. We went high above the forest and got to see a different side of Da Lat. We haven't seen that many trees in Vietnam, so we definitely think that that's where the whole of Vietnam's oxygen is made! The trip took us over, and then through, the pine forests that surround the city and to a building at the other side. We quickly discovered that there isn't really anything to see or do on the other side, so we caught the cable car back to where we started.

Da Lat is full of beautiful gardens so we decided to take a short cut through this one.

The misty view that greeted us when we arrived at the cable car. We almost didn't go on but luckily
the weather cleared a bit and the rain stopped for a little while.

In the pine trees

Da Lat

After that, we decided that it was definitely lunch time! We walked back towards our hotel, saw a cute-looking cafe and decided to try it. We couldn't decipher a single thing on the menu, so we just ordered some coffee. It was the strongest coffee we have ever had! It was so strong that it was thick and syrupy and Mel even had to put sugar in (which is something that she never does)! We knew that our hotel had an English menu, so we headed back to get some lunch. Ross ordered a pork chop and rice, while Mel ordered macaroni and pork. Ross's lunch was a winner, it was delicious! Mel's however, came as a soup! Boiled pork and slimy pasta in a weak broth... not so great. You win some and you lose some when ordering local cuisine (not all of the translations are accurate).

After a bit of a rest, we decided to venture out to find some dinner. This was rather a mission as Mel decided to be very fussy after the lunch time fiasco. This left us wondering around in the rain looking for a restaurant until Ross made an executive decision and we ordered some beefsteak and french fries at the next restaurant we saw. When we got back to the hotel, we ordered some homemade ice-cream which definitely helped to end the day off on a high. Despite the food drama, it was rather a successful day and we ended up walking 16 kms in total!!

After a good nights rest, we were picked up by the bus company and taken to the bus stop. From there, we boarded our sleeper bus for the long journey back to Ho Chi Minh. We were a bit more prepared this time and took socks and jerseys with us on the bus so that we didn't freeze this time. We started off by looking at the scenery however, after a few close calls and seeing how narrow the roads are we decided that it's much safer to try and sleep rather than watch the road. Eight hours later we were back home. We had a great time and Da Lat and we'll definitely try to make it back to see the sights that we missed!