The view over Xuan Huong Lake is frosted with clouds of mist, as motorbikes draped with cauliflower head to the central market. You wake up to crisp, clean, highland air and the sound of birds chirping just outside your balcony.
Downstairs, in your villa hotel, breakfast is being served. A cup of steaming coffee, fresh from the hills, is slowly dripping from its tiny, individual filter to start your day.
Homemade strawberry jam, a local specialty, is on the table to accompany the crusty baguettes rivalling anything baked in Paris.
Dalat has many nicknames: The City of Love, Le Petit Paris, City of Eternal Spring. But for most people it is simply the most pleasant town in Vietnam.
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| Designed by Hang Viet Nga, this collection of buildings is called `Crazy House’ by the people of Dalat because of its outlandish design. The architect wanted free curves and structures — not straight lines. Photo by John Lander |
The French built Dalat as their premier hill station, a retreat from steamy Saigon, and 2,000 French-colonial villas are picturesquely scattered around the lake and nearby mountains.
The last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, was so enamoured of the place that he had no less than three villas built for him in Dalat. All three of Bao Dai's villas may be visited, though Binh III is the most accessible. Luckily, many of the town's villas have been preserved and still serve as summer residences, cafés and hotels.
The French influence in Dalat is still palpable though with a Vietnamese twist – from the French colonial architecture, to the smell of baking croissants. When the Dalat Palace was built in the 1920s, its purpose was as a retreat for the French and their guests to enjoy hunting and the cool mountainous climate.
Dalat has long attracted artists, poets and creative types who have established themselves in local art galleries, cafés and villa hotels.
One of the most accessible of these salons is the Stop and Go Café. While its name may conjure up visions of a gas station or a convenience store, it is anything but.
The café consists of the downstairs of Duy Viet's villa and surrounding orchid gardens.
Coffee, tea and cakes are served, but most visitors come just to chat with Viet in English, French or Vietnamese.
Local regulars come to play the guitar, poets compare notes while visitors from around the world come to relax or read Viet's latest poem while he tends his orchids. Others admire the hundreds of scrolls and paintings hung from the halls of his living room.
More than a café, the Stop and Go has hosted visitors from John Kennedy, Jr., to the French, British and Swedish ambassadors, but most patrons are local artists, Viet's friends and world travellers.
As Viet puts it, "in my house, everyone is a friend." Female guests are treated to flowers gently placed by Viet behind their ear. Everyone else receives a smile and artichoke tea on the house.
More of an outlandish sculpture than a villa, the Hang Nga House is the work-in-progress of architect Hang Viet Nga.
Called "Crazy House" by locals, the swirl of building/sculptures is part Gaudi with slices of Disney, Steiner and sprayed with hippie whimsy.
One of the original attractions of the area was its big-game hunting. In Dalat's heyday of the 1920s, tigers, gaurs and elephants wandered around freely; the elevated piles on which most villas are built were meant to help people avoid this wildlife.
Xuan Huong Lake is circled by footpaths, making for an easy hike or bike ride. Lakeside cafés built on stilts right over the lake are noted more for their views than their food.
However, these cafes are convenient stops for a rest and a drink if you wish to take the three-kilometre hike around the lake.
Set next to Xuan Huong Lake, the Dalat Flower Gardens are continually being refined. Dalat is known all over Vietnam for its variety of fresh flowers and the garden is its showcase with orchids, hydrangeas, fuchsias, ferns and other species tastefully arranged. There are also a few resident monkeys famous for throwing things at visitors.
Across the road from the Flower Gardens are nurseries with various types of bonsai trees, artfully laid out around the lake.
In the surrounding hills, numerous waterfalls, hill-tribe villages and hiking trails dot the area. The waterfalls, especially Pongour Falls, make great spots to trek around the rainforest or picnic with the butterflies.
As Dalat is hilly and spread out, motorbikes are the transportation of choice here rather than bicycles. An interesting way to tour the area by motorbike is to hire one of the Easy Riders – a local group of 70 tour guides with large motorbikes.
Almost all of them speak fluent English and French and do not operate through travel agencies.
One of the older members of the group, Mr. Hung, explained. "We are very selective on who we invite to become an Easy Rider. We base our choices on safe driving skills as well as fluency in foreign languages. Knowledge about the surrounding area is also a must. It's not easy to become an Easy Rider."
Easy Riders can be found in front of the Blue Water Café on the lake or at the Central Market. Don't worry about finding them. They'll find you.
