Helloooo. I just came back from Da Lat not too long ago and I definitely feel so much calmer and refreshed. Must say it was definitely a good break and a good place to visit. heh for those of you who didn’t know, Da Lat is situated in Vietnam the central highlands area! We had a really early flight that morning and met a very nice Vietnamese guy who spoke to us alot during the entire flight. hahaha nevertheless few hours later we are in Ho Chi Minh city! Our domestic flight to Da lat was a few hours later so we checked in and took a bus to explore the city centre. Honestly the domestic terminal is a lil messy cos everything is in Vietnamese and you dont really know which counter to go to. And after you thought you were at the right counter they asked you to move to another counter -.- Then we walked back to the international terminal and bus #152 here we go!

5000 dong per trip one way

the a lil empty bus

Excited to go!

So after like.. 50 minutes or so we reached Ben Tanh Terminal. The weather in the morning was still pretty cooling but I wouldnt say the same thing one hour later. haha make our way to the market to find lunch. Honestly we just walked around and ate at the stall that has the most locals. I mean that always works right.. So we chanced upon this stall that looks decently crowded and decided to settle our lunch there.

the terminal which was not very sheltered

Hello Ben Tanh market

Settled on this stall (this photo was taken after our lunch. hahah there were really alot of locals before that)

Shrimp noodle

Jasmine really loves her chicken noodle soup

I swear they have the BEST strawberry smoothie here. The first sip I took and I went wow. Jasmine copied me and went wow too. hahahah. You really got to try their strawberry smoothie if you are here. It’s really really really awesome and it’s only 25,000 dong!

uh honestly, I don’t know how to direct you to this stall. hahah just.. walk.

A very happy us after lunch

So after a filling lunch we walked to Notre Dame Cathedral and Saigon Post Office. So proud of my navigation 😀 It’s not a really long walk so.. dont be lazy. hahah there were alot of tourists and trying to cross the very busy HCMC street is always a challenge but I’m so proud to say we have conquered crossing the streets of Vietnam. lol

the cathedral

Saigon post office

Waited a very very long time for the bus back to the airport. Remember to ask the driver before boarding if not you might be boarding the wrong direction! And few hours later, HELLO DALAT!

Our very expensive domestic flight. I still cant believe it’s more expensive than the hotel.

You can literally walked to the terminal. How cool is that!

The transfer counter located right next to the baggage collection. (Don’t worry the airport is very small. You cannot miss it). You can either choose to take the airport shuttle bus (40,000 dong) or a taxi (200,000 dong per cab). We chose the latter. Yeah dont worry about airport transfer for those who are coming to Da Lat. It’s really convenient.

There, our hotel in the distance.

Stayed at Ngoc Lan Hotel which was right smacked in the city centre. Awesome amenities and all, nothing to complain about. Got ourselves the premier deluxe room which overlooks the lake. Our fav part of the room gotta be the balcony. Cos we could simply stand there and test how cold the weather is right at the moment. hahaha

gotta love the humongous bed which can sleep 3 pax and not kick each other. heh

View from the room 🙂

and the awesome shower room which has everything. haha

and a full length mirror which you can take outfit shot. YAYY. haha

Went to the guest services to book our tour for the next day. SGD 77 for the whole day, visited a hell lot of places (which will come in a later entry. haha) and then explored the city for the rest of the night! We literally just explored all corners and got ourselves some local snacks to try along the way. First stop, a famous bakery well loved by the hotel staffs – Lien Hoa Bakery which just around the corner! Well we dont know what they are famous for but decided to buy anything we wanted to try.

The white one just tastes like mooncake, which I think it is probably mooncake. HAHAHAH

This is pretty not bad – 10,000 dong which is less than a dollar. haha

Looking really pleased. haha

And down the bakery you will spot a stall selling chicken. Honestly I dont know how they cooked them but it looks interesting so we gave it a try.

40,000 dong for the whole thing.

It’s kinda tough and not very appetizing. I will definitely choose our BBQ chicken wings anytime over this. hahaha

Walked to Cho Da Lat which is also known as Da Lat market where vendors are getting ready for their businesses. They are just rushing everywhere to get a good spot. It’s quite.. hmmm messy trying to steer clear of them. lol

This is so yummy. NOMS NOMS 🙂

10,000 dong

and then after this I’m just.. full. HAHAH so we just walked and walked and continue walking before we decided we should just go back to the hotel and decide where to go for dinner.

Came to this part of the market where 101 stalls are selling the same 101 things. LOL. I’m not joking man. Every stall is selling the same preserved fruit, sweets, nuts and whatsnot.

This is the scene in the evening.

I think we contemplated for the longest time whether to eat street side seafood. Like honestly, we just stood at the stairs and brood. But I am so glad we didnt cos I was looking through Da Lat on Instagram and this person said he’s never gonna try them again. LOLL. Besides, the touts were so scary. Some even pulled us to patronise their stall. But okay lah we were very firm. haha if being firm does not work, try another language. Pretend you don’t understand English and speak in Korean/Jap and whatever. A high chance is that the touts probably wouldnt understand them and would leave you alone. HAHA

Beautiful skyline 🙂

Spotted the fake Eiffel tower. hahaha

Spotted this on our way back to the hotel and I couldnt resist one.

5,000 dong

So yummy. It tastes like tutu kueh but I really like it. Sadly I didnt manage to find another chance to get it again 😦

Finally decided to head out to try this South Vietnamese cuisine based on my friend’s recommendation which was located on the other side of the lake. Though it looks really scary to be walking on the dark streets, we decided to be adventurous and walk. haha

Head out w my trusty winter sweater. The weather was.. no joke man. =x

Tada! Found it at last! It’s called Quan Ngon

Broken rice w grilled pork. The pork is yummmmyyyyy though it would be perfect if the rice is warmer. or hmmm is it supposed to be cold to start with? hahahha I have no idea.

Beef stew noodle which was SOO awesome. They gave really alot of noodles though. hahaha

So good. Cant remember the price but it should be 30,000 – 35,000 dong each.

Mission accomplished 😀

Came back to our room to find this on our bed. and yes they do it everyday. So thoughtful 🙂

Thats it for now. Come back for more 🙂