After our incredible trip to the Mekong, we caught a flight to Da Lat which, of course, was delayed by about half an hour. You could liken Da Lat to an alpine town, it’s a very nice place to visit with its own microclimate- which, for us meant cold rain.

We stayed in Da Lat for about 4 days, though not completely by choice as there are only flights to Hue on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends, so we had to stay an extra day. An earlier departure using public transport was not an option as neither of us felt up to a 24 hour overnight bus.. Watch the video here.

Repelling and Canyoning

Ian and I are keen rock climbers so were attracted to Da Lat by the repelling, canyoning and prospect of climbing (turns out, there is none) that it’s known for.

Booked on to a half day’s canyoning for the following day, we went to bed exhausted form our journey from the Mekong.

After a hearty breakfast of banana pancakes and omelette, we set off for canyoning with our fellow travellers and the tour guide started off with some awkard ice breakers like “introduce who you are, where you’re from and whether or not you’re single and looking for love”. Ew.

He gave us our oversized wet suit tops and an enthusiastic crash course on abseiling in the pouring rain and lead us into the waterfalls.

The canyoning was good but Ian and I were used to heights and abseiling from climbing so we didn’t get the thrill the others experienced. The biggest thrill to me was how COLD the water was.

The tour included waterslides, waterfall jumps, canyoning and hiking from 8am-3pm which is the longest half day we’ve ever done.

Shamefully,  I did chicken out of the 11m cliff jump as there was a 2-3m outcrop of rock to clear before the vertical fall which I did not want to risk slipping onto in my Jesus sandals…

Downhill Toboggan ride at Damri Waterfalls

On the way to the repelling site, Ian eyed up the downhill toboggan course which, of course, we had to visit the following day.

This was WAY more fun and far scarier than it looked! The person in the back controls the breaks and the person in front kind of has to lie on the back person and put their fate in their partner’s hands.

We went down and Ian was pretty good with breaking on corners but by the end of it we were going down full pelt. Of course, we had to have a second go. And this time, Ian didn’t break once. I don’t know how many g’s I experiences going round the corners, but at one point one side of the toboggan lifted from the track!

Crazy House & 100 Roofs Bar

In Da Lat its self, there’s quite a lot to do from walking to pedalos on the lake to shopping.. Lots of shopping.

We went to a building called “Crazy House” and it definitely lives up to its name- it’s a health and safety nightmare! It has narrow exposed outdoor staircases with knee to hip high railings, sometimes diminishing to nothing. The buildings vary from looking like work from Dali or Picasso to the Shire from Lord of the Rings. The architect was a true artist and it’s well worth a visit.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos at 100 roofs bar but it blew Crazy House out of the water. Designed by the same architect but with an underground theme. You crawl through tunnels, climb dark stairs and ladders, slip through holes in the wall. It’s a maze and great fun. One of the best/ worst things about it is- it’s a bar! I can’t imagine dozens of drunkards running around in there. Ian loses me on a night out at the best of times.

Cable Car to Truc Lam Pagoda

One of the more relaxing things we did was take a cable car (through gale force winds) to the Truc Lam pagoda.

Delayed flight home

The delayed flight made a new record this time and was delayed by a staggering 5 hours! The airport offered free pot noodle which was revolting and had some mystery meat sausages which tasted more like wallpaper paste than meat. Onwards and upwards to Hue!