Last time I went to Taipei, but this time I am taking you to Dalat, Vietnam - Thailand's neighboring country. I went there during 25-27 April 2019 (3 days and 1 night). On this trip, we traveled with Vietjet (Suvarnabhumi airport - Dalat). Currently, there is also a promotion available which is the 0 baht promotion. You can read more information here >>> www.vietjetair.com <<< Book as soon as you can if you haven't already, then come back and read my review :D

I went on this trip with my friend and our days in Dalat mainly focused on eating and visiting places as we go alone without any rush. This is because Dalat is very easy to explore - just rent a motorcycle and you are golden. The rent only costs 150,000 VND (200 baht) per day. Moreover, we decided to book with Vietjet, leaving Suvarnabhumi airport at 11.10 on flight VZ940. We arrived in Dalat airport at around 12.55.


Let's begin! I will go through each day of the trip and also provide information on how to travel to each destination in case you want to visit them too.

These are the places we went to on this trip:

- Lam Vien Square

- Garden Hydrangeas

- Domaine De Marie Church

- Da Lat Market

- Datanla Waterfall

- Linh Phuoc Pagoda

- Golden Valley

- Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe

- Reply1994 Dalat

- Tiệm Bánh Cối Xay Gió

- Dalat Railway Station

- Ecotourism destinations Hoa Son Dien Trang


The first day - 25/04/2019

I flew with Vietjet airline direct flight from Thailand to Dalat with my friend. It took around 1.30 hours from Suvarnabhumi airport to Dalat airtport.

Getting from Dalat airport into the city

The airport is around 31 kilometers from the city. I decided to take a taxi which took approx. 40 minutes to reach our hotel (200,000 VND). Actually, if I didn't bargain the price, the taxi would have charged us 400,000 VND which is the price according to the taxi meter. The reason why I didn't take the bus was because I was being held by the immigration for carrying a drone. Dalat does not allow any kind of drones, if you have one the airport will seize it and you can have it back on the day of your departure.


On our first day in Dalat, we didn't go anywhere just yet. We checked into the hotel, unpacked our suitcases and washed our faces before leaving.


DALAT SUNNY HOTEL

We stayed at the DALAT SUNNY HOTEL. You can search for it on Google Maps. This hotel is located in the heart of the city and close to the Dalat market and other tourist attractions in the city. We booked the room for about 630 baht (2 nights) for 2 people. There is a bathroom with toiletries, bottled water, free Wifi and towels. It was okay because of the cheap price and closeness to the market.

Location : DALAT SUNNY HOTEL

How to get there : By taxi from Dalat airport to the hotel 200,000 KND (200 baht)

After unpacking our bags and washing our faces, we went out for something to eat because we had not eaten anything yet. The restaurant we went to serves boiled rice, pho' and Chinese steamed rice noodle rolls which is the recommended dish. The noodle rolls here are very large unlike those in Can Tho where they are smaller. It was not bad at all. The total price was 45,000 KND.


Domaine De Marie Church (Pink Catholic Church)

Teenage couples like to come and take photos at this pink Catholic church. There are beautiful angles to take photos of and show them to friends or check in at this place on social media. If you visit this place and did not take any photos, it's like you have never been here. Actually, in Dalat there are many other churches to visit.

Location : Domaine De Marie Church

How to get there : Walking on foot (500M) from the hotel to Domaine De Marie Church

This Catholic church is entirely in pink.

There are many beautiful corners to take photos of but the weather wasn't good when I went there so these are the only photos I took:


Lam Vien Square

Lam Vien Square can be said to be the "heart" of the flower town of Dalat, and its' size is approximately 72,000 square meters. From the square, you can see Xuan Huoung lake. It is like the center of teenagers and tourists' gatherings in Dalat city. Teenagers come here to take photos and take walks. I recommend visiting in the morning, because there will be fewer people and you can take better photos because of this. But if you like the evening light then come in the evening, even though it will be more crowded due to traders and tourists.

Location : Lam Vien Square

How to get there : Take a Grab to Lam Vien Square (50,000 KND)

Front side of Lam Vien Square

It looks beautiful no matter in what direction you look; so I told my friend to be the pose for my photos XD


This photo is taken of a kid who was skateboarding around that area. It looks amazing!


This is a green dome with a cafe inside called DOHA CAFE. But I didn't go check it out.


After taking photos here for a while, we went to Dalat market. On the way back we walked pass a small garden with locals and tourists relaxing. It is like a center for people of all ages.

This garden is near Lam Vien Square, and has a very relaxing atmosphere in the evening.

This garden's pond has paddle boats for tourists to paddle on and admire the city.

Evening lights of Dalat.


Da Lat Night Market

Our next destination is Dalat market. It is only open from the evening to late at night. There are tourists and Dalats' locals who come to shop here. The market has food and various merchandise for sale. There is a place for drinking and social gatherings too. It's not that different from markets in Thailand haha. The clothes here are quite cheap - first hand clothes are only around 80 baht, and there are a lot of them.

Location : Da Lat Market

How to get there : 15 minute walk from Lam Vien Square

At around 5PM, the shops in Dalat market start to open.

There are also shops in the market that sell various kinds of winter flowers.

After exploring the market we had dinner at the same restaurant before going back to the hotel. The dinner cost 32,500 KND.


The Second Day - 26/04/2019

We were set on going to Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe by motorcycle. We rented a motorcycle from our hotel. Some accommodations have motorcycles for rent and but some don't. The rental fee is around 120,000 KND a day. Last night I asked a shop and they rented for around 150,000 KND which was more expensive so I didn't choose them. Before leaving, we had chicken rice for breakfast (25,000 KND per dish) but we didn't take any photos.. Sorry!


Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe

This is a landmark built next to Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe. If you come to Dalat and don't take photos here it is a very missed opportunity because it is very beautiful!

Location : Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe
How to get there : By motorcycle, approx. 18 minutes from the hotel.
Entrance fee : 20,000 KND/Person

This photo was taken of a tourists who went up to sit, which gives a photo with another kind of 'vibe'.

Now it's my turn! Haha.

This garden also has stairs for taking photos with like newly built piano steps.


Garden Hydrangeas

The next location is a Hydrangea garden. We went there by motorcycle (approx. 8 minutes) from Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe. They are not that far from each other because they are on the same route. There are so many hydrangeas in the garden no matter in what direction you look. Photos turn out amazing too! I recommend wearing clothes with colors that clash with the flowers or you will be blended in with the flowers.

Location : Garden Hydrangeas

How to get there : By motorcycle from Thung Lũng Đèn Cafe (approx. 8 minutes).

Entrance fee : 20,000 KND/Person

Don't miss this angle!


The garden has stairs for sitting on and take photos. Very beautiful view!

I took a photo of a mother and her child. So cute!


Linh Phuoc Pagoda

Next, we went to Linh Phuoc Pagoda, which is one of the beautiful shrines in Dalat. The surface is all built with beautiful mosaic ceramics. Actually, this pagoda is called the broken glass pagoda because it is all carefully built with 12,000 glass bottles. The main hall is built with mosaic ceramic and colorful pebbles. So it can be said to be one of the most beautiful pagodas in Dalat. A statue of Guan Yin is erected inside. It is very beautiful!

Location : Linh Phuoc Pagoda

How to get there : By motorcycle from Garden Hydrangeas (approx. 6 minutes).

The front entrance to go up Guan Yin's pagoda.



This Guan Yin statue is outside. The other one is inside the pagoda.


This statue inside the pagoda is very beautiful. On each floor of the pagoda also has its own Guan Yin statue.


Small Guan Yin statues.


Reply1994 Dalat

Dalat has many chic cafes with nice photo spots. They decorate their cafes very nicely. For example, this shop is located on the hill from where you can see the view of the city and the mountain on the other side. In winters, the view is amazing because you can see the fog. We sat here and ordered coffee (30,000 KND each). It was okay.

Location : Reply1994 Dalat

How to get there : By motorcycle from Linh Phuoc Pagoda (approx. 9 minutes).



The coffee counter


The coffee here is served in a glass like this unlike in Thailand - 30,000 KND.

This cafe is very chic - they grow flowers inside. I'm not sure what kind of flowers they were but they looked like chrysanthemums.


Datanla Waterfall

We wanted to go to Datanla Waterfall or Dalala waterfall, but we couldn't find it. So we asked an employee of a shop nearby who told us to take a rollercoaster there. It cost 150,000 KND. It was fun like in an amusement park hahahaha.

Location : Datanla Waterfall

How to get there : By motorcycle from Linh Phuoc Pagoda (approx. 9 minutes)

Entrance fee : Adults 150,000 KND/Person


We had to buy tickets here first before taking the roller coaster. The tickets look like this.

This is how we went to Dalala waterfall :)

There are shops below too.

Dalala waterfall



On the way back we also had to take the roller-coaster.


My friend is the one in front haha.

After visiting Dalala waterfall, we went back to the hotel. Before going back, we went out for something to eat because we hadn't had lunch yet and it was already 2PM. We ate at a restaurant that sold strange foods, what I meant by "strange" was that it was strange for me because I had never seen these kinds of foods before. The owner shop showed us how to eat them too. We tried them out first but later ordered more because they were really good. I don't know what it was called though. We paid 30,000 KND per person here.

How to eat : just like in the photos. It is like eating fish miang or Vietnamese meatball wraps (Nam Neung) hahaha.


Da Lat Market

After our meal, we went back to the hotel then left again to go to the Dalat market for the second time. We didn't know where to go at night so we decided that we had to come here.

Location : Da Lat Market

How to get there : By motorcycle from the hotel (approx. 7 minutes).

Dalat market roundabout

Remember this place because we will take a photo here before leaving Dalat. The reason why is that I see a lot of photos of this place on Instagram.

We had Dalat pizza at the market for 20,000 KND. They have vegetables, sausages, mayonnaise and sliced chili toppings.


I thought it was good and quite spicy.



After we had walked around in the market, we went back to the usual restaurant for dinner and went back to the hotel to prepare ourselves for the last day of the trip before leaving Dalat.

The third and last day - 27/04/2019


Golden Valley

In the morning of the last day we planned to go to the pink field but..... we had to rent a motorcycle for another day. The owner of our hotel was kind to let us rent for 100,000 KND for half a day. When we finished renting we found out that the pink field is only open for visit in July. But this garden is said to be one of the interesting attractions too. So we decided to visit this garden. Most of the trees here are large pine trees that are planted from the entrance way into the garden. The weather was very nice too.

Location : Golden Valley

How to get there : By motorcycle from the hotel (approx. 23 minutes)

Entrance fee : Adults 50,000 KND/Person





Ecotourism destinations Hoa Son Dien Trang

Next, we went to Ecotourism destinations Hoa Son Dien Trang which we found on Instagram. There is a bridge that looks like a hand so it looks awesome if you take a photo on it. I had to get a photo of it!

Location : Ecotourism destinations Hoa Son Dien Trang

How to get there : By motorcycle from Golden Valley (approx. 24 minutes)

Entrance fee : 30,000 KND/Person

Parking fee : 3,000 KND

We parked our motorcycle and walked for around 100 meters. The photo spot is located inside.


This is another photo spot that you cannot miss, but we didn't take a photo there because there was very long queue + it was a Saturday too.

I proudly present this new landmark. It is a great spot for photo-taking too!



We hadn't eaten breakfast, so we had some Dalat pizza (20,000 KND each)


Dalat Railway Station

Last but not least we went to Dalat Railway Station or Dalat Train Station. It was built by a French architect and was abandoned after the Vietnam war. So it became one of the most important historical tourist attractions in Dalat city. Teenagers and tourists like to come here for photos. If you come to Dalat you have to visit this place!

Location : Dalat Railway Station

How to get there : By motorcycle from Ecotourism destinations Hoa Son Dien Trang (approx. 23 minutes)

Entrance fee : 3,000 KND/Person

Parking fee : 3,000 KND


Steam train since the Vietnam war days.




Vietnam girls looking. I think they are cute hahahahahaha.



Tiệm Bánh Cối Xay Gió

The last place for today is a bakery called Tiệm Bánh Cối Xay Gió. The highlight of this shop is the yellow wall that tourists like to take photos with.

Location : Tiệm Bánh Cối Xay Gió

How to get there : By motorcycle from Dalat Railway Station (approx. 7 minutes).

The shop looks like this:

The last photo spot that we took of this the one near the market.

We had to go to the airport before 13.35 to check-in. We took the shuttle bus in front of NGOPHAT HOTEL which is a shuttle bus to the airport (40,000 KND/Person).

As usual we took Vietjetair flight VZ941 from Dalat airport (13.35) and safely arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport, Thailand at around 15.20.


You have to be very careful while raveling in Dalat by motorcycle, because there are no traffic lights or any signs. If they honk behind you that means that they want to overtake us and to be extra careful, or don't step on the brakes because they are following you. The important thing is to check the weather forecast before going out because if it might be an obstacle during your trip and waste your time. On our trip, the weather was cold - around 26-28 degrees in the afternoon and 14-17 at night. I haven't experienced this kind of weather for a very long time. This trip is focused on relaxing - we didn't wake up that early.

Expense during the whole trip

Thank you for reading the review. The expenses above does not include the plane tickets. I think the information in this review will be helpful to many people. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

___________________


Thank you and goodbye.



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 Saturday, June 29, 2019 7:41 PM

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