Dalat

After a while on the beach it was time to escape the heat and head for the hills. The journey from Mui Ne was extremely slow going as the road was appalling. We arrived in Dalat and immediately the change in temperature was apparent. Although the sun was out there was a distinct but welcome chill to the air. We checked in at a hotel near to where we were dropped off and explored the town.

We wanted to see the lake which is the centre piece of the settlement. It had however been drained and was now a big mud bath; not very attractive. To enhance the whole ambiance the weather decided to take a turn for the worse and we spent the next hour or so sheltering from the lashing rain under a pagoda with several locals.

Dalat isn't exactly brimming with high adrenaline activities so once we had booked our ticket out of there we gave ourselves a day to explore the area. Our first high octane outing was a ride on the Dalat Plateau Rail Road.

The train rattled and clacked its way through the surrounding terraced countryside and we soon arrived in Trai Mat. The only real thing of note here was the elaborate Buddhist temple of Chua Linh Phuoc. I seemed to be more of an attraction and was asked to pose for several Vietnamese tourists much to Kate's amusement.

Once back in town we made our way to the Hong Nga Crazy House; an eccentric mix of concrete and organically designed buildings.

That was all for Dalat really. They did possess a radio mast that looked like the Eiffel tower though...

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