Da Lat, Vietnam
Arriving by plane into the mountainous region of Da Lat, southwest of Nha Trang, in Southern Vietnam, was a starkly notable climate shift from the other areas we had already visited during our time in Vietnam so far. Da Lat’s location in the mountains, at roughly 1500 meters (just under 5000 feet), gives it a temperate (read: lovely) climate and an interesting mix of tropical and pine forests, nearly side by side and even mixed together. The airport is built nearly 45 minutes from town, so the drive in afforded us a scenic vantage of the surrounding mountains and agricultural bounty that the region provides for the rest of Vietnam and SE Asian markets (it compares with the Salinas Valley near home in productivity). Approaching Da Lat just after the sun made its final appearance gave us the opportunity to witness the welcoming colorful lights of the city as we approached town and then passed by the central lake (a Alpen-like feature that Gabriel remembered fondly from visiting years ago) on our way to our hotel.
Unfortunately, when booked months ahead of time with only reviews and strategically shot pictures to go by, sometimes a hotel doesn’t meet the expectation that was set by its presentation. Sadly (especially after our lovely stay in Hoi An), this was the case with our chosen hotel for the two nights we had booked in town. Our originally booked “VIP Family Suite” turned out to be a noticeably dingy one-bedroom with a single king bed in the bedroom (which happened to be windowless) and a living room whose thin sliding glass door opened to the parking lot in front, where everyone seemed to go to smoke. Exhausted and just wishing to eat and then sleep, we asked for another option and took the first thing with multiple beds offered, an even dingier room on the second floor with views of the adjacent building under construction, less than ten feet away. We resigned ourselves to the mediocre accommodations for the night and then Gabriel made the wise choice to ask for something nicer in the morning; we were pleasantly rewarded with a much cleaner and more spacious room for our second night. Really the room didn’t matter much, as the main reason for our visit, and where we would spend the day, was focused on a unique adventure that Katharina had discovered.
When Gabriel was last in Da Lat, by himself in 2008, he had explored all over the city by foot and made a trek out to the mountains for self-guided hiking (and getting a bit lost…). He wanted to return to show the natural beauty and kitsch lakefront, replete with far-too-many photo ops and a small fleet of odd swan shaped paddle boats (odd because they also seemed to have reddish combs, like chickens). When he mentioned returning to Katharina she did some online exploring of her own and found that Da Lat is now quite well known for its guided rappelling/abseiling down large waterfalls in the canyon below the popular tourist attraction, Datanla Falls.
After breakfast we were picked up at the hotel by our guides for the day and shuttled, with seven other new friends for the day, several kilometers outside of town to what appeared to be a sort of natural mountain amusement part. As we pulled into the parking lot, navigating past many new, shiny white, luxury tour buses filling the parking lot and leaving little room for smaller vans, such as our own. Upon exiting the van I think we were all taken aback a bit by the spectacle of the park, crowded with visitors enjoying the two (1 km and 2.5km long) metal cart slides winding down the side of the mountain, the tram system, the zip lines, and taking pictures with the strange large animals and other characters made of sculpted concrete throughout the areas trails that meandered near waterfalls and koi ponds. Fortunately our experienced guides took us aside to the training area and we began the process of getting ready for an all day experience along the river canyon below.
We started off with a brief welcome and then gear prep, making sure that each of us had a fitted short wetsuit (it was potentially quite chilly in the water), an appropriately sized climbing harness, complete with a very becoming “butt” pouch and protector, life vest, helmet, gloves and two bottles of water. After setup our highly professional (reassuringly so) guides taught us all about our equipment and had us practice rappelling down a relatively short (maybe four meter?) concrete wall until they were sure everyone understood and could handle a controlled descent. The three of us took very quickly to the practice and we were all very excited for the real adventure to come. Our group was comprised of four other Americans (two from Denver, two Dallas), a nice Canadian guy and a friendly couple (him Lebanese, her Italian) that live in Paris. We all managed to hit it off right away and our group descended through the gauntlet of tourists meandering amongst the attractions; we walked further downstream and eventually reached a spot beyond the crowds, where the real fun awaited.
Holy crap, did we have a great time! Katharina definitely expressed some anxiety about the heights and inherent risks ahead of time, but it was short-lived as she gained quick confidence on our first steep descent of a 15 meter (~50 feet) waterfall. Following the first waterfall, with confidence increasing in tandem with adrenaline, we soared along a long zip line from upper to lower canyon and then repeatedly experienced the power of the water in a section dubbed “the water slide”, where we were able to submerge ourselves in the rapids, allowing the raging force to sweep us down a cascading angled cliff into the pool below. This was a favorite of Oliver’s, as he chose to repeat the thrill as many times as the guides allowed before pushing us on to hike further, where we enjoyed a delectable lunch spread of self-made bánh mì sandwiches and a luscious selection of freshly cut tropical fruits.
With our bellies full and bodies warm and dried from the sun-bathed lunch on the rocks, we were ready to continue the downstream adventure. Hiking along and, at times, floating down the river we came upon the obstacle that first caught Katharina’s attention when looking into things to do while visiting Da Lat, a massive, 25 meter (~80 feet) waterfall pouring down the nearly vertical cliff like a bride’s veil. The width of the falls (maybe 8-10 meters) allowed us to go down in pairs, rappelling side by side from near vertical to fully vertical as we descended into the pool below. Oliver and Gabriel paired up for this harrowing obstacle and it was impressive to see Oliver skillfully navigate the falls while carefully controlling his line as the pounding water buffeted him from above. Katharina clearly had conquered her fears by this point, as she made quick work of her descent, leaving her buddy in the “dust” on the way down.
The rest of the journey included a swift and wild descent of a waterfall dubbed, appropriately so, “the washing machine” (in reality more just lowering one’s self down a vertical shaft while being pounded by copious quantities of water) and several other thrilling moments. After a full day of adventure in the canyon we all hiked out along dirt trails and roads, through rural farms (including an interesting aqua farm under construction) and to our awaiting van for the return trip to town. Following showers and a bit of relaxing upon return to our hotel we spent the evening exploring Da Lat, tasting local street food, wandering the night market and fondly and enthusiastically recalling the highlights of the day. The next morning we had time to spare before flying off to Ho Chi Minh, so we spent several more hours soaking in the unique flavors and sights of Da Lat prior to hopping into a taxi for our ride to the airport and afternoon flight. Our abbreviated visit to town was short and sweet, leaving us hungering for more but excited for our final adventures in Ho Chi Minh in slightly sad anticipation of departing Vietnam for the next leg of our journey.
