Vietnam Da Lat

Unabashedly kitch Da Lat tends to either charm or repulse. The town's penchant for Disneylandesque "attractions" leaves many scratching their head. For others however, the stunning rural scenery, cool climate and somewhat avant-garde student scene more than compensate for the undeniably appalling taste displayed across Da Lat, the capital of Vietnam's Lam Dong province.

The town was established in 1897 after explorers decided it would make a fine resort centre. At the time, the region formed a part of French Cochinchina and offered an ideal escape from the steaming delta plains which were home to Saigon. With an altitude of 1,500m, an average temperature of just 17 degrees and dawns often bathed in early-morning mist, it's easy to see the attractions the early explorers (which included bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin, whose name you'll see adorning street signs across Vietnam) saw in the place.

Following the establishment of Da Lat, the first hotels appeared in the early 20th century and within a relatively short span of time the colonialists endowed the city with a wealth of villas and boulevards -- many of which remain today. By the 1930's an estimated 20% of the population was French. By the middle of the 20th century there were boarding schools, seminaries and military colleges and throughout the Second World War, Da Lat was the capital of the Federation of Indochina.

The province of Lam Dong was once rich in wildlife and Da Lat was for a while the epicentre of Vietnam's hunting "scene". This popularity as a hunting destination nicely blended with the Vietnamese penchant for flaunting one's possessions -- for a long time some of the tattier taxidermied creatures littered the walls of many an establishment -- though thankfully they're all long gone.

Aside from turning the area into one great game park, locals took advantage of the region's particularly fertile soils and today Lam Dong province is one of Vietnam's top-performing agricultural provinces. Da Lat fresh produce -- especially its tomatoes and strawberries -- can be found as far afield as Phnom Penh and even Bangkok. There's also a burgeoning coffee and tea trade (though we think the Buon Ma Thuot blends are better) and a massive trade in cut flowers. A nascent wine-making industry is slowly developing -- while the best grape-growing ares can be found in nearby Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan, a French-Vietnamese facility with an annual capacity of some one million litres was opened in Da Lat in early 2007.

Outside Da Lat town you'll find individual villages specialising in the cultivation of this or that -- often giving you the opportunity to find out just how mushrooms or strawberries are grown and harvested. All this makes for particularly scenic sightseeing and the central market, with its wealth of berries, fruits and flowere in unlike any other in the region.

Today, with a population of 120,000 (1999), Da Lat is one of Vietnam's premiere destination for kitch-hardened domestic tourists. For honeymooners in particular, Da Lat is where the action is -- even if it involves nothing more than a series of tacky happy snaps by Xuan Huong lake.

For non-honeymooning foreign tourists, Da Lat offers an excellent opportunity to explore some of Vietnam's hinterland, sample its outstanding produce and vacation alongside Vietnamese holidaymakers. So savour the food, do a motorcycle trip with the Easy Riders and swap addresses with some locals on the banks of Xuan Huong Lake.

Orientation

There are two banks within two minutes walking distance of the market in central Da Lat. One is Sacombank at the top of the steps, 32 Khu Hoa Binh, Da Lat, T: (063) 549 045. Opening hours are Mon-Fri 07:30-11:30 & 13:30-17:00, also open on Saturday mornings. The other, down on the same level as the market, is Vietcombank - 6 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St, T: (063) 510 479, F: (063) 510 480. Both banks have international serviced ATM's, as do numerous hotels around town.

Da Lat's main post office is located under the model of the Eiffel Tower at 14 Tran Phu St , T: (063) 822 586) although the location will be moved to a new premises in early 2007 at 02 Le Dai Hanh St, T: (063) 819999. The office is open daily from 07:30-21:00.

In the event of a medical emergency, Da Lat is well served by Lam Dong Hospital at 4 Pham Ngoc Thach St, T: (063) 821 369. For criminal offences, report the matter immediately to the hotel owner, who can then help you to file a report at the nearest police station.