After a four hour drive from Nha Trang I am disappointed by my first sights of Dalat, I was expecting a mountainside town reminiscent of the green farmland of Malaysia’s Cameron highlands, instead all I see is plastic polly-tunnels and greenhouses overcrowding the land so barely a patch of green remains visible. The town itself is a huge concrete urban area with little to please the eye but a few swiss-mountain style buildings. Apparently many locals like to come here for their honeymoon, though it is beyond my comprehension why anyone would do such a thing. I see nothing romantic about the place what so ever, even the plastic swan paddle boats on the lake seem too tacky to be remotely charming.
Having heard of the legendary easyriders of Dalat; a group of motorbike drivers who run day (and longer) tours of the area, I decide to see if they can help occupy my afternoon in Dalat. I’m expecting some kind of leather-clad biker group but on entering their office/hangout I am greeted by a friendly, old guy. Greying and weathered he has the kindest face and is really helpful, even though I don’t have
enough time to do a tour he arranges a moto taxi to run me about to some attractions for a few hours. Most of Dalat’s tourist sights are Asian-orientated tacky and attractions, which I visit the least crappy of! I go first to a beautifully peaceful meditation centre set on a hillside surrounded by beautiful gardens, then to Datlana waterfall where some genius has created an odd rollercoaster luge ride which I don’t go on. We make two more stops in the town at an old railway station and the ‘crazy house’ a quirky funhouse you might find in Disneyland. Cheesy! I do not think Dalat is worth a visit unless you’re planning to do an easyrider tour to it, around it or away from it.
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