On our way to Hanoi we couldn’t miss one of the most remarkable places in Vietnam - Dalat. As Lonely Planet said, Dalat is an alternative Vietnam: the weather is spring-like instead of tropical hot. The town is dotted with elegant French-colonial villas rather than stark socialist architecture, and the surrounding farms cultivate strawberries, coffee and flowers in place of rice.
Dalat itself and surrounding areas might keep you busy for several days so take your time and enjoy this always flowering "City of thousands of pine trees".
We started our exploration with Dalat Flower Garden. Founded in 1966, it features more than 300 different kinds of flowers. Winter and Spring are The best time to visit Da Lat Flower Gardens as everything is blooming.
Our next stop was Linh Phouc Temple. This large and modern pagoda known for its intricate mosaics made from broken glass and pottery shards. Construction of the temple was started in 1949 and completed in 1952. The temple grounds have a 49 meters long dragon, which is made of 12,000 beer bottles. In front of the temple there is a 37 m high seven-storeyed tower, which is considered the highest temple bell tower in Vietnam. Impressive variation of mosaics and colours creates great opportunities for selfies.
Time for some fun. Prenn Park is an amusement park constructed around the 20 meters high waterfall. It is located 10km away from Dalat, in a beautiful scenery of hills and mountains. Actually the road to the park was even more remarkable than park itself. If you are travelling with family then it could be a good place to spend an afternoon there. Kids will enjoy feeding fish, observing animals and statues (be aware that even communists have some nude statues) while adults can go for a fun ride on the rollercoaster (a bit overpriced but fun). Recommended to visit from Monday to Friday, as a lot of local tourists coming here during weekends.
Truc Lam Dalat Zen Monastery was our ultimate destination of the day. This well maintained and peaceful complex was established with the aim of restoring Zen traditions by harmoniously combining different Zen schools with Vietnamese culture and tradition into Vietnamese Zen. This pagoda was built in 1993 - 1994 and was designed with the oriental architecture style. With the beautiful landscapes, the pagoda is not only a place for meditation but also an ideal place for visiting. Monks we quite eager to chat with us while working on the gate and they even asked us to take couple of pictures together.
It’s time to move to the seaside again. Nha Trang was our next destination. We should admit that it was hands down one of the most scenic rides during our Vietnamese trip; instead of planed 4 hours we spent whole day on the road. Even in cold and foggy weather we enjoyed a variety of landscapes, waterfalls and rock formations and it seems that it’s a popular route for local badass bikers as well, just like us.
We found Nha Trang quite vibrant and lively. Walking along large, kilometres-long seaside promenade was great alternative to swimming, as it was windy and stormy. With beautiful sandy beaches, thousands of hotels and restaurants it attracts local and international travellers.
One of the most notable historical attraction of Nha Trang is Thap Ba Ponagar. This temple complex was built between 8th and 11th centuries by the Cham people who once ruled the central plain of Vietnam. The towers of Po Nagar Cham are square red brick structure with protruding support frames and tapering roofs. The tallest building, at 25 metres, the Po Nagar Kalan, is the most impressive. Ponagar temple is one of the main tourist attractions in the city and it’s only 2 km from the center so it’s definitely worth of visit.

Central Vietnam met un with rainy weather and till Hoi An we managed to see just thousands of ponchos on the road. Hoi An treated us much better but about that in the next video!