We've been planning it for a while, then postponed it, then almost postponed it again, and now that it came upon us a trip to Da Lat didn't seem like such a good idea. I'd just gotten over a cold. Jenny's mother gets violently car-sick. And why was I taking cousin, aka Dennis the Menace again? So it was with a disbelieving haze that I found myself on a bus with Jenny, her parents and a kid that pushes the chaos theory (if he can do something wrong, he will) for 7 hours until Da Lat. But I wasn't teaching English!
Our first night in Da Lat. It is an extremely intriguing place--founded and designed by the French from a totally uninhabited highland sanctuary, it was intended as a multi-resort town built around a world-class golf course and a lake that was recently drained to build bridges. The population is exploding here, though it's mostly exploding with teenagers--the sort who will ogle your female partner, mimic overheard English phrases, and otherwise could use a backhand to the face. This is a theme that sadly makes Da Lat intolerable. But it's not all bad... 
I was here for the birds, so I called a tour company asking for local bird guides. Turns out they had a tour in progress that I could sit in on. The guide, in typical Vietnamese fashion, let me join them for free and became my instant friend.
We did see many birds, some of them fabulous, but alas we were cut short by heavy rains.
Pushing on, we were able to gleam a few more species. Another note about the weather: It is chilly. Still, I'd been thinking of New York in fall with just a touch of nostalgia, so the temperature was welcome.
My two favorite things, my honey and birdwatching together at last, but not mixing. Here we are, birding on a steep mountain road between speeding motorcycles, trucks and buses--a frequent occupational hazard for bird watchers.
We missed some crucial birds, and it was hard not to tag along with the tour for another day. But I needed to spend some time with Jenny. There are loads of tours in Da Lat and it's all crap. The absolute best way is to rent a motorcycle for about $5 a day and see the sights at your leisure.
The next problem with sightseeing in Da Lat is that everything is over-the-top campy. Here we're on our way to a waterfall which you could either walk to or take a rollercoaster down. And the rollercoasters have manual brakes, which is not very encouraging.
We finally get there and are stuck by more pouring rain.
At a pagoda by the lake. It's nice as pagodas go but inundated with tourists--makes it look really fake.
The hotel has a nice breakfast, specializing in pastries. After a seven hour bus ride through a uniform suburban sprawl, Da Lat is very original. It has French architecture, those horribly planned French streets, and has a feel that's European on the outside but Vietnamese-filled on the inside. It's equally lovable and hateful, though for me it's the birds and natural habitat that are its greatest virtue. We missed a lot of tourist stops, but I'll be happy to come back and see nothing but Grey Crowned Crocias and Vietnamese Cutias.
