Simon & Emily's Adventure: A Break from the Heat in the Midst of the Mountains

For us, Vietnam has basically amounted to a long stretch of beaches, but our one and final inland spot was in a beautiful town called Dalat. The name is derived from one of the largest local 'minority tribes' in the area, Lat. We learned about this group from our tour guides on a beautiful 1-day trek up to three peaks in the area. One of the peaks is the highest in the southern part of Vietnam, reaching an elevation 2,160 ft. We learned that most of the minority tribes in the area migrated from northern Vietnam (near the capital, Hanoi) after the 'American'/Vietnam War. These tribes were struggling to survive under harsh living conditions in the north and were offered a lot of land for farming, in addition to some 'start-up' money if they were willing to relocate their families south. This was the government's attempt to re-allocate its people to all parts of the country in order to repopulate areas damaged by war and to establish resistance and support where it was lost.

Each minority tribe brought with them specifc skills. Most were farmers, some experts in coffee and tea plantation, others for flowers and crops. We visited a variety of these farms on an additional tour, where we learned that Vietnam is the second highest exporter in coffee after Brazil and is also one of the front-runners in floral, tea, and silk exportation. We visited an incredible silk farm, where production begins with a natural coccoon made by silk worms that produce over 300 yards of silk string.

The town in general was nothing special, although it is a popular place for Vietnamese honeymooners. It is expeditions to the farms and surrounding land that people are drawn to Dalat to visit. We saw some beautiful sights during our visit, some exceptional pagodas and big Buddha statues as well, and were also able to enjoy a break from the unbearable heat along the shore in a place where the daytime heat never went above 20 degrees and dropped to close to 10 degrees in the evening!