Vietnam - Da-Lat - 8/07
| Saigon | Nha Trang | White Sand Doc Let | Da Lat | Vung Tau | Back to Saigon |
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Sofitel Da Lat - The arrival
The Sofitel Da-Lat is located in the heart of Da-Lat surrounded by a superb park at the edge of the famous Ho Xuan Huong (Lake Xuan Huong). As soon as you walked in the lobby you are transported to a bygone era. The hotel has a charming French colonial style at it's best, and you definitely has the feeling of going back in time, back to it original grandeur of the 20'. Tall ceilings, beautiful moldings adorned the walls, doors, windows and ceiling. Giant artworks and sculptures (about 2000 of them), all reproductions of mostly French's masterpieces by Vietnamese artists.
Built in 1922 and recently restored, meticulously to its original grandeur.
the Hotel provides a level of comfort and hospitality increasingly rare in the modern world.
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Huge fire Place in the lobby. |
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The kids waiting in the lobby to check in... |
Everything is the room reflects the French influence. It feels like almost be in a Chateau in France but this one is just nicer. However, the kids are so scare of the place because it looks so different than a regular hotel. |
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Beautiful freshly cut flower. I was told that you can buy 30 fresh roses for 10,000 dong = 70 cents. Da Lat is known for their agriculture and nursery. They supply most of the vegetables to South Vietnam. |
Details are meticulously restored back the original time. Check out the phone and lamp. However, the hotel offer modern technology such as wireless internet access to their customer. I am sure it is fun to go back on time but we still need to have access to the modern world.
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Dinner time...
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Getting dressed up and waiting for our tour guide to pick us up for dinner.
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Brand new Louis Vuitton wrap from the market :-) Noticed that we are wearing a sweater because Da Lat is known for it's cooler temperature. No air Conditioning in our room. This is really special in Vietnam to find a 5 star hotel without air conditioning, instead they have heaters!
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Our Guide took us to a brand new four stars hotel for dinner (it's brand new and I did not write down the name!). Later on our guide told us this is the most expensive meal for the whole trip. The food was very good and we were placed in a private room. Everyone was looking at us thinking we must be important people. Anyway, they serve us a local wine and the truth is it was pretty awful and for me it is not drinkable! Anyway I did give it a try and one sip was enough.
Next...The next morning
