Why YOU need to visit Dalat, Vietnam: stunning pagoda, beautiful train ride, amazing food and more!

Hi, we're Jordana and Grant from Shot in the Dark Travel. Come join us on our epic adventures around Southeast Asia. In this video we are in the beautiful and vibrant Dalat in South Vietnam. Watch us discover an amazing way to visit one of the most jaw-dropping pagodas we have ever seen. We visit the craziest of houses and eat lots of tasty food. Good morning guys. We're here in Dalat. So we're super excited to be here. We took about a three-hour car journey from Nha Trang and it was super, super scenic. We like practically drove up into like the misty clouds and we saw lots of mountains. It was really green. It was absolutely beautiful. And then we were pretty tired so we didn't really do any filming last night. But one thing we did want to show you guys, the place that we went out for tea, which is called the Blue Parrot I think. Was it the Blue Parrot? Yeah, yeah it was really nice. And it's a Mexican place. It does some really, really good nice Mexican food. We ate so much we couldn't even finish it all. And it was super cool theming and it had actually two parrots and they were super cute, really playful. But we would definitely recommend to go there. It was super nice. Today we're going out for lunch and we're going to have some traditional Dalat food and then we're going to go out and explore the town and see what there is to see and do. So we are at Nem Nuong Dung... So we're at Nem Nuong Dung Lok, which is a little restaurant just near our hotel. And it's super cheap and it's got really good reviews. So we're really looking forward to it. The food we're having is Nem Nuong, which is like, as you can see here, we've got some grilled sausage. We've got some other bits that I don't know what that is. And then we've got some veg and some salad. And you basically put it in a wrap with some chili sauce and some peanut sauce. So this is supposed to be a Dalat speciality. So we're really excited to try it. And also it is super cheap. You can tell we're in like a local restaurant, not a touristy one. But it is super cheap. It's 50 baht. It's 50,000 dong for all the food that me and Jordan are sharing for lunch. And then they do Bia's starting at 15,000 dong, which is the cheapest Bia's I've ever seen. And I'm just gonna pile it all in and dip it in the sauce. And voila! She stole the pros to it. I didn't put any chili sauce in it this time, but in my next one, I'm going to put chili sauce in. That is so good. I'm not sure what this is, but it's super crunchy. It's really nice. This is so good. We're at the Dalat train station and we are getting the train to the Linh Phuoc Pagoda. And the train station looks really cool. The train looks really nice as well. I'm really looking forward to it. It's like, it's not a proper train that's used for like commuters or business or locals. It is just a tourist train. So it's one of those like old-fashionedies, like 1930s type trains, like the Orient Express. It's not quite as fancy as that, but it looks really nice. It is, for a return ticket, it ranges from about 100,000 dong for the cheapest seats up to 150,000 dong per person for the VIP. We've gone for the VIP one seats and they look like they're in cute little carriages. Supposed to be really nice scenery on the way up. And the pagoda is supposed to be really nice as well. So it should be a nice little trip. One thing to bear in mind is that there are only four trains a day. We assumed they were going to be quite regular and we actually got quite lucky that just after we get in here, there's a train setting off. So we'll flash the times up on screen and just make sure you come at the right time. Don't just come and hope for the best. There's loads of cute little cafes here inside the train station. So we've just got off the train and it's such a nice little scenic route to take to go to the pagoda. I would definitely recommend it. It's quite cheap. It's not very long and it's just really cute. Just seeing everybody on the train, the little families and everything really enjoying themselves. Lovely like farmland that we all drove past as well. I think it's quite like a farming town here. There's lots of like different farms. I know me and Grant have had Dalat wine in other areas of Vietnam. So obviously it must be here. And then there's like strawberry farms and things like that. You can just see them all while you're driving past on the train. So it was really, really nice. So definitely would recommend. We'll have a look around the pagoda now. In our opinion, visiting Lin Phuoc Pagoda is definitely a must-do when in Dalat and the train ride was a lovely way to get here. Lin Phuoc Pagoda is a huge Buddhist temple just outside of Dalat. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was with its intricate mosaic artwork, vibrant colours and towering statues of Buddha. We've been travelling around Southeast Asia for quite a while now. So we've seen a lot of temples and pagodas. But Jordana said this was her favourite ever pagoda, which says a lot. We have just arrived at Crazy House. To be honest, we don't really know what this is. We've just come here because we've heard that loads of tourists come and it's supposed to be fun to look around. So I'm gonna have an explore and show you guys what it is. Entry was pretty cheap. It was 130,000 dong for both of us. So 65,000 dong each. And it's located just like right in the centre of Dalat. So you don't have to travel to it or anything. I think we've gone maybe like most of the way around Crazy House now and I can't quite see why this is a big tourist destination, I'm honest. It's a hotel where all the stairs are weird and it is really weird. But you sort of go up a couple of weird stairs and you're like, oh this is weird. And then you do another and you're like, ah. And then you get stuck in a big queue behind loads of tourists taking photos. And then it's just more weird stairs. It has really, really nice views and it's super cheap. But we don't really get it. Would I say it's a must do? Probably not. But it's cool to check out. It's up to you. But I think we're just kind of like, we don't really get this. Bit weird down here, isn't it? We've been walking for like five minutes. Like, I literally don't know where to go. This is ridiculous. It's a complete maze. So we're in the maze bar. I've got my dillette white wine in a plastic cup. And it is a maze we are literally lost. We can't find the seating area outside. It's a bit eerie as well. It's quite cold though. We've come so early so no one else is here and it's a bit odd, isn't it? I like it though. It's really cool. Hello. Follow my voice. I'm over here. I'm here. And then it's up this way. Well, I'm up this one. This one I can see to the top. Oh God. She's playing silly buggers. Ah. It's because I've got no hands. So I found Jordana. We went separate ways thinking it'd join up. But it was much more of a maze than I thought. I was shouting her and she couldn't hear me. And also I realised I've put my English sim back in. So I have no internet at the minute. And no way of putting my sim back in. So... So I thought I was for lost and I was never gonna find her. But luckily, we managed it. Maze Bar was designed by the same team that did Crazy House. We definitely recommend checking out this bar if you come to Gillette. Pro tip, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the bathroom as you do not want to be caught short whilst lost in the maze. Also, we'd recommend getting two drinks at once as the bar is right at the bottom and the best seats are outside right up at the top. Is it nice? Oh my God. I mean, geez heaven. So rich and so really tart. Honestly, that is phenomenal. If you've enjoyed watching, please like and subscribe to see more videos. And we'll see you in the next one. Bye!