Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore

After being in Asia for roughly five weeks, we're getting ready to return to the US so I thought I'd draft a blog post from our last couple weeks of travel. It's been great to catch up with Ginny's family (her folks in China and her brother in Singapore) as well as visit Vietnam which we have fond memories of from our bike trip in 2018. 

It was such a relief to visit the mountain city of Da Lat after the sweltering humidity of Da Nang and Hoi An. Da Lat is at 1500 meters above sea level so the weather is quite a bit cooler than the rest of Vietnam. While we were visiting, the temperature never exceeded the 70s so it was very nice and we even managed to wear long pants and long sleeves a couple times. One of the highlights was visiting the Crazy House which you kind of need to see to believe. It's hard to describe but it's a whimsical, surreal, and organic architectural marvel that blends art, nature, and a touch of the fantastical and you can even stay there if you like. See photos below for more details.  

It was fun to visit Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) again last week. I can't really think of another city that has the vibrancy, energy and pulse of HCMC. You can find unbelievably good street food and people out and about at all times of day and night throughout the city. Scooters still dominate the streets as was the case during our visit in 2018 but there is a brand-new metro system which we were excited to check out. Service began late last year on HCMC’s first metro line (Line 1) which runs from Bến Thành Market to the Eastern Bus Terminus, covering a total length of 19.7 km with 14 stations. We rode the metro one time and it was a great way to get to the Bến Thành Market from where we were staying in quan 1. Our trip cost only VND 6,000 (USD $0.25) which we easily paid for using our credit card directly at the turnstile. The single train line provides limited options at present but HCMC plans to build seven metro lines totaling 355 km by 2035 so the transportation future looks extremely bright for Vietnam’s largest city.

The last few days we've been visiting Ginny's brother in Singapore. Singapore is a stark contrast to Vietnam as it's a highly developed westernized city where everything works extremely well and rules are not meant to be broken. In fact, rules about littering, stealing, smoking, etc. are posted everywhere along with their corresponding fines (usually in the thousands of dollars!). So we already miss the chaotic, frenetic energy of Vietnam and look forward to our next visit whenever that may be. 

Hanging out with Totoro in Da Lat

Magic water spigot!

Our favorite desert place in HCMC!

Japanese style seating at restaurant in Da Lat

Wood fired pizza in Da Lat - so good!

Street art in Da Lat

Vietnamese food - we miss it already!

Old school seating at Still Cafe in Da Lat

Streetside stand in Da Lat

Catholic church in HCMC

Why does Asia have all of the cutest cars? 

Old fashioned train carriage in Da Lat

Union Square, HCMC

Crazy House in Da Lat

Old train station in Da Lat

Ginny having fun at Crazy House

Red flowers for as long as the eye can see in Da Lat

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