As we all finalize our Tet plans and prepare for the madness of travel during the largest annual human migration on earth, it's going to be a long, slow, holiday-free slog from March to September.
But if you should need to keep your wanderlust alive during those long months, look no further: the annual New York Times "52 Places to Go in 2016" list has arrived, and Vietnam is on it.
Not all of the country, of course: foreign travelers already seem to know about the bustling pace of Saigon and the sleepy, sun-drenched houses of Hoi An, not to mention Da Nang's ultra-modern digs, which made last year's list. But Da Lat is what the Times refers to as “a cool alternative to the usual steamy Vietnamese destination”, and its street cred as a travel destination is just beginning to catch on beyond Vietnam's borders.
From the New York Times:
“Pine forests, locally grown avocados, and artichoke tea aren’t commonplace in Vietnam, but they are in Dalat. The south-central-highlands town, a former French-colonial hill station with eternal spring weather, is an agricultural El Dorado, growing asparagus, strawberries, coffee, artichokes, roses and more. Dalat has built a reputation for outdoor activities, golf (the new Đàlat at 1200 country club opened a course in November that will be featured on the 2016 Asian Tour), white-water rafting, mountain biking, canyoning and splashing under the roaring Elephant Falls or terraced Pongour Falls. So have overseas visitors – debut charter flights from China, South Korea, and Thailand arrived in 2015, with direct Singapore flights under discussion – drawn by the promise of a refreshingly different Vietnam experience.”
Not bad, Da Lat. Here's to seeing more foreign visitors in 2016.
[Photo via Flickr user Khanh Hmoong]
