One of the highlights of post HSC break was a road trip I took while staying in Vietnam. Sitting around the dinner table one evening, my uncle decided that it was time we ditched Saigon and head somewhere much less humid and rowdy. At first, I thought he was joking. But it surprised me how fast we were out of the house and onto the road the next evening. For the next 8 hours, our driver would be working through the night to get us to our destination - Da Lat. 

Unlike most countries, the routes between major cities here are far from what I'd call safe. We drove through curvy, undeveloped roads for most of the trip and continuously dodged motorcycles by driving on the wrong side of the road at the speed you'd drive on a freeway. I'll admit, I was freaked out as hell. At one point this truck in front of us knocked a driver off her scooter. Fortunately our driver reacted just in time to swerve to the side and avoid what could have been a serious accident. The skill needed to drive here is on a whole new level.

Three toilet breaks later, the roads began looking more like roads, and this is how we knew we were almost there.

I couldn't help but notice how cute and petite everything was. Da Lat is a mountainous city, situated around its gem - Xuan Huong Lake. The roads always run up and downhill. Never flat. To my delight, this city is big on producing strawberries. They're sold everywhere on the sidewalks, which brought a smile to my face because I love strawberries and you can't find them anywhere in Saigon.

We stayed at Ngoc Lan Hotel and one thing I'll never forget is the view from my room. It overlooked the lake and the city centre. We were fortunate enough to have picked a place right next to the markets, because the street food here at night is insanely good. You cannot leave Da Lat without trying their char-grilled meat (or at least taking a whiff).

Da Lat is also known for its flowers. The city is decorated with countless gardens of blooming flowers that never seem to wilt. I was so close to buying this little heart-shaped bush at flower park, until I realised that I couldn't bring it home as it'd never get through quarantine. Seriously though, who wouldn't want it? It's adorable.

The highlight of this trip was not the food,  the scenery nor the pleasant climate (though they were all wonderful, I must say). What I loved most was the calm atmosphere at night. My cousins and I hired tandem bicycles at 20,000 dong (about a dollar) for an hour. That dollar got me a whole new perspective of the city as we were able to wonder around and explore much of the night life at our own pace.