Visitors to Dalat should not miss the beauty of Xuan Huong Lake. Located in the city center, surrounded with a pine-tree forest and flower gardens, the lake is the perfect destination for a stroll in the “city of flowers”.

As night falls couples gather at the lake to enjoy the cool and romantic evenings, a unique feature of Dalat. While it is popular by day to tour the lake in a horse-draw carriage, on the tramway or on a tandem, at night the tandem is definitely the favored choice. Riding around the lake, going up and down the hills of Dalat, warms up the riders on a cool evening and gives them an appetite for the local snacks available from the street vendors on the banks of the lake.

The booths of these vendors are small, consisting of rattan loads on a carrying pole and some small low chairs for guests and lighted with oil lamps, yet, it is exotic to be at the booths, waiting for a grilled corn, grilled squid and cuttlefish, boiled eggs or shellfish and drinking a glass of hot soya in the cool evening. For those seeking something more cozy and private there are a number of coffee shops around Xuan Huong Lake.

Saturday and Sunday are the best days for a stroll up the Hoa Binh pedestrian area from Xuan Huong Lake as no vehicles are allowed to enter on the weekends.

This is the site of the Dalat night market, known as the Market of Underworld by locals, which is open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Here one can shop for souvenirs and clothes, especially second-hand sweaters and pullovers which are very inexpensive, and enjoy some local snacks.

(Source: SGT)