Day 21! It’s officially been a week in Vietnam! But honestly, it’s felt like a month has gone by with how many things I’ve done and people I’ve met! This trip is going to feel like a lifetime by the end of it!

My morning started off way earlier than I expected… I’m not going to go into any details but I’ll leave it at a drunk hostel dorm mate thought he was in the bathroom… he was not.

So that woke me up and I went to let the hostel staff know. Unfortunately there was only one staff member and no cleaning staff so it had to sit 😪 but the guy was nice enough to make up a new bed for me in a secluded spot for me to sleep for a few more hours.

This is pretty uncommon, but not unheard of unfortunately… risks of sleeping in 12 person dorms at a packed (and cheap) hostel.

But this didn’t stop me from having a great day!

I started the morning with a Vietnamese banana pancake from my hostel. The bananas were great but it definitely was not my favorite thing to eat.

While I was eating one of my new friends, Sophie, joined me! After a little bit her cousin Hannie and my other friend Tom came as well.

The day before we had planned to ride together to a coffee shop that overlooked a waterfall and a big Buddha.

I honestly had no expectations for this outing. I thought it was pretty silly we were going to drive 45 minutes for a coffee but… I was sorely mistaken.

The ride over was gorgeous and a lot of fun! We were winding up and down a mountain and then found ourselves in a small town outside of Dalat!

We sat and chatted about anything and everything and after they had all finished their coffees we went to explore the waterfall!

This waterfall blew yesterday’s falls out of the park! It was huge, gorgeous, and had a MASSIVE Buddha looking over it.

We spent a bit hopping on the rocks around the falls and then made our way back up for lunch at a nearby Com restaurant.

I didn’t end up getting Com, even though it’s quickly becoming my favorite meal in Vietnam. But I did get fried noodles with chicken and it was really tasty!

After filling up we walked a few minutes further to explore the big Buddha!

This Buddha turned out to be insanely cool! The figure being portrayed is Quan Yin, who is “the maternal goddess, protector of children, and observer of all sound.”

The statue itself was built in 1994, stands at 125m (over 410 ft!!), and was just breathtaking to look at especially with the gorgeous rolling hills that lie behind it!

Now the statue doesn’t stop with just wandering around outside it… there’s stairs that lead all the way to the top of the statue that has a spectacular view of the area around!

Each floor inside the statue is a different place of prayer and it depicts a story of different deities and evil characters as you go all the way up and, I’m assuming, it leads to the continuum after death.

I wish there was an explanation of the inside design, but overall I was blown away with this temple and was shocked there weren’t more people flocking to it!

But the fun wasn’t done yet!

Right next to the statue is a pagoda that was very pretty… but then out the back of a pagoda was a garden of statues and another massive Buddha!

We all really enjoyed this adventure and were truly blown away! I think partially because we had low expectations but also it was just insanely impressive!

We then took the 45 minute drive back home and again enjoyed the beautiful views and a wonderful drive!

After getting back I took a nice Power Nap and then went to take advantage of the gym again (this time I had it all to myself)!

After working out I met back up with Tom, Hannie, and Sophie for dinner! We had all done the hostel family dinner and wanted to go out and taste some of the local cuisine.

After walking around for a bit we found a hole in the wall restaurant that was filled with Vietnamese locals, so we knew the place had to be good!

The menu was fully in Vietnamese, the wait staff didn’t speak English, and Google translate wasn’t doing the best job for us… so I went for a random beef dish that I hoped would be good!

The translation said something along the lines of beef with potatoes, but I wasn’t expecting French fries!

The beef was insanely good and juicy. It also was a pretty spicy meal and I really enjoyed it! I’m glad my random choice worked out.

After dinner we walked back to the hostel where we busted out a deck of cards and I was taught a card game practically all solo travelers play, “Shithead.”

After playing hand after hand after hand we took a break and chatted for a bit.

Then everyone went off on their own conversations and I taught my friend Hannie how to play one of my all time favorite card games, Casino!

This is a game I play a lot with my mom and it’ll be a while till I get to play her again… but I’m glad I can teach people on the road and keep up my skills so I can dominate the next time we play 😉

This was a wonderful last day in Dalat! I met some incredible people and after a week of solo traveling I’m very much back in the groove of it all!

Tomorrow I’ll be heading to Nha Trang! Originally I was planning on going solo, but after chatting with my new friend Tom (who’s also biking) he decided that he’ll join me before he continues his journey to Ho Chi Minh!

After our bike rides yesterday and today I’m really excited to have someone to share the views with, chat with on breaks, and to have along side just in case something goes wrong!

Very excited to get back on the road and to hang out on a beach for a bit!!

See you tomorrow!

– Elie