From sweating buckets and feeling like croissants in an oven in Saigon we took off on a plane and landed a mere thirty minutes later in Dalat, a beautiful mountain town in the highlands. The night markets are a phenomenon in Vietnam and the one in Dalat took the cake. A rather boring street becomes completely transformed at night like a drag queen chock full of clothes, food, and music.

There is the pungent fragrance of freshly cut Durian (which I Dhanya, love) and the earthly nutty scent of roasted chestnuts. It is common to see visually impaired couples singing traditional Vietnamese songs on mikes attached to small, roll-along speakers; passersby drop in money as they go. You can buy fake Nike pullovers, knock-off Louis Vuitton bags or pickup rough woolen knitted sweaters knitted locally. They are very cheap, costing less than a few dollars at times and passably good enough.

As you walk, buy some roast chestnuts and eat their nutty goodness. Peeling the tough skin of the chestnut you will see women pushing carts with mountains of white and purple rice (could have been cabbage?) and skewers of meat sizzling on makeshift grills.

Dalat grows a myriad of vegetables and is famous for its avocado. You can buy some sweet potatoes to steam back home or eat a grilled one right there from the vendor. There are also char-grilled eggs.

Fruits come in all colors and shapes. Litchi, rambutan, guava, apples, peaches, pears, pomegranate, luscious dragon fruit, and many more are all grown locally and super cheap. It’s so easy to eat healthy here. Just make sure you bargain a bit since it is customary to quote a higher price. We paid most often without bargaining and it was still very affordable.

As you keep walking you reach Cho Dalat,( Cho means market in Vietnamese) a huge circular building bursting with more vegetables and fruits. The avocado in Dalat will shock you. It’s one whole foot and just one will make guacamole for a party!

You can finish your dinner from the stalls with Yaourt, a most delicious sweet yogurt. Sometimes it comes with a bottom layer of plain cooked black rice and the unlikely combination is absolutely delightful. Go and you will discover much more.