Most Dalat coffee farms are located on a mountain slope.

How much do you know about Vietnam? Danang, Hoi An, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Na Trang and many other cities are familiar tourist destinations for us. We are seeing more and more Korean tourists visiting Vietnam each year as well. But Vietnam is a fascinating country that will show you more if you get to know more about; it’s more than a fun tourist destination. It has a rich history, and about 60% of the whole population is under the age of 35; it’s a young country with great vitality. The growing young generation is mostly college educated and is highly enthusiastic about education as many go abroad for further studies. This is a country with great potential and bright future.

Hyundai Motors established Vietnam joint production corporate body HTMV with a local company Thanh Cong and is actively making its way into the Vietnam market.

Hyundai Motors took notice of the potential of Vietnam market early on and has made an investment. They are continuing their efforts to expand influence in the Vietnam market by implementing a semi assembly production process which allows local assembly and establishing the Vietnam joint production corporate body HTMV with a local corporate Thanh Cong. There has been a significant performance so far. According to Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association and others, Hyundai Motors recorded the highest sales among all completed automobiles sales brands in Vietnam in September. Vietnam’s automobile market is expected to grow further with its economic growth. If moving between cities becomes easier, wouldn’t it also become easier for beautiful, unknown Vietnamese regions to get attention from the tourists as well? Here are a few attractive Vietnamese small cities that haven’t been getting the well deserved attention as it is so unfamiliar and yet beautiful and intriguing.

A city that wakes all your senses, Dalat

Dalat’s train station looks exactly as it did in the early 20th century.

Dalat. The unfamiliar sounding name refers to a city located in the mid Vietnam plateau. With average altitude above sea level amounting to 1,500m, you can experience refreshing weather all year long. Also, with its rich soil, it’s a truly blessed city. If you stroll along Dalat streets, you will come across fetching blooming flowers frequently. The rich soil allows flowers to grow here and there easily. As the city’s atmosphere is quite romantic, it’s the most favored honeymoon destination among Vietnamese people.

Cafe Sua Da, coffee with condensed milk, is a representative Vietnam flavor.

Dalat is well known for its coffee. It’s the biggest Vietnamese coffee producer with many coffee farms located on the vast mountain slopes. Among its coffees, Weasel coffee is most famous. This particular coffee is extracted from the excretion of musk weasels that eat only the ripest coffee cherries. As the production is low, its price is much more than double of that of regular coffee. But it’s definitely recommendable to take in the huge coffee farm before your eyes on the mountains and sip a cup under the blue sky on a leisurely afternoon here.

You can ride a cable car around the charming little Prenn waterfall.

With its high altitude and lots of mountains and valleys, Dalat also has many big and small waterfalls. The big Datanla waterfall has a deep valley which allows you to experience the greatness of the nature. There are many people who enjoy activities like luge and cable cars. Prenn waterfall is quite small compared to Datanla, but that’s why it’s so friendly and cozy. It’s such a calming sight to witness water flowing lightly from the 10m height waterfall.

Vietnam is a popular tourist destination and a country with a bright future.

After enjoying the nature, it’s only right to explore the city. There are many things to see here, including Xuan Huong Lake, the symbol of the city, a train station that holds the modern history timeline of Vietnam, and Thien Vien Truc Lam, a temple surrounded by flowers. When night falls, go and enjoy the foods at the night market. You can taste the famously delicious Dalat sweet potato, corns, and fresh fruit at a great price. Don’t miss out on the Dalat rice paper pancake, Banh Trang Nuong.

Mui Ne presents a whole new view from its every corner.

Mui Ne still has that small seaside village vibe.

Now we are off to the south of the country, to the seaside city of Mui Ne. Usually people move from Ho Chi Minh on a sleeping bus or a rental car. It takes about 4~5 hours. This place began to be recognized as a resort town since the mid 90s. It still looks like an unorganized seaside village, but that’s why it’s so exotic and unfamiliar for the tourists.

Early morning around sunrise, you can see beautiful colors covering up the sand dunes.

Mui Ne is the only city in Southeast Asia where you can travel both sand dunes and beach together. Sand dunes were developed due to the strong ocean wind and dry climate; its vastness is as good as any sand dune in a desert. Tourists go on sand dune tours on jeep. When the sun rises and falls beyond the sand dunes, you can witness the beautiful colors nature creates, so make sure you are at the dunes around the right time.

Who can walk in the stream barefoot from the Fairy Springs entrance.

The valley called ‘Fairy Springs’ is connected to the small seaside village of Mui Ne. It’s fun to dip your bare feet into the shallow stream. The soft sand between your toes will make you feel amazing. The stream is mysterious in that it maintains the same level of water with and without rain. There’s also a legend about how fairies will grant your wish if you make a wish while walking in the stream.

A private resort beach around Mui Ne shoreline

We cannot miss the 12km long Mui Ne beaches. Most resorts are also located around this shoreline as well. It’s also a great surf point as strong wind creates good waves. If you are a traveler who loves great activities, go for kite surfing which combines both paragliding and surfing or wind surfing.

A spectacular site on water, Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay has a legend of a dragon spitting out jewelry which became islands.

The name Ha Long Bay refers to ‘bay where the dragon descended.’ There’s an old legend about a dragon that came down here to fight the enemy during wartime and spat out jewelry which became islands. Visitors usually travel the area on a cruise boat. As there are many different types of cruise schedules, you can choose one to your timeline. One of Ha Long Bay’s biggest sites is Hang Sung Sot. It’s a huge inactive limestone cave. The wavy white sand like ceiling and floor will amaze you. This pattern is due to the days when seawater used to flow into the cave. Walking inside the cave too old to fathom that it used to be the bottom of the ocean makes you wonder about the mystique of nature and time.

There are many merchants on boats selling products around the tour cruise boats.

There are people in Ha Long Bay who build houses on water and live under thousands of islands. It’s literally a fishing village on water. There used to be as many as 7 fishing villages, but now there are only 2 left, as children grow up and leave for the city. It’s only natural you feel sentimental even though looking at the peaceful, silent scenery free from the radio or engine noises here.

The view of the foggy Ha Long Bay from the observation platform is pure mystique.

Visit each island via cruise and stop by the observational platform to go up there and take a look around. The view of the bay where countless islands are hovering over one another is just breathtaking. It’s amazing on a sunny day and also spectacular on foggy days, giving off different vibe and aura.

Vietnam is located on a vertically long strip of land. It amounts to a huge distance of 1,600km. What’s interesting is that various climate and vegetation can be observed as you move down from north to south. Unknown, unfamiliar sightings are waiting for us to be discovered. The joy of finding beautiful scenery most people pass by is the very reason why we should travel many cities of Vietnam. If you have already been to Vietnam before, how about planning a special trip for small Vietnamese cities to discover hidden treasures?

Written and photographed by Hye min Song (lifestyle & travel magazine The Traveller journalist)