Life-a learning experience: A secret tour of Da Lat,Vietnam

Following a lovely week in Hoi An, Jon and I decided to head further south down the Vietnamese coastline to De Lat. Known as the City of Eternal Spring because of its year round cool weather, De Lat is a famous countryside destination for Vietnamese and foreigners alike.

With limited time in the city, we decided to hire a tour to ensure we could take in as much as possible. As luck would have it, the hotel we booked into was also well known for offering a "Secret Tour" of De Lat. Internet research revealed little information about the specifics of the Secret Tour, no spoiler alerts to be found, except that motorbikes were used to get around the countryside. With our interest peaked, the first thing Jon and I did after checking into the Pink House hotel was sign up for the Secret Tour on the following day.

We met our guide Son, a spunky and knowledgeable girl who would be showing us the real De Lat by taking us to sights off the beaten path. We set out on our motorbikes and rode up into the highlands, enjoying break taking views of the mountain range as the dew burned off with the first rays of morning sun.

Our first stop of the day was a cricket farm where Son walked us through the breeding and life cycle process of the insects. After viewing crickets of every size, from new born to full grown, Son lead us into a room where we could sample this famous delicacy. Jon declined the tasting invitation about as quickly as I accepted it. My first bite was au naturel so I could get a sense of the typical flavor of these fried treats prior to dipping them into hot chili sauce. I enjoyed the first bite well enough to sit down and help Son finish the sample plate.

We departed the cricket farm and made our way into a nearby village to tour its local market. Son was a wealth of information as we walked through the market stalls; pointing out fruits, vegetables and little trinkets completely knew to us. I was most fascinated by the paper clothing and accessories that people purchase for their dead loved ones and burn to provide them with everything they need in their afterlife. Without Son's insight, I would have simply thought the packages of paper goods were party decorations and walked by without giving them a second glance.

We left the local market and continued our ride through the highlands, stopping to take in the views of the famous coffee terraces in the region and the elephant falls. Every stop along our journey proved another occasion for Son to share valuable information about Vietnamese culture and Da Lat with us; she was a wealth of knowledge and better then any guide book.

Son even took us to a remote mountain village where we could interact with some hill tribe people and experience a bit of their culture. Jon and I were invited into a few homes with Son serving as our translator. We spent a couple of hours learning about the latest village gossip and catching a glimpse of the rural lifestyle of the tribe.

We left the countryside behind and headed out to visit a family owned silk farm. At the farm, we learned about silk worms, how their cocoons are harvested and silk making. I didn't realize silk making was such an intensive process, I will never complain about the cost of a silk top ever again!

It was just amazing to see the manual process of bathing the cocoons in warm water to release the silk so it could be spun onto a wheel. Each cocoon releases 330-985 feet (100-300 meters) of silk. Once the silk is removed from the cocoons, the larvae carcasses don't go to waste. They are collected and sold as a popular snack.

Son convinced me to try a larva, claiming the inside tastes just like mashed potatoes. After my successful tasting with the fried crickets earlier in the day, I figured why not and decided to give it a go. Jon was my cameraman for this experience and the poor guy could barely take the photo of the larva in my teeth he was so grossed out. I am fairly certain after snapping the photo he even looked away as I began to eat the larva. When I finally did make eye contact with him, he asked me to snap a photo of his face so we could forever capture his reaction...it wasn't pleasant.

In addition to knowing all sorts of edible insects, Son was quick to point out vegetation throughout the day that could also be eaten. There was no denying it, this girl knew her way around the mountains and could certainly sustain off the land. She even did my makeup in the late afternoon, using curry seeds to color my lips and the seed pod to highlight my eyelashes. If I am ever lost in the wilderness, I want Son with me...she'll keep me alive and looking good.

Jon and I arrived back to our hotel after a full yet rewarding day of visiting the real, off the beaten path, Da Lat. The Secret Tour was the perfect way to see the city and experience its people and culture on such a tight schedule. We wrapped up our evening by joining our hotel owner and some other guests for a traditional dinner. Imagine our surprise when two of the guests in the group were the lovely Irish girls, Louise and Rachael, who we meet a little over a week ago when we toured Ha Long Bay near to Hanoi. The universe certainly had plans for us and arranged this random meeting.

Jon and I departed Da Lat, making our way to Ho Chi Minh...our last stop in Asia.

Visiting a rice field in Da Lat, Vietnam highlands.