We were quite taken with this quaint, friendly little town, set in a cool, verdant river valley surrounded by lakes. A small amusement park just east of the town's bridge has a roller coaster which gives the town a distinctive character. Gia Nghia felt much like Da Lat must have been like before it became, you know -- Da Lat.

During the war with America, South Vietnamese troops stationed here called it the end of nowhere -- no plumbing, no electricity, no phones, just cows and farmers. Now it's a bustling metropolis by comparison, but it still retains that disconnected feel. It's easy to see why it's slated as an up-and-coming tourist centre -- a prospect we view with mixed emotions.

Luckily, any real development is a while away. You won't be dazzled by bling in Gia Nghia, but those on a leisurely tour of the country won't regret a night or two of welcome decompression between tourist hot-spots.

The sight of a foreigner in Gia Nghia is still very, very novel -- expect tons of curious attention from the locals.

Orientation
The small bridge crossing the river marks the centre of town, and you can get everywhere you need to go on foot. Vietbooks publishes a good "yellow map" of the province and its capital, which you can pick up at the larger book stores in Saigon.

The town has an astonishing number of internet places for its size, usually charging only 3,000 VND per hour -- though you won't get any printing, scanning, or memory card services.

The banks in town are pretty much useless to foreigners. Even the main bank, Agribank (Tran Hung Bao St, Gia Nghia. T: (050) 543 164, F: (050) 544 610. Hours: 07:30 to 16:30), doesn't exchange currency or cash travellers cheques and the ATMs are local only. The nearest foreigner-friendly ATMs are in Buon Ma Thuot to the north, and Dong Xoai to the south. For foreign currency exchange, head to one of the gold shops in the town market. Travellers cheques are not cashed anywhere in town that we could find.

The main post office is located catty-corner to the Agribank. Hours: 06:00 to 21:00 Daily. T: (050) 545 172 F: (050) 543 259.