The weirdest place in Vietnam - Bana Hills French Village

Fifty minutes by car from Danang, Vietnam is the SunWorld's Bana Hills theme park and French Village (containing five Mercure hotels). The park is reached by an amazing cable car system.
As the mountain is 1487 metres above sea level, the weather can vary drastically. It can be 10-15 degrees Celsius cooler in French Village. When the mountain top is covered in mist, the mock-French buildings look more convincing and definitely atmospheric.
Daytrippers swarm into the park by 9 a.m.. The main attractions being the eye-popping "Golden Bridge", the four level indoor amusement park and the Instagrammable French Village.

In 2020 another large hotel (MGallery) and a castle complex will be opened.

Tip: Cable car ride/entrance to park costs 728,000 VND (about US$32), but if you stay overnight the admission is only 450,000 VND (about US$20).

The entrance at the top of the cable car station, looking suspiciously like Universal Studios theme park entrance

The fog-shrouded French Village from Hotel De Nice

A mini-Notre Dame

Fantasy Park (inspired by the writings of Jules Verne)

Hotel pool

The crowds disappear by nightfall.

Hotel de Lyon

The Golden Bridge - go early morning or late afternoon to avoid crowds

Temples and pagoda on the mountain summit

St Denis mock-cathedral

One of the longest cable car rides in the world

Mercure Canberra - Best value accommodation in town?

Built in the late 1920's to coincide with the building of the (provisional) Parliament House, this historic hotel has lots going for it.

• Great location - 10 mins walk to the Canberra Centre (downtown shopping mall), bars, restaurants, Canberra Theatre, 5 mins walk to the Australian War Memorial and the start of trail to Mount Ainslie.
• Cheap on-site parking ($10 a night)
• Great food (choice of two restaurants - up market or bistro).
• Public bar and bottle shop.
• Clubby decor - open fires, wing chairs, couches in public areas, with quirky touches like a 30's radio unit, old telephone switchboard, huge fish tanks in the corridors.

Central courtyard

Cheap pub food in the beer garden - Lamb shanks, Chicken Kiev

This was our last stop on a road trip which included upscale Accor properties (Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery), so this 3 star hotel is punching well under its weight.