After our extended stay in paradise, our crew opted for another get-away haven - the city of
Dalat. It's described almost everywhere (books, brochures, travel sites, etc.) as the 'Alps of Vietnam', a spot for lovers and friends to escape to, where the climate is cool and mountainous, and the food is fresh and mostly local. Even while securing bus tickets to here, I was constantly met with the same quizzical grin and question: "Why do
you want to go to
Dalat? It's romantic there, and expensive; for couples!"
Wandering through the innards of the night market - an awesome fixture of urban life in much of Asia. We're so domesticated in the States, with our curfews, noise ordinances, and endless circus of regulations for small vendors - but its here where flows the life of the community.
Aside from the European vibe, here is another reason
Dalat is known as
le Petit Paris.
Finished by 1942, the
Dalat Cathedral, whose spire reached 47-metres, sits in the heart of the city.
Frankly, I had heard a lot about the landscape and natural spots surrounding the city. Several people I'd spoken with had recommended it as a starting point for forays into mountainous rural parts of southern Vietnam. In the several hours over the 3 days we spent getting there, around, and away, I have come to agree. By this time in our journey we did not have so much time to explore the surrounding countryside as deeply as I would have preferred, but the group had maintained a solid sense of coherence after our down-time in
Mui Ne, so I stuck with the party. Between the wild night market, the fresh food, and the great weather (not hot, but not cold either; much like San Francisco, I found that
Dalat was a seriously pleasant city in which to spend a few days.
Situated below the Nam Ban Pagoda, and magnificent as it is rather dirty, the 30-meter high
Thac Voi - Elephant Falls.
Two very different Buddha statues, well-situated across from each other, at Nam Ban Pagoda. Another favorite.
Nam Ban Pagoda, side entrance. Another favorite photo..
The main entrance to this hilltop monastery, sporting intricate Buddhist carvings, houses the massive sitting gold Buddha statue.
Giant sitting Buddha is the center piece of this monastery, and can be seen from almost everywhere in
Dalat.
Detail of sand Mandala housed inside the same monastery.
The immediately surrounding land nursed a surprising variety of crops on a mountainous array of hillsides and valleys. For hours beyond the city, the landscape was covered in greenhouses, hundreds of acres of coffee farms, and innumerable farmed acres of everything else from onions to greens to livestock. On a 4-person Easy Rider trip (usually done one-on-one via bike, we were 4-to-2 in a jeep) we learned a lot about the local industries around
Dalat, including a nascent dairy industry supported by Dutch foreign investment, a booming artichoke market, and a blossoming market in flowers year-round. In a lot of ways, I got the impression that this region of Vietnam was fairly self-sufficient and in fact an overall exporter of many domestically produced goods. Supposedly, here also is the bottling plant for the now-infamous (among our small traveling crew) and delicious
Dalat Wine which can be found all over Vietnam for outrageously cheap - compared to the $
USD anyway...
We requested of our Easy Rider guide a less-touristy route, where we could see more communities and natural spots around
Dalat. Here, a small rural dam spillway doubles as a local swimming hole.
Awesome reservoir stretching far and away from
Dalat - another example of
Dalat's relative self-sufficiency. Our Easy Rider tour (for four, in a jeep not a bike) stopped us here for a while, granting us a less touristy side trip up a mountainside for this view.
Long shot of the downstream side of the same river, but here showing the unusual dam-like section. Shallow, but seemingly effective during the dry season.
Detail of dry river bank outside
Dalat. Just some wildly shaped stone and clearly once a larger structure.
Great view of the
northern limits of
Dalat that looks over just a sliver of the local horticulture industry. Fields of flowering plants and rows of low-tech green houses dominate this unique urban landscape.
What was not so cheap - though arguably still relatively affordable when compared to costs in most North American urban areas - was the overnight stay at the Crazy House in
Dalat. The Crazy House is a moderately-sized property within walking distance of the downtown area designed and still being built in accordance with the plan of artist & architect Dang
Viet Nga . The whole place is a ridiculous dreamland of organic shapes and textures forming rooms and niches throughout an awesomely landscaped compound. I've never seen anything like this place anywhere in the world, and I'm real glad we got a chance to stay here for a night. And it was thanks to the extremely helpful staff here that we were able to catch one of the few daily buses to
Nha Trang, and a ride to the station, on very short notice...
Here is the rear side of the Honeymoon suite at the Crazy House. ..
...with a very clear fairyland-like quality clearly evident from the Front side garden of the same suite. Just a single structure out of many existing and planned at the Crazy House.
From across the garden and up on a balcony, a view over the main courtyard of the Crazy House at one of the central buildings. Much of it is still under construction on the inside, however.
Closer details of the balcony entrance of this central building within the Crazy House.
Looking up towards the rooftop, a great example of the unique exterior passages of the Crazy House. This one reaches the top of the gabled roof of the central building.
A view from above the Crazy House - looking over
Dalat in the distance. Look close to see labyrinthine side-building, where the passageways wrap around the exterior of the structure, and the rooms and suites form the core.
Still under construction, here clearly evident in real-time. A labor of love, it seems, for the workers who construct according to paintings and sketches instead of blueprints and designs.
Home security, a la
DIY style. Outside wall of Crazy House, in a section still under construction. Just a cool shot..
More wacky passageways between buildings of the Crazy House.
One building is built to resemble a giraffe - in an excellent example of how the place is meant to look natural and organic, with very few straight lines or linear shapes. Here
Natasja surveys the Crazy House compound from above, soon after we entered the place.
The photos laid out heretofore are taken with an Olympus Stylus 1050 SW
Landscape enroute from Dalat. Lower Eastern slope of the country's South-Central Coast.
Reflections along the journey - curves in the road.
A welcome sign and holiday well-wishes from the local cadre to the touring public. Beachside.
As local as it gets in this region along the shores of the South China Sea - I think its Bai Mieu Fishing village.
Long-time friend, gracious host, & trusted fellow traveler; Tim in top form.
Lunchtime drink break, off the boat. Best sun I've got since moving out West.
Here, and at this time of year, one never forgets its the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Gold star and all.
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