Tuesday, November 11th, 2003 – Day 266
I was up at 6.45am and got ready. I had a small breakfast and was in plenty time for my bus to Dalat at 7.30am. It was a pleasant journey and there was plenty of room in the air-con bus. We made two stops for 15 minutes and a 40 minute lunch break.
We arrived in Dalat at 4.00pm. It was raining.
Known as “Le Petit Paris” by the early builders and residents of this hillside resort town, Dalat is still considered a kind of luxury retreat for city dwellers and tourists tired out from the steamy coastline in Vietnam. Here you can have a game of golf on one of the finer courses in Indochina, visit some beautiful temples, and enjoy the town’s honeymoon atmosphere and delightfully hokey tourist sites.
At 1,500m (4,900 ft.), Dalat is mercifully cool year-round — there’s no air-conditioning here — and is a unique blend of pastoral hillside Vietnam and European alpine resort. Alexander Yersin, the Swiss geologist who first traipsed across this pass, established the town in 1897 as a resort for French commanders weary of the Vietnamese tropics. In and around town are still scattered the relics of colonial mansions, as well as some serene pagodas in a lovely natural setting; you’ve escaped from big-city Vietnam for real. A few ethnic minorities, including the Lat and the Koho, live in and around the picturesque hills surrounding Dalat, and you can visit their small villages.
Dalat is the no. 1 resort destination for Vietnamese couples getting married or honeymooning. If the lunar astrological signs are particularly good, it’s not unusual to see 10 or so wedding parties in a single day. Many of the local scenic spots, like the Valley of Love and Lake of Sighs, pander to the giddy couples. The waterfalls are swarming with vendors, costumed “bears,” and “cowboys” complete with sad-looking horses and fake pistols. A carnival air prevails. It’s tacky, but it’s one of those “so bad that it’s good” kind of tacky that’s kind of fun. You’ll also get a chance to travel, lodge, and dine with Vietnamese on holiday, a rare opportunity.
When you travel with a bus company, they usually try to get you to eat in their restaurants along the way and stay in their sister hotels. For lunch, I went across the road to eat at a stall instead of eating at the restaurant we were directed to eat in. When we arrived at Dalat, we were asked to see the rooms. I wasn’t going to stay there as I had picked out another hotel, but I was surprised at the room. It would be something you would pay 100 Euro at home for. Quality beds, sheets, duvets, fittings, decorations etc. Class for 7 USD. I decided to stay. It is low, low season here. The high (honeymoon) season is from January to April. Locals say many people have to sleep in the street (the thousand star hotel) due to the influx of people.
TRUNG CANG HOTEL4A Bui Thi Xuan St. Dalat
The Sinh Cafe expands its monopoly on budget traveler amenities here with this new, centrally located little gem. Rooms have clean tile floors and basic amenities; and any lack of decoration is compensated for by clean, airy rooms for next to nothing, though some even have nice filigreed ceilings and cool, subdued lighting. Time will tell with this place, but get there while it’s new, ask to see a room, and do a bit of haggling. This is a good option for those on a budget, and the folks at Sinh Cafe are always accommodating when arranging tours or getting you around town. All room rates include breakfast.
It was raining most of the evening. I headed to the local market for a bite to et. I had rice and chicken for 7,000 Dong (.50 cent). I checked out some 4 USD hotels but they were not in the same class. I also checked out the weather for tomorrow. If its raining as heavy, I may not go sightseeing on a motor bike (passenger) as planned.
From what I was talking about yesterday, a 19-year-old British man could face the death penalty after being arrested on drug trafficking charges in Thailand today. It said the pills, estimated to have a Thai street value of 3.4 million baht (5,400 pounds) were hidden in his luggage. More information from here.
Singapore is at it again. A new law allowing for the monitoring of all computer activity and “pre-emptive” action, to twart attempted hacking of government computer systems. But some MPs said the new law was another aspect of the city state’s authoritarian side.
Had a great nights sleep although I am in the cheaper rooms so I have no views of the lake which is right beside the hotel. Still, the town is quiet. Most shops close at 9.00pm and there was no one walking or cycling the streets by 10.00pm.
Xuan Huong Lake
Once a trickle originating in the Lat village, Dalat’s centerpiece, Huan Huong, was created from a dam project that was finished in 1923, demolished by a storm in 1932, and reconstructed and rebuilt (with heavier stone) in 1935. You can rent windsurfing boards and swan-shape paddleboats, although in two visits here I have yet to see anyone actually using them — I cannot vouch for the cleanliness of the water.
Wednesday, November 12th, 2003 – Day 267
I got up at 7.30am as I planned to go on a tour but it was raining very heavy and I had no Poncho. I decided to postpone it until tomorrow and go back to bed. I stayed there until 11.00am. It was hella comfortable. It was raining ALL day.
The planned path of Israel’s security barrier will carve off 14 percent of the West Bank, trap 274,000 Palestinians in tiny enclaves and cut off another 400,000 from their fields, jobs, schools and hospitals, according to a U.N. report released Tuesday.
In local news, a former Vietnamese communist soldier turned democracy advocate was sentenced to 10 months in jail Wednesday for “abusing democratic freedoms” after sending a letter to government officials demanding that other political dissidents be released.
Tran Dung Tien, 74, was arrested Jan. 22 and will be released from jail next week, having served most of his sentence while awaiting trial, according to a court official who spoke on condition of anonymity following the half-day trial in Hanoi.
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Dalat Market. (12-11-2003)
I had lunch and dinner at the market. There are about 25 stalls on the top floor on the two building indoor market. There was a wide variety of food including lovely pastries when onions and egg in the centre. They are called BANH BAO. It is a sweet doughy Chinese pastry with a red dot on op and filled with meat, onions and vegtables and dunked in soy sauce.
You get a lot of stares at the market but they welcome the income. The market was very colorful and busy. I bought a disposable poncho for 4000 Dong. I also purchased a tour of the sites surrounding Dalt from Sinh Cafe for 8 USD.
Dalat Market (Cho Da Lat)
Huge, crowded, and stuffed with produce of all varieties, this is the top stroll-through destination in Dalat. Here’s where you can see all the local specialties — and even have a try! Some of the vendors will be happy to give you a sample of some local wine or a few candied strawberries. Dalat in general is low on the hassling tourist touts that plague the big towns and tourist sites in Vietnam, and entreaties from the merchants are friendly; you can walk around without too much hassle here because the locals are doing all the shopping.
This is one boring town. There is f&^$% all to do excpt go on the Internet (3,000 Dong per hour) and drink great coffee. The satelite TV is down so i can watch Karaoke or endless Vietbnamese governemnt meetings. Somethimes that have people dressed up as Viet Cong singing revolutionary songs.
There are no bars or pavement drinking. I just walked around from 8-10.00pm going in cofee places. Its a long process, getting the cofee, dripper, ice, two cups (one for free tea after) etc. Drinking a cup of cofee takes 40 minutes. Still, this must be one of the most boring towns I have been to since I started my trip.
Thursday, November 13th, 2003 – Day 268
I was up for 8.00am to get my mini-van. It was puring rain all night and is still was. The driver said thee was flodding all over Vietnam. There were only two other guys. There was a french and a Japanese guy. We headed off in the rain passing trought some barely pasable roads due to rain.
Lang Con Ca (Chicken Village) – Dalat
The people in this village are not strictly Vietnamese. They are a from the Koho minority. They have their own customs, language and beliefs and they are perecuted for it. There was a lot of trouble here last year and access to these villages were cut off. Many villagers were jailed for talking about indepencence. The Koho make up about 100,000. Hill people are collectively known as Montagnards. It was a VERY poor village but in the middle stands a giant chicken. There are different stories as to why it was built.
(1) A giant concrete chicken towers over the village of Lang Con Ca to scare predators away from the real chickens. The local children enjoy scampering in and out of a hole in the chickens rear end. Villagers eke out a living growing rice, tobacco, squash, corn and pumpkins. They also work in the coffee and tea plantations
(2) It was built by the village chief after the tragic death of a young woman. It’s a story of star-crossed lovers and that sort of thing.
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Dalat – Chicken Village. (13-11-2003)
A young woman wanted to marry a man in another village, but it was forbidden by the chief. She was adamant to the point where the chief relented, but on one condition: She had to go into the forest and bring back a spurred chicken. (They’re rare as hen’s teeth). Of course she never found a spurred chicken and died in the attempt. The reason for the monument is a bit obscure. It’s either a dedication to young love, or the authority of the chief.
There is a lot of trouble in the highlands generally. Thousands had to flee to Cambodia last year. Most were accepted to the USA and some were sent back. Check out Human Rights Watch: Vietnam. tourists were not allowed to come to this vilalge last year. I wandered down the dirt track to a priamry school. It was very basic. it was a two room building with no windows, doors. The kids had few books and were badly dressed. There were 3 teachers. We took photos of them and promised to mail them back to them. I shall do this when I get back.
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Dalat – Chicken Village. (13-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Dalat – Chicken Village. (13-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Dalat – Chicken Village. (13-11-2003)
They especially repress the ethnic minorities known as Montagnards in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Human rights violations have continued unabated since protests for land rights and religious freedom began in February 2001. Human Rights Watch, says Vietnam has intensified repression of ethnic minorities in its Central Highlands region. A statement by the American-based group says people are being interrogated, arrested, beaten and jailed simply because they are Christians or are suspected of supporting the popular movement for land rights and religious freedom.
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Dalat – Truc Central highlands. (13-11-2003)
Bao Dai’s Palace
Completed in 1938, this monument to bad taste provided Bao Dai, Vietnam’s last emperor, with a place of rest and respite with his family. It has never been restored and, indeed, looks veritably untouched since the emperor’s ousting and hasty exile; on a busy weekend in high season, you might get a rush by imagining you’re there to liberate the place and are part of the looting masses — that’s not hard to imagine, with the crowds ignoring any velvet ropes and posing for pictures in the aging velvet furniture. You’ll be asked to go in stocking feet or wear loose shoe covers, which make it fun for sliding around the home’s 26 rooms, including Bao Dai’s office and the bedrooms of the royal family. You can still see the grease stains on Bao Dai’s hammock pillow and the ancient steam bath in which he soaked. The explanations are in English, and most concern Bao Dai’s family. There is pathos in reading them and piecing together the mundane fate of the former royals: This prince has a “technical” job, while that one is a manager for an insurance company.
This was pretty cool as its stuck in a 1950’s time warp. Nothing has been changed since still making it look quite stylish. You could not recreate the furniture and decorations even if you tried. Very nice.
Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery
Otherwise known as the “Crazy House,” this Gaudi-meets-Sesame Street theme park is one not to miss. It’s a wild mass of wood and wire fashioned into the shape of a giant tree house and smoothed over in concrete. It sounds simple, but there’s a vision to this chaos; just ask the eccentric owner/proprietor and chief architect, Ms. Dang Viet Nga. Daughter of aristocracy, Ms. Nga is well heeled after early schooling in China and has a degree in architecture from university in Moscow. In Dalat she has been inspired to undertake this shrine to the curved line, what she calls an essential mingling of nature and people. The locals deem her eccentric for some reason, but she’s just misunderstood; don’t pass up any opportunity to have a chat with the architect herself. On a visit here, you’ll follow a helpful guide and are sure to have fun clambering around the concrete ladders, tunnels, and hollowed-out nooks, and in the unique “theme” rooms of this huge fantasy tree trunk. It’s an actual guesthouse, too. There’s a small family shrine in a large common area at the back. It all spoke to me about Vietnam’s refreshingly lax zoning laws, but to many it’s an interesting, evolving piece of pop art. This is a fun visit.
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Dalat – Crazy House. (13-11-2003)
A very weird place .. and a bit of a dump. The bedrooms (10 of them) are all themed after diferent animals, birds, vegtables like the American Eagle, the Russian Bear, a pheasant etc. Because they are made of concrete there is water leakage and dampness in the wet season. I would not stay there. prices range from 29-60 USD. All the bedrooms have mirrors inthe ceiling for some reason!!! A nice lady showed the three of us around. She had good english and we had good fun with her regarding the rooms.
Dalat Railway Station (Cremaillaire Railway)
Built in 1943, the Dalat station offers an atmospheric slice of Dalat’s colonial history. You can see an authentic old wood-burning steamer train on the tracks to the rear, and stroll around inside looking at the iron-grilled ticket windows, empty now. Although the steamer train no longer makes tourist runs, a newer Japanese train makes a trip to Trai Mat Street and the Linh Phuoc pagoda. A ride costs US$5 and leaves when full.
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Dalat – Railway Station. (13-11-2003)
This was a short 25 minute visit. The station has not changed since 1943, and if you are into Art-Deco its a good visit. They ahve an old Ford Falcon car inthe stationa s well for some reason. Its American and Bullet prrof. they stopped making them in the late 1960’s and they are a collectors item. There is an old Japanese steam engine and a new (1980’s) Russian train in the station as well.
The car is interesting. I was checking it out on the Internet and..
Ironically, the Falcon, one of the most beloved cars of the 1960s, was the baby of one of that decade’s most controversial figures: William Strange McNamara.
McNamara, with his slicked-back hair and granny glasses (and, yes, his middle name really is Strange), is best remembered as the country’s secretary of defense during the Vietnam War.
He was then-president LBJ’s cheerleader for escalation into a conflict which years (and some 58,000 American lives) later he admitted that he hadn’t thought winnable.
But before that became his albatross, McNamara, one of Detroit’s original “whiz kids,” ran things at Ford, the car division he helped rescue from near oblivion in the nifty ’50s.
Starting at just $1,912, an outstanding 417,000 Falcons sold that first year and, in the blink of an eye, new-genius McNamara was off to fight on the New Frontier.
It was under his Pentagon watch, and with his blessings, that Congress in 1964 passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, catalyst for the Vietnam War. After 1964, life would never again be quite the same.
Lake of Sighs (Ho Than Tho)
This lake has such romantic connotations for the Vietnamese that you would think it was created by a fairy godmother rather than French dam work. Legend has it that a 15-year-old girl named Thuy drowned herself after her boyfriend of the same age, Tam, fell in love with another. Her gravestone still exists on the side of the lake, marked with the incense and flowers left by other similarly heart-broken souls, even though the name on the headstone reads “Thao,” not “Thuy.” The place is crammed with honeymooners in paddleboats and motorboats.
Prenn Falls
The falls are actually quite impressive, especially after a good rain. You can ride a rattle-trap little cable car over them if you’re brave or follow a stone path behind the falling water (prepare to get your feet wet). That is a little thrill, of course, but the true Prenn experience is all about staged photos for Vietnamese tourists: couples preening, boys looking macho, and girls looking wan and forlorn. Professional photographers run the show and pose their willing actors on a small wooden bridge, on the back of a costumed horse, with an arm around a guy in a bear suit, on a small inflatable raft in front of the falls, or perched in one of the cool tree houses high above (be careful of the loose rungs when climbing up). Come here to have a laugh and observe until you find out that, as a foreign tourist, it’s you that’s being observed; in that case, say “Xin Chao” or return a few “hellos” and go from there (you’ll be getting your photo snapped for sure). You might walk away with some new chums, not to mention some good tourist chachki, if that is your wont (plastic samurai sword anyone?).
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Dalat – Prenn Falls. (13-11-2003)
We three were the only tourists. We had a wise cracking guide but he usually stayed in the van as we got wet. The rain was very abd at this stage and the two bridges we passed were dangereous as the rivers were at breaking point. They were brown due to the mud. We were the only tourists in the complex. I got soasked. It was impossible to walk behind the walls due to the torrent of rain. We stayed 30 minutes.
When I got to the entrance, a lady selling water screamed and grabbed my legs. I thought I was clever wearing scandals and shorts due to the weather, but there she was holding and inspecting the calf of my leg.
There were 4 leeches on my legs and one on my foot. Evey time she pulled one out, there was a spurt of blood. Ounch.
Terrestrial leeches are common in areas of dense vegetation with a moist climate. Very little can be done to keep from being bitten. There are two types of leeches, those that wait on the ground and latch on to you as you walk by, and those that drop from the overhanging vegetation. Most all of the leeches bite and start drawing blood without you knowing, but feel like a small pin prick.
They have a substance called hirudin in their saliva which is an anticoagulant. So when you are bitten by a leech you will bleed long after it’s had its fill. Generally speaking the bites do not hurt – it is thought that they also have a mild anaesthetic in the saliva. The leeches in Vietnam are, for some reason, particularly painful. Leeches tend to be more prevalent after rain but there is controversy about who in a group is most likely to be bitten – the leader on a trail or the followers.
Leeches (Common Blood-suckers)
Leeches move through the water by undulating like a snake. They can also move along the surface of an animal, rock or piece of wood by ‘looping’. They do looping by attaching their mouth to a surface, pulling their body forward and attaching their tail suckers to the surface. By repeating this looping motion they can move over a surface.
Most have well developed jaws with gristly mouth parts to break through the skin of their victims and suck fluids. Their saliva contains an antiseptic (pain killer) so their victim does not feel them break the skin. Their saliva also contains an anticoagulant (a chemical that stops the blood from turning jellylike and scabbing) called ‘hirudin’. Leeches have very large ‘crops’ that make up most of their digestive organs. The ‘crop’ can hold up to three times the weight of the leech in blood. The leech keeps only the solid parts of the blood as food. While it is sucking and after it leaves the host or prey, the leech’s kidneys eliminate or rid its body of the fluid part of the blood.
If you or a friend finds a leech on your skin, it is important to not pull it off. The leeches’ mouth parts could be left in your skin and cause infection. Infection is more dangerous than the loss of blood. Get out of the water. Use an irritant like salt or heat (lighter, match, hot pin) to make the leech let go and drop away. Then treat the wound. The wound may bleed a bit because of the anticoagulant (see above).
After lunch we visited:
Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen Monastery
What’s refreshing is that you can walk around Truc Lam with no harassment, unlike many other temples and most pagodas in Vietnam. This is a working temple, and though it’s packed with tourists at certain times of the day, you’ll be wandering amid meditation halls and classrooms that are utilitarian, not museum pieces. You’ll get to see monks at work and have an informative glimpse into the daily rhythms of temple life. The complex was completed in 1994 with the aim of giving new life to the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect, a uniquely Vietnamese form of Zen founded during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). Adherents practice self-reliance and realization through meditation. The shrine, the main building, is notable mainly for its simple structure and peaceful air, and there is a large relief sculpture of Boddhidarma, Zen’s wild-eyed Indian heir, at the rear of the main temple. The scenery around the monastery, with views of the nearby man-made lake, Tuyen Lam Lake, and surrounding mountains is breathtaking.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Dalat – Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen Monastery. (13-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Dalat – Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen Monastery. (13-11-2003)
Ita a pretty new complex but its busy with local tourists. I got my picture snapped twice by locals. It was stiill raining. There are some nice views of the lake from here.
We headed back. We were back in the hotel by 3.00pm.
I see Vietnam’s coffee farmers are in crisis. Prices have dropped big time.
In other new, thirteen people were executed by firing squad in two days in Vietnam. Three people were shot at dawn Wednesday at central province of Ha Tinh for trafficking seven kilograms (15 and a half pounds) of heroin from neighbouring Laos. They were sentenced to death in January 2002. Ten others were executed for drug trafficking and murder on Tuesday at Le Xa shooting ground, in northern province of Nam Dinh, in front of nearly one thousand local people.
I cant believe this was a public event. If I was there, I would have gone. Call me what you want!!
In Irish news, it has been found that a pint of plain (stout) is yer only man if you want a healthy heart. Research presented this week in the US suggests that a pint of stout a day could help reduce the risk of heart attack.
Another boring night and I was in bed by 10.00pm. There was nothing to do exept have a long shower, check over the leech bites and watch terrible local TV.
I am worried about my camera. It got a soaking today and when I turned in on tonight it was still misty and damp. Hopefully there is no pernament damage.