2nd - 5th Jan 2020
We arrived in Dalat at 5.30pm. The bus company provided free-gratis mini-bus transport to my hotel, the Dalat de Charme Village (left). I had booked this the day before. It was cheap (£20pn), built in French Colonial style but I had not checked the location. It was about 3 miles out of town down a small road in the middle of goddamn nowhere! Nothing wrong with the hotel although there appeared to be no other residents around when I got there. The bar and restaurant were closed but I could order a drink (Dalat wine) and sandwich at reception. The accomodation was in comfortable and clean chalets plus good TV with decent balcony views towards the hills to the west. I discovered that the only time the place seemed busy was at breakfast. I presume the guests, mostly Vietnamese I think, then all left to do their sightseeing or whatever and didn't come back 'til late. That first evening I initially tried walking to see if I could find some shop or hostelry nearby. After 30 mins walking I gave up. It was a taxi ride to town (or anywhere interesting) but the saving grace was that you could order a 'Grab' motorbike taxi at the hotel which turned up promptly, was quick and only cost about 80p for the 15 minute ride to town.
I started off by wandering around the vast busy market in the centre. This morphed into an even bigger and busier 'night' market. There were loads of small (and big) hotels around here and I wish I had chosen one of them. I should have stuck to my policy of only booking one night in advance! Mais c'est la vie........
Dalat is famous for flowers. They have a big flower festival every year which had just finished when I was there (fortunately probably). Every structure is covered in flowers of some sort. Left: Flowers on wheels bordered the lake.
Right: Flowers on all the embankments and roadsides.
Next up I decided to visit the 'Crazy House' which is well advertised and well named. What an extraordinary construction, very much in the Salvadore Dali tradition of totally bonkers architecture. It consists of three or four (difficult to tell) buildings of weird design and varying height surrounding a small courtyard interconnected by a maze of passageways and vertiginous steep and narrow outside stairways (with low or sometimes non-existent guard rails) some at about 80ft from ground level. It would most definitely fail western 'elf 'n safety' regs.
I will try to show a selection of views of this 'house' complex but impossible to show it all together. There were plenty of tourists wandering around including many Russians for some reason who 'barge' their way around, and you never quite know where you are going or have been. Very disorientating.
Left: Click on this to enlarge. It tells you more about the place and its 'idiosyncratic' architect.
A stroll around the lake took me past this large spectator stand (right). I think it must be used when they do things on the lake and during the flower festival. It has a large shopping complex beneath it. The flags of all the SE Asian countries were flying.
Further on I took a detour to the old railway station (left). It is no longer on a main line but runs an old fashioned 'tourist' train for a 30 minute trip out to the east to the town of Trai Mat and back. The building has been well restored and there is a very decent restaurant inside.
Right: An ancient locomotive with a less ancient local posing alongside.
Left: Our train to Trai Mat. The thing that pulled it was a small modern diesel affair.
We travelled slowly and in some comfort on soft leather seats (right).
One of the extraordinary views en-route was mile upon mile of poly-covered greenhouses. They stretched to the horizon on either side of the railway. The amount of flowers and shrubs produced here must be vast. I presume they cannot all be just to bedeck Dalat. They must be for export worldwide.
On arrival at Trai Mat we were told we had 50 minutes to amuse ourselves before the train departed. There is a famous pagoda to visit. Actually, being thirsty, I was more interested in finding a nice café for a cup of coffee or glass of beer. There weren't any that I could see. What a dump! So I followed the crowd to the pagoda (right). Yes, a nice pagoda I'm sure, as far as pagodas go, but I've seen so many before. Spent 5 minutes here and eventually found a place that sold beer. Phew! A man could die of thirst in Trai Mat. You would have thought that some enterprising person might have opened a decent hostelry at the station.
Interestingly there are many Christian churches in this part of the world. I saw several on the bus journey and this one, amongst others, in the town (left). I imagine the French had something to do with spreading the Christian faith. There is of course the large imposing RC Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon.
On return I continued my stroll around the lake and came to the Flower Park. Entrance (right). Obviously popular with tourists and many bus loads of them were arriving while I was there.
The gardens cover a large area either side of a long ornamental waterway with lots of fountains and contain many varieties of flowers and shrubs. I am no gardening expert and frankly have difficulty in telling a flower from a weed but these gardens were certainly colourful.
Right: This pony stood around hooked up to a cart covered in flowers. It was very well behaved. I'm surprised it didn't get bored and just go for a walk.
Left: A large bottle of Dalat wine featured in one spot. I believe the French produced good wine in these parts before the vineyards fell into neglect after they left. There are now several restored vineyards but from my experience the wine they produce is not very good. Neither is it cheap. The Vietnamese are not really wine drinkers.
Right: Roses with statues.
Left: One of the fountains.
Right: A flowery musical 'objet d'art'.
Left: Several years ago these penguin waste bins were all over Saigon. They aren't there now and I sort of wondered what had happened to them. I now know. They have migrated to different parts of the country. Why penguins? I haven't a clue. I don't think Vietnam is a natural penguin habitat. They must have been bought as a job lot.
I found a remarkable pub that evening called 'Roofs' in the centre of town (left). It is on 6 floors connected by narrow staircases. The little bars on each floor were 'rustic' to say the least. Plenty of scope for banging your head on the overhanging forestry.
Part 2 in and around Dalat to follow.
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| Dalat |
The charming town of Dalat is about 300kms (190 miles) north-east of Saigon. It is up in the hills at an altitude of 4900ft. Warm in the day but sweater-wearing cool at night, it is where the French colonialists used to go to escape the heat, build their holiday homes and make wine. There are still many French colonial style buildings which surround the large artificial Xuan Hong lake. The surrounding countryside is very scenic with pine forested hills and a large national park; popular with trekkers and nature lovers.
I chose to travel there during the day by bus to get a view of the countryside. It was a 7½ hour journey leaving at 10.00am and remarkably comfortable (and inexpensive). The bus had fully reclining seats, good air-con and a 'cabin crew' service for soft drinks and snacks. We had two stops en-route; one quick pee-break and a 30 minute one for lunch at a large transport café. We passed through some spectacular scenery up twisty mountain roads. Having said that the roads, sometimes dual carriageway, were in remarkably good nick and there were never any traffic jams, or roadworks.
We arrived in Dalat at 5.30pm. The bus company provided free-gratis mini-bus transport to my hotel, the Dalat de Charme Village (left). I had booked this the day before. It was cheap (£20pn), built in French Colonial style but I had not checked the location. It was about 3 miles out of town down a small road in the middle of goddamn nowhere! Nothing wrong with the hotel although there appeared to be no other residents around when I got there. The bar and restaurant were closed but I could order a drink (Dalat wine) and sandwich at reception. The accomodation was in comfortable and clean chalets plus good TV with decent balcony views towards the hills to the west. I discovered that the only time the place seemed busy was at breakfast. I presume the guests, mostly Vietnamese I think, then all left to do their sightseeing or whatever and didn't come back 'til late. That first evening I initially tried walking to see if I could find some shop or hostelry nearby. After 30 mins walking I gave up. It was a taxi ride to town (or anywhere interesting) but the saving grace was that you could order a 'Grab' motorbike taxi at the hotel which turned up promptly, was quick and only cost about 80p for the 15 minute ride to town.
I started off by wandering around the vast busy market in the centre. This morphed into an even bigger and busier 'night' market. There were loads of small (and big) hotels around here and I wish I had chosen one of them. I should have stuck to my policy of only booking one night in advance! Mais c'est la vie........
Dalat is famous for flowers. They have a big flower festival every year which had just finished when I was there (fortunately probably). Every structure is covered in flowers of some sort. Left: Flowers on wheels bordered the lake.
Right: Flowers on all the embankments and roadsides.
Left: Flowers on rafts all down one side of the lake.
OK, you get the message; lots of flowers.
Next up I decided to visit the 'Crazy House' which is well advertised and well named. What an extraordinary construction, very much in the Salvadore Dali tradition of totally bonkers architecture. It consists of three or four (difficult to tell) buildings of weird design and varying height surrounding a small courtyard interconnected by a maze of passageways and vertiginous steep and narrow outside stairways (with low or sometimes non-existent guard rails) some at about 80ft from ground level. It would most definitely fail western 'elf 'n safety' regs.
I will try to show a selection of views of this 'house' complex but impossible to show it all together. There were plenty of tourists wandering around including many Russians for some reason who 'barge' their way around, and you never quite know where you are going or have been. Very disorientating.
Right: An example of the muddle of narrow (2ft wide) and steep stairways. Problem if you met someone coming towards you.
Left: So easy to fall over the side and it is a long way down! There is most certainly no 'wheelchair access' here. Or safety net!
Right: Curiously, in amongst a myriad of rooms serving varying functions, or none, there are some, randomly situated, which are fitted out as comfortable accommodation with toilets and showers en-suite. I can't imagine who uses them.
Left: Click on this to enlarge. It tells you more about the place and its 'idiosyncratic' architect.
A stroll around the lake took me past this large spectator stand (right). I think it must be used when they do things on the lake and during the flower festival. It has a large shopping complex beneath it. The flags of all the SE Asian countries were flying.
Further on I took a detour to the old railway station (left). It is no longer on a main line but runs an old fashioned 'tourist' train for a 30 minute trip out to the east to the town of Trai Mat and back. The building has been well restored and there is a very decent restaurant inside.
Right: An ancient locomotive with a less ancient local posing alongside.
Left: Our train to Trai Mat. The thing that pulled it was a small modern diesel affair.
We travelled slowly and in some comfort on soft leather seats (right).
One of the extraordinary views en-route was mile upon mile of poly-covered greenhouses. They stretched to the horizon on either side of the railway. The amount of flowers and shrubs produced here must be vast. I presume they cannot all be just to bedeck Dalat. They must be for export worldwide.
On arrival at Trai Mat we were told we had 50 minutes to amuse ourselves before the train departed. There is a famous pagoda to visit. Actually, being thirsty, I was more interested in finding a nice café for a cup of coffee or glass of beer. There weren't any that I could see. What a dump! So I followed the crowd to the pagoda (right). Yes, a nice pagoda I'm sure, as far as pagodas go, but I've seen so many before. Spent 5 minutes here and eventually found a place that sold beer. Phew! A man could die of thirst in Trai Mat. You would have thought that some enterprising person might have opened a decent hostelry at the station.
Interestingly there are many Christian churches in this part of the world. I saw several on the bus journey and this one, amongst others, in the town (left). I imagine the French had something to do with spreading the Christian faith. There is of course the large imposing RC Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon.
On return I continued my stroll around the lake and came to the Flower Park. Entrance (right). Obviously popular with tourists and many bus loads of them were arriving while I was there.
The gardens cover a large area either side of a long ornamental waterway with lots of fountains and contain many varieties of flowers and shrubs. I am no gardening expert and frankly have difficulty in telling a flower from a weed but these gardens were certainly colourful.
Right: This pony stood around hooked up to a cart covered in flowers. It was very well behaved. I'm surprised it didn't get bored and just go for a walk.
Left: A large bottle of Dalat wine featured in one spot. I believe the French produced good wine in these parts before the vineyards fell into neglect after they left. There are now several restored vineyards but from my experience the wine they produce is not very good. Neither is it cheap. The Vietnamese are not really wine drinkers.
Right: Roses with statues.
Left: One of the fountains.
Right: A flowery musical 'objet d'art'.
Left: Several years ago these penguin waste bins were all over Saigon. They aren't there now and I sort of wondered what had happened to them. I now know. They have migrated to different parts of the country. Why penguins? I haven't a clue. I don't think Vietnam is a natural penguin habitat. They must have been bought as a job lot.
Right: Just outside the entrance/exit was a row of these rather tarty horse-drawn carriages. They took passengers up the lakeside to the town centre and they did so at an alarming speed. The horses were galloping up the road! They must have been knackered at the end of the day. Yeee-haa.
I found a remarkable pub that evening called 'Roofs' in the centre of town (left). It is on 6 floors connected by narrow staircases. The little bars on each floor were 'rustic' to say the least. Plenty of scope for banging your head on the overhanging forestry.Part 2 in and around Dalat to follow.
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