THE JOURNEY TO ĐÀ LẠT, AGAIN.

 16th Dec 2022

Umbrella art in Dalat

I wanted to return to Đà Lạt (Dalat in English spelling which I will use for ease of typing) because it is a lovely, jolly city and with beautiful surrounding countryside. It is about 250 miles north-east of Saigon in the Central Highlands at an altitude of 5,000ft and set amongst glorious pine covered hills. In the French Colonial days it was where they had their vineyards and smart holiday villas, away from the heat of the lowlands. Indeed one needs to wear a light jersey in the evenings. I had booked a 'night bus' with the 'Futa' bus company which was due to leave the Pham Gnu Lao area of Saigon at 11.00pm and arrive in Dalat at 6.00am. The last time I did this journey it was by day; a very different kettle of fish as it transpired. I was asked whether I wanted an upper or lower deck seat. Not having done this before, I assumed it was to be a normal double-decker bus. I opted for 'upper'. The cost of this 7 hour journey was 300,000 Dong (£10 aprox). Good value, I thought. I feel the following embarkation and 'bedding down' process deserves a full description if only as a warning to those that might follow me. Forgive the length, as it were!

We were taken from the Futa agent's premises in District 1 in a mini-bus to the main bus terminal out of town. The Dalat bus pulled in and I could see that it was not what I had expected. It was the same height as a normal bus, but inside it had 3 longitudinal rows of head to tail upper and lower bunks down the sides and centre. We had to take our shoes off and put them in a bag then squeeze down the very narrow (2ft wide) aisle to find our bunks. There was no room to pass anyone therefore human 'traffic jams' ensued. I had my small backpack and a carrier bag with me plus the bag with my shoes in (suitcase in the cargo hold). My 'upper' bunk was at head height. It soon became apparent that this accommodation was designed for those of Vietnamese size and agility. 

Left: A poor photo of the centre and side line of bunks. Now, I am not exactly fat (I like to think); I would suggest of fairly average 'British' build at 5'9" weighing about 12st7lbs. Neither am I disabled in any way, if a bit creaking at the joints. However, getting up and into the bunk demanded something of the skills of a double-jointed gymnast! There were footholds, in the wrong place, but nothing else to hold onto. Maybe there is a technique to it but it was one hell of a struggle, completed eventually with much grunting, groaning and kicking some poor Vietnamese in the adjacent bunk. Once installed there was no place to put any bags, so I rested my feet on my backpack and balanced the two carrier bags on the top of the seat head which, after another struggle (because the toggle to release it was well hidden and I had to get help) could be reclined to the horizontal. The bunk was just wide enough with my shoulders and thighs tight against the edges and only just long enough to lie at full stretch. Curtains could be drawn along the windows and along the aisle side, so one is cocooned, indeed jammed, into this private space. It was quite comfortable thereafter. There is absolutely no way that someone of the characteristically hefty, indeed lets face it, obese and unathletic  nature of many of my fellow citizens (see many previous photos) could hope to get up to and fit into one of these bunks! 

I managed to get some sleep. I woke up at about 2.30am and wanted to have a pee. I had foolishly failed to do so long before departure. I assumed (I really should stop assuming) that there would be a loo on board. The descent from the bunk proved almost as difficult as getting into it. Combined with the fact that the interior lights had been switched off and the bus was veering around a bit, it was a hazardous procedure. I made it without injury and squeezed my way around the aisles in search of the WC. There wasn't one! I feel we should have been advised. On getting to the front I asked the co-driver what to do. He told me, by sheer good fortune, we would be pulling in to a 'stop' in 5 minutes for a driver change and where there were 'facilities'. We did, and thank goodness for that. It doesn't bear thinking about if we hadn't! On remounting the bus and, with the same difficulty as previously, the bunk, we set off again; now into hilly country with much swerving around unseen tight corners. We arrived at the out of town bus station at Dalat at 5.30am. There was a free minibus transfer into town, but I couldn't check into my hotel until much later, so just got dropped off somewhere near the centre.

On the plus side, there was never ever a requirement to wear those ridiculous face-masks at any stage of this journey. Of course, some ot the Vietnamese did.

I made my way to the nearest little coffee shop (even at this hour many were open) and, not having a clue where I was, set about orientating myself. I did have a poor (old) street map, and a compass which came in handy. With no rush, and a few more coffee breaks, I eventually got my bearings and, chancing it, made my way to the little and remarkably inexpensive hotel (called, quaintly, The Lovely House Hotel) hoping that they might let me in, or at least leave my bags, at about 9.00am. They did with lots of smiles and, indeed, said that the room was ready. I went up for a much needed kip!

This little saga probably explains why nobody in their right mind would ever wish to travel with me.

Dalat was advertising it's annual Flower Festival from 1st-31st December (right). It is a city which is famous for it's standing as one of the world's biggest exporters of flowers. It is 'Flower City'. I soon gathered that, thanks largely to the world-wide covid 'panicdemic' (which Vietnam has now thankfully got over) there is a lack of tourists on which the Festival rather depended. As such the Festival was closed down after the first week of December, is due to recommence during the week after I will have left and due to continue into January (the Têt festival).

Left: A view of part of the city from an observation platform. I publish this short travel revue because I intend to spend a couple of days visiting a few places around here not covered previously, and will report back eventually.