City of Eternal Spring
We drive uphill snaking through the rolling hills to Dalat, winding through sprawled orchards, passing by waterfalls and a huge landscaped garden that seems popular. We believe we are in the town centre, going by the traffic and busy streets. Now we have to scout out a place to stay. We peer at several long streets lined wall to wall with 4-5 storey high buildings and narrow commercial looking hotels. Finally we find one at the end of a street. It has large glass windows on three sides. (Given a cold day – generally 15 to 17 degrees centigrade -- surely the large expanse of glass would have helped warm up the room!). We have trouble getting the little girl at the reception to understand what we want. The hotel must be run by the family; the washing machines and the drying yard are just one floor below us on the 3rd floor. We walk around until we find a restaurant that has the menu (in English, as well) displayed on a stand outside. Unfortunately it is closed. We find a bakery. It transpires that there are only two bakeries in town and this was the largest, and always crowded; it carries all kinds of breads and cakes, cheeses, butter, yoghurt and juices. Having skipped lunch we made a meal of cakes, fruits and yoghurt. Our hotel room, despite the large glass windows on 3 sides, remains cold.
Little Paris
We begin the next day by having our driver take me to several hotels. None seems to suit our needs. But there is one that overlooks the valley and is in the neighbourhood of French colonial buildings. (Da Lat was originally developed as a resort by the French in the early 1900s.) We move in that afternoon. Surprise! The receptionist speaks good English; the one at night can read and interpret English but has difficulty speaking the language. The staff was so friendly that they prepare a special vegetarian meal for us and even shopp for the fruits we ask for. Strolling around the area we see how some of the shops look so inviting with such a variety of fruits all laid out attractively. The salad vegetables are amazingly fresh.
Later that afternoon, we step into the cable car across a valley. The 2.4 km ride takes us over the pines, chestnut trees and mangroves, towards Trac Lam Pagoda.
Theme park? NO!
On our way towards HCM we come across a curious structure that could have come out of a fairy tale. We could have dismissed it as part of a children's playground or a theme park. Fortunately we don't.
This is Hằng Nga guesthouse! From the outside it looks like a cave dwelling but as we get closer we see that it has more than meets the eye.
Gaud(y)i!
As we step inside we are mind boggled by its eccentricities. Tree house doors open into dungeons. Concrete roots spiral up as staircases. At times the staircases seem suspended in mid-air. The rooms are all awkwardly shaped but adequately furnished with equally bizarre furnishing and prints. It's all gaudy. And there's the clue. It is truly Gaudi for the house was built by Dang Viet NgA, the daughter of an architect, herself an architect whose source of inspiration was Gaudi.
As we walk down the stairs on the outside plump avocados hang temptingly from the huge tree
A other discovery
We drive towards HCM till we reach what looks like a major resort in lush surroundings offering all kinds of thrills like rappelling down waterfalls, canyoning, ziplining etc. We booked in to enjoy the waterfalls and the nature trails. At dinner there is even a cultural performance.
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