Thursday, April 27, 2000
A 6 hour drive to Dalat 5000ft above sea-level in the mountains. For the 1st time since leaving China, I am not hot. It is blissfully cool here in the valley some 1000 metres above sea level. Dalat is the center of fruit and vegetable growing for Southern Vietnam. We also passed many tea and coffee plantations. The average speed was about 40 kph partly because the roads are so full of bikes, scooters, buffalo, etc and partly because the roads are not in very good condition. On the way, we stopped to visit the village of a hillltribe minority. They farm and the women weave. They produce lovely silk scarves, tablecloths, bags etc. They have a very effective selling technique which is to say “please buy something from us – it will help a minority”.
Friday, April 28, Dalat to Nha Trang
Before leaving Dalat, we drove through the neighborhood with elegant old French villas quietly crumbling into a sad state of decay. It used to be the holiday resort for the rich who came for relief from the heat of the rest of the country. We visited a monk who lives in a lovely temple and is an artist. He is incredibly prolific with thousands of paintings hanging everywhere. He paints some mediocre oils but mainly does scroll type paintings with poems in Vietnamese, French or English all reflecting beauty, peace and happiness. Apparently he has had shows in the US as well. I bought a little scroll for the princely sum of $5. He had a lovely sense of humour ? making a show of primping his shorn head before I took a Poloroid photo for him. I regret not having spent more time talking with him
Dalat also seems to have a strange sense of kitsch. Crazy Horse is a hotel constructed to look like the rooms are in treetops. Each room has a theme – the tiger room has a life size tiger prowling around with red light bulbs in each eye. The beds are curvy and fitted into the “tree” with special cut mattresses. It’s the fantasy of a Vietnamese woman architect who studied in East Germany. Scenic spots are also filled with cutesy little animals fashioned out of concrete or men dressed as cowboys to take you on pony rides.
The scenic road to Nha Trang goes through a mountain pass with numerous stomach turning switchbacks in the road and no barrier. Occasionally there are warning signs showing a car falling off the edge – not very reassuring. Below you can see the lush green patchwork of the coffee, tea, tobacco fields and other produce. Every now and then an extinct volcano pops up in the middle of the field. This part of the country is incredibly hot – there is no breeze to speak of and we reckoned the temperature must be about 38-40 degrees Celsius with 80% humidity
We stopped at a very pretty temple but I was rather shocked to see that many little swastikas were used as a pattern. My guide informed me that swastikas were originally Buddhist symbols symbolizing goodness and the pattern goes the opposite direction to a swastika. This dragon is made of small Buddhist symbols painted on ceramic mosaics
Nha Trang is a seaside resort full of Vietnamese on vacation as well as the handful of Western tourists. Once again, I found a cyclo to give me a tour of town. It?s such a pleasant way to get your bearings. They often say you should pay them whatever you think appropriate. I feel so guilty about having this guy pedal me around for an hour that I always overpay. He looked absolutely delighted at the $6 I gave him. I hope I?m not corrupting the economy! I had a fabulous Italian meal at the ?Sailing Club? on the beach
One of the things that constantly surprises me is that no one seems to resent Americans here. Despite the impending celebrations on Sunday for the 25th anniversary of the end of the “American War” as they call it and the Liberation of Southern Vietnam, no one seems to harbor resentment. Senator John McCain is currently visiting Hanoi and from the press reports, he has been saying that the wrong side won and that he cannot forgive his captors. I wonder what he is trying to accomplish.
Route 1 is the main highway between Saigon and Hanoi. Highway is perhaps an overstatement. Everything is on it – we stopped for herds of goat and cattle crossing the road, there are ladies with piglets in their bicycle panniers, water buffalo pulling loads of hay, scooters carrying families of 4 or even 5, school girls in white dresses on bicycles, etc. I even saw an elaborate gold and red coffin being towed by a motorcycle although there was no indication if it was occupied or not.
Saturday, April 29 Nha Trang
It was too hot to be outdoors at 1pm when my day?s sightseeing ended. I retreated to the blissful cool of a cyber caf