Dalat, A Mountain Retreat

Looking like a quaint village in the alps, Dalat is a "hill station" in the south central highlands and a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the coast. It's easy to understand why young couples flock to this peaceful mountaintop to get married or spend their honeymoons. For us, the "City of Love" with its Lake of Sighs and Love Valley was a perfect place to celebrate Valentine's Day. The air is fresh, lakes are everywhere, flowers are vibrant and abundant. The soil is a deep, rich red, and all the green, growing things seem to love it. Nurseries surrounding the area grow flowers which are shipped throughout Asia. All kinds of vegetables are grown as well, the most popular being artichokes. (Castroville, watch out!) We couldn't wait to taste artichoke tea, a local favorite, and buy some for home. Unfortunately, it turned out to be not our cup of tea. But the strawberries, another local speciality, were a delicious alternative. (Head's up, Watsonville!)

There are quite a few farmers who've done well and live in beautiful homes amongst the nurseries and fields. Even the cemeteries are spectacular. We stopped to take pictures of this extensive and vividly painted Buddhist cemetary surrounding some of the greenhouses (the white buildings on the right). It was here that Lam and we had one of our humorous exchanges of misinformation. Lam, excitedly: "Look, a water tomb!" Sylvia, puzzled: "A water tomb?!" Lam: "No, no. WHAT a tomb!" Oh.

If this photo looks a bit crazy, that's because it is. The Crazy House is a Dalat attraction built by a woman architect whose creativity manages to make the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose seem ordinary. Filled with twisting staircases, mirrors on the ceilings, rooms featuring a bear, an eagle, tiger and even ants, it looks as if it were decorated by Dr. Seuss. Rooms can be rented, but it might be a problem finding the bathroom at night (or even during the day).

For many of us the home-hosted dinner in Dalat was a highlight of our trip. Six of us went to the home of Quyen Di, her parents, Tuan and Lien, and her cousin, Tony. Quyen (pronounced "Winn") presented the women with long-stemmed red roses for Valentine's Day. Tuan and Lien are retired from the restaurant business but get income from the billiards tables in front of their house where students from the nearby university can relax and have fun for a small price. They prepared a delicious meal with a show-stopping dessert - banana, pineapple and strawberry flambé which they cooked in front of us. Tony, a nineteen-year-old university student in Saigon, amazed us with his facility for English - with a British accent, no less! He listens to the BBC. He in turn was amazed by Elaine's resemblance to Princess Diana.

While we were waiting for the taxi to pick us up after dinner, Quyen asked if anyone would like a ride on her motorbike. Jerry leaped at the chance, put on a helmet and zoomed off with Quyen before his spouse could stop him. He said that Quyen was a very good driver, and someone in our group said, "Yes, but what about OTHER drivers?"




The next morning we took a cable car ride over the pine forest to a hilltop monastery where we basked in the peaceful surroundings with hundreds of Vietnamese tourists.

The beautiful views, lush gardens and monks in their orange robes generated a tranquility that was almost medicinal. We could have stayed there all afternoon.
















These young women posing in the midst of the gardens are two reasons why Dalat is called, along with its other appellations, "Eternal Spring City."


The rooms where monks pray, live and eat were open to flower-scented breezes as well as the cameras of curious tourists. Lovely to be a monk in such surroundings.

























In the afternoon we were taken to the University of Dalat where we had an appointment with Professor Phan The Hung, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and International Studies, who spent an hour with us, discussing education and answering our questions. (A sampling: there are 26,000 students at the university, both full and part-time; tuition is $250 per year, a low figure, it seems, until we learn that average income is $2,000 per year. Most parents can't afford to send children to college.) Then we each were paired with a student who gave us a tour of the campus, asking and answering questions. Limh, on the left, and Van Thi Than, on the right, were anxious to speak English with native speakers and impressed us with their knowledge. This is something OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) does so well --- connecting us with people in every walk of life. These are always our richest experiences.

In the evening we visited one of the thirty hill villages near Dalat, this one home of the K'ho people. They've kept traditions alive, sharing through dances their stories of harvesting rice, village life and marriage customs. Here and throughout Viet Nam, it is a matriarchal society with women conducting the business of the household (keeping track of the money---just like in America, right?) Seriously, in this village - and probably many - the man's family is offered a dowry of one, two or more water buffalos. After the marriage, the man lives with his wife's family. (Our host claimed he was worth six buffalos - followed by much laughter. Who knows?)

Nha Trang, A Tropical Paradise

Nha Trang is fast becoming one of the world's most popular destinations. The weather is perfect, humidity lowest in Vietnam, and its bay one of the world's most beautiful. What's not to love? The new highway from the airport into town is broad and fast with incomparable views.

With our first afternoon free we headed towards the city's Buddhist Temple and admired a fairly new reclining Buddha whose face in repose made us smile with him. Above him on the hill is a sitting Buddha who looms above the city and can be seen from all over.










After lighting fifteen sticks of incense at four shrines and offering prayers for the special needs of our family, friends and fellow travelers, we headed to the Cathedral known as the Stone Church. Inside we found our friend, St. Therese of Liseux - no surprise because she's in every church in the world, it seems.

After more prayers and one miracle (St. Anthony found the visor which I had lost at the temple. It was in Jerry's backpack which he had checked TWICE), we went to the beach to put our feet in the warm waves of the South China Sea. Except for the ever-present motorbikes which pursue us in the streets and on the sidewalks (!) we might have thought we were in Hawaii or on a South Seas Island. (Have you guessed yet that pedestrians do not have the right-of-way here?)


The next morning we took a boat to Tringuyen, a small fishing village on an island where we offloaded with villagers and their produce - fish, pigs in gunny sacks, vegetables and crowds of people. We made our way through the village peeking into yards and open front doors, passing by the barbershop (where a barber was removing wax from someone's ear), sidewalk stalls, tables laden with soups ready to be ladled into bowls, a lady sewing parasails, a man repairing his fishing net and this "supermarket." (Note the chalked "X's" on the side. This is to provide protection from spirits after a funeral procession has passed by.) The tiny street opened up into this gorgeous view on the other side of the island where we were to experience our second adventure of the day - a ride in a basket boat!

We bobbed up and down like "three men in a tub" and only wished it had been a longer ride. But more was waiting---another island, another "day in paradise." We were taken to a private beach for nearly two hours of relaxation and swimming. Some of us decided to take advantage of the foot massages. We weren't sure whether the person massaging my feet and legs (a first for me) was a man or a woman. Finally, we decided --- it didn't matter.

Lest anyone think Nha Trang is only about the simple life, here is a picture of part of a half-mile long gondola ride over the water to another island where there is a huge and expensive resort. Resorts are popping up all over, and Nha Trang is fast becoming another Miami Beach. Get here quickly!



Not too far from the city center we visited a "basket village," a place of 2,073 inhabitants whose sole job is making baskets to hold fish. The baskets last about a month, so they'll never run out of work. They use the bamboo which grows in their village. We met Mr. Huong, the village mayor in charge of "control." He was a soldier in the South Vienamese army and after the war was sent to a "rehabilitation camp" for three months of re-education in the tenets of Communism. He was charming and hospitable, offering us tea served by the river in the shade of the bamboo trees while he answered our questions.

This house on the verge of collapse is owned by a 52-year-old man with four children. It is being rebuilt by the Grand Circle Foundation.

We went to the market back in town to explore the exotic goods (dried seahorses?!), spices, vegetables and the fruits - which we tasted (lychees, mangosteen, custard apple and milk fruit).

That night we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day by going to the supermarket and buying gouda cheese from Denmark, crackers, cashews (a product of Nha Trang) and a can of sardines (not my idea). We ate it on a bench in the park by the beach, undeterred by the big rat we saw earlier running across the sidewalk in front of us. Later, back at our hotel, there was a knock at the door, and two of the housekeeping staff had come to wish us "Happy Valentine"s Madam and Sir" with glasses of champagne, candle, hand-made rose and heart-shaped chocolates. Our two days in Nha Trang were quite romantic.

Lovely Hui An

SERENITY ON A LAGOON
FISHING NET AND BASKET BOAT

Our drive from Hue to Hoi An near the Pacific Ocean offered many opportunities to stop and take pictures of life along the coast. It looks a bit different from Santa Cruz on the other side of the Pacific. We passed by China Beach during a downpour and drove past army barracks at DaNang where B52s took off and landed during the war.

We caught the end of a Fishing Festival on the beach complete with a boy banging a huge drum, hundreds of people cheering a tug-of-war and what we assume was the successful benediction of the boats or fish or fishermen. (The boat on the water is one that catches squid, and the scaffolding on top is where the squid dries in the sun.)

Hoi An is a peaceful town on the Thu Bon River about twenty miles south of DaNang. From the 16th century to the late 19th century, it was Vietnam’s most important international seaport town with merchants from both Asia and Europe trading all sorts of goods from spices to gold. (Follow the line up from the porcelain dish on the map to find Hui An.) It lost its standing as an international seaport when the river was unable to handle the larger steamships that began plying the trade routes...a fortunate thing in terms of leaving this lovely town relatively pristine. It offers a view of life as it was with temples, shrines and Chinese style tile-roofed wooden houses intermingled along the long road of the Old Town. It's easy to understand how Hui An earned its place as a World Heritage Site - the third on our journey.



We loved our room on the river and might never have left, but there were many experiences waiting in town. The view was exactly the way we had imagined Viet Nam to look.




We set off to explore and discovered colorful shops and a Japanese-style bridge with an ancient pole vendor chewing betel nut nearby.























The ceiling of a Hindu temple was covered with cone-shaped incense. Prayers for family members hang from each and when the end is lit, it burns for thirty days. People paid for fortunes on slips of paper which they were given in front of a fruit-covered altar dedicated to the goddess of the sea.











The big commercial attraction in Hui An? There are 300 tailors available to make anything for anyone and have it delivered the next day. Many in our group took advantage of the local talent and ordered suits, pants and tops. (Carol, Barbara and Renata are contemplating purchases.) But even more fun was on the schedule---dinner at Champa's where the chef, Hung (which means "hero"), entertained while he also taught us to make spring rolls. We have the recipes for the dinner and will gladly provide a taste of Viet Nam on our return.

The next morning we toured My Son Sanctuary, the fourth World Heritage Site, where the original 72 towers have been reduced to 16 or so. The damaging effects of time along with bombing of the site in 1969 have left it in need of repair. A bomb crater can be seen on the left.






















We were entertained by a troupe of dancers and musicians who presented stories of the daily life of the Champas who came to the area probably in 200 B.C.


We ended our time in Hui An with a walk to the beach to see the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean. On the way we encountered this antique gas pump on the sidewalk still pumping --- after how many years?








Sitting on the beach, we thought about our family and home and the extraordinary beauty that the waves of the Pacific touch on both sides of the world.