Dalat

The day began with another bad breakfast at the Nha Trang hotel. The bus left the hotel at 8 a.m. for the four hour journey to Dalat. This is actually a trip of only about 135 kilometers (roughly 85 miles), but the road is so full of pot holes, there was so much human and animal traffic, and the bus so under-powered in the mountains, that we only managed about 45 Km/h (30 mph) for much of the way.

As we went higher in the mountains the views were gorgeous. The vegetation seemed to grow deeper green as we went higher. One should note that we weren’t going all that high in altitude. We started at sea level and finished at less than 5000 feet.

As we drew near to our destination we began seeing more and more “greenhouses” in the fields. These aren’t actually greenhouses as we know them in Iowa — enclosures designed to hold solar heat. Rather, they are frames covered with a thin nylon mesh that prevents heavy rain from washing away the drops, and provides some diffusion of the bright sunlight.

This area is known for growing flowers, as well as vegetables. A Dutch flower company has contracted with many farmers here for the raising of many kinds of blooms. Coffee, bananas, avocados, and various other produce is also grown in this lush area.

Dalat is a beautiful, clean, and orderly town. Some call it “the Paris of Vietnam,” though it’s hard to see the resemblance. But because the town escaped bombing during the wars, there are some French colonial buildings remaining. Other buildings, while new, are constructed in that style.  

We had a nice lunch in a little “mom and pop” style restaurant, then went to check into the hotel. We discovered that the hotel is only about a block away from “The Crazy House.” This looks like something that could have been designed by Antoni Gaudi and imported from Barcelona.

 Officially, it is the Hang Nga Guesthouse as designed by Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga. Dang, in fact, was inspired by Gaudi, but this property opened as a hotel in 1990 and is still under construction, or at least ongoing remodeling.

Each room is unique and designed around a particular theme, often identified by a large wood sculpture. The Bear Room, for example, has a large sculpture of a bear, while the Kangaroo Room is dominated by a carved kangaroo with red electric eyes.

We walked back to the hotel and prepared for the 3:30 p.m. departure by bus to Dalat University. Here a young English professor gave us a brief lecture on higher education in Vietnam, then spent some time answering our questions. With two college professors in the group, and others with advanced degrees, he probably got more questions than anticipated.

Following that session, four students of the university gave us a walking tour of the campus. The place was nearly deserted, as break has begun prior to the Tet holiday. But we could see that, like the rest of Dalat, the grounds are very nicely maintained.

The same could not be said for the buildings. Lecture rooms were sparsely appointed, with wooden benches similar to what one might see in a 19th century schoolhouse. There was little equipment for visual aids. And the library, for a student body of more than 12,000 full-time and 9,000 part-time students, had a collection of books so small that they all fit into one room, on one floor, of one wing of the building.

The view was nice, however. From the library one can see the largest Buddha in Dalat, as well as a Catholic bell tower with the design of a pagoda. While most students live off campus, the dormitory that houses 4000 students was pointed out. It is nearly 20 minutes walk from the main campus.

In the evening we had our “home-hosted meal.” This is a regular feature on OAT trips. Our hostess was Ms. Dan (pronounced more like Zan) who welcomed us to her spacious, modern new home on the outskirts of Dalat. We had a nice conversation on the way and her English was excellent.

Ms. Dan’s husband (whose name we never quite got) took us across the street to one of his father’s green houses and gave us a tour. While interesting, we had trouble getting all of the details because of the accept and his soft-spoken voice.

We returned to the house, leaving our shoes at the door, and the husband continued to give us a full tour of all three floors of the house. His parents have a bedroom and bath on the ground floor. There is also a huge kitchen and dining area, sitting area, and a “garage” large enough to park two motorbikes.

On the second floor we were surprised to discover a classroom filled with about 16 students, sitting at desks working hard, even though it was 7 in the evening! They were so quiet we didn’t know they were there. Ms. Dan’s mother-in-law has been a school teacher for more than 30 years. For a fee, she tutors these children for an extra two hours each evening. Their parents are anxious for them to get ahead.

Two of the children sang a song for us in English. Mary stepped into her teacher role and led the whole group in “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” which they all knew well and seemed to enjoy singing with her.

Additionally on that floor were bedrooms for the couple, his brother, and his younger sister, whom we also met. On the third floor was a large room for the family altar, a small laundry, and a large multi-purpose room that could be used for exercise, play, or drying clothes.

We enjoyed an excellent meal with Ms. Dan and her husband, however the parents and the younger  sister did not join us. We had a good conversation as we ate, and our hosts were most helpful in helping us understand how they eat and what are considered good manners in Vietnam.

After the meal we moved to the sitting room for tea and looked through their wedding albums to get an idea of how their family is structured and how the wedding took place. We took our leave and returned to the hotel, where we discovered that other groups had had equally positive experiences.