The last time we were in Da Lat, it rained. It poured. Pairs of animals began gathering near the swan boat dock. I discovered that it is, in fact, possible to soak a Tilley hat so completely that it is useless as rain protection. Nothing dried until we reached Na Trang on the coast. This time - what a difference. Sun! Temperatures in the 20s! Beautiful views of the surrounding mountains! Mild sunburns!

Da Lat is a city at the southern end of the Central Highlands. The area has been the home of minority indigenous tribes for centuries, but was "discovered" by a French doctor in the late 1800s. The French occupiers set up a hill station which, because of the elevation and corresponding cooler climate, quickly became popular as a retreat from the hotter areas of the country. Da Lat is full of French-style villas dating to this time. The last Emperor of Viet Nam had a summer palace here, and the first modern university was established in the city (it was cool enough for the students to concentrate on their studies). During the American War, the city was not bombed, as officials from both sides of the conflict had summer homes in the area.

View of Da Lat - note the Eiffel Tower

Da Lat is famous for its food production; the climate allows for the growing of squash, beans, lettuce, strawberries, avocados, artichokes, coffee, etc. The area looks very much like parts of BC, with pine and cedar trees, roses, and hydrangeas everywhere.

We've spent two days here since our epic 10 hour (!) bus ride from HCMC. We first visited 'Chicken Village', a minority tribe village. The villagers make some, if not most, of their living from sales of traditional weaving to passing tourists. As we were walking through, our tour leader stopped to visit one of her friends, a Buddhist nun - one of the few Buddhists in an otherwise Catholic community. We were all invited in, given bananas and tea, and bought some of her hand-made incense. Another Vietnamese serendipity moment.

The next stop, the Dragon Pagoda, is completely covered by intricate mosaics made of porcelain sherds and the occasional beer bottle. Part of the complex featured a huge female Buddha statue which, upon closer examination, was completely covered by now-dried flowers - it must have been spectacular when the flowers were fresh.

Part of the Dragon Pagoda Complex

Detail of mosaics at Dragon Pagoda

Our final stop, the city museum, provided information on the areas indigenous rocks and minerals, plants, and animals. There was a large section devoted to the traditions of the various tribes of the area, as well as examples of artifacts from archaeological sites from at least four separate time periods and archaeological cultures.

Water buffalo is pleased to meet you

Artifact from ancient Brahmin culture temple in the area - a 'linga-yoni', which would have sat on the altar.
'Linga' represents male; 'yoni', female. You figure out which part is which. 

The second day was a free day, part of which a subgroup of us spent taking a cable car over terraced vegetable plots and tall pines to the Truc Lam pagoda/monastery and meditation gardens. The gardens were beautiful, filled with plants only grown as annuals in Saskatchewan! At home, poinsettias are plants you buy at Christmas and then forget to water; here, they grow into a shrub.

Terraced fields as viewed from the cable car

Bird of Paradise (top) and Poinsettia (bottom)

One amazing memory from Da Lat will definitely be our dinners at the Art Cafe. Correction - the New and Original Art Cafe. Apparently, the restaurant's owner was convinced to sell the name to someone else (since the restaurant was so popular and well-known, others wanted to get in on a good thing). That Art Cafe is a few doors down from the New Art Cafe (which is really the original Art Cafe). Does that make sense? Good.

Fortunately, you can't sell quality, talent, or magic.  The food is wonderful and inexpensive - after our meal the first night, no one had any interest in going anywhere else for the next two. The really special part is the owner, Vo Trinh Bien. Bien (in Vietnamese, the first name is last, the surname first) is an artist; he's responsible for all the art hanging in the restaurant. He's also the only finger-paint artist in the country, and paints a picture for each diner near the end of their meal. Using only ink, water, a sponge, and his own palm and fingers, Bien produces amazing black and white landscapes featuring bamboo, moonlight, mountains, etc. in less than five minutes.

Tomorrow, we begin our tour of the Central Highlands. It's unlikely that there will be internet access available, so the next update may not be for a few days.