Dalat & The Motor Bike Gang

Dalat is the stepping stone to the Central Highlands of Vietnam.  Mist covering the valleys almost year round leads to its name “City of eternal spring”.  So as you can predict there was a wet blanket of fog hovering over the rain saturated streets as yet another overnight bus pulled up in front of the guesthouse.  Icky weather made for a quick journey through the town and local market before settling in for the day.

Crazy House designed by Architect, Dr. Dang Viet Nga was our first destination.  Impressive, unique and very strange!  (See photos)  We hopped on the motor bike rented for the day and scooted to the Dalat Flower Park which not only provides beautiful floral landscaping but is a showcase area for sculptures from the area.  Next was Vallee d Amour aka “Love Valley”. Besides the one amazing view of the actually Valley (lake area), it was filled with numerous picture perfect cheesy “love” props and/or random freaky animal figurines. The two waterfalls also bore the same ridiculously theme park vibe which we thought depreciated the wonders of nature’s beauty.  Very tourist kitsche.
While heading for Chicken Village we missed the turn and ended up in a Motor Bike Gang.  With lunch at hand and probably 10 miles past our location in the wrong direction, we decided to give our butts a rest at a local joint.  Let’s just say local eateries sometimes give you the urge to “Just Say No” no matter how loud your stomach is growling. As we approached the nearest clean table that doesn’t have a swarm of flies buzzing overhead, an Asian gentleman begins to walk toward us.  He and his fellow employees, a group of farmers, were out celebrating a profitable week which included a bonus for each.  Even though, they were already into their feast of a traditional Vietnam’s dishes a warm invitation was extended for us to join.  Luckily, nothing too weird was on the menu and sitting next to the Boss allowed me the pleasure of being closest to the pile of shrimp heads he was spitting out onto the floor.  Several Saigon beers and many “cheers!” later we also were asked to take part in the rest of the day’s festivities including a visit to Good View.

Eight motor bikes made up our gang and we were fierce as we zigzagged through the town’s side streets.  The farmers were 10 girls/women and 2 men.  Our new friends received “hey, did you know Westerners are following you?” looks as the crew stopped for fresh guava and watermelon seeds.  Good view fit the same theme as the other tourist locations in Dalat, kind of cheesy, however it did have these wonderful costume booths for dressing in traditional Asian clothing. Similar to the Western pictures or WANTED picture you might have done at a theme park.  Of course, it was too good to pass up and all the ladies crammed into the clothing closet to find that perfect outfit.   After about a thousand pictures later, Todd and I set back out on our own.  Dalat was not what we expected and sometimes as we learned with our Motor Bike Gang it turns out to be better than expected.