Interestingly Da Lat was spared the ravages of war through some agreement on both sides. I have read that military leaders on both sides used this place as a cool respite – the allied commanders in one corner and the Viet Cong in another corner. Such are the curious rules of war.
It has rained overnight in Da Lat and the city square is wet. There is a huge market place in the centre that is alive with anything you could possibly imagine. Fresh food of every description, and some that defies my simple vocabulary, is on sale here. Live fish in plastic buckets and prawns, and meats of all sorts on the chopping blocks and hanging up, vegetables beautifully displayed and fresh, many of which are very familiar. Even kids of Vietnam have broccoli to contend with. Mangoes and mangosteens are everywhere and cheap. I could go on but a special mention has to go to the live toads in big plastic containers enjoying their last bounce around. It’s so busy here and it’s a fight just to move through the crowds. I’ve been told entrepreneurs will buy product from other traders and resell as their own.
From there it’s on with the walking legs and a trusty map for a good trek around Da Lat. it’s hilly here so there are some great views for which hotels take the best advantage. I find a cafe down a narrow lane way that looks like a good chance for coffee. The proprietress doesn’t speak English but as soon as she recognizes I’m from not around here, off goes the Vietnamese music and on with country and western! I laughed out loud.
There is no plan to this walk, which is typical of my disorganised style, and I find myself at a place where people are cuing up to get in. I tag along. It’s one of the three emporial summer palaces where the Emperor of Vietnam used to stay. Emperor Bao Dai was the last to rule, escaping to France after the French capitulated to Ho Chi Minh in 1954. This summer palace is now open to tourists. It’s a fascinating insight into a non-typical lifestyle. The building itself is French-built Art Deco styled construction of a lot of marble and timber. Apparently the furnishings have been kept as they were in the time.
I catch up with Jimmy and his girl for dinner in a market eatery. The food was a bit ordinary.
angusmccoll 