A Tale of Two Cities

The two cities? My homestead of Dalat, Vietnam & Chiang Mai, Thailand. Remarkably similar topography, each the flower capital of their respective countries, each the fruit orchard, each the vegetable centre.

Dalat even has it’s own Doi Suthep, a truly beautiful Zen Meditation Centre, fronting the magnificent Tuyen Lam lake.

For me the most magical town in the world is Sedona, Arizona . But the mountain city of Dalat runs it close, might even beat it, but for the constants rains of the monsoon season (now until end October).. Stunningly beautiful, it was founded over 100 years ago by the French;   “Lat” people are the local “Minority Tribe” “Da” means lake. Remarkably it is “temperate” not tropical.   When the sun goes in its anorak time, and sometimes the nights are deliciously chilly.

Situated around a gorgeous lake, surrounded by pine forests & waterfalls, the oxygen knocks you flat, as does the sight of the remarable new Vietnamese architectural style. As I write these new buildings are in the process of overwhelming the former French Colonial city, built in its day in the style of an alpine resort. ‘Tis a fusion of the old & the new.

It’s a romantic city, the honeymoon capital of Vietnam.

For me, horribly polluted though Chiang Mai may be, it’s irretrievably exotic, full of olde worlde charm. It has Dalat hopelessly outgunned for flowers & tourist trips.  A few years ago I was pulverized by the Chiang Mai heat & listened to a British friend explain that in ten years of his Thai marriage the conversation rarely strayed outside of the domestic arena. In Dalat it is cool & the chatter is about Bill Gates, Condiliza and of course Barak Obama.

Monastry Lake, Dalat

Chiang Mai is a great place to have a rest, put your feet up & recuperate from life’s toils & troubles. When you wish to get plugged back into the mains again come on over to Dalat. It’s a hi-tech ultra-modern city, buzzing with vitality.

Chiang Mai is polite – Dalat is intelligent.

Chiang Mai is charming – Dalat is more beautiful.

Chiang Mai is laid back – Dalat is go go go.

Chiang Mai has its killer smiles and graceful “wais”, sadly lacking here.

Dalat has a great sense of humor, Chiang Mai has its sanuk.

There is no Dalat equivalent of Chiang Mai’s wondrous night market, and it has no night life to speak of, but it’s people have more fun during the day.

French Colonial Villa

Chiang Mai was the scene of a memorable event for me

I watched transfixed as a Thai girl tweaked a policeman’s rear end and give him an affectionate kiss for his troubles. He was trying to unravel a traffic jam by the day market at the time.

Reason’s to be Cheerful 1

Dalat prices.

I live like a king on just $15 a day.

Notable are three beautiful hand made (silk/polyester ) shirts for just $10 each. They get me stopped in the street every day.  

Vietnam is the Cabinet makering capital of the world, I furnished my entire apartment for just $200 – custom built. Beautifully made too.

I eat very well for just $2 a day, shave & hair wash just $1 + tip.

My room is full of local peaches at $1 per kilo, local apples, same same straws. A huge pineapple is just 50c as are the finest pink grapefruits known to mankind.

Lakeside Restaurant, Dalat City Centre

Last, but not least, 8 pieces of Vietnamese smoked salmon for just $3. Brie, camembert, blue cheese & Italian dressing are $1.50 (too expensive).

These are all purchased third party at Vietnamese, not Western prices.

If you go for a private residence then it would be wise to take a leaf out of that man Uncle Frank Visakay’s book and invest in a maid.. Pretty near essential in fact or else you’d be in a fearsome muddle with electricity & water bills. At just $50 pcm + board, food & tv access she’d save you half of that on shopping alone.   

Give her one day off a month & you’ll be a hero.

Sadly, she won’t scrub your back in the shower though, NOT EVEN ON YOUR BIRTHDAY !

This is Vietnam.

In the beautiful Island of Camiguin, the Philippines, your correspondent was offered a “saucy maid” deal by two sisters. Cook for you, clean for you, shave you, bathe you, take care of your “every” need. In that shark infested land their brothers, demanding money with menaces, might have been the end of me. One hell of a way to go though.

So many Girls … So little time

Reasons to be Wary

Tourists in both cities get ripped off, financially mugged. If your taste is for R & R, best not to visit Vietnam at all, for they simply don’t understand the meaning of either word. Rest? What’s that? They are far too busy. Recreation? The natives have time only to see relatives, the concept of a “holiday” is completely alien, so actually “staying” some place for a week or two is incomprehensible to them.

This being their custom, unthinking westerners are hurled round the entire country city by city one day at a time, spend most of the time in a coach, eat so so western food & get mauled by the odious “Moto – cyclists” or taxi drivers.

If you want to “see” this amazing land then why not do your homework, its well tagged & detailed on the net, visit no more than three cities (including a two day stop at in HCMC (max)) , tell the moto-cyclist & “touring” buses to go to hell, eat from the street & clown with the locals, in other words, get off the tourist track altogether.

I sometimes relate to the western tourists (in secret) how to have a memorable day out for just $6, all included. The hoteliers & traders of Dalat just cheer me on, pleased at smiling customers who stay on for a few days more. Plenty of these little trips around. 

TTFN - Grumpy

© Grumpy. All rights reserved by the author.