My life in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Min første uge i Vietnam

Tidligt dagen efter ankomst gik turen til Da Lat, også kaldet blomsternes by. Da Lat ligger 8 timers kørsel nordøst for Ho Chi Minh City. Vi (Liv, Marie-Louise, Linn & jeg) havde bestilt en 4 dages tur, hvor transport frem og tilbage til HCMC, 2 dage med guidet ture, hotelophold og morgen-, middag- og aftensmad var inkluderet, til kun 675 kr. pr mand.

Da Lat er Vietnams måske mest franske by og højlandets romantiske centrum, der er lovprist for sin natur. Byen ligger i 1500 meters højde, så klimaet er behageligt året rundt, som var det god dansk sommer.

Og dansk sommer som vi kender det bedst må man da også sige det var deroppe. Det regnede det meste af tiden mens vi var deroppe, dog var vi heldige med regnvejret på det meste af vores guidede ture. Der var (næsten) tørvejr. J

Selvfølgelig var der ingen af os 4 piger der havde tænkt på at tjekke vejret, vi var alle ”bare” gået ud fra at det var godt vejr, og havde derfor kun pakket sommertøjet. Det resulterede i at vi måtte ud den først aften og lede efter cardigans og regnslag, så vi kunne holde varmen med vores sommerkjoler og shorts.

Programmet for vores DaLat tour:

1.dag – City tour

· Bao Dai Summer palace

Bao Dai (1913-1997) var Vietnams sidste konge. Han modtog indtil 1955 en sum af 25 mio. dkr. årligt (i datidens penge) for at fungere som symbol på et fransk, ikke kommunistisk Vietnam. Han boede efter 1954 og til sin død i Frankrig, og havde da også både en fransk og en vietnamesisk kone, hvoraf den vietnamesiske var hans store kærlighed. Den franske kone mødte han da han flyttede til Frankrig.

Crazy House.

Ligger på top 10 over de mærkeligste huse i verden. Villaens skaber Dang Viet Nga er en 73-årige kvinde med en doktorgrad I arkitektur. Crazy House fungere som et hotel og der er ingen af rummene / værelser der er ens indrettet. Projektet blev påbegyndt i 1990, og der bygges stadig til. Det er meningen at alle bygninger skal forbindes med broer.

En overnatning her koster ca. 700-800kr. pr. nat.

· Dalat Cathedral

· The old railway station

Også kaldet Tandhjulsbanen, blev indviet i 1933 med rute til Phan Rang, hvor man kunne skifte og fortsætte til Saigon (i dag kendt som Ho Chi Minh City). Stationen er en tidstypisk bygning fra 1938, her holder i dag et gammelt damplokomotiv der er rangeret ind på et sidespor.

Banen bliver i dag stadig brugt dagligt til udflugtsturer til Trai Mat.

Valley of love

Har sin fået dette tilnavn da franskmændene sin tid ofte brugte deres tid i parken med deres kære med picnichygge osv.

· Prenn waterfall

· Her var der mulighed for elefantridning, og det skulle vi da helt klart også prøve. Det vat rigtigt sjovt, dog bare en skam at turen ikke varede længere end ca. 10 min. Men det var en fed første gangs oplevelse, og helt sikkert noget jeg kunne finde på at gøre igen.

Buddhist meditation Monastery & paradise lake

· Robin hill 1600 m (cable car 2300 m panorama view)

Fantatisk udsigt over nature og markerne med frugt og grønt og kaffe.

2.dag - Bjergtur

· Van Thanh flower farm

· Coffee plantation (time for relaxing, tasting coffee and hand-weaving)

Vietnam er det andet største land med eksport af kaffe. Her kunne vi komme tæt på kaffeplanterne og se hvordan bønnerne ser ud når de er umodne og modne. På denne plantage dyrkede de den meget specielle kaffe kaldet Weazel.(også kendt som kopi-luwak kaffen) Det er en kaffe der bliver produceret i samarbejde med desmerdyr. Dvs. at desmerdyret æder kaffetræets modne bær, og mens bønnerne glider gennem dens fordøjelsessystem, bliver proteinerne nedbrudt, og en gæringsprocces går i gang. dette giver bønnen en mere rund og mindre bitter smag en andre kaffesorter.

Silk factory

Dette sted er et besøg værd for os indkøbere!

Her kunne vi se hele silkeproduktionen foregå på samme sted. Man kunne gå fra den ene ende af ”fabrikken” (det var en lille fabrik, dog kunne vi se at de var i gang med at udvide) hvor de levende larver var, til den anden hvor silken blev vævet. Man fik virkelig indblik i alle led af produktionen, idet man så stativerne hvor larverne blev placeret på, for at lave kokoner, og videre til ledet hvor silketrådene udtrækkes og spindes. Her blev både anvendt små kar, samt større maskinkar. Ude foran på fabrikken sad der 2-3 kvinder og håndsyede, samt broderede mønstre på kjoler mm.

· Elephant waterfall, happy Buddha

At klatre ud til elefantvandfaldet, som er det største vandfald i Da Lat, på våde sten, var en fed oplevelse. Udsigten ved vandfaldet er utrolig smuk, og noget der skal opleves. Dog er det svært for ældre og folk med skavanker at ”klatre” på stien ud til vandet.

· The cricket farm.

· Her avler de græshopper. Disse er en form for delikatesse hernede, dog kan de ikke fås på restauranter med 4-5 stjerner. Efter at have set både store og små græshopper, var der mulighed for prøvesmagning. Må indrømme at der står jeg altså af. Det er ikke lige mig at skal spise kryb, men de andre 3 piger gjorde det, hvilet jeg synes var vildt sejt gjort!

Visiting lat minority village.

Lat village er centrum for lat samfundet, der ligger ved foden af Langbianbjerget, 15 km nord for Da Lat. Her er folk mørkere i huden end andre vietnamesere, og de ældre her snakker kun lat, mens de unge i dag også lære vietnamesisk.

Vi besøgte her en ældre herrer som fortalte lidt om kulturen. Bl.a. fortalte han at han kom fra en anden landsby, og var blevet ”hentet” hertil af hans kones familie.

Langbiang mountain (1950m) driving up to the top by 4wd jeep

Desværre var der meget tåget på toppen, så vi gik desværre glip af den skønne udsigt der skulle være fra toppen af den gamle amerikanske militærbase.

· Domaine de Marie Church (fransk kirke)

Turen tilbage til HCMC var længere end turen til Da Lat. Med hele ti timer siddende i en bus, var vi alle godt trætte da vi kom hjem. Dog endte vi alligevel downtown – også kendt som distrikt 1, sammen med de sidste to danske tøser der var ankommet til hotellet mens vi var væk. Her fik vi lækker aftensmad på en western restaurant ejet af en australier. Stedet var dog lidt dyre i forhold til hvad vi havde været vant til de andre dage hvor vi selv havde betalt for mad.

// Translation

My first week I Vietnam – The trip to Da Lat

Early the day after arrival, we (Marie-Louise, Linn, Liv and I) were heading for Da Lat, also known as the flower city. Da Lat is located approximately 8 hours drive northeast from HCMC. We have bought a 4 days trip which included transportation, 2 days with guided tours, hotel and food for 675 dkr. per person.

Da Lat might be Vietnam’s most French city and also the highland’s romantic center, which is praised for its scenery. The city lies at 1500 meters altitude, so the climate is pleasant all year around and can be compared to the Danish summer.

And I must say, it was the Danish summer as we know it best. It was pouring down while we were up there, but luckily the weather was more or less dry, when we went on the guided tours.

Of course none of us 4 girls have thought about checking the weather. We were all ‘just’ assumed that the weather would be good, and had therefore only packed our summer clothes. As a result of this we had to go out on our first night in Da Lat and look for cardigans and raincoats, so we could keep warm the next couple of days, despite of our summer dresses and shorts.

The program for our trip to Da Lat:

Day 1– City tour

· Bao Dai Summer palace

Bao Dai (1913-1997) was the last king of Vietnam. Until 1955 he recieved 25 mio. dkr. at year in order to function as a symbol of French, non communistic Vietnam. After 1954 and until his death he lived in France, where he met his French wife. Beside the French wife he also had an Vietnamese wife, which was his big love.

Crazy House

It is on the top 10 list of the most strange houses in the world. The creator of the villa is Dang Viet Nga, a 73 years old lady with a doctor degree in architecture.The Crazy House is a hotel where none of the rooms are furnished similar. The Project began in 1990, and they are still building rooms etc. It is the plan that all of the buildings shall be connected with bridges. One night here cost around 700-800 dkr. per night.

Dalat Cathedral

The old railway station

Was inaugurated in 1933 with one route to Phan Rang, where is was possible to change train and then continue to Saigon (today known as Ho Chi Minh City). The station is a typical of 1938 and holds today an old steam locomotive, which is ranked into a siding. Today the station is still being used daily for excursion trips to Trai Mat.

Valley of love

Have been given this name because of the French, who often spend their time in this park with their love ones for picnic etc.

· Prenn waterfall

It was possible to ride elephants and of course this was something that we had to try! It was really fun! But a shame that the ride wasn’t longer than around 10 minutes. But it was a cool first time experience and defiantly something that I would like to do again.

Buddhist meditation Monastery & paradise lake

Robin hill 1600 m (cable car 2300 m panorama view) – fantastic nature view!

Day 2 – Mountain tour

Van Thanh flower Farm

Coffee plantation (time for relaxing, tasting coffee and hand-weaving)

Vietnam is the second largest country with export of coffee. At this plantation we could get up close and see how the coffee beans looks like when they are immature and mature. On this plantation they grow the special coffee named weasel – also known as Kopi-luwak coffee. The coffee is produced in “cooperation” with the weasel. The weasel eats the coffee tree ripe berries, and while the beans slip through its digestive system, the proteins gets broken down and the fermentation process begins. This gives the bean a more round and less bitter taste than other coffees.

Silk factory

This is worth a visit for us as upcoming purchasers! Here we were able to see the whole silk production take place. You could walk from one end of the “factory” (it was a small factory, but we could see that they were in the process of expanding) where silk larvae were living, to the other side where the silk was woven. We really got an insight into the different stages of the production; the racks were the larvae were placed on to make cocoons, the machines where the silk threads were drawn and spun, to the finish products. In front of the factory were 2-3 women who hand-sewn and embroidered patterns on dresses etc.

Elephant waterfall, happy Buddha

To climb out to the Elephant Waterfall, which is the biggest waterfall in Da Lat, on wet rocks, was a great experience! The view at the waterfall was unbelievable beautiful and something that people should experience. However, it is difficult for the elderly and people with disabilities to “climb” the path to the waterfall.

The cricket farm.

In Vietnam crickets are a kind of delicacy, but they do not served them at 4-5 stars restaurants. After seeing the crickets and how they lived and get told how they capture them, it was possible to taste the delicacy. I must admit that I didn’t taste, but the three other girls did. Respect!

Visiting Lat minority village

Lat Village is the center of the lat community, which is located at the bottom of the Langbian mountain – 15 km north from Da Lat. The people who lives here are much darker in the skin, than the rest of the Vietnamese, and the language they speak there is Lat. It is only the young ones who learn to speak Vietnamese.

We visited an older man who tried to tell us about the culture, and that he was from another village, and how it was his wife’s family who had came to get him for married.

Langbiang mountain (1950m) driving up to the top by 4wd jeep

Unfortunately the weather was very foggy on the top, so we missed out on the beautiful view from the top of the old American military base.

Domaine de Marie Church – French Church.

The trip back to HCMC was longer than expected. 10 hours in a bus to get back, and we were all tired. But during our time in Da Lat the last to Danish girls had arrived in HCMC, and we therefore ended up joining them for dinner downtown – also known as district 1. Here we got served with delicious dinner on a western restaurant, owned by an Australian guy. The place, however, was a bit more expensive than we have been used to compared to the other days, where we have pay for food.