Michael Powell's Blog, page 36
June 1, 2017
The Elephant Falls
About 30 kilometers south west of Dalat, are the Elephant Falls (Tách Voi). This unbroken sheet of water crashing down ten meters makes an impressive backdrop… even for wedding pictures.
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We visited the Elephant Falls immediately after having toured the Cường Hoàn Silk Factory, in the village of Nam Ban. At first, we thought our directions must be wrong, because there was no river in this dusty little town, let alone any hills or cliffs that could possibly allow for a waterfall!
But there was...
The Cường Hoàn Silk Factory
In the small town of Nam Ban, we visited the Cường Hoàn Factory to learn how silk is made, from worm to spool. This was a fun excursion, which tied in well with the nearby Elephant Falls.
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Dalat has a strange tourism scene; you’ll spot plenty of Europeans and Americans on the streets, but many of the city’s most impressive sights are totally devoid of them. We didn’t see any foreigners at the Summer Palace, the King’s Palace, or the Train Station. The same would hold true for the Embroidery V...
May 31, 2017
The Dalat Train Station
Though its days as an important hub of transit are squarely in the past, the Dalat Train Station is still active, welcoming passengers aboard a scenic journey to nearby Trại Mát. Even if you’re not taking a ride, it’s worth stopping by the station to check out its art deco architecture, and the classic locomotives in its yard.
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The train station was built in 1938, when Dalat was en vogue with the French delegation of Cochinchina as a high-altitude escape from the heat of Vietnam. During the A...
The King’s Palace (Dinh I)
Dalat has three palaces, or “Dinh”. The Dinh III is the summer palace of Bao Dai, which we had visited earlier in the day. The Dinh II is the Governor’s Mansion, closed to the public. And then there’s the Dinh I, the “King’s Palace”, built in 1940 by French millionaire Robert Clement, and purchased by Bao Dai in 1949.
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In comparison to the art-deco summer palace, the Dinh I is more dignified and classic; the kind of place in which you’d expect royalty to live and work. The approach to the pal...
The Crazy House of Dalat
When I heard people talking about Dalat’s “Crazy House”, I wasn’t entirely convinced. I assumed it was going to be like some clown who promises “craziness” at your kid’s birthday party, but then he’s actually kind of normal. And while you’re glad that he didn’t kill anyone, part of you is disappointed that his definition of “crazy” was balloon animals.
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So I was surprised when the Crazy House actually lived up to its name. This was, in fact, the craziest house I’ve ever been in. Its architect...
May 30, 2017
The Summer Palace of Bảo Đại
Until he left in 1954 for permanent exile in France, Bảo Đại kept a summer palace in Dalat. Today, the palace is open to tourism. Little has changed since his departure, so visiting provides an excellent glimpse into the life of Vietnam’s final emperor.
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We hadn’t seen any pictures of this palace before arriving, so were surprised and disappointed by the unimpressive, mustard-colored building which sits atop of a bluff southwest of the city center. This looked more like a mental institution t...
May 29, 2017
Cooling Off in Dalat
Conceived and constructed as a resort by the French, Dalat is distinguished by its colonial architecture and leisurely atmosphere. Today, it’s the unofficial capital of the central highlands, and a favorite place for both locals and foreigners to escape Vietnam’s otherwise tropical heat.
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We decided to spend three full days in Dalat. To save time, we flew in from Saigon. There are a couple budget carriers operating in the country, including JetStar and Vietjet Air, and our roundtrip tickets c...
May 27, 2017
A Day at the Suối Tiên Theme Park
One look at the pictures of Saigon’s bizarre theme parks, and we knew we’d be visiting at least one. After careful deliberation, we selected Suối Tiên. Not only did this quasi-religious park look genuinely entertaining, but it seemed delightfully unaware of its own kitschiness. A day of ironic fun awaits… let’s go!
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Suối Tiên was as bizarre as we had hoped. This is a theme park with actual temples, and people actually praying in them. And then there were haunted houses which looked like templ...
The Imminent Transformation of Thú Thiêm
It’s unbelievable that a city of Saigon’s size might still possess undeveloped, riverfront land straight across from downtown. But that’s the case. Saigon has been curiously slow to capitalize on the prime acreage of District 2’s Thú Thiêm ward… but it hasn’t forgotten it entirely. We visited while the area’s most prominent tenants were still grassy hillocks and nuns. Five years later, things would surely look a lot different.
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Saigon is growing rapidly. New skyscrapers and towering apartment...
May 26, 2017
Three Hindu Temples in Saigon
Although the merest sliver of Vietnam’s population practices the faith, a number of prominent Hindu temples are located right in the middle of Saigon. We visited three in a single morning, all of them a short distance from each other in District 1.
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Hinduism was the religion of choice for the Champa kingdom, which was based around Hue and collapsed in the 15th century as the Vietnamese began to roll in from the north. The Champa were highly influenced by India, and remains of their pagodas ca...
