Thursday, July 27, 2006
The Easy Rider
Today, I overcame an early morning of depression and my fears of a premature death to take a tour of the Central Highlands with an Easy Rider. An Easy Rider is a local motorbike guide who shows his client around the countryside on the back of a late model Russian or East German bike. It was fun. We went racing down the highway, dust showering our faces (the helmet mask helped a little bit), avoiding potholes, cows and trucks coming head-on who conveniently decided to overtake as we approached them.
We visited a minority village, which has become a little bit kitzch because the government has installed a giant wooden chicken in the middle of town. Yes, a wooden chicken. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to wonder through a place where Vietnamese is still not that widely spoken. In many ways it reminded me of the beautiful Guatemalan Highlands. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do a trek here.
My friendly guide, Le, also took me to a waterfall, which had become too touristy and a pagoda. Buddhism is the most widely observed faith in Vietnam. Having said that, I have seen gazillions of churches while driving through the countryside.
The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Crazy House. It is the queen of tacky and kitsch, the epitome of bizarre. The proprietor, Mrs. Dang Viet Nga, has a PhD in architecture from a university in Moscow. The house is not easy to describe, but it is definitely something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. There are caves, giant spider webs, concrete tree trunks, and even concrete giraffes. In the past, the Dalat People's Committee has not taken kindly to such architectural innovation. Mrs. Nga does not have to worry about the Dalat People's Committee. She is about as well connected as one could possibly be in Vietnam. Her father, Truong Chinh, was Ho Chi Minh's right hand man and successor. She is clearly not that crazy. Hundreds of tourists each day pay 50 cents to take a look around her house.
We visited a minority village, which has become a little bit kitzch because the government has installed a giant wooden chicken in the middle of town. Yes, a wooden chicken. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to wonder through a place where Vietnamese is still not that widely spoken. In many ways it reminded me of the beautiful Guatemalan Highlands. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do a trek here.
My friendly guide, Le, also took me to a waterfall, which had become too touristy and a pagoda. Buddhism is the most widely observed faith in Vietnam. Having said that, I have seen gazillions of churches while driving through the countryside.
The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Crazy House. It is the queen of tacky and kitsch, the epitome of bizarre. The proprietor, Mrs. Dang Viet Nga, has a PhD in architecture from a university in Moscow. The house is not easy to describe, but it is definitely something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. There are caves, giant spider webs, concrete tree trunks, and even concrete giraffes. In the past, the Dalat People's Committee has not taken kindly to such architectural innovation. Mrs. Nga does not have to worry about the Dalat People's Committee. She is about as well connected as one could possibly be in Vietnam. Her father, Truong Chinh, was Ho Chi Minh's right hand man and successor. She is clearly not that crazy. Hundreds of tourists each day pay 50 cents to take a look around her house.
