Dalat

While moving toward Cambodia a natural stop along the way for us was Vietnam's hilly city of Dalat. By lucky chance we found this cute little guesthouse, as the one recommended in our guidebook was no longer open. So far we've stayed in many places and most of the time we're left with a pleasant impression and surprised about us being able to find these places.

Dalat is a typical city planned on a hilly landscape, with a maze of streets running up and down and connected by stairs and small alleyways. Us both being lovers of maps and being very confident in our way around, we got lost... However, as nice as the city may be, exploring the surrounding areas is why one comes to Dalat. This is exactly what we did by renting a scooter and riding out to the elephant waterfalls.

Along the way, there was a coffee plantation and as the vietnamese are famous for their rich coffee tradition, we had to make a stop. Traditionally, vietnamese coffee is served in single person portions, with the coffee beans ground at the last minute retaining their full flavor the longest. You have to wait for the slow drip process to fully savor the taste - but the wait is worthwhile  The Coffee has thicker texture and is stronger and is typically served with condensed milk, making it very smooth.

overlooking the coffee plantation.

We arrived at the top of the Elephant waterfall, where the walking trail toward its bottom pool begins.i There's a turn in the trail that takes under the fall itself, where you can't avoid being splashed by the rushing water. Capturing the full intensity of being there is impossible on camera.

At the bottom of the falls.

As we were about to leave the falls, we happened to notice a roof of a temple and decided to pay it a visit. On both sides of the grand staircase that led to the temple were sculptures of turtles (the figure of wisdom) and dragons (the figure of power).

Inside, the temple is divided into 3 parts. A Buddha statue in the center and 2 majestic figures of multi-armed Guanyin  an East Asian deity of mercy, and a bodhisattva associated with compassion.

Outside the temple there's a lovely garden with a massive statue of Budai, who is usually identified as an incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha. He's almost always shown smiling or laughing hence the nickname in Chinese "Laughing Buddha".

Enjoying the colors.

On the way back, we visited a silk factory, which had the entire process of silk fabrication on display.

The silk worm cocoons are stored in shallow woven baskets.

Silk reeling is the process by which a number of cocoons are reeled together to produce a single thread. This is achieved by unwinding filaments collectively from a group of cooked cocoons at one end in a warm water bath and winding the resultant thread onto a fast moving reel.

Drying silk thread.

Silk worms feeding on mulberry leaves.

The silk thread produced in the factory is later used to create elaborate tapestry by local artists.

With some time to spare, we decided to visit a picturesque lake on the outskirts of Dalat. We got there just in time to enjoy a lovely sunset.

With curiosity to experience the architectural heritage of Dalat, we paid a visit to Dalat's "Crazy House". This is the brainchild of a local architect Mra Dang Viet Nga, the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's right hand man, who studied architecture in Soviet Moscow. It's a bizarre marriage of Gaudi and Lord of the Rings construction. The whole complex seemed to be made up of 5 different buildings with predominantly organic curves, and a maze of connecting staircases all around - outside and inside.