DALAT, VIETNAM

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

DALAT, VIETNAM

Sainted followers of this whimsical travel blog know we here at Vacations From Home central are serious about coffee and our next stop on our recent tour of Vietnam was to Dalat a picturesque town in the central highlands. This is where coffee is grown and the coffee culture in Dalat can leave one feeling jittery with delight over the prospect of drinking weasel shit coffee at the source of its excretion.

Yep, that’s what they call it: “cà phê phân chồn” and it is expensive. The Civet is a type of weasel that eats coffee beans. They pluck only the ripest coffee cherries, and the actual coffee bean passes through their GI tract, partially fermenting the beans as they merrily make their way from one end to the other. Industrious Vietnamese who find food sources in a myriad of odd places, think partially fertilized duck eggs or rats, discovered if they rinse off the crud and roast the beans a very strong and flavorful coffee can be brewed.

We had read about this odd coffee and wanted to sample it when given the chance. We were told Dalat is the place.

coffee prep

As part of an add-on tour with Overseas Adventure Travel, the immersive small group company we chose for our adventure, we traveled by coach to the Me Linh Coffee Garden outside of Dalat where we were invited to tour the grounds and enter the enclosure where the civets are held. The large enclosure serves two purposes. The first is the excreted beans are easier to collect and secondly it prevents the critters from being poached by hungry Vietnamese. Afterwards we were all given individual coffee Phins and relaxed over this strong coffee in their outdoor café that overlooks the pastoral plantation. If needed sweetened condensed milk was provided.   

Hill tribe boys

While there we were able to purchase coffee, and artifacts and textiles from one of the hill country tribes of Vietnam. There are over 50 different “tribes” or ethnic groups living in the hills of Vietnam. We visited their village and met with the village elder, visited a Catholic church, watched kids playfully cavort about to gain our attention and crashed a lively wedding. The people of the village are Vietnamese but looked different than our local guides.

ME LINH COFFEE GARDEN DALAT

Hill tribe textiles

Also, as part of this day-long tour we went to a flower farm where we were invited to select our own long-stemmed Gerber Daisy, after first being taught how to grasp the stem at the base of the flower to pluck it.

OVER THE MOON

Dalat is called the city of the eternal spring, and the French colonialists would build summer homes here to escape the tropical temperatures at the coast. It is often said one can experience four seasons in one day in Dalat: spring in the morning, summer at noon, autumn in the afternoon and winter in the evening. The homes are romantic and reflect the French influence and there is a large lake in the middle of town. Dalat is a popular destination for honeymooners. Because of the temperate weather in Dalat a lot of crops are grown here like carrots, cauliflower, cabbage and potatoes, as well as peaches, strawberries and bananas…and coffee…and the surrounding hills are covered with fields.  

Flower Farm Worker, Dalat

We only had two days in Dalat and we didn’t really see the town, but the Sammy Hotel where we stayed was French influenced and it was the first time in our visit to Vietnam where we didn’t have the air conditioning running at full blast. We slept with the doors to the balcony opened..

SAMMY HOTEL DALAT

CRAZY HOUSE

CRAZY HOUSE STAIRS

We were able to visit an odd attraction down the street from the hotel. Hang Nga Guesthouse, affectionately known as the “crazy house” looks like it was lifted from a Dr. Seuss book.  For a nominal fee one can walk the grounds and climb the twisting stairs that lead to more stairs like an M.C. Escher painting. Whimsical decorations are everywhere, like various animals and sea creatures, mushrooms, spider webs and caves. It seemed out of place and bizarre, but it was worth a visit.

CRAZY HOUSE DALAT

PASS THE SPRING ROLLS

Also, as part of the OAT experience, we dined with a local family. Such dinners are arranged by OAT. Traveling is not just about seeing the tourist attractions, but learning customs and understanding the people of Vietnam. 

Crazy House Dalat

 

Our 14-member entourage was broken up into smaller groups and we went with another couple to visit a young couple and their two children. Before dinner we engaged in some conversation as we learned about their hopes and aspirations and shared some of our culture. We were entertained by their young son who played hide and seek with us and their daughter who played a piano for us and later we all posed for a selfie gathered in their living room.

During dinner we watched with amazement as the mother would pick up individual kernels of rice to eat.

OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL 

our room in Dalat at dawn

with the church's sexton

Hill tribe boys

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2024 by Gregory Dunaj