i've just come back from dalat, vietnamese city of flowers, with its moderate climate, haven of peace and tranquility... in brief, boring. i went there for the tết, that is the vietnamese new year, because my father thought it would be good for me to see the real thing so he sent me to his wife's family - which i didn't know how to refuse - where i was stuck for three days. i already thought it was a bit too much when leaving because it's my last week in vietnam and i'd rather spent it here in saigon, hanging out with people i like, but at least, i thought that i would witness many exotic things, as my father had told me. he'd told me: 'in this family, they do everything according to tradition and everyday, there's something happening. you'll be exhausted after those three days!' so i was kinda expecting something spectacular. in the end, there was no big last supper, we went out to see the firework with my ''cousins'' and didn't even stay until midnight because we were bored and they were cold and at midnight, i was working on some report i had to write.
on the following day, first day of the year, we got up at 6, went to the cemetery to visit the dead and burn incense on their tombs, then went to the pagoda to pray and at 9am, i was drinking whisky over breakfast. 10.30, drinking beers, eating fries and some kind of fried, dried spicy porky disgusting thing with a bunch a middle aged guys who talked to me in vietnamese and whose relation to the family i ignore... busy morning but it was the only busy moment of the whole stay. we then went back 'home' and stayed there the whole day, only briefly going out to a fair in the city: fairs here are pretty simple (see pictures): they have small toyish air-guns, they arrange some extremely short golf thingy (not even a meter long) and they generally play for drinks – sodas or beers.
other anectodes could be told about this stay up there in the mountains but i'll stop for now. i still enjoyed brief moments of tranquility, some nice landscapes and a pretty sunset.
ow, just one more thing: before going there, i was not really enthusiastic but i thought that, at least, since it's in the highlands and it's cooler, i wouldn't be attacked by mosquitoes and other insects. i was wrong. my sweet sweet blood attracted i don't know what kind of bugs which caused further damage to this wonderful body of mine!
on the following day, first day of the year, we got up at 6, went to the cemetery to visit the dead and burn incense on their tombs, then went to the pagoda to pray and at 9am, i was drinking whisky over breakfast. 10.30, drinking beers, eating fries and some kind of fried, dried spicy porky disgusting thing with a bunch a middle aged guys who talked to me in vietnamese and whose relation to the family i ignore... busy morning but it was the only busy moment of the whole stay. we then went back 'home' and stayed there the whole day, only briefly going out to a fair in the city: fairs here are pretty simple (see pictures): they have small toyish air-guns, they arrange some extremely short golf thingy (not even a meter long) and they generally play for drinks – sodas or beers.
other anectodes could be told about this stay up there in the mountains but i'll stop for now. i still enjoyed brief moments of tranquility, some nice landscapes and a pretty sunset.
ow, just one more thing: before going there, i was not really enthusiastic but i thought that, at least, since it's in the highlands and it's cooler, i wouldn't be attacked by mosquitoes and other insects. i was wrong. my sweet sweet blood attracted i don't know what kind of bugs which caused further damage to this wonderful body of mine!
moodoscope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2DluY5xnPo