Da Lat, in the central highlands of Vietnam is famous for its central lake, the silly Valley of Love and Crazy House attractions, as well as for its fresh air and cool mountain weather. Having lived here now for a month, it has also become apparent that DaLat is far from being a natural wonderland. The main industry is horticulture, and DaLat is Vietnam’s non-tropical flower growing capital. As a result, nearly every valley in the ranges surrounding the city has been denuded of its natural vegetation and encapsulated in a shroud of greenhouse plastic. Setting aside the obvious eyesore that this represents, it also means that the night sky is completely obliterated by the sodium orange horticultural lamps which illuminate the atmosphere and accelerate the growth of the flowers. This is disappointing for anyone wanting to enjoy a clear starry sky, but it’s not the only environmental vandalism prevalent in Dalat. Developers have also been busy destroying the built environment. One local told me that around 2,000 of the original French colonial houses which once adorned the European style avenues have been demolished within the past 10 years. Presumably this is to make way for more architectural crimes such as shitty 4- and 5-star hotels.
All that said, there are still some treasures to be found here. and one doesn’t need to head out too far from downtown before encountering the transition to more natural scenery. I’ll keep posting here on the city and its surrounds over coming weeks. I hope to one day do a complete photographic survey of the remaining colonial buildings, too. There is a curated Facebook page which is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the old French buildings- Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DalatDLO/
Ok, so maybe I was a little harsh in those early posts. Here’s what I think now- yes, all of what I said still applies, but the benefits of living in that otherwise beautiful part of the world far outweigh the problems I see in the town. I loved living there and will definitely return to stay sometime in the future. probably not in Dalat, per se, but certainly within Lam Dong province.
