Nga, An, son John and daughter in law Lisa, and I have just been up to Dalat
for a couple of days. It was cold 17C and very windy 30km/hr, and that's SUMMER.
Being so cold, hot water was a must, but in this area our PX Hotel let us down badly. On arrival in the early afternoon the hot water heater didn't work and there was no one around to service it. The repairman came in the evening and declared there was nothing wrong with it. The following morning, after a further call to reception, another bloke came up, had a look and shortly after replaced two "D" cell batteries in the gas hot water heater. Then it worked, temporarily.
In the evening, again no hot water. Repairman came to inform us, "We are out of gas. We are getting some." The heater worked shortly afterwards. The following morning, Nga informed me we had no hot water again. Repair man came up and checked. "Ah, low water pressure. The rooftop tank has run low, we'll pump some water up."
After a day's sightseeing on Tuesday, Nga again reported 'no hot water'. It worked all right for me. By this time I'd discovered that the water needed to run at full flow for the gas hot water heater to work, and Nga had turned down the tap while having a shower. Nga was once again definitely not happy about having a cold water shower.
We had key break off inside the door lock as well, but that's another story. Travelfish tourist info on the internet reports that PX Hotel was built in 2007 and "seems to have been put together quickly". It seemed to me that it was put together on the cheap. The hot water heaters, for example, look and work like something from the 1950s. Maybe the hotel bought them second hand.
Being so cold, hot water was a must, but in this area our PX Hotel let us down badly. On arrival in the early afternoon the hot water heater didn't work and there was no one around to service it. The repairman came in the evening and declared there was nothing wrong with it. The following morning, after a further call to reception, another bloke came up, had a look and shortly after replaced two "D" cell batteries in the gas hot water heater. Then it worked, temporarily.
In the evening, again no hot water. Repairman came to inform us, "We are out of gas. We are getting some." The heater worked shortly afterwards. The following morning, Nga informed me we had no hot water again. Repair man came up and checked. "Ah, low water pressure. The rooftop tank has run low, we'll pump some water up."
After a day's sightseeing on Tuesday, Nga again reported 'no hot water'. It worked all right for me. By this time I'd discovered that the water needed to run at full flow for the gas hot water heater to work, and Nga had turned down the tap while having a shower. Nga was once again definitely not happy about having a cold water shower.
We had key break off inside the door lock as well, but that's another story. Travelfish tourist info on the internet reports that PX Hotel was built in 2007 and "seems to have been put together quickly". It seemed to me that it was put together on the cheap. The hot water heaters, for example, look and work like something from the 1950s. Maybe the hotel bought them second hand.
John and Lisa
On Monday, the others went shopping to Dalat market, while I escaped to a nearby coffee shop to read the morning Thanh Nien newspaper. Lisa bargained for some clothes, but wasn't able to get the price she wanted, and when she turned to leave, the salesman tried to hit her. John pushed him out of the way, then was punched by Salesman No2 (SNo2). Not a good move! John's first punch split his lip wide open and maybe knocked out a tooth. Then John preceded to re-arrange his face a little more, while SNo1 lobbed a few punches into the side of John's head. Having finished with SNo2, John turned towards the SNo1,who backed off in a hurry.
While this was going on, An was screaming, "He's hitting John! He's hitting John!" and a woman picked up a stick to hit Lisa. Nga intervened and took the stick away. SNo1's kick to John's stomach had no effect, as John simply used his stomach to push the fellow backwards. After that Nga and family left and caught a taxi back to the hotel.
I later put a post on the Lonely Planet travel forum warning readers to avoid Dalat market, and one woman reader complained, " I can't imagine any parent boasting about how their child had used violence against another." Other readers came to to bat for me, including one bloke who complimented her on single-mindedly supporting would-be thugs.
Nga and AnOn Tuesday we hired a taxi and did the normal tourist sightseeing to: the Chinese temple, which was a very windy place indeed; the cable car, which was running at one-third speed due to wind; Truc Lam temple, which surprisingly grew specimens of Australian silky oak and banksias; Datanla Falls, where we had great fun riding their billy carts on rails one km down the mountain; and the city flower garden, where there were many beautiful orchids on display. Dinner, beers and a good red from Chile at "Peace Restaurant" nearby our hotel finished the day. Now it's good to be home again in Nha Trang.
Chinese temple with three bodisattvas
Datanla Falls
Hollyhocks in Dalat Flower Garden
The new route Nha Trang to Dalat via Khanh Vinh is very scenic and very winding, so the bus sways and lurches a lot while travelling. This is not a good trip for people with bad backs, nor for poeple who get motion sickness.
View on road to Dalat
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