Traffic jammed all roads out of and into Ho Chi Minh City on the day we set out north to the mountains and to the “Hill Station” of Da Lat. We had had a wonderful time in the Mekong Delta and now we wanted to see the mountains in central Vietnam.  Holiday traffic had been growing steadily as the big holiday approached.  Lunar New Year or Tet was only a few days away and we planned to spend a couple of days in Da Lat then return to Saigon to welcome in the year of the pig. Tet is a time for the family and people were doing last minute shopping or hurrying home across the country to be with loved ones. As we struggled north the traffic thinned and the roads became more open.  It was nice to get out of the city and travel again through the vistas of rice fields in the countryside.  In the small towns the markets were busy selling traditional flowers and fruit.  It the south yellow flowers are preferred and these predominated in the markets adding dazzling splashes of colour to the fruit and veg displays.  In the north red flowers are popular to brighten up the house at Tet.  So as we progressed north the proportion of yellow and red flowers for sale changed.  Soon we were climbing through rolling green hills combed with row upon marching row of tea and coffee bushes. The dark green undulating hills stretched as far as the eye could see to misty horizons, like a rolling sea after a storm. Here tea is highly prized and Vietnamese coffee is famous for its quality.  At  Bao Loc we stopped at a coffee shop to sample some of the blends and buy coffee to take back with us.  The temperature and humidity dropped markedly as we climbed through dragon teeth mountains cloaked with thick green foliage. The final few miles hair-pinned up and up until we finally reach the mountain retreat of Da Lat.  It was built by the French at the end of the nineteenth century as a refuge from the heat of the plains, just like the British “Hill Stations” in India.  Here the air is cool and the climate is perfect for growing the fruit and vegetables Da Lat is famous for.  Even in Phnom Penh we get flowers from Da Lat.

It has always been a popular place.  The last King of Vietnam had a summer residence there. During our visit to the old Royal Palace Margaret was invited to play the Queen’s piano.  So some Korean tourists were surprised to hear Scotland the Brave wafting through the rooms. With a big lake in the centre of town surrounded by French colonial villas the town has an old world romantic air and it is now the honeymoon centre of Vietnam.  So spending St Valentines day in Da Lat was very appropriate.  Astonishingly the Vietnamese youngsters took St Valentines day very seriously and we were surrounded by romantic young couples in the restaurant we ate in that evening.  Amongst Da Lat’s other claims to fame was an impressive women’s embroidery  co-operative.  Their work was outstanding.

Fine though our visit to Da Lat was we were keen to return to Saigon for Tet.  We arrived on New Years eve, 16 February, to streets hung with lanterns, coloured fairy lights strung on the trees in the parks and a general air of expectant excitement.  Everyone was friendly, welcoming and warm. Several people shook our hands and thanked us for visiting their country. The main street had been turned into a long wide flower festival designed for people to promenade slowly through, admiring the view and each other. So we did.  Mixing with the jovial throng as we slowly meandered through the many colourful and imaginative exhibits enjoying the flowers, plants, country crafts, kites, paper dragons and endless statues of pigs was marvellous. It was a photographers’ paradise and everyone had a camera. What was astonishing was that when you pointed a camera at a fellow promenader, a family taking pictures of each other or even a policeman the people stopped, smiled and posed.  Inevitably we were pulled into other peoples photographs, acted as an unofficial photographer for couples and families  and of course had people photograph us with our camera.  As all this bonhomie was going on we were attracted into another street by the trenchant and beckoning beat of drums and cymbals. Rushing round a busy corner we came face to face with lion dancers. Two athletes in an exotic lion costume doing aerial acrobatics on a series of eight foot high metal poles, high above the heads of the gasping crowd. They were followed by brightly coloured fantastic fabric dragons, animated by ten men with poles, darting and weaving in and out of the appreciative on-lookers.  All this took place in down town Saigon with its well maintained old French colonial buildings like Notre Dame Cathedral, Hotel de Ville and the General Post Office.

At midnight fireworks lit up the night sky over the Saigon River.  On our return to the Government Guest House we were surprised and delighted to be given a present of Da Lat wine, Vietnamese sausages, biscuits all wrapped up with a big red ribbon. We were certainly made to feel welcome.  Now Tet is a time when everyone sets their house in order.  So the house is cleaned, the office is cleaned and the street is cleaned.  There was cleaning, fixing and painting going on everywhere.  So we may have an altogether biased view of the country. But it certainly looked immaculate. Even the alleys and the markets were pristine. Whether this state of cleanliness extents to other times of the year is an open question.  However other travellers have commented favourably on the cleanliness, industriousness and the ingenuity of the Vietnamese.

We certainly enjoyed our brief visit to Vietnam.  We appreciated the openness,  hospitality and assistance of our colleagues in the Vietnamese Ministry of Fisheries.  The Mekong Delta was well worth a visit and Da Lat had its own unique charms.  Tet in Saigon was however outstanding and something we will remember for a long time.