In Search of a Cool Summer: Da Lat, Vietnam

Filed in archive A World Away by Greg Cruey on June 24, 2009

Da Lat is the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. It is a romantic French Provincial town snuggled into the cool hills of Southeast Asia.

Detailed day-by-day weather records are not available for Da Lat, but the temperature in the city is consistent throughout the summer months: lows drop into the upper 50's and highs rarely climb past 78F degrees. This means that Da Lat is often cooler at the hottest point of the day than Saigon gets at the coolest point of the night. Rain is regular and plentiful.

The city is filled with enchanting spots. Three lakes grace the city. Xuan Huong Lake extends directly into the downtown area and is dotted with villas and cafes. Dan Thein Lake and Chien Thang Lake are both just a couple of miles from downtown. Legends about lovers who came to sad ends surround the lakes.


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Da Lat has a lot to offer the average site seer. The city has temples and pagodas (some still actively used as monasteries), villas and palaces, plenty of shopping, sidewalk cafes, and ethnic experiences.

Linh Son Pagoda is the oldest active monastery in the city. It is not quite half a mile from the center of Dalat. The pagoda was built in 1938 and has been managed by a series of monks, including Thich Tu Man, who has been at Linh Son since 1964. Linh Son's bronze Buddha was forged in 1952; it weighs about 2700 pounds.

Da Lat's three palaces are referred to simply as Palace 1, Palace 2, and Palace 3. The palaces were all completed by the French, but only Palace 3 was a royal home. It was owned by the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, Bao Dai. You can find it on Le Hong Phong Road, about a quarter of a mile southwest of Da Lat's central district. The palace is open to the public. Bao Dai was Vietnam's playboy emperor who disappeared into exile in France and Monaco after WWII. His family's living quarters are still decorated in yellow. Photographs of the emperor and his family still hang on the walls.

n Search of a Cool Summer: Baguio, Philippines pictures

Asia is hot in the summer. At least most of it is. But there are a few spots where the summer traveler can enjoy moderate, perhaps even cool, weather. Chief among those locations is Baguio City, Philippines.

Baguio is referred to affectionately as the summer capital of the Philippines. The title is unofficial but well deserved. June, July and August are cool, wet times in Baguio. While the temperature in Manila is hovering around 78F degrees at night in July, it rarely climbs past 75 in the heat of an afternoon in Baguio. And while residents of the Bay City are running their air conditioners, Baguio's citizens can sleep with their windows open...

During the 52 days between June 20th and August 10th it was warmer than 80F degrees in Baguio only 5 times in 2001. The temperature didn't even reach 75 degrees on 28 of those days.

Temperatures at night always fell below 65 degrees. Thirty-eight of those days saw more than a tenth of an inch of rain.
What is there to do in Baguio? Sitting on a porch and looking at the mountain scenery might be sufficient occupation. But there is plenty to do besides breath the pine-scented fresh air.

A number of tribal ethnic groups from the surrounding mountains make Bagiuo an ideal location to observe tribal culture. The Ibalois are thought to city's original settlers, but there are also Bontocs, Kalingas, Ifugaos, and Kankanaeys.

Baguio's Session Road is worth a day. The street is the heartbeat of Baguio's commercial life - with bazaars and cafes, bookshops and banks, department stores and movies theaters. The public market at the bottom of Session Road is among the city's most interesting places.

You can also visit Mansion House, the former summer residence of the American governor-general of the Philippines. Today it is the official summer residence of the President of the Philippines.

There's also the Camp John Hay golf course; 18 holes in the mountain air. The camp used to be a recreation spot for U.S. troops. Or there's Burnham Lake; the man made body of water in the heart of town is a popular place to picnic or paddle around in a small boat.

If you're up to a short trip, the Asin Hot Springs is located about 10 miles outside of Baguio. The resort there includes a swimming pool surrounded by thermal hot springs.

Some of the most haunted places in America

1. Eastern State Penitentiary

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first prison to implement solitary confinement. The prisoners ate, slept, exercised alone. And even had to be transported by guards with a bag over their head so the would keep the sense of solidarity. This caused countless cases of insanity.

2. The Myrtles Plantation

Was built in 1796 by General David Bradford. It has witnessed as many as 10 murders in it’s history. One of the most famous stories from this house is the story of a slave who had her ear chopped of for ease-dropping. to take revenge she poisoned a birthday cake, and killed two of the plantation owner’s daughters. She was then hung by the other slaves. The ghosts of the slave and the two daughters are said to till wander the property, and the slave ghost was described as wearing a turban covering her severed ear.

3.The White House

This is one of the most famous building in America, but it is also one of the most haunted. Some of the former occupant liked it so much, they decided to stay, for good. One of the more famous ghosts is Abraham Lincoln who still is seen in the Lincoln Bedroom in the House. Another is Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, is still seen washing laundry in East Room. These are only some of the many ghosts found there.

4. Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Located in Louisville, KY. Was built in 1926 and was always used as a treatment center for Tuberculosis. 63,000 people have died in the building, these deaths were a result of severe mistreatment of patients and highly questionable experiments and procedures. There has been almost any kind of paranormal phenomena you could think of observed in this building. It closed in June 1961. And reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven geriatric Hospital, then closed again in 1981. There are uncountable amounts of haunting in the building, but two of the most popular are Room 502 and The Tunnel. In Room 502 there has been two suicides, both nurses. One committed suicide because she got pregnant with a man that was not her husband. And another was either pushed or jumped out the window. Now the tunnel. The tunnel was a inclined passage way underground going to the bottom of the hill leading to the railroad. On one side of the tunnel in steps and on the other is a cable system for bring boxes and other items up and down. It has been said it was not only used for carrying supplies, but also dead bodies, so that other patients couldn’t see them, and lose their morale. All together this is one of the most haunted places in the country.

london bridge

Highlights of London

Six million people visit the British museum every year, making it London's greatest tourist attraction. It was built in the first half of the nineteenth century, at a time when Britain's empire building activities were putting more and more peoples and lands under British control. This was also a period of incredible curiosity in many different areas including science, technology and history. The military and economic strength of the country allowed private collectors and the government to amass first rate collections of artifacts from many of the world's major civilizations, including the Rosetta stone from Egypt, the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon in Greece, statues and tablets from Mesopotamia as well as Maya and other cultural items from Central America.

For centuries British history largely revolved around the kings and queens of the day. Nowadays real power lies elsewhere, but there's still a very strong royal presence throughout the city. The focal point is Buckingham Palace, the residence of the queen, which is next to St James' Park, about a kilometer or so from the houses of parliament. The park is open to the public and is home to a large collection of live birds from around the world which was started during the reign of Charles II.

Queen Victoria is a former inhabitant of the palace, and you can still find her sitting in front of her old abode. Her long reign saw the United Kingdom reach the peak of its power, allowing its inhabitants to boast that "the sun never sets on the British Empire". Ironically, things might have been different if Victoria's German consort, prince Albert had his way. Albert was politically very liberal and he sided with liberal politicians who abhorred the idea of empire building. But Albert died young, and Victoria spent the next 40 years of her reign preserving his memory by keeping his clothing and other personal belongings handy in case he returned, building monuments to him like the Royal Albert concert hall and the tacky gold plated Albert Memorial, and encouraging the militarists and adventurers who delighted in the idea of empire building. The outcome of all this was that English became the dominant language on the planet, and London became the wealthy and powerful center of a vast empire. The Victorian era also became synonymous with prudery and about the only saying of hers that anyone remembers nowadays is "we are not amused", though the exact circumstances of its utterance are now a matter of debate. It's not apparent whether she would have approved of the rampant display of nudity going on just behind her, but since they're clearly angels then it must be OK. No doubt that charming little cherub isn't leering nastily, but is instead just concerned that the rather distracted angel might catch a chill.

The English have always been very class conscious, which is one reason why my parents emigrated to New Zealand. While the royals and the upper class were doing their thing, the lower classes developed their own culture with its peculiar traditions and pageantry. The woman standing next to the guardsman looks every bit the expression of a third element of society, the middle class, looking up to the royals and down on the working classes. It's been said that the queen and her generation of the royal family are more middle class than the middle classes, not because they look up at themselves but because they are the greatest adherents to middle class moral and social values, whereas the upper classes and the lower classes both do what they feel like rather than what conventional morality says they should. The shenanighans of Prince Charles, Lady Di, Fergie and their offspring are one more sign of the breakdown of this class system.

The houses of parliament, with one of the most misidentified sights in all of London on the right-hand side. Although the clock tower is commonly referred to as "Big Ben", that is actually the name of one of the bells within the tower. Immediately behind parliament is Westminster Abbey, where many kings, queens, poets, writers and other famous inhabitants of the UK are buried. Many of London's most interesting buildings, statues and other historical items are located within a short distance of the Thames River, with most of them concentrated in an easily walked stretch of the river between parliament and Tower Bridge, which is another widely misidentified landmark.

The Embankment is a wide footpath which follows the Thames river from the Houses of Parliament to Tower Bridge. This sphinx is one of a pair which stand fairly near Parliament, and between them stands "Cleopatra's Needle". The sphinxes are recent castings and Cleopatra's Needle doesn't really have anything to do with the Egyptian Queen of the same name, however it is a genuine Egyptian obelisk dating from the reign of Thutmoses III around 1450BC. It was one of a pair found in Heliopolis and given to the British as a gift in 1819 by the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali, but they refused to pay for it to be transported until 1877. The pontoon it was on capsized during a storm off France and six people died, but it remained floating and it was eventually towed to London. The other obelisk of the pair is in Central Park in New York city. The damage you can see on this sphinx's pedestal was caused by a bomb during the war - the first world war! This happened on September 4 1917, during the first raid made by German planes against London. There's similar damage from world war two preserved on the walls of the Victoria and Albert museum.

Further east, and just a short walk away from the river is St Paul's cathedral, the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren. The Great Fire of London in the middle of the 17th century was a golden opportunity for Wren, and he used it to design a multitude of interesting churches. However, apart from Westminster Abbey and St Paul's, the other must-see church in London is a bit west of here and a bit nearer the river, the Temple Church, so-called because it is in an area called The Temple which has traditionally been associated with lawyers and barristers. The Temple Church is much older than St Paul's, it was constructed by the Knights Templar during the 12th century and is the only round church in London - one of only five round churches in the whole of the UK (another is the Round Church in Cambridge). It's rather amazing that St Paul's is still standing, since the area all around it was largely flattened by German bombers during world war two. Much of the glass in the windows was blown out, but the structure survived virtually intact. There's a statue, scarcely visible beyond the most distant tree on the left-hand side of this photo, commemorating the work done by London firefighters during the Blitz.

Here is perhaps the greatest achievement of Christopher Wren's labours - the Whispering Gallery under the dome of St Paul's cathedral. The gallery is accessed via long flights of narrow steps, and it's even possible to go to an outside viewing area at the top of the dome - 530 steps in all from ground level. As you can see, the dome is huge, second only to the dome of St Peter's in Rome. This area is called the Whispering Gallery because if you whisper (rather loudly) with your face perpendicular to the wall, someone on the other side of the dome can clearly hear what you're saying.

St Paul's and other buildings in London are very impressive for someone coming from a country like New Zealand which has no ancient buildings or other structures, and where no world shaking historical deeds have ever been done. However St Paul's hardly rates as ancient history in London. I've already mentioned the 12th century Temple Church, but it's 200 hundred years newer than the White Tower, part of the complex making up the Tower of London. However even they are relatively recent compared to other artifacts which can be seen nearby. For instance, right outside the Tower of London is this section from the original Roman wall around the city of Londonium. It was the Romans who founded the city, and who built the first London bridge - it wasn't until Westminster Bridge was built in 1749 that there was more than one road across the Thames. The original Roman bridge is long gone, having been replaced several times over the last two thousand years but other evidence remains, including the Temple of Mithras, or at least its foundations, which were excavated in 1954 just down the road from St Paul's.

Here's the Tower of London, dominated by the huge square White Tower, which was started by the invading Norman king William the Conqueror, who was the victor at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Once the home of kings and queens, the Tower of London included barracks for soldiers and arsenals for weapons and explosives, and was a place of imprisonment and execution for men and women who found themselves on the wrong side of the ruler's favour. Many of them who taken inside through the entry to the Traitor's Gate visible near the river. It remained an active military establishment for many centuries, and was even used during world war two as a prison for Rudolph Hess and an execution ground by firing squad in 1941 for German spy Josef Jakobs.

The Tower of London has a number of permanent inhabitants. There are assorted ghosts of royal and noble lineage, including Anne Boleyn and the two young sons of King Edward IV who many believe were murdered by their uncle, who thus became King Richard III. Then there are the 36 Beefeaters or Yeoman warders, best known for their red and gold outfits, whose job it is to guard prisoners and the crown jewels. Finally there is a small flock of ravens, one of which you see here. It's said that as long as the ravens remain here, England is safe from invasion.

As you can see from the previous photo, Tower Bridge crosses the Thames right next to the Tower of London. Although it looks ancient and is often misidentified as London Bridge, it was actually built in 1894 of steel and was merely faced with stonework. The June 1894 issue of The Builder called Tower Bridge "the most monstrous and preposterous architectural sham we have ever known" and said they would just be wasting photographic plates if they published photos of it. You can tour the workings of the bridge to view the equipment which raise and lower the bridge deck and to go across the walkways between the towers, which provide an excellent view along the river.

Between my two visits in 1999 and 2002, someone decided to plonk this thing down next to Tower Bridge on the south bank of the Thames. It's the new London city hall, seat of power of the Greater London Authority, which is the successor to the Greater London Council, shut down in 1986 by Margaret Thatcher because its head, Ken Livingston and his cohorts were too leftist. For 14 years London was the only major city in the world with no central administration, but in 2000 Londoners once again elected a mayor, by the name of Ken Livingston!

The London Eye is another new addition to the London scene, looking for all the world like a giant bicycle wheel, 135 meters (443 feet) in diameter. It's also sometimes called the Millenium Wheel because it's one of a number of projects built to celebrate the new millenium. Like several of these it turned into something of a financial black hole, however it remains far more popular than most of the other projects.

The London Eye is a must-do on any visit, with great views over the central area of the city. A single rotation takes about 30 minutes, slow enough that the wheel doesn't even need to stop as one set of passengers departs a capsule and the next set enters. In this photo you can see Cleopatra's Needle on the riverbank on the left-hand side and the dome of St Paul's cathedral on the right-hand side. As you can clearly see from the previous photo and others on this page, the myth that the United Kingdom suffers from poor weather is a complete concoction, designed to keep uncivilized colonials from flooding in and spoiling the place.

Barbados

Barbados is an independent country situated east of Caribbean Sea. This beautiful island nation in western Atlantic Ocean has a total land area of about 430 square kilometer. Barbados is mostly a flat coral island having all sorts of flora and fauna, excellent white sand beaches and beautiful rolling hills. Barbados provides excellent opportunities for scuba diving and east cost of the island is excellent place for surfing.

Barbados is one of the most beautiful Caribbean islands and it provides all sorts of entertainment and sports activities in this part of the world. It is famous for the arts, music, nightlife, water sports, cricket and many more activities. There are a number of things you can do in Barbados and a few of them are summarized below.

1) To visit Earthwork pottery in St. Thomas is a unique experience and you will enjoy the magnificent work carried out by the workers. The production site is generally back of the store and you cannot only watch the workers but also can learn the trade. You can also give custom orders and you will be highly satisfied with the quality of the work. In addition to the earthwork, you can also visit the art gallery and can enjoy the ancient beautiful artwork.

2) Sailing along the coast of the sea is an excellent enjoyment for whole of your family. It will not only keep you busy for whole of the day but you will also be provided lunch, snakes and drinks on the board.

3) Barbados island adventurous tours might be another enjoyable day for you and your family here. You can choose an operator or can hire a safari or rent a car and go alone to explore this part of the world. If you have a plan for a whole day, it is better to take a local person along with you so that you are correctly guided for selecting the best routes for off-roading.

4) If you love the animals, you must visit Barbados Wild Reserve, as it will be an enjoying event for whole of your family. You can find here lots of animals including monkeys. The Barbados Wild Reserve is located at Farley Hill in St. Peter.

5) The next best tourist destination might be the Barbados Ocean Park Aquarium. There are 26 aquariums displayed in the park and all are located throughout the park. Actually it is a unique aquarium having beautiful garden and all are filled with lush green vegetation. You can see here some of the unique colorful fish and sea life found around Barbados.

Norway Pavillion Reviews

Norway

• Norway Pavillion Reviews

The area of Norway resembles a Norwegian town square with its cobble stone courtyard and a replica of a 14th century fortress found in Oslo. A stave church mimics 13th Century medieval craftsmanship.

For kids, there's nothing better than being able to work off some energy at the Viking ship playground.

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Maelstrom Attraction/Ride

• Maelstrom Reviews

Norway's attraction is Maelstrom. It does have Fast Pass but unless you're visiting during a peak time, there's rarely more than a 10 minute wait.

Maelstrom uses a 16 passenger Viking-style boat that takes you through a 10th century Viking village and a mythical forest where you'll encounter trolls who cast a curse on the boats. From here, the boat starts going backwards before it reaches a waterfall and again changes course. (If you look up at the building, you'll see where the boats stop and head forward.)

Next you pass a grand fjord and continue on through a storm by a North Sea oil rig. You exit in a quaint Norwegian village setting. This is a holding area which opens onto a theater where a film about Norway is shown. (You'll find that most guests make a mad dash straight through to the exit.) It's not that the short movie is awful, it's just not something you need to see again and again.

As with most of Disney's attractions, you exit through a store. Most everyone likes to put on set of Viking horns and pose for a pix by the giant troll found in the shop.

Be warned, the Geir fragrances sold here are addictive and are hard to find unless you have a Nordstrom's near where you live.

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Dining

At Akershus, there's 'Princess Storybook Dining' for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. If you forgot your tiara, there's a limited variety of Disney Princess merchandise for sale nearby.

Be sure you make a dining reservation and be prepared to wait. It's rare to walk past this venue and not see a lot of little princesses (and princes) waiting to be seated.

Outdoors, under shade, the Kringla Bakeri og Kafe (menu) serves open-faced sandwiches and pastries such as the specialty Kringles (candied pretzels) and the delicious Lefses (thin potato bread rolled with a cinnamon, sugar & butter filling). Specialty coffees are available.

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Shopping

• Store Photos

The Puffin’s Roost: Curios and Collectibles is the main shop located in the Norway pavilion. You will find a large selection of books on trolls, Vikings, Scandinavian cuisine, Norwegian Proverbs, and Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales. If tasting some of the local snacks is more your style, check out the chocolate, Swedish preserves and Nordic sweets. This shop offers an extensive collection of sterling silver jewelry, including, OpRo Designs, Hilde Fostveit, and Hasla. The Norwegian scents sold here for men and women are Geir: The Power of Norway and Laila: The essence of Norway. They offer Norwegian trolls in all shapes and sizes, Konge Tinn Royal pewter, Linie Aquavit, and Tommeliten Knives. The clothing for men, women, and children are made by Dale of Norway and Helly Hansen.