Not Vietnam, it couldn’t be…

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Not Vietnam, it couldn’t be. Freezing cold, teeth knocking against each other, jeans and shoes getting wet – it was a reminder of what a real winter is like. I liked it.
Me and Australian Selene, who I met in Hoi An through Ly’s restaurant and has a teaching position in Cambodia, went to visit the Vietnamese honey-moon favorite named The Valley of Love. I had a bike that my neat hotel gave me, Selene rented one and we biked the 5km up the mountain together. A magnificent Swiss-French valley with a cool calm lake surrounded by endless green. I was in Europe, not Vietnam.

Not Vietnam, it couldn’t be. Art everywhere, art on the wall, on the table, outside in the garden, on the poet’s face – it was a reminder of European culture. I liked it.
Doing my usual biking routine around Dalat, I’ve decided to drop by a famous local Ca-Phe shop owned by one of Vietnam’s greatest poets. It wasn’t easy finding, but at last I noticed the entrance with the small sign and pushed through with my bike. The first to greet me were the dogs, jumping all over me – looking excited that someone decided to drop by. Seconds after, the poet came out and welcomed me inside. First question is always the same, and after the response he rushed out searching for an Israeli-Hebrew translation of one of his poems. I sat down, looking around in amazement, trying to place this extraordinary house. The walls were covered with paintings, photos and scrolls of poems. The room was filled with 17-18th century decorations, as from some small French artist town. The poet had this French cap on, and unlike most Vietnamese – he carried a very long mustache and beard that he seemed very proud of. Reading through his poems, looking at what all the tourists wrote in his books I was trying to decide what exactly that place was. There’s a small line separating between Art, Commercialism and Kitsch but this place could be placed in all. There was something charming and innocent about a Vietnamese poet still living up the French art life, devoting his home and life to art. Nope, haven’t seen anything like it in Asia. I was in Europe, not Vietnam.

(I was finally able to unlock my cellphone in Saigon, but my Israeli SIMM card is dead. So, I bought a Vietnamese GSM and I can now be reached or SMSed at the following number :
+84-91-9419861.
It doesn’t cost me anything to receive calls and sending back SMSs abroad isn’t that expensive).

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