I May Not Know Art, But I Know A Little History

Da Lat is trying to convert itself into a tourist destination. This being a mountainous region, there are waterfalls. And where there are waterfalls, there are opportunities to sell tickets.

One waterfall we visited was reached by a steep climb down the mountain, and of course, it promised a steep climb back up. If you're not ready for a hike, there's a roller coaster. This is a simple gravity-powered slide down the mountain with a lot of turns to make you think you're going faster than you are. The cars can seat up to two people with the person in the back controlling the brake. It's sort of like a bobsled.

The waterfall was spectacular. I went all Japanese Tourist on it. Then to get up the mountain, we got back on the bobsleds and were dragged up by a cable.

At another waterfall, you could buy tickets to ride elephants, horses, and ostriches. I have some funny pictures of My Lovely Wife riding the bird which I won't publish if I know what's good for me.

After lunch, we visited an art gallery which mostly dealt in embroidered tapestries. We have one from my first trip to Vietnam. There was also a painter in residence.

The tour guide pointed to a particular piece and said, "Look! It's the Americans bombing the Vietnamese."

The picture was of a Huey helicopter dropping bombs. I mentioned that bombs are not dropped from helicopters, and was told it was "art" and not a photograph.

I'm not trying to re-write history. Yes, we did drop a lot of bombs here. I've stood in a few of the craters. But if this artist's work survives time, won't he give posterity a false perspective? Imagine if all of the Roman art that has survived were depictions of things that did not happen. Our understanding of Rome would be very wrong.

That evening, we walked back to the night market/street fair. I wanted to shoot some pictures, and My Lovely Wife had clothing she brought from home to give to the poor. A local helped us find a group of women and children of a minority, and the goods were distributed. One young boy thought enough to thank me in English. I don't know if his mother told him to, but it made me feel good.