Dalat is a fairly young town, the history of which began only at the end of the 19th century, when the French were colonizing Vietnam. The main attraction of the settlement is the surrounding nature. The atmosphere here is quiet, peaceful, calm. There are always a lot of tourists in Dalat. They are attracted by the mountain air, landscapes, mild climate, flower gardens and one unusual building - “Crazy House”.
What it is?
Crazy House (Dalat, Vietnam) is a true embodiment of expressionism and surrealism. It was designed by the person who is the owner. But about him a little later. The aim of the project was to return, with the help of the language of architecture, people back to nature, which they so mercilessly destroy, and to encourage them to take care of the outside world.
Crazy House is a bizarre concrete house. By the way, the building is among the top ten most bizarre residential buildings in the world. It is built in the form of a huge fairytale tree, whose branches and roots are intertwined and form strange figures. The Crazy House yard is overgrown with cobwebs. Numerous stairs and labyrinths are hidden inside the structure, which can be walked for hours. Concrete mushrooms and various fairy-tale figures “grow” everywhere. Almost all the windows here are decorated with forged cobwebs.
Even the stairs at Crazy House have an unusual appearance. Here you can see the rises in the form of a figure of a giraffe, mountains, hemp or piles of stones and so on. Some stairs are very steep, so they recommend visiting the museum in comfortable shoes on a flat track.
Furniture items filling hotel rooms and other rooms also have an unusual appearance. Each item is handmade and presented in a single copy. You will not meet another such in the territory.
Green plants growing here and there add a special atmosphere to the construction. Thick vines encircle narrow ladders and roofs, growing together with them and forming a single whole. And abundantly blooming pink trees and exotic orchids turn this extravagant and wonderful place into a kind of alien location.
A bit of history
The story of “Crazy House” began only in 1990. It was designed by Madame Dang Hang Nga, who for most of her life dreamed of building a house of an unusual shape. When she began the construction, the local authorities were against it. In their opinion, the new building stood out very much against the background of cute houses built in the French style.
To date, construction has not yet been completed; it is planned to erect another building where the restaurant and several residential rooms will be located. But even without this, “Crazy House” attracts crowds of tourists, thanks to which the welfare of Dalat is growing.
Mistress of “Crazy House” (Vietnam)
Dang Hang Nga is the daughter of the second adviser to Ho Chi Minh City and the Secretary General of Vietnam. For a long time she lived and studied in Moscow (Russia), where she received a doctorate in architecture. Having returned home, I embarked on the realization of my dreams. In the work, she relied on the work of the famous Spaniard Antonio Gaudi, who also became famous for houses of bizarre form. But Madame Dang Hang Nga went even further and developed a project that not only was not like any building in the world, but also puzzled others.
For this reason, the construction of “Crazy House” began at the architect’s own expense. Indeed, at the beginning of the journey, even his own father refused to allocate funds for the construction of the hotel, calling the project nonsense. Years later, Madame Dang Hang Nga's tenacity was rewarded, and the unusual house began to attract the attention of others. As a result, many wanted to sponsor the construction.
Today, Madame Dang Hang Nga is already 75 years old. She not only owns her hotel, but also lives there. Also quite often Dang Hang Nga is engaged in the fact that with great pleasure he meets his guests, conducts evening talks with them and takes pictures against the backdrop of a fancy building. Also, this woman is one of the richest and most influential in Vietnam. And Madame Dang Hang Nga also has an impressive collection of cars, among which there is even a Lada.
Title legend
Among the locals there is one legend why the building was called "Crazy House" (translated from English as "crazy house"). When the hotel had just begun to receive guests, an Englishman settled in it. Late in the evening, the man wanted to walk around the hotel and got lost. He had to wander until the morning, and when he finally saw the mistress, he said: "You own not a hotel, but a madhouse." But this is only one of the legends told not only by local residents, but also by guides.
Hotel
Today, the Crazy House Hotel (Vietnam) has nine rooms in the main building in the form of a tree and one special Honey Moon apartment located in the courtyard on the right side of the entrance.
Each room bears the name of an animal. It is noteworthy that the beast can be found in the interior decoration. The animal, whose name is the number, is made in the form of a working fireplace. There are rooms with a bear, an eagle, a tiger, an ant. It is said that each number is the personification of a country. Hence the parallels with animals (for example, Russia is associated with a bear, and Vietnam - with an ant).
“Honey Moon” is another story. The apartments are a two-story house, comfortably located in the back of a small garden. Mostly newlyweds or couples who long for romance stop here.
Guests are required to leave the doors to the apartments open during the day so that tourists can appreciate their interior. Visitors are not allowed inside the room. Bathrooms are equipped in each room and outside are decorated in the form of an aspen nest.
Museum
The Crazy House Museum (Vietnam), whose photo can be viewed above, is recommended to be visited either early in the morning or after four in the evening. In the daytime, a large number of tourists gather here, because of which they really cannot manage to consider anything. After all, the stairs and passages here are quite narrow.
A tour of the museum begins right on the doorstep. At the reception you can view photos from the personal archive of the owner of the Crazy House hotel (Vietnam), as well as read a brief history of the creation of this wonderful building. Moreover, the information is available not only in English, but also in Russian.
Crazy House also has a small room dedicated to Madame Dang Hang Nga's parents with an altar. She is a kind of tiny museum of life. The furniture here is quite ordinary, even the windows have the usual shape.
The entrance to the garage, where the collection of cars of the hostess of the hotel is stored, is closed. But instances can be admired through the forged web.
When tired of wandering through endless labyrinths, the administration offers to visit a souvenir shop or mini-cafe serving cold and hot drinks, as well as delicious desserts and Russian dishes (for example, pasties, pancakes, pies and much more).
Useful information for tourists
The museum is open daily from 8:30 to 18:00. An entrance ticket costs about 40 thousand dongs (about 2 dollars, or 112 rubles) for adults and 20 thousand for children aged 10 to 15 years. Those wishing to stay overnight at the hotel will have to pay from 45 to 150 dollars (2500 and 8400 rubles, respectively). By the standards of Dalat, it is very expensive.
Traveler Reviews
Crazy House House (Vietnam) attracts a huge number of tourists. But most of them are in no hurry to stay at the hotel, noting that it is better to just walk there. Although those who nevertheless decided to stay overnight, note the following:
- At night, all tourists leave the house, so it becomes quiet and calm around: light garlands, turn on the lounge, sing crickets.
- Hotel staff are worried about the convenience of vacationers and always fulfill their wishes. Even if you need to light a fireplace.
- Despite the unusual and exotic hotels, wireless internet here works great.
Among the advantages of this place, tourists emphasize the following points:
- The fabulous view of the building and the interior furnishings provide food for imagination.
- At the entrance to the house there is a guard who is engaged in counting tourists who have entered. So it's not scary to get lost here, they will still find you.
- The territory is cleaned and clean. A huge number of urns stylized as hemp are provided for garbage.
Despite the unusual and tempting of “Crazy House”, the object has several drawbacks. The main one is hordes of tourists. And taking into account narrow passages and lack of open spaces, any group of excursionists is able to organize a traffic jam. Also, this place is not suitable for regular visits. Admiration works only from the first acquaintance with the structure and is associated with a sense of novelty.
The location of the "crazy" house
You can get to Dalat from many of the major cities of Vietnam by plane (the airport is 30 km outside the city) or by bus. You can find Crazy House at the address: Hyun Thuk Khang, 3.
Crazy House is a separate growing organism located in the southwest of Dalat. It causes different sensations for everyone: delight, misunderstanding, shock, peace, admiration, curiosity and even disgust. A visit to this amazing and contradictory place is a must, at least in order to form your own opinion about it.