ONLY THE LAST MORNING OF OCTOBER! Part II

Da Lat Old Market

From the roundabout of the fountain you enter the Da Lat market, but you can easily get confused because in the same area from here to Hoa Binh, there are three markets with three different names. First, the first Tree Market burned down until architect Ngo Viet Thu restored it. Basically, this was the main market and its main name, Da Lat Market. The second market right next door is Am Phu Market, which came into existence after Da Lat’s economy developed to serve food and drink when the main market closed overnight. Then, as Vietnam’s economy gradually improved from a poor trade-deficit country that ate sweet potatoes, cassava and bok choy, it became the world’s second-largest rice-exporting country. Da Lat has another market specialized in tourism, the Da Lat night market. In the morning, we have a small market of local people bringing agricultural products from their gardens in Tram Hanh, Ta Nung or Cau Dat.

Rotating fountains at the main entrance of Da Lat market (photo source dalatcity.org)

The row on the left of the road to the Da Lat market is probably my favorite place, because it is not crowded or crowded, the flower shop is very picky about customers because only those who really want to buy it come to see it. meaning of choice. Early in the morning the remaining theatrical structures of the night market are used, with about 10 rows of stalls alternating between rows of wool and ornamental plants. All kinds of things are sold in ornamental plants: orchids, phalaenopsis orchids, hydrangeas, climbing roses, azaleas, camellias… once I asked a flower that cursed me all morning: “Miss, why? Don’t sell the wild sunflower from Da Lat”. specialties”? Well everyone, I asked correctly but still got scolded. Most of the plants and flowers here are grown very beautifully, the flowers sometimes bloom or bud to put up for sale so that visitors can choose more easily.

The page has odd and even pages, people’s hearts are sometimes shallow and deep, the buyers and sellers in the market are the same, there are sellers who have hearts, they will advise you very carefully what kind to buy and grow in Saigon, what kind I should just display it in the office for a few months. Climbing roses are probably the easiest flowers to grow among the flowers in this plant support; just give it enough water, enough sunlight and the flowers will be available all year round. On the other hand, the hydrangea is very pretty, but when it is time to plant it little by little it decays and withers, sometimes when it blooms it is as small as a fist. There is a space smaller than a beautiful tree with many generations of students and office workers, although it is difficult to take care of, everyone loves to buy it, wherever they go in the city or attractions, people will see people growing or selling lotuses . .stone. If you don’t like ready-grown plants and prefer to grow them yourself, the store also sells plant varieties and seeds. Almost all flowers for sale have seeds for customers to purchase. Sometimes sitting in a stressful office with a small plant also increases our positive energy. Or something simple every time you wake up and go out to the balcony to water the plants and watch life pass before your eyes! Oh, but I forgot that our house is poor, there is no way a house with a thatched roof and thatched walls has a balcony, aha! I am saying these good things for those of you reading this article.

However, it is advisable to choose some benign flowers or plants, although there are many beautiful flowers, their pollen is toxic or there are many feng shui ornamental plants on their stems that accumulate a very dangerous toxicity.

Da Lat has many mountains and forests, although the pine forest in the center is not well preserved, but the national parks in the neighboring districts are very well preserved, such as the ancient forest of the Bidoup Nui Ba range. Forest products are also abundant, sometimes in the tree trunk under the pine tree, there is an old man selling forest reishi, jade crane, medicinal plants, forest mushrooms, termites, oilwood… There are many tourists in the plains. , they usually do not know the use or effect of what they pass by and then leave without a care, they only care about the box of strawberries, bouquets, fresh produce. But for connoisseurs and connoisseurs of medicinal herbs, it’s like coming across a treasure, they ask questions and then choose to look back and forth with their eyes, it’s not enough, they also bring it up to their nose to sniff and smell it, then meditate and smell again. That’s right, because the buyer makes a mistake, but the seller can never make a mistake because the selling price is quite high.

The busiest are still the agricultural product stalls on the opposite side. If you are coming from the direction of Xuan Huong Lake, this row of products is on the right. From the roundabout of the fountain is KFC fried chicken shop, Langfarm shop… On the way, there will be strawberry and avocado farmers who will take them to the market to sell them for a small profit. Every time they see the police or urban order, they drive the calf to the side of the road, looking sad and angry, sad about the miserable living situation, angry that they can wholesale goods, pedestrians and tourists don’t They have a way to go. If you have to go down to the road and walk, there are also motorcycles with boxes of vegetables parked on the road to block the way, the motorcycles that deliver to the market are uncomfortable and squeak loudly. Oh Cam Ly, oh dear, where are the people of Da Lat who slowly let themselves pass at the crossroads of the past? (Someone told me that most of these people are recent immigrants under the new economic status). On sunny days nothing happens, on rainy days sellers suffer and buyers suffer and the roadbed is flooded with water because the sewer cannot drain all the water quickly. Sometimes Da Lat is beautiful, sometimes dreamy, but no one pays attention to it at the moment.

Everyone thinks that everything is beautiful in life, but no, life always compares the good with the bad, that’s why people can call it a society that has a religious organization to teach people to reflect for themselves, examine yourself, yes not everything is perfect, all are for the community and all are good, then we already have the kingdom of God and heaven… What you need is to immerse your soul in a mirror, even if the mirror is in your bedroom. You also have dust, but your heart experiences life every day, so it’s probably still pure.

During the summer or holidays, buyers and sellers carry their bags from the beginning of the street, right at the KFC store, to the market, accompanied by motorcyclists who carry their goods on the back of the truck to each hotel. They have to get up very early to pick up the garden at midnight and then run to the center, they in turn run to the streets with many hotels in the center like: Bui Thi Xuan, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Phan Nhu Thach, 3 Months 2 …. In turn, they sell to groups of guests waiting for check-out procedures to leave the hotel. So your final destination is the market, look for a place where you won’t be fined by the police, you won’t be persecuted by the shop owners, you won’t be kicked by your colleagues for competing with them… You see when you’re reading these stories? With these words, you feel very lucky that you don’t have to worry too much about food and clothing.

Da Lat’s agricultural products in the morning, apart from strawberries, avocados and bananas, also contain many other fruits and vegetables: artichoke flowers are one of the two symbols of this city, fresh artichokes are sold by the kilo or by the flower individual. Artichokes are sold by flower size, with large flowers priced higher and small flowers cheaper. Generally, flowers cooked in soup are good for health, help eliminate heat, and are good for postpartum women. During the main season, the price of flowers is around 30,000 – 50,000 VND per kg, but during the bad harvest season, the price can go up to 150,000 VND.

The bean basket is always the most attractive thing every time I pass by, even though there are a lot of photos, I still like to take 1 more photo and then 2 more photos every time I pass by. Black beans, red beans, green beans, peas… each basket has a color. The colored beans are so bright you would think they were drawn or painted. Because sometimes when we look back, the words of the ancients are quite true: “life is colorful.”

They are not inferior to the bones of beans, and sour tomatoes are no less colorful: cherry tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes… To get tomatoes like this there are unknown manufacturers. Biotechnology has gone through countless thousands of hours of work. investigation. So people still have to try to plant in a lot of land, in a lot of kinds of weather… When we come to this market on this corner of the street, it has gone through a lot of stages, so when we have any product in our hands, we should be grateful to the people who created it even if you bought it with money because if you have money and people don’t create anything then your money can’t buy anything. Because there are times when money doesn’t bring much happiness.

Chocolate tomatoes and yellow tomatoes grown in greenhouses

We invite you to read Da Lat Market in the morning part III…