Southeast Asia

Craig and I had a festive board ride in Hoi An this evening. Beautiful, peaceful, and colorful.

One of the most memorable places we visited in Dalat, Vietnam, was the crazy house. It is a guesthouse and an attraction that looks like something out of a fairy tale. It was designed by Dang Viet Nga, a 79-year-old artist and architect who wanted to express her imagination and create harmony with nature.

The crazy house is a maze of spiral staircases, sculptural bedrooms, undulating surfaces, swirls of bright colors, narrow bridges and hidden nooks. It has 10 guest rooms, each named after an animal or plant, such as the kangaroo room, the eagle room, the ant room and the bamboo room. Each room has its own unique style and features, such as fireplaces, bathtubs, balconies and windows with amazing views.

We also explored the rest of the crazy house, which was like an adventure. We climbed up the treehouses, walked on the branches, crossed the bridges and admired the views of Dalat from different angles. We saw some of the other rooms, such as the termite room, which had a huge termite mound in the middle, and the honeycomb room, which had hexagonal windows and furniture.

We learned that the crazy house was inspired by natural elements, such as mushrooms, shells, caves and spiderwebs. Dang also drew inspiration from artists like Gaudi and Dali. She started building the crazy house in 1990 and has been expanding it ever since. She does not use blueprints, but paints her ideas and works with local craftsmen to bring them to life.

We were amazed by the creativity and originality of the crazy house. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before. We enjoyed every moment of our visit.Read more