How not to visit Da Lat

Staff retreat number three for 2012 wins as the most exotic and unexpected retreat of the past two years. This was also my third staff retreat with my most beloved partner organization. As a fitting tribute to our third year together, the crowning jewel of a destination was none other than…Vietnam. Excitement about this retreat had begun all the way back in August, followed up by many meetings to discuss various options.

For about half of the staff in my partner organization, this was their first time out of the country. This was a big deal. It was also my first time to Vietnam, even though I live five hours from the border. The chosen destination was Da Lat (otherwise known as Dalat). Da Lat is famous as a French getaway town in the highlands north of Ho Chi Minh City (otherwise known as Saigon or HCMC). In Da Lat, there are strawberries and local wine and its famous for being beautiful, cool and it's distinctly European architecture. 

I thought I was going to Da Lat for two days, plus two days of travel. I was quite looking forward to the adventure! I was interested to seeing everyone’s reactions, as well as resuming my "awkward moment" posture which I take on work adventures (smile and analyze). I was interested to see Vietnam which creates love/hate reactions. Instead, well, see for yourself.

Monday: I arrived at the meeting location at the designated 5am. We proceeded to pick up various staff members and finally got to the border crossing around 9am. In totality, we spent 17 hours in the road. There was some complaining that we only stopped every two hours for snacks/bathroom/etc instead of every one hour. Our driver also insisted on driving under the speed limit, which was downright weird. It was also interesting to observe how Cambodians are treated at the Cambodian boarder.

Favorite Memories: Taking pictures outside every gas station when we refueled ("Look Mom! I'm in Vietnam!!") Seeing wild fields of marijuana alongside the road like grass (pretty sure it was marijuana!). The nativity sets with tin-foil backdrops outside almost every business.

Tuesday: Tuesday we had the entire day in Da Lat! I wore a sweater most the day! I also enjoyed spending time with our staff and we found many of the same things interesting. Our adventures included:

• Visiting a garden where one takes pictures (Cambodians love taking photos )
• Visiting a valley where one takes pictures (Taking still more pictures)
• Visiting Bao Dai's Summer Palace (Vietnamese history)
• Taste tasting local fruits/juices/jams
• A waterfall visit involving a small roller coaster
• Nap time (during which I found a cute coffee shop for my introverted "me time")
• Night/evening market
• Two team building exercises 

Favorite Memories: Taking photos in front of every single imaginable flower/plant. Being paranoid that the Vietnamese were going to cheat us. Everyone buying winter hats because it was 68F. 

Wednesday: We left at 8am to drive back Ho Chi Minh City. This trip took eight hours. On the way, I learned that we would be leaving HCMC very early the next morning for Phnom Penh. I was extremely vexed for having not realized this earlier and arranged to stay an extra day, though I suspected the decision had been made hours beforehand (Cambodian style). At any rate, this day involved spending eight hours on a bus with my audio book and struggling to feel positive about my driving tour through Southern Vietnam. Upon reaching the outskirts of HCMC, we went to a Chinese-themed amusement park which was completely empty except for us. We had dinner on a boat outside the city followed by a driving tour through the fancy districts of HCMC.

Favorite Memories: Shock and awe at HCMC overpass/flyovers. Wonder and awe at Vietnamese development. The realization by my colleagues that I possess substantial knowledge about traveling in Southeast Asia and that this information is useful to them.

Thursday: We got up at 7am, went to the large HCMC market, left HCMC at 10am and arrived back in Phnom Penh by 5pm. 

Favorite Memories: Getting home and being alone again! The preference for markets over stores.

In conclusion, I would not trade this trip for anything. My soul was refreshed in the few precious hours spent in lush green with rolling hills, trees and flowers familiar to my North American eye. Any opportunity to see green is highly valued by Phnom Penh-ers. I rarely get to travel with Cambodians and I love my colleagues and seeing the world through their eyes. However, we all agreed overwhelmingly that it was just too short of a trip!