Da Lat by Night

Done with the semester, going to hit the road hard, like it was a banker at my door asking for a donation. Going all around the country, the surrounding countries, and of course, back home to Nha Trang for the New Year. But, before I go, a last look at Da Lat at night.

thành phố buồn

I just learned that "Thành Phố Buồn," is the unofficial city anthem of Da Lat. Inspired by the fallen leafs and gloomy days of my city, the song was written by Che Linh, and translated it means "Sad Town." Yes, a little melodramatic, but this is Vietnam, and although hardly anyone has a craving for cheese in their diet, they have an unabashed lust for cheese in their music. This recurring theme of unfulfilled love plays in many many many Vietnamese songs and has appropriately birthed a societal attractiveness to American pop music. If you stay long enough in any cafe in Vietnam, you will surely hear a few (if not all) songs by a boy-band, Madonna, the Beatles, MJ, and any assortment of songs you might find on a TimeLife collection of a decade album. I discovered this song at Cafe Moc, a local basement cafe with live music. A quick youtube search, and I was lucky to stumble upon an actual music video, which I'm proud to share on my blog. I watched this, and a few things came to mind:

1. if you can watch this all the way through, you're a better person than me

2. it's one thing to mope around, it's another thing to mope around in style, from now on, whenever I'm feeling down, I'm going to tie a sweater around my neck and walk aimlessly through the streets of Da Lat while holding my cigarette prison style.

3. what's up with the quick splice job of that lady? it's terrifying

4. perhaps it's not too late to start a new career as a karaoke video director

As the French must have said, enjoy the formage: