Dalat's Crazy House

While in Dalat we had a chance to go and visit the Crazy House; a bizarre and unconventional piece of architecture designed by Miss Hang Viet Nga, daughter of the late President (or Party Secretary) of Vietnam who succeeded Ho Chi Minh. The house is Euro Disney meets Gaudi however the architect herself studied and lived in Russia for 14 years before returning to Vietnam. She still lives there today and the crazy house is her home, a guesthouse and a museum all at once, it's a kind of continuous open house with a stream of visitors coming through every day.

Miss Nga has bought the adjacent piece of land and is currently extending the property. We walked over a kind of bridge connecting two of the houses only to find it abruptly ended. No signs or warnings about the still in construction, and rather high off the ground, parts of the house. No big deal on OH&S in Vietnam.

All the rooms are curved and you can almost get lost as you weave from room to room. There are, I believe, 10 rooms in the house, each with a different theme. There is a tiger room as well as a kangaroo, ant, bear and many other themed rooms.

You can actually stay there for the night which would be a surreal experience. Rooms are from around $25 per night – just don’t sleep in because you may have an excited Japanese tourist snapping shots you at your worst. :)

It is definitely not the kind of house you expect to see in Vietnam. It costs 20,000VND ($1)to visit and there are a few little shops scattered in rooms and nooks which sell a number of souvenirs as well as scarves, clothes bags and so on. If you are in Dalat I think it is worth a visit.