Bill Baileys Vietnam - Season 1 Episode 03- Da Lat
#EnglishMovie #cdrama #drama #engsub #chinesedramaengsub #movieshortfull
#EnglishMovie #cdrama #drama #engsub #chinesedramaengsub #movieshortfull
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00I've left behind the noise and the traffic and the hustle and bustle of Saigon for the elegant
00:05colonial retreat, the lofted verdant hills of Dalat, where I hope to breathe some clean mountain
00:13air and to achieve a zen state of calm. But before I do that, send it! Woo-hoo!
00:24Hold that thought.
00:25Vietnam. Of course, it's a place of tea plantations, traffic, temples. But then, it's something
00:38else entirely. Come with me on an unusual, unfiltered, unforgettable adventure.
00:51Give me five.
00:56And a whole bunch of other tangents. I'm thinking about a sandwich I had in 1982.
01:01As this nation commemorates 50 years since the end of the war, I'll explore this fertile land, ask the big questions.
01:09Am I in the right place?
01:11Embrace new experiences, even my own future.
01:15The problem, you are smart and tested. Is there any, you know, good news?
01:21Navigate tight spaces.
01:23I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to get out.
01:25Make some new friends.
01:27Separate it at birth.
01:29This is a voyage of discovery, of strange encounters.
01:32This is your whole life in a plant.
01:34And kindred spirits.
01:35An enchanted stroll to one of the most fascinating places on earth.
01:41Welcome to Bill Bailey's Vietnam Adventure.
01:44Before we get back to my scenic flight, I want to show you where I am.
02:01This is the central highlands of Vietnam, where thanks to the altitude and the lush green hills, things grow well up here, and I've heard so do tourist attractions.
02:11I'm just outside the picturesque town of Dalat, about six hours' drive north from the big smoke of Ho Chi Minh City, and boy, do I feel a world away from all the scooters.
02:23By the time you reach Dalat, you've already realized, in Vietnam, things are done a little differently, and up here in the hills, I reckon they might be different again, in the most unexpected of ways.
02:35Starting with this place.
02:38This is the Datanla Waterfall Park.
02:43Some kind of adrenaline adventure sports town, where you can be at one with nature, and simultaneously satisfy the daredevil in you.
02:51It's a big drawcard for locals and international tourists alike.
02:55I'm suiting up for a zip line, way above the tree line, and while I look remarkably like some kind of gormless window cleaner, I can assure you there are no office buildings in sight.
03:09I'm feeling a little nervous, a little anxious, but here goes nothing.
03:14Send it!
03:15Woo-hoo!
03:16Ha-ha!
03:17And just like that, I'm flying 1,500 metres on a zip line in Vietnam.
03:30I love the feeling of wind through my trots.
03:33It's not necessarily what I came for, but no complaints.
03:37A bit of jazz.
03:38Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum!
03:40Ha-ha!
03:41Ba-bam-bam-bam!
03:44Ha-ha-ha-ha!
03:49Whoa-ho-ho!
03:51Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
03:55Woo-hoo!
03:56The whole thing's over in just two minutes.
03:58I would happily have had more.
04:01And the good news is, I can have more.
04:04This park has something for everyone,
04:06especially adrenaline junkies.
04:08I shall next conquer the Alpine Coaster,
04:12an ambitious 2,400-metre track,
04:15the longest coaster in Vietnam,
04:17and also the most informative.
04:19Welcome to the Tha Tha Tha Tha Alpine Coaster.
04:22Yes.
04:22Before you ride, you must listen to and understand
04:26the important instructions.
04:27What?
04:29What?
04:30What important instructions?
04:33Avoiding collisions.
04:35Manual brakes.
04:37OK.
04:38Keep your seatbelt back.
04:42Keep your arms and legs inside the coaster car.
04:45Yep.
04:45Right.
04:46Yes.
04:47Ascending into the trees,
04:48I feel a sense of trepidation
04:50that I haven't quite understood the instructions.
04:56Whoa-ho!
05:01Whoa!
05:01Whoa!
05:01That's been clappers!
05:11I think I just hit maximum speed on this thing.
05:15It's a wonder my teeth didn't fly out.
05:17As you wind your way around the park,
05:22you hear the sound of the mighty Detanler Falls.
05:24This is nature at its best.
05:26This is nature at its best.
05:27But there are some other features of the park not to be missed.
05:32You see, nothing says natural beauty like a giant gold frog playing the saxophone.
05:37Or this.
05:39Oh, I mean, he's got some tackle on him.
05:43I'm not sure that was ever a thing in Jurassic Park, was it?
05:46Whoa, look at the size of his ****.
05:48It is a lovely spot.
05:53I mean, it's genuinely beautiful here.
05:57You know, there's a beautiful waterfall.
05:59We're in a lovely lush valley.
06:01But it's almost like, that's not quite enough.
06:05We need a few other things to bring in the tourists.
06:09You know, we need a cutesy little bridge.
06:11We need some pitch statues.
06:13We need a couple of T-Rex and some dinosaur eggs.
06:16Some way for people to take selfies.
06:19Because that's, after all, what this is about.
06:22But then again, that's what tourism is about.
06:25People want to, they see things on Instagram and TikTok.
06:28And they want to take the picture themselves.
06:32I can't believe I'm doing this.
06:35Yeah, well, come on, I couldn't help myself.
06:37It's the roar of Detanler Falls that really grabs people here.
06:41It's nature's own roller coaster thundering through the trees.
06:44But there could be another reason that punters flock to this part.
06:50I can't quite believe what this is.
06:51This is cheese-flavored ice cream.
06:55Look, it's in the shape of a piece of cheese.
06:57A popular dessert in Asia, it's unexpected sweet yet savory flavor, like so much of Vietnam, leaves you wanting more.
07:12Yeah.
07:15Tastes like cheese.
07:18In ice cream form.
07:19I think I've found my favorite thing in the world ever.
07:25That's unbelievable.
07:28Oh, my word.
07:29But the cheesy ice cream is just one of the many delights luring people to this alpine oasis.
07:38The town of Dalat was dreamt up by a homesick Frenchman named Yersin, who fell in love with the alpine region, founding it in 1893.
07:46You know the guy, Yersin, you know, the famous Swiss-born French bacteriologist who discovered the bubonic plague Bacillus.
07:55Come on.
07:56It's named after him.
07:57Yersinia pestis.
07:58Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know him.
08:00Yeah.
08:00Anyway, Dalat became renowned for growth and abundance.
08:05For pine forests, tea, asparagus, and would you believe, growing artichokes.
08:09This is a vegetable I knew nothing about before today, so a trip to an artichoke farm in the central highlands of Dalat was high on my list.
08:21Hello.
08:21Hi.
08:22If we flash forward to the end of my time with Dalat artichokes, you might be surprised to see how much my love for them grew.
08:32You have captured my heart with all your different qualities.
08:37I have looked upon you and I have maybe underestimated you.
08:43I have looked at the other vegetables and plants and thought, well, they are more attractive, but now I look at you and I think, my God, you are truly the queen of the vegetable patch.
08:55Let me show you how this love affair began.
08:58This successful farm is called Artichoke Valley in the Lam Dong Highlands of Dalat, a popular region for these magnificent plants.
09:08I didn't expect to see it here in Vietnam.
09:10This is a vegetable that's, you know, we see it in Europe a lot.
09:15We take it from France.
09:17The French, yeah.
09:18This farm is run by Thuan, who left the real estate game to join his parents, who have been harvesting artichokes for decades.
09:26I've never been to an artichoke farm and I really want to understand more about them.
09:30Down there?
09:31Yeah.
09:31OK.
09:32OK.
09:33It's quite tough, isn't it?
09:34What a beauty.
09:43The Vietnam government once collectivized farming, stripping away incentive and nearly crippling its food supply.
09:50But today, with a freer market and growing opportunity, farmers like Thuan and his mother, Cern, are thriving on their own.
09:58And it turns out they're lucrative and rather magical in more ways than one.
10:03A lot of things, you see, are good for liver, for kidney, sleeping well, it's good for skin, you know.
10:11All the not good in your thing is...
10:13So it's kind of like a cleansing...
10:14Yes, yes.
10:15Like medicine.
10:16Like medicine, yeah.
10:17It's a powerhouse in holistic Eastern medicine.
10:20And for sceptics out there, research from Western medicine proves its efficacy.
10:25I'm waking up to the potential this precious plant has, and the best is yet to come.
10:30So you can use every part of that?
10:32Yes, yes.
10:33Some men use the root, the old one, put in alcohol for drinking.
10:37It's good for men, stronger.
10:39Really?
10:39Yeah.
10:40Yeah, sometimes...
10:40So you can make this into...
10:42The root, but the old...
10:44Alcoholic drink?
10:44Yeah, yeah.
10:45We dry on the sun and then put in strong alcohol.
10:48And it be for six months or a few years, it's really good.
10:51Really good.
10:52Artichoke whiskey.
10:53I had no idea this had so many different uses.
10:57Yes.
10:57It's amazing.
11:00The choke is chopped up, boiled, and used in everything from tea to simple soup to medicinal whiskey.
11:06Now I'm listening.
11:08So this is artichoke hooch.
11:10I never thought I'd be drinking artichoke whiskey.
11:13Yeah.
11:14My whole perception of this vegetable has changed.
11:17I'm going to rename it.
11:18I'm going to call it the party choke.
11:20Yes.
11:21Cheers.
11:21Cheers.
11:25It's good.
11:26It's honking.
11:27Oh, so yeah.
11:28Oh, yes.
11:29That's enough, that's enough.
11:32This stuff is potent.
11:35Just the one for me, for now.
11:37I genuinely had no idea the humble artichoke was so versatile.
11:42I've underestimated it pretty much my whole life.
11:45It has so many uses.
11:47I mean, you can get up in the morning, have a cup of artichoke tea, lunchtime, have some artichoke stew, and then take various parts of the leaf for health properties, liver cleansing, helps you sleep at night, it's good for fertility, and then in the evening you have a few glasses of happy water.
12:09This is your whole life in a plant.
12:12It's amazing.
12:13I'm sorry I've misjudged you.
12:17It's all right.
12:23Sorry, I've had a few.
12:25It's quite strong, that happy water, isn't it?
12:27Dalat is a town where contradictions collide.
12:37Especially at this place, the Valley of Love, where legend has it, couples who visit are known to break up after they come here.
12:44Risky business, if you ask me.
12:47The Valley of Love is a grand tourist destination with a reputation to match.
12:52I'm curious to see what all the hype is about.
12:54Just a few kilometres north of Dalat town, this love-themed wonderland has me feeling a little uneasy.
13:01So this is it.
13:03I get a whole buggy to myself.
13:06Brilliant.
13:07Things are looking up.
13:09All right.
13:11Flooring.
13:24I'm flying solo in the Valley of Love, but I get my own private tour of the park.
13:30Amongst the splendor, I spot some familiar faces.
13:39What the f*** is that?
13:42Hang on a minute.
13:45Wait a minute.
13:46Mighty.
13:55Mighty.
13:56I mean, that is truly terrifying.
14:00What is happening?
14:20I've had two sips of artichoke whiskey and I'm dancing with Trump.
14:25This day has not turned out, as I imagined, at all.
14:30Why there is a wannabe Madame Tussauds in a love park, I don't know.
14:37But here I am.
14:38It doesn't really look like Dwayne Johnson.
14:44It's really eerie because there's no one here.
14:48It's just me and these sort of slightly strange-looking waxworks.
14:55Oh, no, no, no.
15:01Frozen in time, in a strange sort of paradox.
15:06This is quickly becoming the most bizarre exhibit in a park full of oddities, and I thought I'd
15:11seen it all.
15:11Let's just look at this part of the park.
15:13What's going on?
15:14Oh, what's going on?
15:15Oh, sweet mother of b****.
15:19What the f*** is that?
15:23What's going on?
15:23Oh, sweet mother of b****.
15:25What the f*** is that?
15:28Having said that, I may end up here one day.
15:35In fact, let's just recreate what that might look like.
15:53See you in your nightmares.
15:55My friends at the Wax attraction seem like the only ones here.
16:01The Valley of Love is apparently one of the most popular attractions in Dalat.
16:05But no matter where I look, there's no love to be found.
16:10What is the flamingo obsession? I just don't get it.
16:17Some bloke locally makes flamingos and he's just cleaning up.
16:22He's got a bunch of flamingo moulds and he's just trying to flog them to anywhere he'll take them.
16:28And the tunnel of, you know, the Valley of Love people have said,
16:31Yeah, well, how many have you got?
16:33And he goes, How many do you want?
16:36Four dozen?
16:37More than that, even.
16:39But they all look a bit grubby.
16:41Like every one of them could do with a jet wash.
16:43I think the Trump wax work was in better shape, man.
16:49That's saying something.
16:51Nothing says I love you like 64 knackered flamingos.
16:54As I leave this touristy park, I'm reminded that for about ten years after the end of the war,
17:09Vietnam was closed off to the world.
17:11Since then, tourism has really picked up in huge numbers.
17:14And for Dalat, they flock here for the romantic landscapes.
17:18One of the most beautiful locations that I'm keen to see is less about kitschy romance
17:24and more to do with contentment and inner peace.
17:28Nestled into the hills of Dalat and overlooking the serene Tuen Lom Lake
17:33is the Truk Lam Monastery, a more authentic kind of tourist attraction.
17:37Hello.
17:38Hello.
17:39Hi, lovely to meet you.
17:40Nice to meet you.
17:41My name's Bill.
17:42My name's Bong Huynh.
17:44Bong Huynh.
17:44My name's Bon Dat.
17:45Nice to meet you.
17:46Good to meet you.
17:47The grounds of the monastery are stunning,
17:50with around 60 monks ranging in age from 20 to 93 years old,
17:55tending to the gardens.
17:57My guides, Su Bon Dat and Su Bon Huenh,
18:00have dedicated their lives to Buddhism and life here.
18:03So how long have you been here at this monastery?
18:0711 years.
18:0811 years?
18:09This is my third year here.
18:11Third year, right.
18:12Su Bon Huenh tells me that Buddhism came from India
18:15and was established here during the 2nd century.
18:19It surprises me that Vietnam is an atheist country,
18:22with Buddhism the second most popular religion.
18:25What is so spiritual about Buddhism is the fact that you can gain so much from it.
18:43You can get a sense of enlightenment.
18:47Yes.
18:48A bit of peace.
18:50And a sense of, I don't know, just what we would call happiness, I suppose.
18:55Yeah, correct.
18:56Happiness.
18:57Happiness.
18:57No more pain, no more sad.
19:00Yeah.
19:00And no more stress.
19:03No more stress.
19:07Sounds great.
19:09Where do I sign up?
19:11The Buddhist monk's commitment is so fascinating.
19:15I'm imagining how I would fare trying to live this life.
19:18I mean, do you leave the monastery, and do you have families?
19:24I mean, how does that work?
19:25The mastery is their home.
19:28Yeah.
19:28So they don't have the contract with their family members anymore,
19:33so they have their time to focus on the practice.
19:38So once you join the monastery, this is your family?
19:42Yes.
19:42We are like brother and sister.
19:44For me, that would be difficult, you know, a sacrifice, in a way.
19:53I would have to give up something.
19:56Correct.
19:56Yeah.
19:56It's really tough for the people who decide to take this role seriously
20:00when they become a monk.
20:04Is there a way that I can achieve all that enlightenment
20:07and have all the other things?
20:10I'm slowly realizing that you can't have your cake and eat it too.
20:14I'm willing to give it a try.
20:16True happiness is from...
20:17From inside.
20:18...within.
20:19You can come and stay with us.
20:21Yeah.
20:21I'd love to.
20:22How long?
20:24Maybe someday or one week.
20:27Yes.
20:28Or end up staying there for 11 years.
20:32Who knows?
20:34I'd love to find my family.
20:35Yeah, I'm not coming back.
20:36I've achieved a state of inner peace.
20:41I need to give meditation a try before I commit to 11 years.
20:46Not sure how I'm going to go with this.
20:48The monks are going to teach me how to relax my mind.
20:52No small undertaking.
20:56Ooh.
21:00Let the thoughts go away.
21:02Yes.
21:03But how do you do that?
21:04It's difficult.
21:05That's what we practice, yes.
21:07It's hard.
21:08Yeah.
21:08I'm thinking about a sandwich I had in 1982.
21:11So that's why when you have many years of practice,
21:14you have the power to control your thoughts.
21:17Okay.
21:18I'm thinking about a sandwich.
21:23Okay.
21:53How about your minute listen?
22:02It's very peaceful.
22:06I mean, it's just an unusual for me to be this quiet and still for that amount of time.
22:16Right.
22:17And I can see actually it's something that if I would practice more,
22:22I'd get a lot out of because I can start to sort of sense things slowing down.
22:29So that's one version of how the meditation was for me.
22:32I wanted to protect the monks from the mayhem inside my mind.
22:36I found meditating quite hard because my mind's always active.
22:42It's always churning, thinking about things.
22:44He said, if you close your eyes, you might fall asleep.
22:47So I thought, I won't do that then because I probably will fall asleep.
22:52So I used to keep your eyes slightly open.
22:54So I kept my eyes slightly open.
22:55I was focusing on the carpet.
22:57And then I couldn't help thinking, that's quite a busy design for a meditation carpet.
23:03You know, I mean, there's a lot going on.
23:06And then I'm thinking, I used to live in a flat that had that same carpet.
23:10And then I'm thinking, I remember that time.
23:12And I remember the people I stayed in the flat with.
23:14And suddenly, my mind's off on a whole bunch of other tangents.
23:18So I thought, I better close my eyes.
23:20And then I'm closing my eyes and thinking, oh, I've got a little bit of a wobbly tooth.
23:23I've got to get that scene to.
23:25Oh, I'm on my toe.
23:26And it's like, it's so hard.
23:28It's so hard.
23:30I'm just thinking about stuff all the time.
23:33It would take me a long time to get to where these guys are.
23:38The dedication required to achieve enlightenment is impressive.
23:41But it's also stressing me out.
23:45I don't know whether I could make that sacrifice.
23:48My life, career, family, and I get an enormous amount of happiness from that.
23:56But I wouldn't mind a bit of that spiritual enlightenment.
23:59You know, just a bit of meditation.
24:02I think maybe I could learn from that.
24:03If I could do maybe an hour a week, or maybe like the second Thursday in every month,
24:09and get a glimpse of spiritual enlightenment, I think that would do me.
24:17For me, it's about finding moments of peace in everyday life.
24:22In the back streets of Dalat, I may just have found such a moment on the side of the road.
24:27I've never had the desire for a head wash until now.
24:30Or a fried banana, for that matter.
24:33What is it, though?
24:35Banana, you know?
24:35Banana?
24:36Yeah, banana.
24:37Oh!
24:38Is this like fried banana?
24:41Yeah.
24:42Good.
24:43Yummy.
24:44Oh.
24:45I know this.
24:46It doesn't say hair washing.
24:47Just head.
24:48Yeah, I have your...
24:49Yeah.
24:50Well, yeah, go on then.
24:51Yeah, yeah.
24:51No, that's right.
24:53No hair.
24:54No hair, that's right.
24:55Just the head.
24:57You're all right.
24:57You don't need to rub it in.
25:01What's happening?
25:02Mmm, it smells very fragrant.
25:10Is this bliss?
25:12Well, it's a curious sensation, but not unpleasant.
25:15It's been a hell of a day, I've got to say.
25:17It's been an amazing day.
25:18I've done, you know, I've had a bit of enlightenment, meditation, cheesy ice cream, and now a deep
25:30fried banana and a head wash.
25:32I mean, that is, it's like the best day ever.
25:39Oh.
25:39I don't think I've had my ears cleaned out like that since I was about five.
25:54That was fantastic.
25:56I'm in a bit of a daze, I've got to say.
25:59If the Buddhist monks don't do it for you, then the head wash and the neck massage will.
26:04Oh, I feel truly in a state of zen calm.
26:21Life up in the fresh mountain air is treating me well.
26:25Dalat has captivated me with this curious mix of east and west.
26:29You can see the French influence in the architecture around town.
26:33Many of the houses look like they're straight out of the French Alps.
26:37But there's one house that's a bit bigger, a bit fancier.
26:40Well, it's more of a palace.
26:42This is Bao Dai's palace, the last emperor of Vietnam.
26:46He was a leaf in the wind of the shifting powers of this nation.
26:50He's long gone now.
26:52But I'm intrigued to see how a monarch lived in Vietnam.
26:56Funny I can sort out my footwear.
26:58So you have to wear protective booties over your shoes.
27:03But it seems to have defeated me.
27:08I don't quite know.
27:09Am I supposed to take my shoe off?
27:14Oh, maybe that's it.
27:16That's it.
27:16You're supposed to take your shoe off.
27:18It's like I'm entering some sort of crime scene,
27:20which you could say it was an imperial crime.
27:24So, yes, in some ways, ideologically, it is.
27:29My feet are just so inordinately big or something.
27:32What are we doing with shoes?
27:33Excuse me.
27:35I haven't even got in yet and I'm already confused.
27:38No glass slippers required here.
27:40Just the kind that won't scuff the royal floorboards.
27:42So far, my first impressions are it's not quite Buckingham Palace.
27:50More art deco on a budget.
27:53Tucked into the corner of the drawing room is Bao Dai's grand piano that's no longer looking so grand.
28:02Come on, it'd be rude not to.
28:04Yeah, this could do with a lot of tea, I'll see.
28:06I mean, it is a bit knackered.
28:08Look at it.
28:09Oh, dear.
28:11The palace was built in the 1930s, just after Bao Dai ascended the throne under French colonial rule.
28:17And it served as a summer retreat for the emperor, who took to hunting in the woods around Dalat.
28:23He also took to philandering, gambling and general debauchery.
28:27I mean, I'm no brilliant artist myself, but I wouldn't be happy with that.
28:36This is the queen's bedroom.
28:39It was a kind of political marriage between her and Bao Dai.
28:43He was a bit of a playboy.
28:45She said, look, you have to stop all that.
28:47I'll only marry you if you make me a queen.
28:51And so he agreed.
28:52It's like rashly, sort of thing a bloke would do.
28:55Yeah, yeah, I'll do that.
28:56But he couldn't help himself.
28:57He was, you know, born into this privilege.
29:02But this privilege wasn't to last.
29:05His life became a story of riches to rags, which is never the right way around.
29:09When the French rule ended abruptly in 1954, he went into exile in France and never returned to Vietnam.
29:17He died in a modest apartment in Paris in 1997.
29:20Now, it wouldn't be a Vietnamese tourist attraction without a photo opportunity.
29:29And at the palace, visitors are offered the chance to dress up in full emperor garb.
29:34How do you get fitted up to one of these?
29:37All right, I'll take these off.
29:39Got some proper shoes on.
29:40Take these things off.
29:41As they say, if you can't beat them, join them.
29:44I think it's important to get a sense of what it feels like to walk in someone else's shoes.
29:49Yeah, this is it.
29:50This is the stuff.
29:51Well, perhaps not literally.
29:52I've got my shoes on the wrong way around.
29:54Hold on a minute.
29:55I can't do that.
29:57It's ridiculous.
29:58This particular subtle gold number is the emperor's ceremonial dress.
30:03Perfect for this occasion.
30:05I might just start wearing this around the house.
30:15Bring me a toasted cheese sandwich.
30:21While the French may have finally bid adieu to Vietnam,
30:30the spirit they planted in Dalat has grown into something wonderfully Vietnamese.
30:35Shortly, I'll be heading out of town by train to a local tea plantation.
30:39And for the trip, I'll need some sustenance.
30:42It's a great little market.
30:44It's got everything.
30:45It's a perfect place to load up on sort of travel snacks.
30:51Oh, strawberry.
30:54Oh, it's dried.
30:56Very happy with these.
31:00Look at that.
31:03Delicious.
31:08Oh.
31:10Yeah.
31:10Yes.
31:11Really good.
31:14Might be my new favorite thing.
31:16Oh, artichoke tea.
31:18Smell it.
31:19Sorry, it's just...
31:22The cab's a bit hot.
31:23Nom, nom, nom.
31:24Very hot.
31:25No, no, no.
31:25It burnt me.
31:26Fingers.
31:29Artichoke tea, of course.
31:30Another use for this wondrous plant.
31:32But I want to get a taste for real tea,
31:34which has been quietly brewing for centuries in the highlands.
31:38My mode of transport, the Dalat Plateau Rail.
31:41I'm departing from the Dalat Train Station, a revered historical landmark.
31:48Built in the 1930s, it proudly holds the title of Vietnam's oldest railway station.
31:53It's got the three pointed sort of pediments in the middle,
31:58which, some say, echo the three peaks of the Lambian mountain range.
32:07Me and my strawberries are bound for the hills of Trimat.
32:10It's a 30-minute heritage train journey with the prospect of a proper brew at the end of it.
32:17But first, I need to find my seat.
32:20It's a big thing in Britain.
32:23If you get the wrong seat, the wrong coach,
32:25it's just the worst kind of bad behaviour.
32:30It's just so disrespectful.
32:33So I'm slightly anxious because it says,
32:38Coach 5, seat 19, but I don't know which one that is.
32:41It goes to the core of my British embarrassment
32:44to feel that I'm sitting in the wrong seat.
32:47I'd be mortified.
32:49Is this the right...
32:50Am I in the right place?
32:52It says, Coach 5, seat 19.
32:54I mean, this isn't 19.
32:57Is this Coach 5?
32:58It seems the train comes with a resident saxophonist.
33:04I've got a feeling this might be the least of my worries.
33:09I mean, it's not quite the Orient Express,
33:11but it does have its own peculiar charm.
33:14During the war in 1973, the railway line was heavily damaged,
33:18but after the country's reunification in 1975,
33:21it was restored and now serves as a reminder
33:25of Vietnam's colonial past.
33:29I love a train ride,
33:31especially when sharing local produce with new friends.
33:34Oh, take two, yeah, that one.
33:42Knock yourselves out.
33:46Nice, eh?
33:47Yeah, you're welcome.
33:48Nice to meet you, sir.
33:53Produce, which turned out to be very popular.
34:03Well, I mean, I'm enjoying the train journey very much.
34:06I just hadn't counted on to Vietnamese Kenny G.
34:09But, er, I just, you know, just roll with it, I suppose.
34:16All my strawberries went down well.
34:19They didn't last long.
34:20I nearly bought the big tub.
34:22I should have bought a big tub.
34:25I'm making friends here already.
34:28OK, ready?
34:29One, two, three, hey!
34:31The cool air, the rolling hills and the lush landscape of Dalat
34:46all conspire to create the perfect ingredients for a decent cup of tea.
34:51Drinking tea is such a big part of British life.
34:58It's like we've claimed it as a hard national brew.
35:02But, of course, tea's been around for thousands of years.
35:04In fact, it started in the third century B.C. in China
35:08and has gradually spread throughout Asia.
35:11And here in the cool hills of Dalat
35:16it's very conducive, the tea cultivation.
35:19And, in fact, it's now become one of Vietnam's major exports.
35:26At 1,650 metres above sea level
35:28and with an average temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius
35:31these hills are fertile.
35:34The farmer tax family has passed down the art of cultivation over generations.
35:39And just break it off.
35:40Yeah, you can break it.
35:41Yeah.
35:41Yeah, like this.
35:42Like that.
35:42Just the green ones, yeah.
35:44OK.
35:44The dark ones we don't use, OK?
35:46OK.
35:47So they leave that.
35:48So all of these...
35:49Yeah, waiting for you.
35:50OK.
35:51Help us.
35:52Yeah, I will.
35:54Just a couple more leaves to pick.
35:56Won't take me long.
35:58Tax is going to make me work for it.
36:00There's a few days' worth of harbours in here.
36:02One kilogram, the people earn 5,000 don only.
36:07That means one US dollar, they have to pick five kilogram.
36:12OK.
36:12If you want to have the noodle for today, you have to pick like 10 kilogram.
36:17That's a lot.
36:19Yeah.
36:19Work.
36:19Yeah.
36:20You've got to work fast.
36:21Yeah.
36:21If you want to have the beef noodle.
36:24If you want noodles, yeah.
36:25Yeah, sir.
36:25Well, I like noodles.
36:27So you have to pick 10 kilogram.
36:29Keep picking.
36:30There's no, you know, there's no time to hang about.
36:33No time-saving machinery here.
36:35The preference is to pick by hand, to maintain a high quality of leaves, ensuring that no brown
36:41bits get through.
36:42My mum had this great expression.
36:43She said, I wouldn't do that for all the tea in China, which is, when you think about
36:48it, it's a lot.
36:50No, I don't know what she'd do with all the tea in China, do you know this?
36:53I mean, she wouldn't have the distribution network, so.
36:57And you look around here and you sort of think, yeah, I can see where that comes from.
37:02You can't hang about.
37:03Got to get amongst it.
37:07Yeah.
37:09Another 100 grams.
37:11There you go.
37:11Good.
37:12Our culture, we have the tea culture as well.
37:15Yes.
37:16Well, that's the same.
37:17Obviously, it's the same in Britain.
37:19Really?
37:19Every time anyone comes in the house, somebody says, cup of tea.
37:23Ah, really?
37:24Yeah.
37:24I just think that's a cup of whiskey.
37:26No, whiskey's later.
37:28All right.
37:29Yeah.
37:30You wouldn't start the day with what?
37:31You might start the day with whiskey, but there wouldn't be much left of the day.
37:35Life on the land, quite physical work, so I'm grateful for a lift back to the factory.
37:40See you.
37:46This is a great old wagon.
37:48I noticed it was Russian.
37:50Yeah.
37:51That's in the old Russian car, to support the number before.
37:54Why?
37:54Yes.
37:56A big, too old, isn't it?
37:58Yeah, it's vintage.
38:00About my age.
38:01Yeah.
38:01Really?
38:02Oh, you look young.
38:03Oh, thanks.
38:04High five.
38:05Give me five.
38:11I've never been more ready for a cup of tea.
38:13What a beautiful color as well.
38:15Look at that.
38:15Yes.
38:16Thank you very much.
38:17Come on.
38:18In Vietnamese, we say, come on.
38:20Come on.
38:21Yeah, like, come on.
38:22Yes.
38:22Come on.
38:23I know.
38:24In Vietnam, we just say, enjoy the tea.
38:26Enjoy the tea.
38:27Yeah, but we don't cheer.
38:28No, you don't do that?
38:28We don't cheer with the tea.
38:30There you go.
38:31Cheers.
38:32Cheers.
38:33Be careful.
38:35It's too hot.
38:37Nice tea.
38:37Oh, that's delicious.
38:38As a Brit, I thought I knew tea, but here in Vietnam, it's a ritual, not just a cuppa.
38:45Will I go back to Builders Brew at home?
38:47Probably.
38:48But I'll drink with a little more reverence for the leaves and how they ended up in my cup.
38:52Away from the day-to-day routine of tea cultivation, a much older rhythm runs through these hills,
39:01the ancient music of the Cahoe people, whose roots here go back far beyond the plantations.
39:08One of my favorite things to do when traveling is listening to the sounds of local musicians,
39:13connecting to the traditional culture through music.
39:16The Cahoe ethnic minority is one of the oldest indigenous groups in Vietnam's central highlands,
39:23believed to have existed for around two and a half thousand years.
39:27I'm visiting their music room to understand more about how they lived,
39:31and their instruments might hold the key.
39:35Oh, what an amazing sound you guys make.
39:40Hello, I'm Bill.
39:42Hey.
39:42Nice to meet you.
39:44Nice to meet you too.
39:45So this follows like a pattern of, you know, a scale.
39:55Such a beautiful sound.
39:56I can't help myself.
39:58Got to get on the tools.
39:59So you just sort of, like each stone has a different...
40:13It's a lovely sound, isn't it?
40:14Beautiful.
40:15Renowned for musical traditions, particularly gong festivals, in 2008, the Cahoe gong culture
40:22was recognized by UNESCO as an oral masterpiece of humanity.
40:26Where do these stones come from?
40:27Where do these stones come from?
40:28I mentioned mostly they come from the river.
40:30The first purpose of them is to scare and scare the animals.
40:34The animals come in, they just scare them.
40:37They're going to be shaking, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
40:38It's amazing.
40:39I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.
40:42The Cahoe have lived in harmony in the Longbyang Mountains for generations, and still pass their
40:48songs and stories on by word of mouth.
40:52Funny how the French have even influenced this ancient music, adapting their traditional sound
40:56into a recognizable tune I think he just played frere jacques an old French song
41:15yeah that old French song the Cahoe people express their emotions share
41:19stories and connect with their natural environment all the instruments are you
41:24know handmade so all of these are you know just made from wood and twine and yeah bamboo they
41:32using hand for shaping them yeah make from bamboo and use hey they don't have any technology to
41:38creating this kind of south so most of them I love the simplicity of these instruments no fancy gear
41:45no big production just a purity of tone a sound that's been echoing through the hills for generations
41:50this is more traditional sort of like like a side of fun seems like you're missing a note here
42:09where's the C where's the C you need another C there
42:15right up my alley as it were I mean
42:24any chance I get to play with musicians wherever they are in the world whatever instrument whatever
42:32culture I will take because it just proves to me yet again that this is language that music is which
42:41transcends all kinds of cultural barriers playing with these guys today gave me that little glimpse into
42:53this rich history that we perhaps don't know much about I certainly don't of Vietnam and it's mountain people and it's more than 50 I think different ethnic groups
43:07I'm getting the feeling that Dalat is the kind of place where you come looking for misty pine forests and can discover something quite different
43:24it keeps you guessing in the best possible way it's Vietnam's highland wild card expect the unexpected and then something comes along stranger still
43:35cloud hunting is a popular pre-dawn mission to the hilltops to capture the sunrise over the endless rolling hills and it's all about timing
43:45hundreds of young peoples couples all dressed up to the nines a hush of anticipation as their fingers poised over the record buttons of their devices
43:58sense of romance in the air as the sun gradually creeps over the horizon illuminating the fog filled valleys
44:07and initiating a sense of wonder in all of those gathered here to capture this moment forever on their instagram reels and their tiktoks
44:19yeah this all sounds lovely but it means you have to get up at the crack of dawn
44:24but if you come a bit later then um you get the place yourself which for me is much nicer
44:32ah the cynic in me is alive and well a well-rested cynic at that
44:41i can see why when alexandre yersin first came here in the end of the 19th century why he was so taken with the place
44:53and why it was so popular with the french during colonial rule
44:57there's something about this place that really kind of gets under your skin
45:04with the natural beauty of it welcoming nature of the local people
45:11it's a place it's very easy to fall in love with
45:15next time on bill bailey's vietnam and i'm just about to take part in a bit of laughing yoga
45:27my ears i've never been hairier get a bit of a trim
45:31some people shouting
45:32this is a health and safety nightmare
46:01this is a health and safety nightmare
46:05this is a health and safety nightmare
46:05this is not it
46:06i'll ensure that you'll get a bit of a crime
46:08this is not the issue of living life
46:10whatever the way you can follow
46:11so you can get some points
46:13i'll show you for more information
46:14this is the event where you can watch
46:16see you for more information
46:17this is considered a crime
46:22the issue to the people in
46:27those streams
Be the first to comment