Dalat Tourist Nightmares
Because Dalat is geographically isolated from trade routes, few people speak English, and tourist services dodgy.
Here, getting what you want can be tough, because many companies catering to tourists do not believe, or are not familiar, with good customer service.
Two case studies bear this out.
Case study #1: Trying to book an air ticket at the tourist office
Dalat Tourist, in the Thuy Tien Hotel at #7 3 Thang 2 street, is listed in all the guidebooks as the city's information and booking hub.
We chose to stay in the small hotel, and booked airline tickets two days in advance of departure.
When we arrived to pick them up the following morning, we discovered they'd never been booked.
No one could tell us the reason, but instead all three people behind the counter just smiled, and told us we could take the bus to Saigon instead (8 hours of twists & turns).
We asked them to call the airline, but the office wasn't open yet.
Then, they offered to book us an airport bus.
"Why should we book the airport bus when we don't yet have a ticket?" we asked.
More smiles, but no answer, as simple logic was beyond their comprehension.
Recognizing that Dalat Tourist was itself a problem, we went directly to the Vietnam Airlines office, and found that no more tickets were available, with the flight completely sold out.
This was a disaster, as we absolutely had to be in Saigon by the afternoon of the following day.
Simply put, Dalat Tourist had not been able to book a simple air ticket for us, and was unable to tell us the reason.
Upon further investigation, we discovered that Dalat Tourist and Thuy Tien Hotel are both run by Dalat Tourist Service Company ("Dalattourserco"), a government agency that runs a series of tourist businesses, including hotels and taxis.
We visited two of their hotels, rode their taxis, and saw their tour buses.
All of their customers were Vietnamese, except for us.
We've come to the conclusion that entities controlled by Dalattourserco are set up only for Vietnamese tourists, and not up to Western standards of service for foreigners.
Sub-par services include not being able to book tickets, or provide explanations.
Their hotels do not operate during conventional western tourist hours.
The Thuy Tien Hotel, for example, locks its doors at sometime around 10 pm, and one has to bang on the door in order for a sleepy attendant to let one in.
10 pm might be beddy-bye time for the attendant, but not for most Westerners.
We suggest you think twice before engaging in any "services" run by Dalattourserco.
Their hotels include the following:
- Anh Dao
- Cam Dao
- Hoa Binh
- Lam Son
- Mimosa
- Ngoc Lan
- Phu Hoa
- Thanh Binh
- Thuy Tien
Avoid Dalat Tourist at all costs, and book airline tickets directly from Vietnam Airlines at their booking office at 40 Ho Tung Mao.
Case study #2: The train that never left
Most guidebooks list the Cremaillere Railway, which runs an excursion train 17 km to Trai Mat Village, as a must-do.
We arrived at the train station at 8:30, in plenty of time for the 9:30 train.
No other trains were arriving or departing that morning, and 8 or 9 station employees dozed, moseyed around, walked into the ticket office, and hung about.
At 9:15, we and two other visitors tried to buy a ticket.
"Sorry," said the station master, "no train."
As we were standing in front of the sandwichboard-sized schedule, listing 6 daily trains, we asked why.
"Repair," he said, "only train today is at 2 pm."
There was no sign posted advising of the schedule change, and not one station employee had the sense or decency to walk up to any of us who obviously were waiting for the train to tell us there wouldn't be a train for 5 hours.
We could have stayed there all day, for all they cared.
When we asked about the tickets, the stationmaster further informed us that unless a minimum of 8 people showed up (tickets are 70,000 VND, about $5 USD), the train wouldn't run at all!
For $40 USD, of course, one person can get the train rolling, but this ain't no way to run a railroad.
We didn't bother returning for the 2 pm train. Who knew if it was really going to run?
Summation
What does all this mean for the tourist?
Dalat is a beautiful town, with people who are essentially decent and friendly.
Inefficiency rules the day, however, and simple processes involving things like selling tickets and keeping to schedule are lost here.
Since these problems are typically not found in Saigon, Nha Trang, or Hanoi, we conclude that Dalat's isolation may have deprived many of its citizens of the education needed to understand basic needs of visitors.
