Hang Nga - The Crazy Tree House in Vietnam

The main building


A branch building


Hung the driver


Courtyard


A little something to catch the customers


Reception


Alice???


The front of the Ant Room - where I stayed


Inside the Ant Room


The Ant


Matching ant lamp


Ant room ante-chamber


The Honeymoon Room - The world's smallest duplex, Duyen had a one-person honeymoon.


Honeymoon room downstairs - It's rather upscale to have a tree embedded in the wall.


Honeymoon room staircase


Honeymoon room upstairs bedroom - It just exudes a feeling of closeness.


The office

Though there are some very nice things about Da Lat, the main attraction (for us) was Hang Nga's Tree House, known to the locals as "The Crazy House". It's owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow. Being a celebrity, it was easier for her to get permission to build such a place than, say, you or me.

The place is Georgia O'Keefe-meets-Gaudi, with some Lewis Carroll thrown in for good measure. Hang Nga is a popular hotel name, and this wasn't the first Hang Nga we stayed at. In mythology, Hang Nga was a moon fairy, which points to yet another place where the designer might have studied.

That night, the whole place was empty. Apparently, all the sensible tourists spend the night elsewhere and come to see the place during the day. I found out why – when the construction work started at 7AM and people with cameras walked into my room.