Unique and Unusual Collections Fascinate Visitors in Da Lat
“A truly unique, rare space unlike anything I have ever seen!” That was how a young woman from Vietnam’s Mekong Delta described the miniature museum of memories created by collector Nguyen Thi in Da Lat.
A Miniature Museum of Memories
Visitors are often surprised when they step into the space preserving memories and evoking nostalgia for bygone eras at the home of collector Nguyen Thi, born in 1964, at 3 Yagout Street, Cam Ly - Da Lat Ward, Lam Dong Province.
Hundreds of memorabilia items from different periods, including tapes, records and antique equipment ranging from cassette players, gramophones, tape recorders and film projectors to old books, newspapers and historical documents about Da Lat, have been collected by Thi since 1996. Carefully arranged and displayed, these objects have transformed his home into a truly impressive space.
Particularly noteworthy among his extensive collection are rare and unusual antiques that few people are fortunate enough to own. These include what is described as the world's first consumer tape recorder, the world's first covert recording device used for intelligence operations, one of the oldest 3D cameras, vintage film projectors and a set of professional surveying equipment once used by the former Geographic Office, now the Department of Mapping.
Collector Nguyen Thi half-jokingly says that it would take three houses the size of his current home to display his entire collection. Driven by his passion for antiques, he has spent 30 years collecting and now owns at least 300 pieces of antique equipment, nearly 3,000 valuable books and 5,000 music records and various types of audio tapes and discs.
A Hidden Gem in the Heart of Da Lat
According to collector Nguyen Thi, antique objects should be allowed to speak for themselves in contemporary life, letting their inherent value shine through naturally.”
In fact, many local residents and visitors from near and far have sought out this miniature museum of memories to see and experience its collections firsthand.
During a recent trip to Da Lat, Doan Phuong Vy, a young woman from An Giang who graduated in nuclear engineering from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Russia, decided to extend her stay by one day just to see the antiques she had previously learned about only through limited information online.
Vy was genuinely surprised and visibly delighted. “It is an incredibly unique and rare space, unlike anything I have ever seen!” she exclaimed.
Eager to verify whether an antique gramophone had stood the test of time and remained in working condition, Vy asked Nguyen Thi to play a recording on one of the machines. To everyone's surprise, the melodious music that emerged from the antique gramophone left those present amazed and impressed.
The young woman from the Mekong Delta then ventured to try out a piano, expressing herself through the sweet notes of an excerpt from a famous composition in Harpsichord Suite No. 7 by composer George Frideric Handel. The performance unfolded in an exceptionally romantic setting.
Nguyen Thi is not only a passionate and knowledgeable collector but also a skilled guitar maker and piano repairer. He is an experienced musician, renowned for his accomplished classical guitar performances on instruments he has crafted himself. In addition, he is a respected guitar teacher who has provided free lessons to generations of students in the “pine-covered mountain town.”
There is something particularly poetic about sitting with Nguyen Thi, a collector, musician and guitar craftsman, over a cup of tea or coffee in the early morning. In the quiet surroundings of Da Lat, especially as winter approaches, visitors can listen to the stories and appreciate the value of antique objects as they seem to speak for themselves.