Advertisement
Published: August 8th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Elephant Ride (Lac Lake)
Nellie the elephant packed her trunk, and.......smashed up the village!! Hello Again from Vietnam.
Since we left you last, we've been adventuring through the mountains of the Central Highlands. We paid a Local tour guide (Probably to much to be honest) to take us to see "The REAL Vietnam"!!
First day we Drove to an area known as Lac Lake. On the way we drove through Pheonix pass, which is where the Americans dropped chemicals (Agent Orange) to destroy all the Trees in an effort to route out Vietnamese rebels. Even 30 odd years on, the whole area is totally barren, with no trees or crops able to grow in the polluted soil. Loads of the Local people have suffered illness and mutation and children are still being born with defects and mental illness today. Oops! Change of subject before I go off into a political rant!
Once at Lac Lake we were introduced to local villagers from the M'nong and Ede "minorities'. There are around 14 Minority peoples in Vietnam, almost all being Catholic. However, each "tribe" has its own distinct culture and language; our guide could only attempt communication in Vietnamese (or maybe french). In fact, at one point, my expert school level French was just
Pheonix Pass (Agent Orange)
More than 30 years on , still almost nothing but grass can grow! about enough to order some drinks!!
Then we were introduced to a very special lady who would escort us around the lake for the next hour. The Lady in Question was an Elephant; a very naughty Elephant as it turned out. The ride was fun, if treacherous, and our Elephant didnt really seem to have much experience or training of the riding variety!! At one point, she spotted some nice lush fruit in a garden and proceeded to charge towards it, knocking down a fence and a small tree on the way! We were literally hanging on for dear life, while the "driver' (do you say driver?) begged, pleaded and whipped Nellie. We eventually got back on the right path, and finsihed the ride with only a few minor cuts and bruises!!
In the evening we were treated to a Dance display by the local M'nong people. This was hilarous until we were yanked from our seats to join in. I was both graceful and skilled; but im pretty sure Lucy embarrassed us again!!
Next day we headed out for a tour of the best Waterfalls in the Highlands area. This involved some trekking, including a nerve
Eligible Bachelor (M
Single Male, 48; Good looking, GSOH no bad habits, owns own boat/elephant. WLTM Tall Busty Blonde, GSOH, for Fun and maybe more! Prefered Boating experience wracking walk across a local suspension bridge. The Waterfalls were..well..Waterfalls - very nice to look at but not much more you can say really!! We got to swim in the clear water at the top of one of the falls. Dismiss any romantic images from your mind; it was us shivering in freezing water, with drunken local lads shouting at us! Not quiet the the perfect scene we'd imagined!! That night we decided to stay in an authentic village house, as we felt guilty about going for the luxury option the night before.
Woke up next day wishing i'd gone for the Luxury again....
Took a long (aprox 5 hours) Drive to a town called Kontum. Visited a wooden church (Locals being Catholic), and an Orphange. We also visited more villages, and got to meet this most amazing Village Chief. After the sadness at the orphange, this guy really cheered us up; even letting us try out his eccentric musical instruments. Some were like contraptions from the Flintstones! We'll include a picture, but it really wont do justice to how crazy and hilarious this little guy was. In fact, I suspect in England he may well be chief
Lac Lake
Topless bathers get everywhere!! of a secure ward!
Last day of tour was mainly just driving and sightseeing along the Ho Chi Min Trail (Famous supply route for any war buffs). The scenery was phenomonal with hills, rice fields, waterfalls, forests and villages all within a few miles of each other. We were volunteered to try out another locally built suspension bridge; which was more precarious than the previous one. I gingerly tiptoed forward clinging on with knuckles going white. Felt a bit wimpy when a gang of local toddlers sprinted across it!
The Tour Finished in "Hoi An", where were writing from now. This place is 'Luvvy Jubby' as our Indian friend would say. The town is similarly European in feel to Dalat (see Vietnam part 1), with a river and near by beach thrown in for good measure. Needless to say, we've been hard at it, relaxing by the pool and sea and eating 3 course meals looking out across the river. God when will this Nighmare end!?
Today (Saturday) we were out at an achient ruins called "Myson". We were told that they were awesome and breathtaking. I suppose the breathtaking bit is right, as we were boiling
Village Dance Show
They may be smiling, but Mr Cowell was not impressed! hot trekking around the place. Awesome they are not...
Our next plan is to head North to Hanoi and Halong Bay over the next couple of days, where, after a small amount of public demand, Lucy will be offering you the next update (How dare you ask for her back!!).
So Bye bye for now
Dan and Lucy
-------------------------------
Shout outs -
Happy Birthday to:
The Beautiful Miss Christina Joy (44 I think!)
The indespensible Jamie Spittle (as old as the hills!)
Congrats on Marriages in June to:
Andy and Cara
Happy Wedding Anniversary:
Jamie and Tor
Advertisement
Tot: 0.043s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0238s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Christina
non-member comment
Still pouring with rain here.........!
Thanks for my birthday message.....had a lovely birthday. I'm jealous of you both....after 2 holidays in 2 months I want to go away again!! Faye and Rob are back from Miami at the moment so out with them later...think its going to be a heavy night! Anyway hope your still having fun, speak soon. Love miss joyx