Blogs from Dak Lak , Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia

So this being a full day in Da Lat I headed out to see what was what. Making my way first to the central market to get my bearings I singed up with an Easy Rider for the day as most of the sights are too far to walk to. The Easy Riders are a group of motorcyclists' who are available for hire from anything from 1 day to 1 week. Ideally they are used for a tour out into the countryside for a day or 2, but not really wanting to do that for $70 per day I just signed up for a sight seeing tour which was a lot cheaper at $10! So, heading off the 1st stop was to Dinh 111 - an odd name but what turned out to be a beautiful ... read more

Мы долго думали куда ехать дальше смотреть настоящий Вьетнам. Многие самостоятельные туристы, как и мой Джейсон 3 года назад, берут байки и едут вдоль побережья по популярным туристическим местам. Мы хотели этого избежать. Поэтому мы с тем же гидом договорились о шестидневном путешествии по Центральному нагорью Вьетнама (Центральное плато Тэйнгуен) - по горам, джунглям и по Тропе Хошимина в поисках редких деревень и мест известных битв. Этот тур также лучше всего делать на байках, но мы решили взять машину, опять же из-за дневного сна Кристэл. Она с удовольствием бы гоняла по Вьетнаму на мотоцикле, но 2-3 часа сна не получится. Путешествие начинается в Далате и заканчивается в Хой Ан. Выехали мы рано утром и для начала остановились на ферме Визел кофе (самый дорогой кофе в мире, точно такой же как Индонезийский Копи Лювак, - животные съедают ... read more

Kapitola osmá pojednává o tom, jak se nasi hrdinove preplavi lodi přes Vonavou reku a kolem ryzovych policek a utopenych krys na kolech odjedou do dzungle zapadnim smerem. Přes horska sedla dorazi az na Ho Ci Minovu dalnici, po ktere budou v nasledujicich dnech slapat vstric jiznim krajinam. Kazdy nas bicyklovy den je jiny, presto však lze vysledovat urcity biorytmus, ktery se opakuje den co den. Tak napriklad dnes, 29. prosince... Rano nas budi nejprve kohouti, potom psi stekani a v šest je budicek posichrovany jeste obecnim rozhlasem. Mesteckem obklopenym dzungli se rozleha nejprve chytlava melodie a pote nadseny zensky hlas, jehoz nadseni neutucha nasledujicich 25 minut. Neni to ale nic proti Bac Ha, kde hlaseni trvalo hodinu. Chvili se jeste povalujeme a opetovne usiname, dokud nedorazi pojizdna prodejna, jejiz mantra nam uz opravdu neda spat. ... read more

We are a 60 year old couple going to Vietnam for 3 weeks in November 2013. We are not back-packers but do not expect luxury either. Flying to HCMC. Intending to stay in the southern half of the country; Mekong Delta, Hoi An, Central Highlands etc. We prefer comfortable small guest houses/hotels in countryside locations. Wildlife, national parks, interesting village and rural life. So far my research into accommodation has tended to come up with quite large hotels in urban locations. Any suggestions most appreciated. Having visited Sri Lanka 3 times and got used to tuktuks is the motorbike the only simple and cheap form of transport other than public transport. Thanks in anticipation. I can offer similar help to anyone considering Sri Lanka in particular.... read more

A new day in our race-to-get-our-visas-renewed, we planned to drive the 200 km to Buon Ma Thuot (or Ban Me Thuot), which meant an early start. We found some delicious street food for breakfast (bo né, beef with eggs, a local specialty, was just what we needed, 4 of them and some delicious local coffee set us back almost 2 dollars...). Winding through the mountains, and now finally getting into the swing of things (though every day it takes less time for our butts to go numb and Sadie's driving wrist to ache), we climbed further and further into coffee country. Whereas before the roads were full of corn and taro root drying in the sun, now every single house we passed was using every available inch of land to dry coffee beans. The towns, also, ... read more