Blogs from Dak Lak , Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia - page 2

Do you remember the room that Martin Sheen had in ‘Apocalypse Now’? The one at the beginning of the movie that he had that bender in? The one with the ceiling fan that rotated with a sound like a Huey’s rotor? Remember when he started practicing his Kung Fu moves in front of the mirror until he finally broke it and cut up his hand? Well, Karen and I are living in that room. It’s in a central highland town called Buon Ma Thuot (pronounced Bon Me Tote). They never replaced the mirror but everything else is as it was. After 4 nights in Da Lat we boarded a bus and rumbled over rough roads through miles of coffee bean plantations. The mountains reminded Karen and I strongly of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. The narrow ... read more

we have just done two long days riding motorbikes through the highlands in central vietnam. the weather is partly sunny and warm. we are wearing windbreakers, pants and running shoes for riding and a big bandana to protect from the exhaust. everyone else here also wears a face mask to protect not only from dirt/dust but also they value our WHITE skin and prefer NOT to get a tan. hmm. and so why do we want a tan in north america? anyway, we went to visit an orphanage yesterday run by the catholic church. the children have no parents or are in care because there parents lack capacity. sad to see how little toys, supplies, clothes, etc. there. the older girls look after the infants. difficult. the motorbiking the last two days has been on a ... read more

Hi All, I am planning to travel to Highland regions of Vietnam. Any one has experience want to share I will very much appreciated. I will be traveling alone so if anyone wants to join, please feel free to contact me. Looking forward to making the trip.... read more

The Central Highlands region of Vietnam contains 5 provinces. The region's coffee plantations (290,000 ha) constitute 4/5 of the total coffee plantation area for the whole country. It is home to many ethno-linguistic minority groups (Montagnards), for example, Bahnar, Ede, Jrai, K'ho, M'nong etc. It is also renowned for its cool climate, beautiful mountain scenery, lakes and waterfalls, as well as special culture of different ethnic minority groups. Talking about the Central Highlands of Vietnam, you may think about the famous city of "Đà Lạt", which is a popular destination for tourists and Vietnamese couples during their honeymoons. But it is just one of the cities in this region. I also visited Đà Lạt in December 1998 and visited 16 sites in and around the city with a local motorbike driver. This time I visited 3 ... read more

18 May 2009 After breakfast and talking to family on Skype (WiFi at the Spring is great) we went to fulfill another of Kim’s wishes - to see the site of the old American Embassy. Coincidentally the photographer who took the famous photo of people climbing the stairs to get on the last choppers to leave Saigon, at the end of the war, died this week. It was only four or five blocks from the hotel, but an interesting walk past a local market, most of the time on the road because the footpaths are used for everything but walking on - cooking, eating, drinking, sitting, parking. There of course was nothing to see at the Embassy site but a big wall - the building has been torn down - but it’s now ticked off the ... read more