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Published: September 24th 2008
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Traffic jam
This is a regular sight on roads in SE Asia. Easy Rider Tour: Part 1
We signed up with Hoan & Xiian for a 9 day tour through the Central Highlands of Vietnam. They promised to show us the real Vietnam, to take us off the beaten track and see very few tourists, and this is what we experienced. During the tour we stopped at 8 different minority villages and were able to go inside their houses, which were all very basic (fireplace, floor, maybe a bed). They all cook over an open fire and have only one room. In many of the houses the whole family sleeps on the floor together.
Throughout our tour we ate at local restaurants eating only local food. We tried porcupine, dear and wild boar (as well as the ususal chicken and beef etc). We had Vietnamese BBQ, roast chicken and a variety of other local food, including Pho (noodle soup) for breakfast one morning. Although that would be the last time because it was far too spicy for Robyn’s stomach, which played up an hour later
Along the way our drivers seemed to always know when it was time for a break. At first it seemed a little strange being
Quang Trang Reservoir
This is the view of the Quang Trang Reservoir from the cable car in Dalat. dropped off in the middle of nowhere and being told to take a little walk but it was always great for the backside. Below is a more detailed account of our travels.
Day 1: Dalat to Lake Lak (150km)
We began day one the same as the entire nine would begin by putting our packs in plastic bags and tying them to the back of the bikes. This gave us a nice back rest, and protected the bags against the (sometimes harsh) elements. Our first stop was the Dalat cable car to the Quang Trung Reservoir. We had some stunning views of Dalat and the reservoir. The area around the Reservoir is mainly pine trees; we were surprised that it’s not more developed as the area is so beautiful. We were met on the other side by our drivers and had a look around the Truc Lam Monastery before hitting the road out of Dalat on our tour proper.
Along the way we stopped at a Temple to see how incense sticks are made and then dried in the sun. They had a pet turtle that we met with the Buddhist symbol similar to the Nazi swastika
Dalat Cable car
This is the view of the Quang Trang Reservoir from the cable car in Dalat. on its shell - tourists often mistake this symbol and think Nazism is alive and well in SE Asia (it isn’t, Hitler stole the symbol). We made another stop at a mushroom farm to see mushroom growing; these mushrooms are also dried in the sun before selling at the market. We also had a look around a small local market and crossed a local minority family’s bamboo bridge, which apparently can take motorcycles.
We stopped at a church project that has been set up to help minority women earn a living. They employ women from a range of minority villages who weave in their traditional way. We saw three different ways of weaving. They also send some of the women for training to learn how to sew. A variety of bags are produced and sold to help the women earn a living.
The first minority village we stopped at was the M’nomg Gar people. When the children saw us they all came running as Hoan had sweets for them. We met the village chief who gave the sweets out to the children. The M’nomg Gar people are traditionally nomadic and only stay in one area for about 5
Turtle
This is the rebirth turtle years before moving on. The government is trying to stop them being nomadic so has started to help build concrete houses and provide the people with satellite TV.
We stopped to see the locals husking rice - the process of removing the rice from the stems harvested in the rice fields. Both male and female workers are required to lift 60 - 80kg bags of rice onto their shoulders - very impressive, especially given their size.
The second minority village we visited was the M’nomg Lam people. We met a young local family and went into their house. The houses in this village are all built on stilts., with a precarious entrance way from a carved timber log. These people traditionally catch elephants and use them to help harvest food and build houses. We saw a ‘pet’ elephant on our drive around the lake.
We spent the night at Lak Lake. We stayed at a resort right on the lake with a swimming pool. We decided to go swimming before dinner even though we knew the rain was coming. After swimming for a few minutes the rain came much harder than we were expecting and it was
Bamboo bridge
This is a bridge made from bamboo to a local house. The bridge is strong enough for motorbikes. freezing cold. We stayed in the pool as it was warmer than getting out.
Day 2: Lake Lak to Pleiku (250km)
We woke up to brilliant blue sky which became the norm for this trip. Our first stop was to see some local women picking rice followed by locals making bricks. Hoan and Xiaan did very well to show us all the local workers and the various jobs they did. These jobs included: Sand dredging for concrete, pottery making, collecting sap from pine trees, bee keeping, collecting sap from rubber trees, growing cashew nuts and growing black pepper. These people work very hard and are often in the fields from 6am to 6pm.
Before arriving in Pleiku we saw the Victory monument at Buon Ma Thuot, and stopped on a hill overlooking the town. From this vantage point you can see Cambodia in the distance and we learnt about some of the VC resistance against the Americans, and the American bombing campaign in the area.
Day 3: Pleiku to Kon Tum (50km)
Today we stopped at a bakery to buy breakfast which we ate over looking Bien Ho (Sea Lake) a deep mountain lake, which
Weaving
This is a minority woman weaving in the traditional way of her village. is used for the towns water supply, so no swimming allowed.
We passed some children playing football so turned around so Gary and Xiian could go and join them. The ball was a bit flat, and the ground a patch of dirt, but the kids were fairly skillful and the game was fun, then school started again so the kids had to run to class.
We visited the Vinh Son 2 orphanage which is home to 200 multi-ethnic children up to the age of 18. The children come from many of the surrounding mountain villages as a result of either losing their parents or their parents being too poor to care for them. We took two soccer balls for them which we gave to the sister to ensure there were no arguments over ownership. Many of the older children were at school when we visited but we got to meet lots of the younger children who were woken up from their afternoon nap just after we arrived. At first they were a bit apprehensive of us but in the end they just wanted a cuddle, so they came to say hi. The children were all so adorable that
M'Nomg Gar Minority House
The is the house of the village chief in a M'Nomg Gar minority village I just wanted to pick them up and take them home.
We visited the beautiful French wooden church and the local “Rong house” which is the venue for important local events for the Bahnar people such as meetings, weddings, and festivals. We visited two traditional houses again on stilts and met a retired village chief who played us some traditional music and was a great laugh.
Our last stop for the day was the local suspension bridge, where we saw many workers heading home for the day; including women carry heavy bags, water-buffalo pulling carts and people on motorbikes.
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alpbabe
alpbabe
Easy Riders
Hi there, like your blog. I'll be heading to vietnam on the 15th october and on my way through the country plan on having a couple of days with the Easy Riders. Is it easy to get in touch with them as I've heard there are now copy cat groups and I've already found 2 different websites???? Any advice on getting hold of them?