Blogs from Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia - page 10

Tuy Hoa to Phu Toc We left the luxuries of our 5 star hotel after 2 days to head into the central highlands. We meandered in land following the course of a canal. The hills began to rise out of the rice paddies and we caught our first sightings of the adorable pot belly pigs roaming around the minority villages. Once we parted from the canal, the land became dry and dusty and the road a single bumpy lane. Traffic was sparse so we only disappeared into the odd dust cloud! The hillsides were stripped of any trees leaving a brown and rather depressing landscape. The houses were different, long wooden homes with chickens, pigs and the odd cow wandering about. Living standards appeared quite basic although an essential to every home was a satellite dish ... read more

We left Dalat around 1pm, the sun was shining in a bright blue sky and despite being cold overnight it was now a lovely temperature around 26 degrees. Soon into the journey to Na Trang, back on the coast, we were climbing steeply. Before reaching the coast there was a whole mountain range to cross. The higher we climbed the more the clouds moved in and the tops of the mountains were swathed in mist. Before long we were in and out of the mist itself driving along steep narrow roads with deep drops to one side. All around us were towering hillsides covered in rainforest bathed in the mist. We had a brilliant coach driver who stopped constantly and waited while everyone piled out to take photographs and of course the odd cigarette break for ... read more

Dalat Waking at 5:30am to catch a tourist bus is the antithesis of cycletouring and our reasons for travelling by bike were amply demonstrated on this day. The bus refused to take us in the morning stating that that bus was too small, despite having booked WITH BIKES the previous day. The afternoon bus crammed in our bikes causing various niggles over the following rides, and crammed in luggage and people such that to exit my 2' square slot I was required to swing from the overhead storage and stand on the backs of seats. The drive was miserable, poor ventilation, systematic shinning of my knees and the compartment containing the bikes popping open on the journey. Coupled with depressing views of defoliated hills (not Agent Orange this time!) and a bumpy ride. The ordeal was ... read more

8. den / Dalat - Lake Lak moto trip Vstavame v 7h rano, abychom si sbalili veci, udelali par kliku, nasnidali se a mohli odjet s nasimi novymi prateli na motorkach smer provincie Dak Lak, kde mame stravit prvni noc. Ke snidani davame egg bread (rozumej omeleta s pecivem) a kavu, vynikajici vietnamskou kavu, ktera nam chutna cim dal tim vic. Jeste kratke foceni, baleni krosen na motorky a hura odjezd. Ja jedu s Khoiem, Miki s tim druhym (nepamatujeme si ani jeden jeho jmeno). Motorka je, alespon pro mne, prekvapive pohodlna, a tak si to svistime krajinou. Uz od pocatku je nam jasne, ze porozumnet jim bude trochu orisek. :) Anglictina fajn, ale vyslovnost vyzaduje znacnou trpelivost a domysleni (napr. rice vyslovuji raj, flower je plour, we had - wi heb - obecne:c,s,f neumi vyslovit) ... read more

6. den, 29.2.2012 - Dalat Bus prijizdi pred hotel vcas - 7:30 nasedame do maleho stareho autobusu bez klimatize, ve kterem mame jet 5h do Dalatu. To bude super. Nakonec zabirame celou zadni lavici a podari se nam si ji uchranit pred nove pristoupivsimi. Takze celkem pohoda. Lenca misty i spi - bus je opet bez tlumicu a cesta je spis necesta, takze vzpominame na Sri Lanskou cestu k pobrezi a misty nechtene opoustime sedadla. Argentinci pred nama nechapou, ale pak se uz taky jen smeji. Konec cesty je jiz super, najizdi se na 4 proudovou dalnici s na mistni pomery (misty i pomery nasi D1) vybornym povrchem a tak ficime snad i 80kou. V Dalatu jsme ve 12. Vita nas mistni kluk v modrem tricku a rovnou sikovne nabizi moznost ubytovani v hotylku hned vedle ... read more