Blogs from Central Highlands, Vietnam, Asia - page 12

The road from Peliku to Buon Ma Thuot is proliferated with some spectacular scenery owing to the very fertile landscape created by the volcano. Here the locals grow all kinds – pepper, coffee, kosava, rice, bananas, dragon fruit and green papaya. On the way down Quang and I pulled over at a trucker’s rest stop (not the kind you get in the States!). This was a sleepy road side restaurant with hammocks and a few make shift tables. We chilled out here for a few hours while the family’s pet cat and puppy played chase around the hammocks. The pup actually hopped into the hammock with me for an hour while I had a snooze! After lunch we stopped off at a few places where the locals were using clay to make bricks the traditional way ... read more

The next day we were back on the bike and headed deeper into the highlands, this time to check out some of the minority villages on the way and offer a chance for me to learn a bit about the history of the area and how people make a living there. Quang recounted a little of his life also for me and of his family. His father had moved to the South before the Viet Nam war and was an officer stationed out of then, Saigon. His Uncle remained in the North and was a General in the Viet Cong. A family feud ensued as brothers essentially battled each other across enemy lines, but thankfully lived to tell the tale. Quang was only about 11 in the war and remembered that everyone was so poor they ... read more

For our final night in Saigon our tour leader, Bau, took us to the crappiest restaurant in the ritziest part of town. Afterwards we headed down to the riverside to see the giant piranha looking dinner cruise boat bedazelled with glittery lights and tacky flowers. We could have gone on that boat for dinner, but Bau tells us that one recently sank and killed a few passengers. Our dinner might have been a little disappointing, but hey, we're still alive. Crossing any road in Saigon is like playing Russian Roulette. It's impossible to wait for a break in the traffic, so you simply step into the street and pray. Walk slowly, steadily and don't make any sudden movements. Keep calm and the traffic will somehow flow around you. Easier said than done with a gazillion motorbikes, ... read more

Here it is, be it only maybe 1% of the dream but it felt good. Seeing that we are all on a bit of a schedule we could only manage 2 days of motorbike touring and Lak Lake was a must see and plus they have elephants there and I wanted to ride one, this destination was possible in 2 days and with taking in a few sites along the way. Originally we all wanted to have a crack at it solo but it seemed where we made up for it in enthusiasm we lacked in experience , so for a few extra bucks we had a guide and a plan. We finally got our act together and set for the 155km journey to the Lake, we stop offs at the obligatory temple and a laughing ... read more

2,250 Images to choose from. Hundreds of stories. Amazing. Tremendous. Exceptional. Choked up. Insane. Impossible... to write less than seventy-five pages... Thus, we've created this Photo Essay to visually explain our first day on our Easy Rider Adventure. Start Time: 8:00 am, Da Lat Duration: 7.5-hours Arrival: 3:35 pm, Dak Lak Lake Resort If you want to know details about a photograph. Please inquire and we will write an answer including image in its own short entry. All Images are Copyrighted to Aaron J JacksonCrabb 2011. Any use of images is strictly prohibited without proper licensing. ... read more