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Published: September 25th 2008
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Our guides
With our guides Hoan & Xiian Easy Rider Tour: Part 2
Day 4: Kon Tum to Kham Duc (160km) Our first stop today was at a Tapioca factory. After the war most plants could not grow in the areas affected by Agent Orange, however Tapioca is one of the few that grows. It’s also what many of the VC’s ate during the war (often it was the only food they ate).
We stopped at the Base 601 war monument and another monument which included tanks for the war. We also had a look at what’s left of the Phoenix air strip, the longest air strip in the Vietnam War.
After lunch we began the official HCM trail.
We visited a Gie Triena Minority village and went inside their communal house. We also met some of the children from the village and an elderly couple in their house. The man showed us some of the traps they use to catch animals.
Later we stopped near another village to see their bridge, which I’m pretty sure wouldn’t pass safety standards back home (see photo).
We walked along part of the original HCM trail which was just as narrow as when it was
first established. It was amazing that trucks were actually able to drive these roads during the war. We saw local people husking rice. The local people are very strong and even the ladies carry huge (up to 60kg) bags of rice.
Day 5: Kham Duc to Prao (140km) We started our day at Kham Duc air strip followed by the Kham Duc war monument.
Next stop was the Queens waterfall, named after the Cambodian Queen who stopped here and had a shower many years ago.
The next Minority village we visited was the Ta Oi people. We met the village chief and had a look inside his house. It’s a tradition to display the skulls of all the animals on the roof of the house, and there are hundreds of skulls lining the roof.
We stopped to meet a wood carver who made furniture and vases among other things.
We walked through Prao which is completely off the beaten track. People were rather shocked to see a white couple walking through their town. We found the local football ground, where many of the local boys were playing soccer. Gary joined in to play,
Co Tu Minority Village
Us in front of the communal house although the ground was rather wet and muddy which made the game a bit difficult..
Day 6: Prao to Aluoi (110km) Co Tu Minority village has a very beautiful meeting house.
At the Ta Oi Minority village we met a brilliant hunter who also displayed the skulls of the animals in his house.
We stopped by the side of the road and walked for a couple of minutes to a secluded waterfall for a shower, very pleasant in the hot weather.
Along the HCM trail we came across a few landslides where we had to get off the bike and walk. As it is the rainy season landslides are pretty common, but they are still very impressive.
We stopped in Aluoi for at a guesthouse for the night. Our host was going to prepare a chicken dinner for us. She bought a live chicken from the market and Hoan (our tour guide) cut its neck and collected the blood before the bird was plucked and cooked. The chicken was delicious.
Gary had haircut, shave and ears cleaned in a local barber shop (all for just $3 including a tip).
Day 7: Aluoi to Cua Tung beach (200km)
We saw Hamburger Hill in the morning, but were unable to go to it due to a mixture of poor timing, police inefficiency and government corruption. Instead we stopped at a Bru Van Kieu minority village but all the adults were out in the fields working so we only met the children.
DMZ
Today we visited the DMZ and several major sites from the Vietnam War. Dakrong Bridge was our first stop; a major VC river crossing that was turned into a major bridge after the war.
The Khe Sanh combat base has been turned into a museum of sorts, with different war era vehicles and weapons strewn around the site. Again the anti-American propaganda is quite funny, as the captions on the pictures tell us how the American ‘cowards’ cowered from the brave Vietnamese.
At the Paco Minority village the children kept calling us “Americans”, they couldn’t understand there are white people that aren’t American visiting Vietnam.
We visited the Truong Son National Cemetery where the Vietnamese liberation soldiers are buried; they still find soldiers bodies in the jungle today and bury them in this cemetery.
We crossed the 17th Parallel and the DMZ Bridge; the two propaganda megaphone towers on either side of the river are still on display from the war.
We spent the night at Cua Tung beach. Our room looked straight out to sea overlooking the rocks. We went for a swim at the beach and I think we were the only foreign tourists on the beach.
That night we went to dinner in a local restaurant where there were lots of locals there celebrating because the next day was a public holiday. Thanks to our guides who translated for us, we were able to talk to the locals, and had a great night partying with them. Gary even made a friend from the local police academy.
Day 8: Cua Tung beach to Lang Co beach (160km) Today was National Day in Vietnam.
Our first stop was the Vinh Moc Tunnels used by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam/American war. These tunnels are unaltered since the war and are much larger than the Cu Chi tunnels near Saigon.
The Quang Tri citadel was destroyed during a major battle in the war, according to our guide
the Americans offered an ultimatum that if the North could capture the citadel the Americans would leave Vietnam, and if the Americans held the citadel the country would be permanently separated. Needless to say the Vietnamese took the citadel.
Hue citadel including Ngo Mon Gate, Thai Hoa Palace, Halls of the Mandarins
We stayed by Lang Co beach, another beautiful beach off the beaten track but popular with local tourists.
Day 9: Lang Co beach to Hoi An (70km) The final stretch of our tour was to Hoi An over the Hai Van Pass. This is a beautiful stretch of coastline.
We explored the American bunker at the top of the Hai Van Pass, with views over Danang and Lang Co Beach.
Hoi An: We spent four nights relaxing in Hoi An. It’s a really enjoyable quaint town to explore and visit. It’s famous for made to measure clothes. We had great fun getting measured, choosing fabrics and styles. We now have suits and winter coats for London. We also had a couple of pairs of shoes made to measure. Luckily shipping items home is easy and cost effective.
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