Easy Rider
Trip Start
Feb 18, 2009
1
23
42
Trip End
Aug 10, 2009
Buon Me Thuot,
Vietnam
Monday, April 13, 2009
Day One (11 April 09):
* A tourist village just outside of Nha Trang that was built by a Russian man with Vietnamese government money who then took off with the money before the village was completed. It looked like a great complex (interesting because the buildings imitated a certain type of home in an actual minority village)... it was unfortunate it was never completed.
* A fishing village and fishing sorting/ice packing on the dock for transport.
* We stopped at another fishing village for a morning break at a spot that overlooked the fish farms.
* A brick factory.
* An area in the hills with completely new tree growth... the area was totally destroyed during the American War.
* Sweet potatoes drying in a front yard waiting to be bagged and transported.
* A wood carver making some beautiful furniture.
* We stopped for lunch at this roadside restaurant... Danh says that you can tell if a place is good if the floor is covered in garbage... it means they are so busy they don't have time to clean up. This place definitely fit the bill! There were two guys sitting out front who insisted I take their photo!
* Men harvesting the rice and hauling it to a tractor for transport.
* A coffee bean plantation and irrigation system.
* Our afternoon break was at a roadside stop with hammocks... so perfect! There are hundreds in this country... why can't we have these is Saskatchewan?! That's it... I'm starting one when I get home!
* A rubber tree farm.
* We also saw the biggest snake I've ever seen cross the road in front of us... I couldn't get my camera out in time though so there is no photographic evidence!
* We had to stop a couple times on the first day to take cover from the rain... it came down fast and hard... we met two nice women in one store who were so friendly and very interested about where I came from.
Our first night was spent in Buon Me Thout (the 'caffeine capital of Vietnam'). I found it to be wonderfully friendly. Unlike other parts of Vietnam, people would say hello earnestly without trying to be polite just becuase they wanted to sell you something. We had supper at a small café (again garbage everywhere!). The food was fine but I was slightly turned off when the waitress was cleaning the table across from us when the people left and she started putting the uneaten portions back into the jars!!
Day Two (12 April 09):
* Breakfast was at the hotel... pretty standard... baguettes with butter, noodles, etc.... all fine except the fish sauce that had ants crawling all over the bowl... ants everywhere is something you kind of just get used to after a while!
* As we left town we came upon a big group of motorbikes stopped along the side of the road. We stopped to see what was going on and found a magician performing. Danh said that after he finishes they'll sell medicines to the crowd... it was like something out of an old movie.
* We stopped at a very old bridge (I forget how old or who built it!) that was two small for the Americans to use during the war so they constructed a new one next to it. Without the whole story it's just some bridge!
* We stopped at Dray Sap and Gia Long Falls. I was supposed to climb down a 'trail' to go swimming in a secluded pool but there was so much rain the night before that I couldn't get down the steep bank. I tried a couple different locations along the bank but couldn't make it. I was hot and tired and desperately wanted to go for a swim. I became very frustrated and upset with myself (near tears) and finally turned back to try to find Danh. I couldn't find him, got slightly lost and started to get scared... I screamed when something moved in the trees along the path! I finally found him and he took me to another location where I could swim... although he said it wasn't as nice or as secluded. We went there and I climbed into the shallow pool... it was so refreshing but I was a little nervous about what might be in the water! While I was swimming a family from Buon Me Thout came to the same spot for a Sunday picnic. They had to cross a long log to get to the tiny island where they wanted to have their picnic and they hauled many things across. As they crossed they waved, said hello, laughed and smiled happily. It was so lovely. When I emerged from the water it was rather uncomfortable as it drew heavy stares and laughs as the rocks were very slippery. As I dressed one of the teenagers from the family came back across the log and asked if I'd like to join them. I was so incredibly touched. She had to help me cross the log... they had made it look SO simple... this again drew much laughter! We spent almost an hour visiting with the family and watching them prepare the food. I realized later that my frustration at not being able to get to the first swimming spot was all for nothing... it was like the universe had other plans for me... better plans... I just didn't know it at the time.
* Pepper (the spice not the vegetable) trees.
* There were many front yards with rice noodles drying in the sun.
* We stopped back in Buon Me Thout for an amazing lunch... it was simply fresh salad rolls but they rolled and fried some rice paper to give the wraps a wonderful crunch.
* The market in Buon Me Thout... I've never been stared at so much! I don't think they get that many tourists in Buon Me Thout! People were very friendly though... always saying hello. I came across one section of the market where the chickens went from squawking to not so much so! I had the pleasure of witnessing the whole production... a chicken gets its neck wrung and then thrown into boiling water, and then plucked... I couldn't eat chicken for the rest of the day!
* Victory Monument which commemorates the liberation of the city by the north in 1975.
* A mushroom farm where I also got to hold a python!
* We stopped and watched a family working... the husband was dredging a rice patty while the wife laid out manure to dry. EVERYTHING is dried in the sun in Vietnam... that is so it lasts much longer.
* I went for an elephant ride which I really wish I hadn't done... for manily moral reasons but also for physical discomfort reasons!
* While the elephant crossed the lake we saw a boy setting out nets in a lake while paddling the boat with his feet.
The second night was spent at Lak Lake... I stayed in a rattan and wood longhouse on stilts that resembles the houses used by the minority people in the village in nearby Jun Village (home to the M'nong people). The Lak Lake Resort has a hotel, bungalows and the longhouses. I had one longhouse to myself! It was so peaceful and the sunrise in the morning was spectacular.
Day Three (13 April 09):
* A chopstick factory.
* A weaving factory.
* Crossed a bridge made out of bamboo... it was so unstable and scary... and they cross it on their motorbikes!
* A silkworm farm.
* Stopped to climb a steep set of stairs to get a fantastic view.
* A coffee plantation that also grew pineapples.
* Our lunch stop was in a large 'shed-like' structure that had baby chicks running all over the place... again, full of garbage. Two young girls tried to tie a bow around the neck of one of the chicks!
* A silk factory.
* Stopped at one of the many, many flower greenhouses just outside of Dalat.
* The Linh Phuoc Pagoda in Trai Mat village.
* The Dalat Flower Gardens.
After we arrived in Dalat I said goodbye to Danh... I ended up in tears because it was such a remarkable experience and I was so sad it was over... I had thought about continuing with him all the way to Saigon but I was exhausted (likely more so mentally than physically)... it was so worth it though. It was 'real' and exciting and exhilarating and fun. Danh was an amazing guide and driver... he took his time and was very cautious. I remember being passed by a group of guys also with Easy Riders and they absolutely flew by... I was so glad I wasn't with them! I'm happy that I overcame my initial hesitation and went with Danh... it was truly an experience I will never forget. Danh taught me many things about the land, the culture and the people but there is also one thing unrelated to Vietnam that I will take with me... any time I asked about stopping somewhere or doing something or taking a photo of something, he'd ALWAYS say 'why not?'. That has become one of my new mottos for living an exciting and fulfilling life!
Comments
Easy Rider
Once again, Michelle, you have quickly described another remarkable leg of your adventure. Thanks for sharing your frustrations, emotions and joys. You continue to be in our thoughts. Much love.