After a bumpy and cramped 8 hour bus ride (most of which we spent exchanging tips with the other backpackers on board), we arrived in Dalat; a town in the highlands 1500m above sea-level. Upon stopping at our drop-off 
point, we were all surrounded by the paparazzi-style tour-sellers (called 'Easy Riders') who even followed our taxis on motorbikes to our hotel. Dalat was a much calmer place with a cooler climate, and the people here were genuinely friendly (it had a nice community feel to it). We checked into a place with some of the other backpackers and then spent the rest of the day exploring the town. We had arrived during the festival of Vesak (Buddha's birthday), and so we experienced an impressive procession around a huge lake (situated right in the centre of town).
After ending the night drinking with some of the other guys, we woke up the following morning and had breakfast at the local Peace Cafe (renowned for backpackers and tour-guides). It was here that we started joking around with a couple of motorcycle guides who claimed to be 'Cool Riders' (officially part of 'Vietnam Easy Riders'). Their names were Ocean and River (literally translated from their Vietnamese names), and if you were to pull these guys out of a deck of playing cards they would be the JOKERS - wild, talented and funny. Our options were clear.... we could either take another 12 hour bus straight to our next destination, or we could travel on the back of their
motorbikes (500km over 3 days) where they guaranteed to show us the 'real' Vietnam.... our minds were already made up!On our first day, we travelled 160km to Lak Lake (in Dak Lak province); the route was very safe and practically designed for motorbikes. Along the 
road, we stopped at various historical places, silk factories (where we saw the silk worms in action - nice delicacy also!), coffee plantations and rice-wine makers, where our knowledgeable friends gave us explanations. We rode through numerous rice paddy fields where we took in some of the most amazing landscapes we had ever seen....what a beautiful country. On our last stop before reaching our hotel, we visited a highland 'minority' 
village called Jun (home to the M'nong tribe) and for the first time in a long while, everything felt so real. These self-contained, simple people relied on their natural surroundings to provide them with everything they needed (they had no electricity or running water). They would drink plenty of rice wine every night and would always show happiness and affection. That evening, after settling into our hotel which overlooked the lake and watching the sunset, the 4 of us dined with hundreds of inhabitants from the surrounding wilderness - some hovered above us, 
some crawled beneath us, and some wanted to sample our food. We managed to stay awake for only a bit of the Champions League Final (1.45am...yawn yawn...had skilful Arsenal been playing, it would have been a different story).
road, we stopped at various historical places, silk factories (where we saw the silk worms in action - nice delicacy also!), coffee plantations and rice-wine makers, where our knowledgeable friends gave us explanations. We rode through numerous rice paddy fields where we took in some of the most amazing landscapes we had ever seen....what a beautiful country. On our last stop before reaching our hotel, we visited a highland 'minority' 
village called Jun (home to the M'nong tribe) and for the first time in a long while, everything felt so real. These self-contained, simple people relied on their natural surroundings to provide them with everything they needed (they had no electricity or running water). They would drink plenty of rice wine every night and would always show happiness and affection. That evening, after settling into our hotel which overlooked the lake and watching the sunset, the 4 of us dined with hundreds of inhabitants from the surrounding wilderness - some hovered above us, 
some crawled beneath us, and some wanted to sample our food. We managed to stay awake for only a bit of the Champions League Final (1.45am...yawn yawn...had skilful Arsenal been playing, it would have been a different story). At breakfast the following morning, Ocean and River shared stories about the Vietnam War and their
experiences with police corruption. That day, we travelled 140km to Buon Ma Thout. Once again, on route we stopped numerous times at landmarks and also met many skilled craftspeople. We walked around the National Park which was home to 
many large waterfalls. We were beginning to become a lot closer to Ocean and River and that night after dinner, we shared a bottle of local Vietnamese vodka with them whilst they played the guitar and sang Vietnamese songs for us - really talented guys (the Vietnamese love their karaoke!)
experiences with police corruption. That day, we travelled 140km to Buon Ma Thout. Once again, on route we stopped numerous times at landmarks and also met many skilled craftspeople. We walked around the National Park which was home to 
many large waterfalls. We were beginning to become a lot closer to Ocean and River and that night after dinner, we shared a bottle of local Vietnamese vodka with them whilst they played the guitar and sang Vietnamese songs for us - really talented guys (the Vietnamese love their karaoke!)The final 180km of our journey took us once more through some amazing mountainous scenery and 
encounters with locals (they constantly approached us and tried to converse with us - it was such a shame that we didn't know any Vietnamese apart from 'toi khong hieu' meaning 'I don't understand'!) We continued to share good food and stories with Ocean and River en route to our final destination, Nha Trang. This is where our adventure together would end...so that night we treated our new friends to a seafood feast and 2 more bottles of Vietnamese vodka. As we smoked cigars, we vowed to all keep in touch. If there is one thing that you are going to do in Vietnam, this is what we would recommend.
encounters with locals (they constantly approached us and tried to converse with us - it was such a shame that we didn't know any Vietnamese apart from 'toi khong hieu' meaning 'I don't understand'!) We continued to share good food and stories with Ocean and River en route to our final destination, Nha Trang. This is where our adventure together would end...so that night we treated our new friends to a seafood feast and 2 more bottles of Vietnamese vodka. As we smoked cigars, we vowed to all keep in touch. If there is one thing that you are going to do in Vietnam, this is what we would recommend.
1 comment:
" ...travel on the back of their motorbikes (500km over 3 days)"
You guys must be crazy!! What a brave decision but ... still crazy! :)
p.s. Chelsea is the best! Definitely. Undoubtedly. The best.
Andrey.
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