Easy Rider

Sin jow,

OK, so the trip with the Easy Rider was AWESOME! Definitely worth the money. We did so much that I know I won't be able torecap it all in this post but I'll list some of the things we did. The best parts for me were stopping and visiting the local people and seeing what they did and how they lived. It is definitely not anything you can get on a bus tour. I think it was the most authentic local experience I've had on my trip so far.

The first day we left Dalat and headed to Lok Lake. On the way we stopped at a silk factory and a waterfall and then went on to a family that raises the worms for the silk factory. That was really cool. We also stopped and spent a little time with a squatter family. Jean, my guide, brought passion fruit from his family's farm and twice a day mixed it with water and sugar for a really refreshing drink. We ate in little local restaruants with cheap, terrific food and we ate a lot! Day one it was lots of small plates of meats and veggies with rice. Day Two we went from Lok Lake to Buon Ma Thout. BMT is the biggest town in the Central Highlands. There is a large War Memorial in the center of town. We stopped at a family that makes brooms on the way and went to an old bridge that was the site of a battle during the war and another waterfall. Lunch was vegetarian food which was terrific. Dinner though was my favorite meal in Vietnam to date. We went for make-your-own spring rolls. They brought out rice paper, noodles, lettuce, mint, banana, mango, cucumber, fig, grilled meat and crsipy sticks. You roll a bit of everything in the rice paper and dip in this amazing peanut sauce. I hope I canfind another place like that before I leave Vietnam! Day 3 was the longest day on the bike. We did over 200 km to get to Kon Tum. We had fresh mango on the way and stopped to see a couple of local tribal communities, rice harvesting, andsome more battle sites and memorials. Day 4 we went to a small town whose name I have forgotten. This day we started riding on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The trail is now a paved road, but in many places, you can still see the path used by the VC during the war. The scenery became more dense and beautiful as we got farther north. We stopped to see some incredible wood carving and cement tree pot making (huge). Our last dinner we had venizon and rice (yum). The last day on the bike we went to Hoi An. We started again on the HCM trail but left it eventually. We stopped to see pineapple harvesting and try fresh pineapple. We also went to a hill that was the site of many battles and saw bomb craters (you see these all over Vietnam). The trip ended in Hoi An and Jean headed for home.

Hoi An is a UNESCO world heritage site (the old town anyway) and a great place to wander around the small alleys and look at the old buildings. Hoi An is also known for its tailors and many travelers end up having way more clothes made than they anticipated (case in point my Irish friends who started with one suit each and then spent 3 extra days buying more clothes). I just had one dress made for Mere's upcoming wedding. Had to bedone :). I did a day trip to the Cham ruins at My Son. The site predates Angkor Wat by about 700 years. Unfortunately the war destroyed most of the temples. Bomb craters litter the site. We took a boat trip back toHoi An and stopped to see a craft village on the way. After Hoi An I planned to spend a night in Danang to explorethe Marble Mountains and China Beach, but it was raining so I just got a train to Hue. The train ride was lovely despite the weather. Ocean on the right, mountains on the left. Definitely a nice cahnge from the tourist buses.

The last few days I've spent in Hue. Hue is on the Perfume River and was the capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The first day I wandered around the old Imperial City which has lots of temples and old royal buildings. Yesterday I did a day trip down the river to some more temples and some of the tombs of the kings. The tombs are in parks with lakes, trees, and multiple old stone structures. Really cool to wander through. Last night I went on another boat to see Hue folk music on the river. My favorite part was when each person on the boat was given a candle in a floating paper box to set down in the river. Something about fire on water... Tonight I head north to Nimh Binh. The weather has been bad the last 3 days and I hope it clears as I go north. I hear Halong Bay and Sapa (both of which I am totally looking forward to) are not nearly as nice in bad weather. Fingers crossed!

Oh and if you are interested in reading about the Easy Riders I went with from Dalat, the web address is www.dalat-easyrider.com
The one Annie posted in the comments on the last post is from another town. Many towns in Vietnam have Easy Riders, but the ones from Dalat are supposedly the original and best. Also the most expensive...