Early in the moring I headed to the Easy Riders shop where I met Rocky and would begin what was to be one of the most amazing adventures I've been a part of. Based on a recommendation from my friend Will, who did a tour with Rocky a few weeks ago, one can do a tour for as long as desired (1 day, 3 day, 21 day, whatever). We packed up the motorbike, full with my big pack and a few bottles of water. We hit the road singing "hit the Road Jack" as was custom each morning for the tour. Our first stop was just outside of Da Lat, at the Buddha Pagoda. Since it was the buddha's birthday, everu pagoda was well decorated and parades were happening on the road. From there we made our way to one of the Vietcongs bunkers used during the Tet Offensive. One of the most common themes during our journey were numerous war remnants locations, which, seem to be everywhere throughout this country.
After seeing the bunker, we really hit the open road and got cruising through the central highlands and the fresh air of the pine forest. After about 2 hours of riding, we stopped at a local silk factory where I saw the entire process of making silk artifacts -- from the silk worms producing the silk to the final clothes, cloth, etc. that was sold. Again we went on the open road stopping at the Elephant Watefalls for a refreshing dip in the water. It was seriously hot and you get extremely dirty on the bike (don't think they have smog standards for vehicles here). We then made a quick stop at a local hill tribe village, where I gave candy to kids and a girl gave me a bracelet as a sign of good luck on the adventure.
The open road was ours again and two hours later we stopped at another local tribe for a break sitting on the bikes. The highlight here was an impromptu English lesson to many of the kids. We reached our final destination for the day, Lak Lake, aroud 5pm for a well deserved beer and a great local dinner.
Rocky
Silk factory
Happy Buddah
Vietcong Bunker
Giving out candy
Cashew Nut
Elephant Waterfall
Day 2
6.5 hours on the bike; 150 kilometers traveled
After a good nigth's sleep we headed out for our first stop of the day, Drysap Waterfalls. We spent a few hours here as their was a long hike to the waterfalls, but felt great after being on a bike for so long. We continued on to a coffee plantation and then after lunch a long haul towards the Cambodia border where we were spending the night with Rocky's family. Upon arrival at his sisters house food was instantly provided and many of his relatives came over. It was special for some, as a few of them had never seen a foreigner before. After the "appetizer" of homemade spring rolls, we walked across the street to his parents house for a real dinner. The meal consisted of numerous meat dishes, about 10-15, which after awhile I stopped asking what they were. To my dismay, I later found out one dish (that I didn't care for) turned out to be dog. I stopped asking what the rest was. Rocky showed me a great time here in his hometown, introducing me to many of his friends and going to a karaoke bar at night where I sung Vietnamese songs well into the night.
Hill tribe man
Drysap Waterfall
Drysap
Rice paddies throughout the trip
Dinner at Rocky's
Never seen currency besides
Day 3
4 hours on the bike; 100 kilometers traveled
The last day was a bit shorter than the previous two, and consisted of traveling to BMT where I was to catch the bust to Hoi An. On the way we went to a rubber tree plantation and another local tribe of hillsment. After waiting out a 45 minute rain storm (which is an every day experience now that the rainy season is starting) we reached BMT. This concluded what was one of the most fun/best ways to see a country tours I've ever done. There were countless times on the back of the bike where I couldn't believe how amazing this was. Certainly something I will never ever forget. Rocky is also one of the friendliest locals I've met anywhere and is extremely knowledgeable about anything and everything. Anyone who comes to Vietnam needs to find Rocky in Da Lat to take his tour. I hope to stay connected with him via email.
Floating home
Jungle trek
Rubber tree
They carry everything on motorbikes!
Cambodian Mountains
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