This will definitely go down as one of our most memorable experiences, of Vietnam, and the whole trip.
We spent 4 days on the back of motorbike with a couple of 'Easy Riders' exploring the Central Highlands and down to Saigon. There is a group of about 60 guys in Dalat who call themselves the Easy Riders and take tourists on day trips or longer (some as long as 3 weeks) around the Central Highlands and anywhere else they might want to go! There are also a lot of 'fake' Easy Riders around too - several of whom approached us in Nha Trang and Dalat - how you tell the difference I am not sure, as all carry books of recommendations from other tourists with them. The real Easy Riders seem to have badges and business cards....
Our two Riders - Mr Chung and Mr Binh - one from the North and one from South Vietnam, took us to family business, waterfalls, minority villages (where the kids just loved having their photos taken!), we tasted wild boar, wild deer, barbequed goat. We rode on the back of an elephant, explored the Cu Chi tunnels and the Ho Chi Minh trail and survived the Saigon traffic. It was a very different insight into Vietnam, into the extreme poverty of the minority tribes, and the resourcefulness of the people in using and reusing the resources around them - we could learn a thing or two about recycling here. People were happy to see us, kids yelling 'hello' as we rode by, and factory workers happy to show us around their work. We stayed in small towns, and in one case in the rebuilt summer palace of the last emperor at Lak Lake. Amazing. Two days later and we are still trying to take it all in.
We spent 4 days on the back of motorbike with a couple of 'Easy Riders' exploring the Central Highlands and down to Saigon. There is a group of about 60 guys in Dalat who call themselves the Easy Riders and take tourists on day trips or longer (some as long as 3 weeks) around the Central Highlands and anywhere else they might want to go! There are also a lot of 'fake' Easy Riders around too - several of whom approached us in Nha Trang and Dalat - how you tell the difference I am not sure, as all carry books of recommendations from other tourists with them. The real Easy Riders seem to have badges and business cards....
Our two Riders - Mr Chung and Mr Binh - one from the North and one from South Vietnam, took us to family business, waterfalls, minority villages (where the kids just loved having their photos taken!), we tasted wild boar, wild deer, barbequed goat. We rode on the back of an elephant, explored the Cu Chi tunnels and the Ho Chi Minh trail and survived the Saigon traffic. It was a very different insight into Vietnam, into the extreme poverty of the minority tribes, and the resourcefulness of the people in using and reusing the resources around them - we could learn a thing or two about recycling here. People were happy to see us, kids yelling 'hello' as we rode by, and factory workers happy to show us around their work. We stayed in small towns, and in one case in the rebuilt summer palace of the last emperor at Lak Lake. Amazing. Two days later and we are still trying to take it all in.
1 comment:
Thank you both for sharing this remarkable adventure. It is your own openness to the experiences that makes me feel a part of it all. I keep passing your address to friends. OXO
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