Explore the Central Highland of Vietnam

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May 2007 was our ‘travelling month’ as after the trip to Laos, we had a 7-day break in Southern Vietnam (we deserved it after a very adventure tour in Laos, . At the end of May, we took another inspection trip to the Central Highland Vietnam.

The direct flight from Hanoi to Buon Ma Thuot did not take off until late evening so we have most of the day free at home doing packing . We arrived in Buon Ma Thuot nearly 9pm and just had enough time to check in the hotel, had some late street food before going to bed. It was nearly midnight when we back to the hotel.

Our hotel, the Dam San Hotel is a stated-owned hotel, located on a riverside site in the heart of Buon Ma Thuot City in Daklak Province, a short distance from Daklak’s interesting Cultural Centre. At our time of visit, the Dam San Hotel was one of the best accommodation in town, however, the newly opened Swiss -Belhotel Dakruco Hotel, the only international hotel in Buon Ma Thuot is much better in term of quality of room and services.

The next morning, we drove to visit Buon Juin (Jun Village) – a M’Nong ethnic minority village, Lak Lake and had a pleasant boat row on the Lak Lake to visit Buon M’lieng for an elephant ride. This is an unique experience for my friends but for me, well, it was really adventure, even more adventure than the long trek in Nam Ha Protected Area in Luang Namtha (Laos). Although the elephants are fully tame, they do have a mind of their own, so don’t be surprised if your mount decides to cool you down with a shower half-way.

Me (in black hat, :o ) riding elephant in Lak Lake:

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/RidingelephantinLakLake-1.jpg

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After lunch, we visited Ethnology Museum and Acothon Village, home of many Ede ethnic minority people. The Ethnology Museum is small, but has some interesting exhibits relating to the ethnic minority groups in the immediate area. The surrounding is good with many big trees.

A Co Thon village is remarkable. Despite its location almost in the centre of the city, surrounded by Kinh ethnic majority households and farms, the Ede people’s traditional buildings and many of their ethnic customs are still prominent. During the 1950’s, French Catholic missionaries helped the Ede families to update their homes to include modern conveniences and standards of hygiene, and more efficient farming techniques, but simultaneously retaining their traditions of architecture and ceremonial. The result is one of the very few examples of ethnic groups that have achieved a comfortable standard of living in the Vietnamese social mainstream without being assimilated.

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After dinner at a good local restaurant, we wander around the street and stopped at a local coffee and enjoyed the famous Buon Ma Thuot coffee (shown in the Ly ca phe Ban Me, very good song by Nguyen Cuong).

The next morning was dedicated to the Gia Long Waterfall, Dray Nur Waterfall, two of the biggest waterfall in the Central Highland. Both waterfalls are spectacular and little visited, but their settings are different. Gia Long is surrounded by lush vegetation. The forest on the other side of the falls is old, with huge trees and full of birds.

Dray Nur falls are larger and more powerful, but the area is comparatively barren with only a few trees. Huge black boulders lie in a jumble at the bottom. Gia Long has a few small bamboo huts for overnight stays and a small shop. Dray Nur has no development at all.

Me - sitting by the side of Gia Long Waterfall:

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More powerful Dray Nur falls:

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/DrayNurWaterfall.jpg

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In the afternoon, we visited Buon Don (Don Village), which is very popular for Vietnamese children with the song ‘Chu voi con o Ban Don’ (The little elephant in Don Village), about 45km from Buon Ma Thuot. Here, we had a short talk with an old M’Nong couple and enjoyed a wonderful music performance.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/MusicPerformaceinBuonDon.jpg

We then took a boat rowing in the Serepok River to Yok Don National Park. We have a short trek in the park seeing its various kind of flora. We then another elephant ride along the Serepok River before going back to the hotel for the third night in Buon Ma Thuot.

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Me with the orchid at Yok Don National Park:

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/PhuongintheYokDonNationalPark.jpg

[Prawn_86]

Great thread JSC. Very informative :) Welcome to ATF

[Traveller]

Great photos. I didn't manage to get to the central highlands on my trip to vietnam. Looks great and hope to get there one day.

[white_crane]

Nice pics! And thanks for the great info. Vietnam looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing. :)

[Travel East JSC]

Hi all, thanks for your replies. It's very nice to be ATF member. Will keep on sharing my amazing trips, :p

[Travel East JSC]

The next day we drove to the Chu Se Crossroad and met our local partner in Gia Lai. (Thing is a bit difficult for our new tour operators when doing the Central Highland Tours is that in each place, we had to use another local partner and each of them has their own policy). Here, we changed the car and drove to visit Ayun Ha Lake and Phu Cuong Waterfall.

Located in the region between Phu Thien and Chu Se districts, about 70 kilometres west of Pleiku city, Ayun Ha lake is a man-made lake supplying the Ayun Ha area and Pleiku city with a big source of aquatic products. Coming to Ayun Ha, tourists will have a chance to intermingle with romantic scenery and enjoy wild nature and pure air. The atmosphere is jubilant when taking part in water sports or cruising on the lake on holidays or at festivals.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/AyunhaLake.jpg

Phu Cuong waterfall, 45 km southeast of Pleiku city, with its height and smooth rock walls, is imposing amid the green jungle carpet. Buses come to the foot of the waterfall and tourists continue their trip on elephant. Lying on the current of the Ia Pech stream, the waterfall shows off its beauty with a height of 35 meters as a silver carpet amid the green forest.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/PhuCuongWaterfall.jpg

In the late afternoon, we drove to the Pleibloum Village and check in our ‘long house’. Pleibloum is a poor village, but has a strong communal spirit. It lies on a small hill beside a slow-moving river, where the local people come for bathing and washing clotes everyday. It has a panoramic view across the valley.

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We had a short tour going around the village seeing the daily life of the local people. We met many women who are in the same age with us but have at least 3-4 children and most of them are older than their real age due to their hard life.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/Motherandchildren.jpg

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We also visited the charnel-house where the dead people rest in peace. Some families in the village share one charnel-house. Charnel-houses are usually surrounded by fences, big trees and statues and not far away from the living area of the village. Charnel-house statues are the identity of the Central Highlands culture. They represent the conception of existence, the deep and sacred sentiment between the dead and the living.

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Wooden statues at the charnel house:

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The long house is large and clean and can contain 10 people. Blanket and mosquito nets are well kept in a box. Our bathroom was just 10 metres away from the house but it was a far far distance and horrible feeling when you had to go in the night.

We booked our dinner in a local family which is 5 km away from the village and had to take a car to eat. The dinner was really good with local dishes cooked by the owner’s wife. After dinner, we back to the long house and enjoyed the first night in the village, away from modern facilities of the hotel.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/Longhouse.jpg

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The next morning was an easy trek around the village learning about the custom and culture of Jarai minority. After lunch in a local restaurant, we drove to Kontum and again, changed the car from another local partner in Kontum. We visited the beautiful Wooden Church and the nearby Vinh Son Orphanage and Thua Sai Seminary.

The wooden church was built in 1913 by a French priest and is one of the must-see sites in Kontum. The church stands on a vast area with various closed-loop works: church – lounge – exhibition centre of ethnic groups and religions – communal house. From a long distance, the church is viewed as a wooden work in compliance with Roman design and tourist may see imposingly high steeple in sky. Pillars and wooden frames are tightly put together inside the church Ceilings, which have been beautiful and solid for over 80 years, are made of ratters, bamboo battens, soil, and straw. Holy palace of the church is decorated in compliance with design of Tay Nguyen’s ethnic minorities, which is solemn but close-knit.


Wooden Church in the sun. Just beautiful like a post card, huh?

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We then visited the nearby Vinh Son Orphanage and had a good time with the children. At the time we visited, most of them just woke up after their noon sleep. When they saw us, they all said ‘hello’ (maybe they’re used to with foreign visitors), they sang us some lovely song in both French and Vietnamese. We brought them some biscuits, candy, some pictures book and pencils. It was very moving seeing them get excited with gifts from visitors.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/ChildrenattheVinhSonOrphanage.jpg

After lunch in a local restaurant in the town, we then drove to Konkotu Village for the overnight accommodation. The Konkotu village, home to the Banar ethnic, where we stayed overnight, lies beside a wide river that’s good for bathing. The whole area is very beautiful and unspoilt, the village is very attractive, and the people are welcoming and friendly. It was fun seeing cows and buffalos crossing the river back home.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/CowsandBuffaloscrossingtheriver.jpg

We slept in a traditional Rong House (not one with a tin roof!) and enjoyed a very good sing and dance performance of the local young people.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/TraditionalRongHouse.jpg

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The next day was an outdoor adventure day with trekking, hiking and rafting down the Dakbla River. The trek through different ethnic villages was really, except the heat but the rafting down the Dakbla River was a reward. We then back to the main town and spent the night in a hotel.

Local people in Dakbla River:

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af122/TravelEast/LocalpeopleinDakblaRiver.jpg


The last morning in the Central Highland was used for shopping (as usual) for ladies in the office. We did enjoy it very much actually. Boarded the noon flight (small airplane, ATR72 ) to Danang, transit there for some hours and then connected the flight back to Hanoi. End of trip.

Thanks for reading! :D

[boscodcosta]

Great post,thanks for the information regarding travel tips.

[EverNothing]

Wow. What an unreal trip journal TEJSC. At it sounds like you had a blast. Certainly puts my Fiji entry to shame, that's for sure, haha. Vietnam as a country has never really interested me (i'm afraid of motor scooters, long story :p) but your write-up has definitely shown me the light and who knows, maybe just maybe, i'll travel there for my self one day.

Cool photos too.

[JackDarcy]

Wow! What a pleasant places. I really like it so much. Thanks for sharing.
:):):)

[Rosemary]

lovely image of lifestyle thanks