My goal today was to find an Easy Rider (motorbike guide) to show me the countryside around Dalat. As I was eating breakfast, a Vietnamese guy sat down next to me to tell me about his motorbike and experience as an Easy Rider. I have to admit, I was kind of skeptical at first because the tour books tell you to watch out for copycats, but after reading some of Mr. Tu’s reviews, I decided to go for it.
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| Ready to ride |
It would be silly for me to describe everything I saw today, so I’m simply going to make a list and write about some of the experiences.
- Temple
- Vegetable farms
- Short walk to viewpoint
- Countryside
- Flower garden
- Forest
- Coffee plants
- Elephant Falls
- Lunch
- Silk factory
- Hag Nga Guest House and Art Gallery (aka Crazy House)
Considering I’ve never spent more than five minutes on a motorbike (and that was 2.5 weeks ago in Hanoi when they guy took me to the train station), hiring a guide for the day was a big step for me. Fortunately, the drivers in Vietnam take things much slower than those in the States and Tu had some quality looking helmets (helmets are required in Vietnam, unlike China, but most people wear ones that are more of a fashion statement than for protection). I was strapped in my helmet, the ear pieces slightly wet from the previous days rain.
I felt the rush as Tu started down the road creating wind that didn’t exist before. But I barely needed to hold on after the first few minutes because I felt totally comfortable. Plus, Tu had a case on the back of the bike which acted like a back rest, so it wasn’t like I was going to slip off. Being in the countryside, away from the noise of the city was refreshing. I loved seeing the farmland and greenhouses, real family businesses that don’t rely on tourism. Tu gave me some history on the area and I even asked some questions about the war. While we were stopped at a viewpoint, I met a couple of girls from California; they were from Thousand Oaks of all places (for those of you who don’t know, TO is the town basically next to Oak Park).
As we were driving to the Elephant Waterfall, it started raining, so we hopped off the bike to put on our raingear. Tu carries waterproof pants and jacket for his clients – excellent considering that bursts of rain seem common in this country. By the time we got to the falls it had already stopped raining; just a quick heavy downpour. I walked with the two TO girls and their guide down to the falls. A slippery walk given everything was wet; I took my time as I was afraid of slipping.
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| Lunch - enough for six people |
Tu and I shared an enormous lunch. There must have been at least six, if not eight, dishes, plus rice. Way too much food. The girls helped eat some of it and then we were off again. Visiting the silk factory was an enlightening experience as I had no idea how silk was made. There must have been 15 women soaking the cocoons and then stringing the silk onto spinning wheels; the strands are so thin it was hard to see that they were doing anything. It started pouring again, so it was back in the rain gear for the ride back to town. We stopped at the Crazy House where I waddled around in the oversized waterproof pants. I have to admit, the bike wasn’t nearly as fun in the rain.
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| Silk factory |
Since I had already considering a longer trip with an Easy Rider (originally I wanted to take one from Nha Trang to Dalat), Tu took me to a café to discuss options. Due to my limited time for the rest of Vietnam, I knew a two-day trip from Dalat to Mui Ne would be my only option (meaning one day less in Saigon). He showed me on the map where we would go and I agreed it sounded like a great plan (I had already made up my mind when we were driving around anyway). The only sticking point was the price; I was expecting a certain amount and it was 40% more. He came down slightly and I decided that I was in, given it’s an experience I might not ever have again.
I had a couple hours to relax before meeting Amir and Ruthie for dinner at Wild Flower. We had a lovely meal and basically closed down the restaurant. Now I need to pack up for my two-day motorcycle adventure to Mui Ne.
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