Motorcycle Diary

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 and Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I have not seen a single tourist since I left Dalat yesterday morning with Tu.  We’ve been all around the countryside from Dalat to Di Linh to Mui Ne and everyone along the way was Vietnamese.  My Easy Rider tour fully met my expectations: a true glimpse into normal life in Vietnam.  Tu was a fabulous guide – professional, considerate, knowledgeable, etc.  He made me feel completely comfortable on the bike and travelling around with him as a single woman.  I’ve seen so much in the past 30 hours that I’m going to jot a list of all the events and add some details at the end (similar to what I did in the last post).

Tuesday: Met Tu at 8:30am to get the bike ready for our adventure.  Cloudy but not raining.  Thank goodness for that.

• Dalat railway station – opened in 1938, retains its original French art deco architecture and colored-glass windows
• Tran Hung Dao Street – large French colonial villas from the 1930s and 40s
• View of Dalat
• Tuyen Lam Lake – created when the dam was built
• Truc Lam Buddhist Temple - Meditation place
• Countryside
• Scallion pickers
• Chicken village – weaving demonstration from local woman, school visit (during lunch break when all the kids go home)
• Small town – people usually make hard rice crackers, not today, instead talked to two 17 year old girls who stopped in to practice their English
• Lunch – very local place; we pulled off the road just as it started raining, rained all of lunch but was basically clear by the time we left
• Black mushroom farm
• People cleaning roots on the side of the road
• Peppercorn plants
• While mushroom farm
• Incents lady
• Brick making factory
• Passion fruit plants – Tu bought a bagful for me to try
• Waterfall – Loi Xuong Thac - walk was a bit slippery and long, so I went half way down before turning back
• Hotel in Di Linh – Tu booked me in a large room on the top floor facing the countryside
• Dinner – local place across from the hotel

Wednesday: Met at 7:30, Beautiful morning

• Breakfast at a cute place in town which I’d noticed when we drove through town yesterday.  Had some of the passion fruit alongside my omelet and bread.
• Tea fields – hung out for a bit while Tu talked to the local tea pickers
• Waterfall – I slipped and landed on my ass on the way down; luckily I wasn’t hurt
• View point of jungle
• Another viewpoint
• Small village –handed out cakes to the kids who disposed of the wrappers on the ground (Tu and I talked about this); locals were drying corn for storage
• Tu helps a guy with his motorbike-gives him gas
• Dragon fruit farms
• Lunch – local crowed joint on the road to Mui Ne
• Drive to Mui Ne
• Goodbye Tu

If I can't find a job in CA maybe I'll become a tea picker

 A highlight yesterday was talking to the school girls in the small town.  They recognized the Easy Rider bike and thought they could practice their English.  We talked a bit before Tu took over communicating in Vietnamese and translating.  They were such shy, sweet girls, and I tried to give them advice on ways to improve their English. 

Today seemed to involve more driving and a bit less sightseeing as we coved over 100km., fortunately without a single drop of rain.  Maybe it was searching for a place to stay in the heat, or the fact that I was on my own again, or just that I’d had a wonderful three days with my Vietnamese driver Tu but I started crying after we said goodbye.  I was certainly glad to be off the motorbike; for me it was getting uncomfortable even though I loved the scenery.  A truly unique experience.

Sunset in Mui Ne

This afternoon, I walked towards the center of Mui Ne.  Had no clue how long the road was along the beach – 10km in the heart and 20km total, so I walked for ages and didn’t get very far before walking back along the beach.  Chatted with two British women.  Sunset was beautiful.  Relaxed for a bit before going across the street for dinner.  Western food at a place run by a French couple.  Spaghetti and a passion fruit drink.  Watched The Ugly Truth on TV and spent time on facebook and talking to my parents.