I will always remember the day I met Lac Tran, it was 2 days after I had left Saigon and I was relaxing in a hostel in Mui Ne. “Hello, how are you?” chimed in my ear and standing beside me was a man with a map. It was at that point I became enchanted by talks of waterfalls, dirt tracks and mountain driving. Over the next few days, I learnt Lac was a wonderful man who had too many life experiences to count – you could listen to him for hours. Sceptical at first that he was another stranger trying to sell me something, I had a good gut feeling about this man and his plans that I knew I had to follow. He spoke of a trip which sounded like my fairy tale and I knew I was sold. The plan was simple,we would spend the next week driving up through the Vietnamese highlands – little did I know I would gain some great friends and not to mention, have one of the best experiences of my life. Am I overselling this?! NOT POSSIBLE!
Now dont get me wrong, I still had my wits about me and thought, wait a sec, a 25 year old girl driving into the highlands with a man she only knew few hours?? We both knew it would be better to get another person involved and also, I wanted to spend a few more days exploring Mui Ne, so I chilled and he recruited. In the days that passed I knew I had made the right decision, Lac taught us how to drive a bike ( I had driven before but driving down highway 1 in darkness in Vietnam was a totally different story!), he brought us to roadside shacks for the best Pho I had ever tasted accompanied with renditions of beautiful Vietnamese songs, sung by said Pho chef- this performance I will not forget. We spent days driving around Mui Ne, along the coasts and chatting over delicious Vietnamese iced coffee. We explored a wonderful market in the nearby town and then off to a quiet secluded beach for some swimming and bbq’d squid. It was pure bliss, we did not know it yet but it was a sure sign of what was to come.
Day 1
7.00am and we departed Mui Ne, donned our gloves, helmets and masks (which Lac bought us) and headed north for Dalat. The landscapes evolved the more we drove and I really struggled to keep my eyes on the road. We weaved up and down through these incredible mountains full of tea , coffee and dragon fruit planatations, stopping only for coffee or coconut juice. We got laughs, friendly stares and marriage proposals whenever we stopped to refuel – I wouldnt blame them seeing two white girls driving around in the middle of nowehere.
Enchanting corrugated iron villages charmed me and then, to top it off, we broke down. I can honestly say it was the best breakdown ever. We managed to make it to the next “mechanic” en route, a myriad of oily bike remnants housed in more corrugated iron on the side of the road. The breakdown made not only our day but the mechanics also as we spent the next few hours joking around with the use of our trusty pigeon Vietnamese and sign language. After some thorough bike dissecting, our problem was solved and we were on our way with smiles on our faces and sugarcane juice in our bellies. We stopped in for what I can only call a banquet of delicious Vietnamese food, food I would never of tried if only
for this trip and Lac’s encouragement. We arrived in Dalat late that evening, and to say we were frozen was an understatement! Our novice side really shone through as we drove in shorts and t-shirts at 5000ft above sea level…at night. Lloyd’s ice cold scooter ride in Dumb and Dumber sums up the situation up nicely.
Day 2
This trip became so much more about the journey and the people along the way and less about the destinations alone. Driving around Dalat the following morning was refreshing with the crisp clean air of the mountains, being wrapped up for the first time in a week- it felt like I walked into a french hillside town. We collected our 3rd recruit and travelled onwards and upwards (not literaly as we needed to go down down down!). The feeling of warmth as we descended was welcoming as we explored some beautiful waterfalls and minority villages. On a random day you could experience 5/6 different landscapes and today was no different. Lush green forests contrasting starkly with the red dusty villages nearby. Lunch consisted of delicious sticky rice balls on the side of the road and more laughs with the locals. The people we encountered really did make this trip. A wonderful young newly wed couple, maybe 17/18, welcomed us into there home to show us their silk farm in their bedroom – and I mean, imagaine a few thousand silk worms crawling around next to your bed – it was incredible! Drive on a few miles and again and the landscape transforms into beautiful rice fields spilling out over the mountains. We would soon arrive at our destination, Lak Lake, again in the dead of night and freezing but with a lifetime of incredible experiences.
Day 3
That morning I awoke at 6am for sunrise, and wow(!) the reflection of the morning sun in the rice paddies sprawled out in front of me, the only person awake for miles. Words really cannot describe it. Lak lake is a real treasure and in this case the destination conquered!
We hit the road that morning after exploring the local area, the lake, the minority village – again wow(!) We left around noon and we didnt know it but today would be our dirt-track day, we crossed rivers on man made ferries which looked like they could crumble but stood the test of time.
We passed wedding after wedding in these little villages and even managed to unintentionally crash one! We stopped to have a quick peek and before we knew it we were swamped, with even the bride and groom wanting photos with us. We were the only foreign people through there in a long time, our filthy clothes starkly contrasting those of the beautiful wedding party. We were welcomed inside, fed and watered, beer after beer, we were pulled from every direction for more photo’s and chats. It became a blur of hands and with our faces sore from laughter, we hit the road even though we all knew we would loved to of stayed – at least our memories live on in the wedding album. This was all at 11am in the morning – the Vietnamese really know how to celebrate!
We drove on through a sea of hi-5s and smiles, dirt track after dirt track. That afternoon Lac shared with us a secret swimming hole surrounded by waterfalls and jungle. We spent hours swimming and exploring in the sunshine – very much a “pinch yourself” moment, is this even real? Lac loves his country and his passion and eagerness to share in its beauty was contagious, all the while we were so appreciative of how lucky we were to be part of this adventure. That evening we reached Buon Ma Thout city at a decent time(a first!), ate delicious duck hot pot, head and bones included and hit the sack – exhaustion kicked in!
Day 4
We drove…and drove…and drove…gravel…roadworks…up mountains…down mountains…more roadworks…driving…sore arse is an understatement! This was a long old day and we had a lot of headway to make. Days like this had to be done. The highlight was arriving in Pleiko and making our own delicious spring rolls complete with peanut sauce and chowing down before we terrorised the city of Pleiko with our attempt at Vietnames Ktv. Hilarious!
Day 5
Today was an unusual one. We saw two crashes today and it really hit home that we only learned how to drive a week ago…in Vietnam(!) Up and up we went, back to the mountains, through Charlie hills and into the clouds. Another different landscape in this ever changing countryside. Beauty in its raw form as again, we arrived in the darkness due to all our stops in our attempt take it all in. It was here we saw foreigners for the first time in days and we realised we became the ones with that friendly stare. We wondered where our days had gone and thought of our final desitination tomorrow, Hoi an – back to reality. Goodbye fairytale. Goodbye Kam Duc.
Day 6
That morning, post rain downpour, we hit the road. A sombre feeling clouded over us that day as we knew it was all coming to an end. We were exhausted and overwhelmed in the best possible way from such an incredible trip. Part of me wanted to keep driving and not stop until Hanoi. Through the clouds we started our descent, welcoming the warmth on our faces as we drove back through lush paddy fields and more jungles. Again nearly crashing every 2 minutes due to taking it all in. Families welcomed us into their homes for shelter as it began to downpour again – talk about good timing. We drove into the sunshine, we drove towards Hoi An.
On arrival to the hostel we de-mounted and sent the bikes on the next bus back to Nah Trang. Farewells were said as we still couldn’t comprehend it was all over, we expected Lac to be there the next morning waking us up at the crack of dawn and introducing us to something weird and wonderful. This man is such a credit to Vietnam, his passion and love for his country is electric and he loves to share it. I felt so priveliged to be that person he approached that day in Mui Ne. This once in a lifetime oppurtunity could of easily just passed me by and I have never been happier to have followed my gut. More goodbyes were said as we watched Lac drive off to catch the next bus home and I knew it would not be the last time I hear from Lac Tran.
This trip made my experience in Vietnam and as arse-holish as it sounds, I feel like I saw the real Vietnam, met the real Vietnamese people and had the real Vietnamese experience. Go out of your comfort zone, travel the roads less travelled and always follow your gut.
this crow flies 