On our way to Buon Ma Thuot from
Dalat we spent one night at Lak Lake, about 25 kilometers south of BMT. Staying in Buon Ma Thuot it would be easy to visit Lak Lake as a day trip, and the scenic drive through minority villages is worth the trip alone. Lak Lake and the surrounding areas were pretty, and it seems that not many foreigners travel here. When we walked through the nearby town, a great number of kids ran out to greet us.
We spent the night at a small "hotel" that seemed to have only a few rooms and a large restaurant. There were so many bugs in our room, including fleas in our bed, that we pitched our tent on top of the bed to sleep in. The food served in the restaurant was good. We had a variety of Vietnamese dishes including vegetarian spring rolls and "pork in clay pot". Although, without our guide Tuan, we suspect that it would have been difficult to order. We talked outside with Tuan late into the night, trying to avoid going back into our room as long as possible!
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On our way toward Buon Ma Thuot the next morning, we stopped
in Jun Village to visit the Ede minority group. The
Ede people in Jun Village live in longhouses similar to those that can be found throughout Borneo. The village is situated on a lake and surrounded by beautiful rice paddy fields. There were ethnic goods for sale in the village, although we didn't see any villagers wearing the traditional clothing themselves. It seemed that the traditions were maintained more for tourists than for the villagers themselves. It was also possible to ride elephants there.
We passed through Buon Ma Thuot around 10AM. The city didn't look very interesting, so we decided to spend the afternoon around Yok Don National Park and Ban Don, about one hour northeast of Buon Ma Thuot. We first stopped in the village of Ban Don, which we greatly enjoyed. There were shops set up selling traditional goods for tourists, but we didn't see any other Westerners, and the people seemed much better off than they did in Jun Village.
The M'nong people of Ban Don have about 50 domesticated elephants. During the day most of the elephants are taken out into the surrounding jungle and brought back in the evening. We took an elephant ride from Ban Don, across the Serepok river, into Yok Don National Park, and back to the village. It was a great experience that we would highly recommend. Remember to bring sunscreen and wear a hat. It was VERY HOT!
On our way out of Ban Don our
guide Tuan spotted the home of Yprong Eban, the famous elephant hunter known throughout Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia as "Ama Kong". We talked with him in his home for a couple of hours, and the 92 year old demonstrated how he would kill buffalos and wild boars with his spear, and call to the villagers with his buffalo horn when he returned to the village with a new elephant calf. Although the M'nong are a matrilineal people, Ama Kong is an exception with 4 wives and 21 children. We asked Tuan why Ama Kong was able to have 4 wives, and he said, "He's Ama Kong!".
After the previous night in the flea-ridden hotel at Lak Lake, when we arrived in Buon Me Thuot we decided to upgrade to the White Horse Hotel. Our room was clean, nice, and included a small refrigerator and TV. We had dinner at a roadside restaurant Tuan brought us to, that served delicious spring rolls. Several plates were brought out with vegetables, meat, and fruit, along with rice paper for rolling the spring rolls. The next morning we drove toward
Kon Tum, briefly passing through Pleiku.
For information on Hotels, Tours, Flights, and Books on Vietnam, check out the pages below:
Hotels in Vietnam - Recommended hotels in Vietnam.
Tours in Vietnam - Recommended tour companies in Vietnam.
Flights to Vietnam - Includes information about our experiences on different airlines we've taken to and from Vietnam.
Books on Vietnam - Excellent books on Vietnam's history, people, and travel.
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