The drive from
Kon Tum to Phuoc Son was beautiful. We drove through many areas of primarily jungle, passing spectacular waterfalls, and stopping in several villages along the way. I had one dangerous incident at one of the waterfalls we stopped to see. When we pulled over on the side of the road to take a few pictures, we noticed a group of partying Vietnamese guys sitting up on top of the falls, motioning for us to come up. Birgit, Tuan, and Thanh stayed down on the road, and I climbed up through the jungle to the top of the waterfall.
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After being hugged and kissed by several drunk but happy Vietnamese, I stepped into what looked like a small
an
d
shallow spot between a couple of rocks to cool my feet. My supporting foot slipped on the wet rocks, and I fell into a hole that was deeper than I am tall, with water rushing toward the fall. Fortunately the guys quickly ran over and helped pull me out of the water, and luckily I had been able to keep my camera above the water, too. For the rest of the trip, I was very careful when walking across rocks and around waterfalls! The guys told me to take my sandals off when I climbed back down toward the street, and I quickly realized that it was much easier to maintain a firm grip on the wet rocks without shoes. When I came out of the jungle at the street, Birgit, Tuan, and Thanh were dying with laughter at the site of me soaking wet.
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We continued the drive to Phuoc Son through spectacular scenery along the Truong Son mountain range, stopping frequently to admire the jungle and take a few pictures. Our hotel/guesthouse in Phuoc Son was very clean, and had excellent views of the surrounding mountains. We took a short walk around town and to the main market, where people continuously approached us to say hello. For dinner we had delicious fried noodles at a roadside restaurant, where the two men sitting next to us repeatedly spit, and threw whatever they didn’t want on the floor. We had a great night walking with Tuan and Thanh on the main street and hanging out on the balcony enjoying the night breeze.
Before we traveled north to
Aluoi the next morning, Birgit and I took another walk around town and visited the market to get some bananas for the day's drive. The people in Phuoc Son were extremely friendly, and on our walk through the market we talked to several people who were anxious to meet us. Phuoc Son and the surrounding area was one of our favorite in Vietnam, although staying for more than a couple of days would probably get boring without a good book.
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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