 May 2007 was our ‘travelling month’ as after the trip to Laos, we had a 7-day break in Southern Vietnam (we deserved it after a very adventure tour in Laos, :) ). At the end of May, we took another inspection trip to the Central Highland Vietnam.
The direct flight from Hanoi to Buon Ma Thuot did not take off until late evening so we have most of the day free at home doing packing. We arrived in Buon Ma Thuot nearly 9pm and just had enough time to check in the hotel, had some late street food before going to bed. It was nearly midnight when we back to the hotel.
Our hotel, the Dam San Hotel is a stated-owned hotel, located on a riverside site in the heart of Buon Ma Thuot City in Daklak Province, a short distance from Daklak's interesting Cultural Centre. At our time of visit, the Dam San Hotel was one of the best accommodation in town, however, the newly opened Swiss -Belhotel Dakruco Hotel, the only international hotel in Buon Ma Thuot is much better in term of quality of room and services.
The next morning, we drove to visit Buon Juin (Jun Village) - a M’Nong ethnic minority village, Lak Lake and had a pleasant boat row on the Lak Lake to visit Buon M’lieng for an elephant ride.  This is an unique experience for my friends but for me, well, it was really adventure, even more adventure than the long trek in Nam Ha Protected Area in Luang Namtha (Laos). Although the elephants are fully tame, they do have a mind of their own, so don’t be surprised if your mount decides to cool you down with a shower half-way.
After lunch, we visited Ethnology Museum and Acothon Village, home of many Ede ethnic minority people. The Ethnology Museum is small, but has some interesting exhibits relating to the ethnic minority groups in the immediate area. The surrounding is good with some big trees around.
A Co Thon village is remarkable. Despite its location almost in the centre of the city, surrounded by Kinh ethnic majority households and farms, the Ede people’s traditional buildings and many of their ethnic customs are still prominent. During the 1950’s, French Catholic missionaries helped the Ede families to update their homes to include modern conveniences and standards of hygiene, and more efficient farming techniques, but simultaneously retaining their traditions of architecture and ceremonial. The result is one of the very few examples of ethnic groups that have achieved a comfortable standard of living in the Vietnamese social mainstream without being assimilated. After dinner at a good local restaurant, we wander around the street and stopped at a local coffee and enjoyed the famous Buon Ma Thuot coffee (shown in the Ly ca phe Ban Me, very good song by Nguyen Cuong).
The next morning was dedicated to the Gia Long Waterfall, Dray Nur Waterfall, two of the biggest waterfall in the Central Highland. Both waterfalls are spectacular and little visited, but their settings are different. Gia Long is surrounded by lush vegetation. The forest on the other side of the falls is old, with huge trees and full of birds. Dray Nur falls are larger and more powerful, but the area is comparatively barren with only a few trees. Huge black boulders lie in a jumble at the bottom. Gia Long has a few small bamboo huts for overnight stays and a small shop. Dray Nur has no development at all.
It's me sitting in a rock at Gia Long Waterfall!
Dray Nur Waterfall!
In the afternoon, we visited Buon Don (Don Village), which is very popular for Vietnamese children with the song ‘Chu voi con o Ban Don’ (The little elephant in Don Village), about 45km from Buon Ma Thuot. Here, we had a short talk with an old M’Nong couple and enjoyed a wonderful music performance.
We then took a boat rowing in the Serepok River to Yok Don National Park. We have a short trek in the park seeing its various kind of flora. We then another elephant ride along the Serepok River before going back to the hotel for the third night in Buon Ma Thuot.
It's me with the Orchid in Yok Don National Park! See you in Part 2!
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