Tom came and picked me up at the guest house at 8:30 in the morning, and we "hit the road jack." First stop was some breakfast and coffee and we then made way up into the highlands.
The road was beautiful, winding through the mountains filled with farms and coffee plantations. I definitely felt a little bit like Jack Nicholson with my bag strapped on the back of the bike, and breaking into a "Born to be Wild" sing along with Tom (My obligatory Easy Rider reference)
We stopped at a flower farm that was quite pretty with lots of Gerber daisies, and then at a coffee plantation which was very cool since I have never actually seen one. Tom keeps on proudly telling me that Vietnamese coffee is the best in the world, and I don't have the heart to disagree with him. The coffee here is to sweet and nutty for me, I deal though.
First "tour" stop was the silk factory. Unlike the factory in Chiang Mai, this was all industrialized, with large machines stringing the silk and doing the weaving. It was cool to see I guess, but not too interesting.
Next up was the Elephant Waterfall, which was pretty awesome. The hike to the bottom was a bit tricky and slippery, but I managed, and the views were quite amazing.
The lunch stop was now in order, and we ate at a restaurant on the top of a hill. It was the usual array of stuff, fish, rice, a little pork, and some veggie soup, and was quite tasty. The pork was three quarters fat and Tom insisted that he eat it, leaving me the meat, which I didn't mind. I have realized that Tom can eat about four bowls of rice in the time that it takes me to eat one. And being that I only eat one or two bowls, he is still literally half my size. I guess that's genetics for you.
Throughout the day we made numerous stops to enjoy the views and avoid "Monkey Bum." My favorite was this old rickety bamboo bridge, which I was terrified to walk across, even though Tom made way casually and told me that people ride across on their motorbikes. As we were heading off someone did in fact ride across, which made my stomach sink. Next on the list was a part of Lac Lake (I think), which was picturesque against the green hills and blue sky. Under the bridge was a little fishing village with homes on the water. Tom kept on telling me that these people are extremely poor. Although I don't completely disagree, it seems to me though that their lifestyle is not poverty stricken, but rather more traditional, probably living like their ancestors have for hundreds of year.
We made it to our little village at Lac Lake (yet this was a different lake) right in time to enjoy the sunset. The lake is amazing, with rice patties and livestock thriving around it's edges. The little village is comprised of bamboo longhouses, which is were we stayed. It was very basic, just a mattress and a mosquito net. The shower was across the road, surrounded by the pig pen and chicken coop.
I spent the rest of the daylight playing Dacou with the boy living in the long house, and I met a couple people taking the same trip as me; a French/English girl Gaelle, and two Norwegian guys, Eric and Runnar.
We ate dinner at the local restaurant, and drank some traditional rice wine. The rice wine is made from fermented rice that is then dried and put into a clay pot. Then when it's time to drink, water is poured into the rice jug, a lid with straws is placed on the top (similar to a hookah), and the pot is continually refilled as it dries up. It tasted ok, a bit like a desert wine, but the experience itself made it worth it.
I slept like a baby, sitting on the back of a bike takes it out of you.
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