Lak Lake to Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam - 54 km

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Due to logistics of our ride, our next stop to Buon Ma Thuot (BMT) was only a 54 km ride.  So, in Vietnamese riding time, that would take two straight hours of riding at a good pace.  (Out here, you bookmark 30 kph on average, and that’s moving at a good clip.)

That resulted in a lazy morning in Lak Lake, as we headed out toward BMT.  On the way, we stopped for lunch in a fairly large village for pho, a basic Vietnamese soup noodle that fills you up, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – which is genius I tell you.

Here’s our noodle shop.  Typically we like to use crowd sourcing to find our restaurant.  Unfortunately, we had chosen to eat at an odd hour, so there was no one else eating to help us identify a place to eat.  (Typically, with crowds, that means there is high food turnover, meaning there is less food sitting around, and reducing your chances of food poisoning.)

After eating, and a quick pit stop out back, we couldn’t help notice the use of firewood for cooking.  Even in this modern age, lots of people still use wood fires as a primary heat source.

Here’s where the broth is cooked to all its beefy goodness for hours over the fire.

Even up front, where the smaller pot is used to finish the noodle soup, it’s still fueled by fire – this time by a charcoal stove.

Back on the motorbike for just another 30 minutes, it started to drizzle.  From past experience, we knew what this meant – torrential downpour and flooding within the next 1-2 minutes.  A quick check to the right revealed a hammock stand serving iced coffee (café sua da) and sugar cane drinks, along with plenty of hammocks.  This, by default (and luck) became our next stop while we waited out the storm.

The proprietors of the stand, as with nearly all the locals we have met here in Vietnam, were very generous.  They probably do not get a lot of tourists stopping by, so they knew that language was going to be a barrier.  Nonetheless, they still offered us slices of delicious jackfruit (so far, my favorite fruit in SE Asia – and a pity we can get this back home).  Needless to say, I was happy tornado in a trailer park, and graciously accepted seconds when she offered me more.  I had my coffee, my jackfruit, and my hammock.  That, my friends, is the life.

Margaret made me sit up for this photo.  Before that, I was gorging myself on jack fruit while laying comfortably in my hammock.

How all truck rest should be back home - lined with hammocks and cold drinks.

As the rains petered off, we made our way to the hotel that Mr. Chan had recommended, and where him and Oliver were staying.  Running into them in the lobby, we asked to join them for dinner, and they were okay with having a plus 2.  Mr. Chan found us a fresh spring roll place in town:

There’s Margaret, with our new friends, Oliver and Mr. Chan! The best part about traveling is meeting new friends.  Cheers!

And here’s the spread.  All the food was great – so great, in fact, that we ordered seconds.

Walking back through town, we couldn’t help notice more propaganda. This time, in the shape of a tank, in the main traffic circle in town.

Thinking if I can't hot wire that tank, and let 'er rip down the street....