Easy Riders Tour -- Dalat to Saigon

Gosh it's been so long and I have so much to tell. Well since we bought the open tour bus ticket in Hanoi (making stops throughout the country), we thought we should use them. Boy, did we figure out after 1 sleeper bus that things were gonna change. Trying to sleep on a bus that is weaving in and out of lanes at 65MPH while honking at a decibel that is inhumane we decided to take the advice of our frenchie friends and inquire about a special tour called Easy Riders (http://www.dalat-easyrider.com.vn/Websites/English). Basically you hop on the back of a motorcycle for a set number of days with a set destination...the rest is in the hands of your guide. We told our guides we wanted to see the "real Vietnam" and that's just what we got! It was amazing (but my bum is still recovering from 4days worth of motorcycling through the countryside...the offical term is "monkey butt"!). My guide, Rocky, was incredible...his passion for his country and its people was so evident. I learned so much about the culture, history, ethnic minorities, and daily life. He even took us to his hometown and let us stay at his parents house with him. They are Catholic and were holding a special service for their village in their home that night. As we finished eating a fabulous meal, the rain began (they are coffee farmers and couldn't be happier that it was raining). They ended up not having enough people for their service so instead we all sat around and enjoyed some rice wine spirits and each others company. We were the first foreigners some of them had ever seen in person. When they found out I was "A Member of the Tribe", they were so excited to discuss the Old Testament with me (good thing I was a Bible major at JTS...knew that would come in handy someday). Anyway, it was so enjoyable and incredibly nice of them to welcome us into their home. There are so many stories to tell of this adventure but I will have to share when I return.

(For my own sake, I'm going to include a list of our stops)

Day 1 (Dalat):
Dragon Pagoda
Veggie Farm
Flower Farm
Coffee Plant
Silk Factory
Elephant Falls
Chil Village
Ma Village
Lak Lake

Day 2:
M'nong Village
Broken Church
War Veteran couple
Doay Sap Water Falls
Gia Long Water Falls
Rocky's Home

Day 3:
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Cashew Nut Factory
Bamboo Basket Making
Dog Xoai

Day 4 (HCMC/Saigon):
Broken bridge
Cu Chi Tower

If anyone is coming out to Vietnam, I would strongly suggest looking up the Easy Riders and most certainly use Rocky...he is the MAN!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lturnof/EasyRidersTourDalatToSaigon4Days#