Travel Diary

It was time to leave Saigon for a while. We checked out of our Airbnb and got a Grab ride to the bus station, which was a fair distance away from us. There, we met our guide and she had our sleeper bus tickets. This was all new to us. But we grabbed some chairs and waited a spell until it was time to board. Then we all hopped on a big red bus and went towards the back. The seat or sleepers were all assigned the bus had two levels of them with three across: side, middle, and side. Alas, I was middle, but the guide, Lien, offered to switch, which was nice of her. I guess many would just close the curtains and sleep but I’d slept plenty the night before and wanted to look out the window and take photos.

We then drove off and along the city streets for a long time. The city almost never ended as there were always shops and homes on the sides of the roads. About 2.5 hours later, we arrived at our rest stop.

This was a place to use the bathroom of course, but also stretch our legs and a chance to buy snacks. They sell a large variety of snacks there, including ice cream! But I could not decide on anything and many things lacked prices. I just opted to buy nothing. About 15 minutes later, we all boarded once again and continued the journey.

Now the roads were getting sparse. Less shops and more country. We were also climbing in elevation. In time, we arrived at a bus terminal and everyone got off. However, our bus adventure wasn’t over. About 10 minutes later, we all boarded a smaller bus and it took us even farther into a remote country and higher in elevation. After about 40 minutes of that, we finally reached Bu Dang.

The town seemed to be mainly just one main street with shops and restaurants all around it, and homes since most had their home in back of their shops, often with no clear wall or separation between the two. At the back of the shop was just the living room, but some of course had a sliding glass door or the front of the shop would be close-able. It’s an incredibly trusting society, though they do seem to monitor shops with cameras, probably mainly to let them know customers are arrived.

At that point, we got acquainted with our motorcycles. Mine was a fairly small one, but semi-automatic. I would need to shift up and down, but not have to engage a clutch at least. It took some getting used to as the last motorcycle I rode was at age 15. Yeah, a little time had passed. But as I said to others, “It’s like riding a motorbike.” (No, no one ever laughed at that.)

We rode our bikes about a quarter mile down the road to our hotel. It was a serviceable place. Nothing fancy, but got the job done for a night. And really, we didn’t need much. As expected, the shower wasn’t hot, but again, not a huge deal.

Once everyone was checked in okay, we went to the main road for lunch. Our spot was a nice pho restaurant that had some great prices, about half of what you would even pay in Saigon. The soups were 30k VND or roughly $1.14. Yeah, about 1/12 of what you would be paying back home. No joke about prices in small towns being most excellent. We had a nice meal there and then it was time to get on the bikes and head out.

We left the town on small roads and traveled a ways until reaching a small plantation that mainly specialized in seedlings. They would start the trees from beans and at some point, they would be purchased by others and planted into orchards. Was quite fascinating. Then we drove a lot farther up to a fully operational orchard.

This was family owned and contained numerous acres of coffee, durian, and other products. The harvest seasons vary, but the weather allows for something to be in season all year long, so they have various plants all in rotation. We toured the trees and saw how the cherries (with the beans inside) grow. I got permission to send up the drone and got some nice shots of the area. A colorful sunset also helped my videos. While the coffee harvest had already been completed, there were a few cherries left here and there. We got a chance to chew on them, although they had to be spit out afterwards. Probably not digestible in that state.

After the orchards, we toured the place where they are roasted. When the weather is accommodating, they roast them outside. Otherwise, they have furnaces that do the work, fueled by the former cherry husks. It’s all very resourceful.

When that part was done, we were invited into the owner’s living room for some roasted cashews, which were quite tasty. I guess it’s another big product out there. I’d no idea. The owners were very kind and welcoming, something we noticed was very routine out in Vietnam. Just a highly welcoming people overall. But it was getting dark.

For our ride back, the daylight would be waning and soon gone, so we ensured our headlights all worked and then it was back on the roads. Our caravan line was fairly long even with five bikes, so at one point the group was divided. As the tail section had no idea where to go, we stopped and contacted the guide who returned to guide us back in. Sounds stressful but it was quite fun. And yeah, the use of cellphones have just made everything so much easier. Without our phones, it would not have gone so smoothly once the group was divided and we had no idea which roads to take.

Back at the main street, we were invited by the family of the guide to enjoy dinner with them. So we went into their home and sat at their kitchen table. A great deal of food was presented to us and we enjoyed a nice home-cooked Vietnamese meal, all the while learning about the family and customs. The parents didn’t speak English so Lien translated our questions and thanks. Her sister and friend were learning English so we were happy to ask them questions and learn their thoughts on America and various customs.

After dinner, we had some time, so we toured up and down the main street. Many decorations from Christmas were still up so we got to see what a small town did to celebrate. They had some nativity scenes displayed but with some slight variations from what you would see back in the States. After that, it was back to the hotel to rest for the day ahead.