This morning saw Eron and I leaving Hue on our much-anticipated over-night motorcycle tour of Vietnam’s Central Highlands. We contracted Hue Easyrider Motorbike Discovery Tours (http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g293926-d1776805-Reviews-Hue_Easy_Rider_Private_Day_Tours-Hue_Thua_Thien_Hue_Province.html) for this portion of our trip. Mr. Tu (the owner) and Duc were fantastic guides and really made our trip through the Central Highlands. They were very patient with us needing to “just get that shot” and seemed to know exactly when to pull over for a “butt-break”. We felt entirely comfortable during this tour… even when travelling through areas so remote and isolated that even our guides didn’t speak the local language or dialect. We can’t recommend Mr. Tu and his company enough; the motorcycle tour was truly one of the most memorable parts of a month filled with wonderful experiences and memories.

Over two days, we travelled through the Central Highlands (to within 4 km of Laos), over more than 170 km of a “highway” that was constructed over the historic path of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_trail), spent a night in Prao (a farming town), visited the ancient ruins at My Son (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_S%C6%A1n), and finally ended up in the historic port town of Hoi An on the central coast.

Hue Easyriders

Loading up the 110cc Honda cruiser bikes, Hue.

And we’re on our way!

We’re not the only ones doubling, Hue.

Heading out of Hue.

Duc taking a call, outside Hue.

Mr. Tu helping Eron across the slippery rocks near Blood Falls.

“Blood Falls” is what the locals have nicknamed this small waterfall in the Central Highlands. It is downstream from the site of a large battle in the American War… the locals say that the waters turned red with the blood of the dead and dying during and after the battle. Hence, they have called it Blood Falls since that day.

Blood Falls, Central Highlands.

Blood Falls 02, Central Highlands.

Not exactly a super-highway, Central Highlands.

Kinda narrow, Central Highlands.

Butt-break, Central Highlands.

River valley, Central Highlands.

Valley farms, Central Highlands.

Light in the valley, Central Highlands.

Trees over the valley, Central Highlands.

Apparently, any dirt is good dirt – Central Highlands.

It seems we have been riding along the route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Central Highlands.

Do you want to go first?

Soft, narrow, and with only a 500ft drop-off…, Central Highlands.

Just one of the many slides and wash-outs along the route, Central Highlands.

Roadside waterfall, Central Highlands.

Road got a little muddy… AGAIN! Central Highlands.

Road clings to the edge of the mountains, Central Highlands.

Yet another slide, Central Highlands.

Duc tells us he has family in this village, Central Highlands.

Stilt-houses in a Mountain-people hamlet, Central Highlands.

Cinnamon bark drying on the side of the road, Central Highlands.

After a long day of riding, we roll into the farming town of Prao. This is a town of about 700 located in the Central Highlands. It’s the only town of any size for hours in either direction on the highway. We stayed overnight in the town’s one and only hotel. Our room had a balcony-view of the main drag, a private bathroom complete with a refreshing cold-water only shower, a double bed, in-room TV with about 2 1/2 channels, and complimentary rat droppings – it was the best accommodations for miles…

Our hotel room in Prao, Central Highlands.

Balcony outside our hotel room, Prao.

(l-r) Duc and Mr. Tu in front of our hotel, Prao.

Inside parking for our motorcycles at our hotel, Prao.

After checking in and relaxing for a bit, the four of us headed off to dinner. Mr. Tu had suggested a restaurant that was only a 10 minute walk away. It doesn’t get any more local than this place! Like everything else in Prao, the restaurant looked like it was just one strong wind-gust from being knocked over, but it was full of locals… and the food smelled great. We ordered some of the local beer, had appies, enjoyed a multi-course main meal, and (of course) ordered more beer… Holy Crap! For skinny little guy, Mr. Tu sure could pack away the beer. The only real problem I had with the place was those annoying little red plastic “kids’ chairs” that seem to be synonymous with local Vietnamese dining. They may be perfectly comfy for “Mr. Viet-Joe” who is 5’2″ and 110lbs soakin’ wet with a pocketful of rocks; I am the proud owner 200+lbs of butt so do you get the picture? Once I got seated, it usually took two of the little guys along with a water buffalo to get me the hell out….

Biere LaRue – Prao, Central Highlands.

Since damn-near everyone else in the place was smoking cigarettes, I didn’t even think twice about lighting up an after-dinner stogie… good thing it was a long one; it quickly became the “communal-stogie” as everyone had to try it! It was a fantastic evening and it showcased how cigars really can help transcend language and cultural barriers.

After-dinner cigar and drinks, Prao.

My cigar quickly became community-property in the restaurant, Prao.

When we got the tab for the evening, both Eron and I had to do a double-take and use all our fingers and toes to try to make the conversion between VND and USD. We both did the calculations several times before coming to the same incredible conclusion… the entire evening just cost us a mind-blowing $7.50 USD! Less than the cost of the cigar we shared after dinner.

Eron and her new friend, Prao.