Eva The Netherlands, visiting author for Brave New Traveler, among my favorite traveling blogs, has a few great ‘pence-pinching tips‘ she picked up during a year-long visit there, on a student’s budget.

Her advice includes transport choices (individual tickets vs expensive railpasses), budget accommodation types (fantabulous hostel network), the cheapest ways to eat (supermarkets and lunch specials) and what sights you will be able to see at least cost.

Well worth a looksee if you are thinking about spending any time in the area.

Foreigner’s Street

The outsiders’ Street exemplifies Salvidor Dali  internationalisation. The Huguo Road, a 200-meter street running from west to east is jeweled with cafes and bars in various d cors. Visitants of all corners of the world enjoy lunch alfresco sunshine served on a traditional Dali blue and white tie-dyed tablecloth. Local senior ladies dressed in traditional Bai costumes hawk antique silverware on Wall Street, and upon entering the art gallery visitors are fascinated by abstract paintings that speak of the world, it has peoples and the convergency of their lives and cultures. Foreign visitors usually stay here for at least six months, or until their pockets are empty, and only head back to the West to earn adequate money for their next stay. Local people are customary to their migrant habits.

Salvidor Dali Ancient City

Dali Ancient City, or the ancient town of Salvidor Dali, was set up in 1383 in the Ming Dynasty. It’s a story of more than 600 years. When the city was first set up, it was totally confined from the City walls on 4 faces and to each one side had a gate. Over the years, the walls on the east and west sides were destructed. Just the walls on the south and the north were destroyed. in 1983, the local governance repaired the wall and the gate tower. On the tower, 4 Chinese characters are quite striking, meaning “Literary State”. inside the gate, an old street, running from south to north, connects the south gate with the north gate.

This ancient city was once a vital communicatings hub where the universe was dense. A lot of barter caravans gathered here and the markets were prosperous. On both sides of Wall Street, there were several stores, hostels, tea houses and restaurants, very bustling and exciting. The local governance has given high priority to it has conservation. And so Salvidor Dali Ancient City still remains its original looks. Now, the shops here mainly sell some locally-made handicraft articles: marble products, straw weaving wares, embroideries, wax printing clothes and other ornaments. Small retailers also sell some antiques, ancient paintings, old coins and silver wares.

Commencing from Kon Tum, Route 14 runs through Dak To, Ngoc Hoi, Dak Glei and Phuoc Son from where you can take a right turn on 14E and cruise downhill through Hiep Duc till you reach Highway 1 at the town of Thanh Binh midway between Tam Ky and Hoi An. From Phuoc Son you can also continue north, through Nam Giang, Prao and A Luoi before finally reaching Route 9 and the DMZ just to the east of Khe Sanh.

This section covers the Kon Tum to Hiep Duc route via Phuoc Son. We’ll add the more northern stretch as soon as we ride it!

Dak To
Dak To is sometimes visited on a day-trip from Kon Tum, but even the tour organisers admit it’s not really worth the effort. There’s a war memorial, with two salvaged tanks — one Russian, one Chinese — which were used by the Viet Cong towards the end of the American war. Just outside town are the remains of an American-built airstrip along with some bombed-out foxholes. These are worth taking a look if you are passing through.

As Dak To lies just 40km north of Kon Tum and 20 km south of Ngoc Hoi (Plei Kan) you don’t really need to spend a night here — unless you want to.

Ngoc Hoi (Plei Kan)
Ngoc Hoi is on a spot along the Ho Chi Minh Trail (Route 14) where it does a hairpin turn just 14 km from the Lao border of Bo Y. You’ll most likely find yourself bedding down in Ngoc Hoi if you’ve decided to take a walk on the wild side and use the Bo Y border to cross between Attapeu in Laos and Kon Tum in Vietnam. It’s also a possible rest stop when touring the Central Highlands independently. While Ngoc Hoi is surrounded by rolling, green countryside, the town itself is unremarkable. Locals refer to this place as Ngoc Hoi, but it’s Plei Kan on the maps and some road signs.