The last leg of my Central Highlands Road trip took me from Kon Tum to Quang Ngai. Quang Ngai is East of Kon Tum. Half of the province is mountainous and inhabited by hill tribes like the H’re, Bahnar, Koor and others…

I considered staying the night in Plei Ku, but folks there confirmed that local police will not allow foreigners to go anywhere in the province of Gia Lai except the highway and the city itself, without a licensed government tour guide. So, I continued on to Kontum, where I was allowed to travel with more, though not complete freedom…

Dak Lak Province is north of Lam Dong. It was once Vietnam’s largest province, but was split in half a number of years ago to create Dak Nong province to the south. The capital, Buon Mat Thuat is famous for coffee and one of the world’s top growers of the beans. The province is politically volatile, and the government only allows foreigners to visit a limited number or locations…

Below are the highlights from my 2-week solo motorbike road trip from Phan Thiet to Dalat to Lak Lake, to Buon Ma Thuat, with a diversion to Yuk Don National Park, then on to Plei Ku, Kon Tum, and east to Quang Ngai, then finally a train ride to Phan Thiet.

I’m told I drove nearly 1000km (620 miles), and traveled through 6 provinces (Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Quang Ngai), and the territories of 9 different ethnic minorities (Cham, Rag Lai, K’ho, Ede, Ja Rai, M’Nong, Bahnar, Sedang and H’Re, not to mention the dominant Kinh or ethnic Vietnamese). This doesn’t include the ride back by train…