My original trip plans did not include Vietnam.  In fact, after speaking to people who visited there, I was even more confident in my decision to forsake it for more time in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.  After all, Vietnam suffers from a bit of a reputation problem: overcharging, aggressive salespeople, harassing motobike drivers, and crazy, crowded roads made it far down on the list of my must-visit travel destinations.  Almost no one seems to have loved it - rather, for backpackers and even other bikers, tolerating Vietnam seems to be the name of the game. I added the destination on a whim and didn’t expect much, but it seemed a shame to go all the way out here and not see it.  Well, my confession:  I LOVED Vietnam!

 Sure, there was over-charging (I’m honestly still not sure how much some things I purchase nearly every day should cost.)  Sure, there are lots of touts and aggressive salesmen… especially after laid-back Laos!  Sure, I met my first flasher on the road, although that can happen anywhere.  Sure, it’s rained nearly every day since I’ve been here.  Despite it all, I’ve discovered in Vietnam an amazing country hiding from all the other travelers, full of open, friendly people, amazing scenery, wide-open roads and patchwork farms stretching across mist-capped mountains, and of course some delicious sweets. 

 Let’s start with the sweets.  Vietnam has one of my all-time favorite desserts I’ve discovered on this trip so far - che.  It’s a little hard to describe, because each time I pull over on the road after seeing the sign proclaiming hand-painted block-letterd CHE, even after trying probably dozens of different versions, I still have no idea what I should expect.  Basically, most forms of che include shaved ice along with a sweet bean paste and various red and white beans along with corn, fruit jellies, and preserved fruits, all drizzled over with coconut cream.  Of course, every woman (and it is always a woman) seems to have a different recipe - it just adds to the excitement!  I’ve had a glass full of nothing but fresh fruit, cream, and shaved ice, and one with only colorful candied fruits, cherries, a sweet thick syrup, and shaved ice.  Still, I’ve liked them all.

 So, the desserts are delicious.  What about the people?  This was my biggest surprise, because 99% of the people I met while biking through the Central Highlands were amazingly friendly, nice, and welcoming.  I was invited to spend the night after stopping by in random villages for some sugarcane juice, and spent the evening taking turns at the karaoke machine with the teenagers in the family.  I spent hours paging through my phrasebook with a Vietnamese woman and her daughter after she called me over as I walked home from dinner.  As the night grew later, they gifted  me with laminated pictures of the daughter, Thang, stolen from their family photo album.  (In return, I gave them pictures of my family!)  I stopped for a quick che just north of the largest city in the Central Highlands and suddenly found my table covered in different, delicious dessert dishes - after three giant portions I had to beg Thu to stop serving me because I still needed to bike 20 km! 

 Had I stopped at every person who waved me over (palm down, fingers curled as is the norm in SE Asia) I would still be out there in the mountains somewhere.  I don’t think I ate a single meal alone, as countless Vietnamese came over to ask where I was from and how old I was, and was I traveling alone, every time I took a seat.  I also received nearly a daily marriage proposal, and just about every middle-aged woman I met felt obliged to feel my leg and test its strength (Ohh!  So strong!  And so hairy!!)  The (very few) other backpackers I met, nearly all taking organized motorcycle tours through the countryside, kept asking if I wasn’t lonely with so much time by myself.  In Vietnam, the answer was always no - it’s impossible to be lonely when each time you step out the door you’re hailed by everyone from schoolkids to elderly women selling vegetables to young guys working on Honda motorbikes. 

  Of course, I should stress that this friendliness is probably partly because so few foreigners actually come through these parts, and even fewer do it independently.  Along the coast, the Vietnamese you meet do tend to be a little more aloof.   Still, the eleven days I spent in the Central Highlands mark the highpoint of my trip to Southeast Asia and my trip to date.  So, again, my confession: I listened to and believed the hype about Vietnam.  Some countries you just need to discover for yourself, and I nearly missed out on a great experience.  Take everything with a grain of salt and see it for yourself, if possible - even my own rants about India and raves about Vietnam!