Kiss goodbye to the luxury that is the Majestic hotel with their hot water and sumptuous breakfasts. Grab bike to the airport, VietJetAir on time to Pleiku, Grab bike to my hotel carefully chosen to be close to a good looking vegetarian restaurant run by Buddhist nuns. All perfectly executed. Bag dropped and off to explore. The given address is a building under renovation. A little sad and more than a little hungry, I consult the happy cow and it seems like Tăng Bạt Hổ Street is the place to be. Nine vegetarian restaurants within 100m. Nine! Count them.
The first one I try is so good, cheap and welcoming that the others remain untried. Only two magic words are needed here. Ăn cơm. 15k. Hard to complain about the price and there's nothing to complain about in terms of quality.
A poster of 'famous' people adorns the wall. With the text "Thông Minh xinh đẹp, tài năng. Họ là những người trường chay. Tại sao bạn lại không?"
As I ate, I played a Snog, Marry, Avoid type game as I tried to categorize the celebrities into Smart, Beautiful, Talented. Only King Charles and Arnie failed to qualify in any category.
I have come to Pleiku with little research. Good coffee and never having been here before were reason enough. I check online for the top attractions. Chư Đăng Ya Volcano comes in at number 2. That sounds good.
I head back to the market and find a xe ôm, rapidly conclude negotiations and we're off. 30 km out of town. This would be a great place to explore by bicycle. I make a mental note for next time. Lovely countryside and interesting looking villages.
My xe ôm seems to have no idea on how to get to the local volcano and we take a little longer than necessary to get there. In his defence, it isn't a large volcano and it's not been active for quite some time. Finally we arrive at the carpark. Like everything in Pleiku, this looks more than large enough to cope with the demand. Entrepreneurs are selling cold drinks and offering a ride on the back of a dirt bike up and down the muddy track to the top for 50k. I leave my xe ôm to settle down for a chat and am whisked to the top behind a young lady completely unfazed by the bike slithering beneath us in the mud.
Slither back down on a bike behind a young man and settle down for a drink after the excitement. They have a lot of cold beer, but eventually find me a soft drink. We play guess your age. I underestimate theirs. They underestimate mine. It looks as if there is a definite best time of year for the volcano, and this is maybe not it, but it was worth the trip.
Back into town, I pay off my xe ôm and he invites me for a coffee in the back of the watch repair shop where there is a den. A glass of coffee is produced. Perfect. An open tin of condensed milk. Perfect. He dips his hands into a coolbox and brings them out full. "Bạn có muốn đá không?" I'm fine without ice. He offers to drop me off anywhere in town. Free. But, I like walking. Grab has taken away the human interaction that was common with xe ôm and we've lost something along the way.
As I often do, I visit the Martyrs' Cemetery. Here thousands of mainly young martyrs are buried. The place is immaculately kept.
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