DAK LAK If you like drinking coffee and relaxing in the fresh natural space, Buon Ma Thuot can be your destination.
The two-day weekend experience in Buon Ma Thuot was suggested by Duy Khanh, a local resident, and a group of friends from Ho Chi Minh City after a trip two weeks ago, focusing on activities in the city. Meanwhile, a Buon Ma Thuot tour guide suggested activities in the suburbs.
Day 1
8am: Breakfast with vermicelli and pork roll
For a local, coming to Buon Ma Thuot, there are two things you must do: drink coffee and enjoy the green natural space. Experience all the famous places in the city, eat bun gio chia, nem nuong and sit at a sidewalk cafe, said Mr. Khanh.
Bun gio chia is one of the dishes that makes tourists curious because of its strange name. Gio chia is a piece of pig's leg that is skillfully cut, so that the lean meat and fat cling to a bone. The gio chia is stewed well, soft, the broth is a bit like Bun bo Hue but without fish sauce. When eating, diners add sweet and sour pickled shallots, chili peppers in fish sauce, a few slices of lemon, and raw vegetables.
Bun gio chia - a specialty in Buon Ma Thuot.
Visitors can visit the restaurant on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, right in the city center. In addition to pork roll, the menu also has beef ball noodles, chicken and beef vermicelli, suitable for children. Prices range from 40,000 to 85,000 VND per bowl.
9am: Coffee and walk in Phu Dong park
Phu Dong Park on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street is a suggestion for visitors in the morning. Drinking coffee is a must when visiting Dak Lak. There are many spacious, beautifully designed coffee shops here. However, if you want to experience like a local, Mr. Duy Khanh suggests choosing a sidewalk cafe in the park to enjoy the fresh air of the mountain town.
The quality of coffee in Buon Ma Thuot is quite consistent, so you can order it from any shop, the price is around 15,000 to 20,000 VND per cup, depending on whether it is brewed by machine or filter. "Order a cup of affordable filter coffee and sip it with the strong aroma of pure coffee. Buon Ma Thuot people are used to drinking strong coffee, but if you are not used to it, tell the shop owner to reduce the amount of coffee, otherwise you will easily get drunk," said Mr. Khanh.
Coffee in Phu Dong park.
11:30: Walk around and take photos in the city center
After drinking coffee, take a walk around the center, take pictures on some beautiful and tree-filled streets such as Le Duan, Y Ngong, Le Hong Phong, Phan Dinh Giot... or Ban Me six-way intersection right in the city center, where there is the Victory Monument.
The monument is considered a symbol of the city, with the highlight being the steel tank number 980 - the vehicle that opened the historic battle of the Vietnamese army to retake Buon Ma Thuot city. This is a destination that all tour programs suggest visiting, a place that "you can tell it's in Buon Ma Thuot".
12:00: Lunch with rice cakes stacked on top of each other
Wet rice paper rolls stacked on plates are also called 1k wet rice paper rolls, Ban Me wet rice paper rolls. This is one of the popular dishes in Buon Ma Thuot. Instead of serving wet rice paper rolls one by one, the restaurant spreads the rolls on a ceramic plate, spreads a little cooking oil and adds dried shrimp on top. The plates are stacked on a high shelf, brought out for customers to roll themselves with grilled spring rolls, grilled meat, sausage, herbs, cucumbers... When eating, diners dip them in seasoning, sweet fish sauce or meat sauce. Each person eats until they are full for about 50,000 VND.
World Coffee Museum. Photo: SGT
15:00: World Coffee Museum
The museum is a specially designed destination with a typical long house of the Central Highlands. The museum is located on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, one of the most attractive destinations for tourists in Buon Ma Thuot. In addition to introducing coffee and beans, the museum also has an area displaying many antiques related to coffee, an area displaying works, books, newspapers and many beautiful photo corners.
From May to the end of August, there is an exhibition called "Trinh Cong Son - Inspiration from Zen and Coffee". "I learned about his life stories and his daily coffee drinking habits", said Viet Anh. Buon Ma Thuot is also the place where musician Trinh Cong Son was born.
18:00: Dinner at Buon Ma Thuot night market
The night market is located right at the intersection, one of the busiest places in the city center, convenient for exploring cuisine without spending too much time traveling. Visitors can enjoy many snacks such as grilled meat, spicy noodles, milk tea, ice cream or full dishes such as red noodles, crab noodles, chicken sticky rice, and pancakes. After eating, visitors walk back to the square, a few hundred meters from the night market.
Day 2
8am: Breakfast with Dak Lak dry noodles
The noodle shop on Quang Trung Street is famous for its dry noodles. The noodles are thicker and chewier than those in the South, mixed in a special sauce, topped with fried eggs, char siu pork, some herbs such as celery, green onions, lettuce and a piece of shrimp crackers. Diners eat noodles with a bowl of broth.
"The first time I ate this dish, I could clearly see the sweet and sour taste in the sauce, the noodles were soft, well-seasoned, and had a hint of celery flavor that didn't make me feel sick," Viet Anh commented.
10:00: Arrive at Buon Don and Lak Lake
After a day in the city center, on the second day visitors should go to Buon Don Tourist Center (Ban Don). This place is a small island of the Serepok River, an elephant taming spot with cultural and culinary diversity of ethnic minorities.
From the beginning of 2023, Buon Don will no longer provide elephant riding services to preserve the domesticated elephant herd, switching to elephant-friendly tourism. Instead, visitors can still visit the Serepok River, admire the beauty of the 7-branch waterfall and the long houses of the Central Highlands people.
On the road in the suburbs of the city, visitors should combine a visit to Lak Lake. This is the second largest natural freshwater lake in the country, after Ba Be Lake. The lake is calm and the water is clear blue. Here, visitors can visit the longhouse with thatched roofs, exchange gong culture, watch stone and to rung performances with the M'Nong ethnic group in Buon Jun or take a boat ride across the lake.
Lunch on the lake with specialties of the Central Highlands such as bitter eggplant salad with anchovies, bamboo rice, ash soup, and stone moss soup.
16:00: Afternoon coffee by the stream
Coffee shop by the stream.
In the suburbs, about 15 minutes from the city center, visitors can visit a coffee shop and a camping area on the bank of a stream. The cafe grounds are spacious, divided into many areas and have many spots for visitors to take "virtual life" photos without any charge. On nice days, visitors can experience kayaking on the stream. After drinking coffee, you can have lunch here with a menu of hot pot and grilled dishes.
"Coffee by the stream or in the forest is a recent trend in Buon Ma Thuot. These types of coffee attract customers thanks to many check-in points and large spaces suitable for large groups. On cool days, just raise your camera and you will have beautiful photos," Duy Khanh added.
19:00: Dinner with Ninh Hoa grilled spring rolls
The row of grilled spring roll shops on Ly Thuong Kiet Street is Duy Khanh's suggestion when he is "bored with rice". There are two main dishes: grilled spring rolls and grilled sour spring rolls. Diners roll grilled spring rolls with vegetables and dip them in meat sauce. As for sour spring rolls - the ideal snack for men - they dip them in sweet fish sauce.
In addition, in the evening, the weather in the Central Highlands is cool, suitable for visiting a restaurant specializing in grilled meat. Among them, grilled wild boar in bamboo tubes, grilled chicken and beef are popular. Don't forget to order a jar of rice wine to warm your stomach. Garden restaurants are often spacious and airy, ideal for large groups or families to gather happily. Suggested addresses: Cuoi Garden, Hoa Kim Garden.
Ninh Hoa grilled spring rolls.
There are many attractions in Buon Ma Thuot. If you are a person who likes to relax, you can spend 2 full days in Lak Tented Camp at Lak Lake with light sports activities such as walking, cycling, kayaking or resting, reading books, listening to music. Dlieyang Wind Power Plant, Dak Lak Museum, Dray Nur waterfall cluster, Dray Sap, Gia Long - Dray Sap Thuong... can also be other alternative destinations.
VnExpress.net
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