So we were looking for something a bit different with only a few days holiday to spare and wanted to ensure we fitted in as much as we could, but where could we go?
We wanted to head north to the mountainous central Highlands and eventually decided on Gia Lai Province and the enticing T'Nung Lake. We thought that if we didn't find enough to do we could always sneak over to Kon Tum Province to the north or Daklak to the south.
As things turned out our tour was cut short but despite having little time we knew there was much to do and we most certainly will be back.
Hilly Gia Lai was certainly not for the faint-hearted situated hundreds of meters above sea level and it is very close to Cambodia with some river systems heading into our neighbors.
The only thing that I knew about the province was from reading up on our nation's history and discovering that Tay Son Thuong was a revolutionary base for King Quang Trung, who is Nup's famous son and is regarded as the people's hero. Of course there were also many other famous battle sites in this area during the bloody past of Vietnam. However, reading up on this was enough for us, as we were just here to enjoy the breathtaking beauty we were promised.
We flew from Tan Son Nhat to Pleiku City where we stayed the night and our first morning saw us venture about 7 kilometers to T'Nung Lake (Sea Lake) which is located in Bien Ho commune and oh my god what a journey. The journey there was absolutely stunning and was like something out of a movie as the picturesque road had gorgeous pine trees on either side. Some things in life take your breath away, this was one.
It is also very easy to reach as it is located near Highway 14 and Highway 19 if you are interested in going.
Apparently the lake was a volcano crater from well before our time, prehistoric maybe.
Once we had reached our destination we climbed up to the sweet, little house on the hill which is a real landmark. The water was such a clear color of blue that we were tempted to go for a swim but were content to see the many fish under the water and it was quite chilly. The lake has a depth of 20 to 40 meters and is a great food source for the Pleiku residents, so it maybe best not to interrupt the fish.
We decided to take up the kind offer of canoeing on the smooth and almost still surface interrupted by our paddles as we sauntered to take it all in.
Around the lake the scene is pretty awesome with the flowers in bloom and the trees and the little birds chirping away in what was a beautiful day.
We had such an amazing morning and afternoon but after arriving back at our hotel in the city, we had some bad news and had to return to Saigon the next morning but our appetite has been whetted for a return trip. We'll be back.