Lifestyle, Kon Tum is the name of a city and province, located on the central highlands region of Vietnam. It’s very out-of-the-beaten track, though it displays a totally different vision of Vietnam, for someone used to the cities and the coastline., Travel

I drove there from Hoi-An. Nearly 300 km, two persons on a scooter, over the mountains. Some of the roads marked on Google maps just didn’t exist. It was totally exhausting, though it provided unique views – the kind of ones you feel rather than shoot.

Coffee plantation on the way to Kon Tum

I’d certainly do it again, though a dirt bike would be more appropriate. For the most of it, it seemed a ghost city, specially at mid afternoon, under the heat. I remember visiting the cathedral, a Gothic-revival fused with the traditional stilt house architecture of Ba Na people, from the late XIX / early XX centuries. The shape and proportions were the ones of a Catholic church – though the light and the heat didn’t feel the same as the dark, stone made, incense smelling, European ones.

Below: Kon Tum Cathedral.

Once I arrived to Kon Tum, I searched for Highlands Eco-Tours and booked myself a daily trip with Mr. Huynh. On the area, the most interesting to see are the tribes, living around the main city. One cannot simply walk into their villages and enter their houses without some sort of introduction.

Jarai tribe cemetery. The Jarai build a small house for the dead (as seen in the photo, though traditionally they were made of wood). They keep cleaning the house, spending time there, eating and drinking with the dead, from three to seven years until deciding (and affording) to do a final ceremony of the abandonment.

The trip was totally worth it – I’ve been introduced to weaving techniques, explained the purpose of the high roofed houses in the middle of the villages, different funeral traditions. It was interesting to see some similarities on death rituals, among these tribes, and the people from Sumba, in Indonesia. On both cases there is a potential long period of time between passing away and the final farewell to the dead, on which living and non-living share the same space.

Wooden statue on Jarai cemetery. People say these statues represent the relatives, sitting beside the grave to talk with the dead person. Other statues can also represent family wishes of prosperity and fertility.

Walked among coffee plantations and smell the fragrancy of the flowers, taste the tamarinds, feel the vibe of different villages, and finally meet A Biu in Plei Klang village. This man is a legend for playing, teaching, and preserving the traditional gongs. I had previously seen a documentary on it and was happy to meet him in person (and also to taste his sweet rice wine. Gongs produce vibrancies, which interact with our bodies, saddening or uplifting, healing or sickening. Gong playing goes deeper than recreation and I wished I had more time to learn about the Ba Na tribal views on the subject.

Below: highlights from hill tribe visiting during the daily trip: