Places to visit in Buon Ma Thuot

Ban Me Thuot (pardon the spelling) has grown so much it really is very hard to figure out what a tourist would want to see. Two years ago its population surpassed that of Can Tho, although the latter may have caught up now that the bridge is functioning.

The Rhade people are now an small sliver of the population. Gone are the days when BMT was their tribal capital. FOr those on a budget, you can catch a bus (20,000 dong) in front of the City Flower Park that will take you out to Ban Don, the elephant trading village. Many of the residents are Lao, who functioned as the elephant traders. I assume they still do. Many elephants were caught in villages like Tieu Atar, further north, and after taming they were herded down to Ban Don for the market. People came from as far as Thailand to purchase them. You will find elephants for rent if you wish a short ride, and of course the mahout is included. Longer rides and excursions can be booked through local travel agents.

BMT is the coffee capital of the worlds second larges coffee producer, so the city is livelier at night than Hanoi, but it is not geared to either westerners or couples. There is a provincial museum, but at my last visit some three years ago it was hardly worth the effort. Also, it closed down for 'pak time' at lunch.