Local Interest
are necessary: Fifty per cent of the province is covered in forest, but natural resources and wildlife are rapidly disappearing due to excessive exploitation of timber and human degradation. Doing a trek or other park activity shows the locals, in a small way, that there is an alternative sustainable economy from tourism.
Dak Lak will host the 6th Coffee & Central Highlands Gong Festivals in March 8 – 13, 2017
The opening ceremony will be held on March 10 while the closing event on March 13. A wide range of well-prepared special programs are scheduled during the festivals, offering visitors opportunities to enjoy Buon Ma Thuot coffee and experience the region’ s gong culture. Apart from the festivals, there will be a trade promotion conference where domestic and foreign investors can seek partners and expand their markets in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. An exhibition on coffee, a street festival and game challenges are spotlights of the coffee festival, which aims to promote the trademark of Buon Me Thuot coffee and serve as a venue for coffee firms and related businesses to boost cooperation. Meanwhile, the gong event, focusing on identities in an integrated world, will feature gong performances, ritual re-enactment and a wooden sculpturing competition, among others. It is also expected to raise public awareness of introducing and preserving cultures of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, especially the value of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of the Space of Gong Culture.
Locals
Who are the locals? If there is one great narrative that would explain present day Dak Lak, it would be the story of immigration. Several waves of immigration have shaped the region and resulted in the province having more than 40 ethnic groups, with immigrants forming 79.5 % of Dak Lak’ s population. There are three indigenous people: the Ede( 298,534), Mnong( 40,344) and Jarai( 16,129). Each group has its own characteristics but they all have a matriarchal structure, with large families traditionally living within one longhouse. Their cultural identity is expressed through their language, architecture, funeral rites, gong music, pottery and dependence on nature. A visit to the Ethnographic Museum gives an essential primer to these tribes, and Lak Lake is a good place to see it first hand. Not only is the lake beautiful, a homestay in one of the Mnong villages that dot the shore provides a window into their world.
Lak Lake
Vast, tranquil and fringed by rolling hills, Lak Lake is the Central Highland’ s largest natural freshwater lake. It is home to the Mnong, a tribe that relies on the lake for their livelihood and they can be seen fishing in traditional dugout canoes. Fifty-two kilometres south of Buon Ma Thuot, on the road to Da Lat, Lak Lake is a fantastic daytrip but the peaceful atmosphere and homestay opportunities make a case to linger. The drive there, through idyllic rural scenery, is stunning to boot.
Fed by the Krong Ana River and runoff from the surrounding mountains, Lak Lake is a peaceful respite. The surface reflects like a mirror on calm days and fortunately, it remains relatively undeveloped and there are no tourist swan boats for hire – a rarity in Vietnam. Lak Lake is beautiful and venturing to the water’ s edge at Lak Resort is a great spot to take it all in. It’ s free to park and walk down. Mnong villages are located on the southern and western banks but anywhere on the water you’ ll find men in wooden boats fishing with baskets and nets, and women and children on the shore knee deep collecting snails, crayfishes, crabs and small fish.
The MAG Vung Tau 7