Pleiku (Central Highlands - part 3)

Đồng Xanh park, Pleiku city
The conical hat is not mine. I borrowed it
from a gardener in the park for taking photos

6 & 7 December 2009 - Pleiku was our final destination on the 5-day trip. This city is the capital of Gia Lai province. Again we had to go by mini bus, but this time the distance from Kon Tum to Pleiku is only 50km. There were 23 people inside the 16 seater mini bus and it was fully packed. I couldn't move my legs for one and a half hours. At one section the road was under construction, so the mini bus couldn't go too fast. At least we felt safe, even though it was uncomfortable. Ticket is also cheap, only VND 15,000 (80 US cents) for traveling 50km. At 3pm we arrived at the center of Pleiku city.

Next day we rented a taxi and traveled 11km to the Great Lake (Biển Hồ) and Đồng Xanh park. There is a famous song named "Pleiku eyes" composed by a musician from Hanoi. I translate the first paragraph of this song: "You are so beautiful Pleiku. My heart wants to be broken. I don't dare to look into your eyes. The Pleiku eyes full of Great Lake". This lake is a famous place in Pleiku and it's truly beautiful. It was formed by a volcano millions of years ago. At present, the water in this lake is supplied to the residents in Pleiku city, so no tourist boats are allowed to cruise at this place.

Đồng Xanh park
A model of long house of the ethnic
minority people in the Central Highlands.

Đồng Xanh park was another interesting site that we visited. It's located 10km away from the city's center. At this place you can see models of communal house, grave house, long house, gongs and wood carved statues of the Bahnar and Jrai ethnic minority people. Following is some basic information about their culture which I summarize from my collected articles:

The Communal House (Nhà Rông) photo No. 15 - It can only be found in villages north of the Central Highlands, especially in Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces. It is a large, imposing, beautifully decorated stilt house built in the middle of the village. It is where community activities take place, for example, reception of guests, meetings, wedding ceremonies, or praying ceremonies. The Communal House of each ethnic group has its own architectural style, design, and decorations. Yet there are shared features. In the village, it is often the biggest house roofed with yellow-dried Gianh leaves and having 8 big wood columns.