Laos

Welcome to my Laos Page. In January of 2008 I went for a 10 day ride with my Friends Jerry and Thor. There we met up with some great guys from the states and did some great riding. I am going to put copies of my blog entries that I write during the ride followed by a few of my favorite pictures from the tine in Laos.

Brian

The guest house in Vientiane we were staying at is cute and in the middle of the city. I dropped my bags and walked around some. I got a nice lunch at a local cafe, then found an ATM and took out 500,000 Kip from the ATM ($55). After walking around town and down to see the Mekong river I took a nap then got a nice 90 minute foot massage and went to dinner. Dinner was at an Italian place Jerry and Thor recommended and the food was amazing. I was there until they closed hoping Jerry and Thor would make it, but they didn't so I left and walked the block back to the guest house and there they were just checking in. We walked back to the Italian place where they greeted the owner but all the staff had left so he couldn't serve them. We found another place near by and they ate and we chatted about their ride in Thailand. With them was "Big John"a friend from Washington state who I hadn't met before. After dinner we decided to turn in and went back to the guest house to crash.

We met up early the next morning for breakfast at the guest house then walked to the bike rental place to get the bikes. That took a while but went smoothly. Rode back to the guest house, loaded up the bikes, checked out and rode back to the bike rental shop for some needed repairs. On the way back I followed Thor and we both got stopped for going the wrong way down a one way street, I swear there were no signs. Anyway that cost us 150,000 Kip ($16) in fines (aka bribe for the cop). We were able to flag Jerry and John so they didn't make the same mistake. Got to the rental place and got the minor repairs done then headed off to Vang Viene. We stopped for gas as we left town and rode through the outskirts of Vientiane, which is pretty spread out, and through lots of smaller villages until they gave way to more agricultural land and more separated villages. Rode through one small town where a restaurant was in the final stages of burning down. Everyone was standing around watching it smoke. I am not to worried, they probably had it rebuilt in 24 hours. We stopped for a drink a few miles later and met a monk from a local temple who wanted to practice English so we talked to him for a bit then left.

Shortly after leaving my bike started acting funny. It would lose power then get it back then lose power again. It did this for a while and I tried to signal the guys I was having problems but I was in the back and they didn't see me. Finally it died and I pulled over. About 20 minutes later they came back looking for me and we tried a number of things to fix it. I got it started again but it would lose power then get it back then lost it again so it felt like I was on a bucking bronco. Between getting it to run a little bit and pushing it down hills and back up to try to get it moving we got a bit farther. We did this for a long time until it finally died for good and we were wiped out. I tried a cell phone but was in the middle of no where and didn't have a signal. Jerry and Thor rode to Vang Viene (30 Km) to call the motorcycle place while John and I waited on the side of the road. They got back about 90 minutes later and said the phones were out but there was a town about 8 kilometers ahead and I might get a signal. Well I did and talked to the bike rental place who sent a van out to get the bike (I refused to wait 2 hours for them to get there so we left the bike with some locals). The 4 of us rode back on the 3 working bikes with Thor riding bitch while I rode his bike. We got to Vang Viene in the dark, checked into the guest house and got some beer. Then off to a nice dinner. I got a call at 11:30 PM (5 hours after we got to town) that they guys were there with my bike. Their minivan had broken down on the way. The problem with my bike was a broken spark plug which they replaced but I suspect there was another problem because they gave me a new bike as well.

Up the next morning for a nice breakfast before heading out for a long ride to Phonsavan. We did a quick drink break at Kali and then on but again bad luck struck and my rear tire went flat. I pulled over and waited for the guys to realize I wasn't behind them. It took a bit but they came back and we changed the tube. What a pain in the rear end. When we got the new tube in it would not inflate so I put the entire wheel on the back of a bike and rode 20 kilometers to a town to get it fixed. Jerry rode with me so I wouldn't be alone. We got there and after waiting for 30 minutes for them to find an English speaker we got them to start fixing the tire. It turns out the new tube had a hole in it. There was something in the tire, yes we also checked but didn't feel it, so they fixed the tire as well as patching the tube. While they were fixing it I arranged for a truck to drive down and pick up the bike and bring it back. That took a long time but everyone got back and we go the tire back on the bike. Of course by this time John's front tire was going flat so they went to fix that only to find out it was a bad valve stem and so we used our spare to replace it. Total cost for fixing the tires (100,000 Kip). Cost for arranging the truck and people to bring the bike back 300,000 Kip. By the time everything was done it was to late to ride on so we stayed at a guest house in town. This town rolls up the sidewalk (if they had them) at about 6:00 PM, when the sun goes down. We got dinner at the guest house (2 rooms, big dinner for 4 cost $22) We were all in bed by about 7:30 that night as there was nothing else to do.

Got up at the crack of dawn. All guest houses in Laos have an alarm clock, some have many and they wake you up as soon as they see light. This time it was right outside our window and had a good set of lungs. It made me want eggs and a chicken fillet for breakfast. I did not take a shower as this consisted of a 50 gallon drum with rainwater and a plastic scoop to pour it over your head. No western toilets, just the squat ones so we quickly got our bikes packed and headed out. I do want to say the people were really nice and even let us park our bikes inside their house in what serves as a restaurant seating area and living room for them.

Off we were, through pretty thick fog and into the mountains on the ride to Phonsavan. It was a cold ride through some really thick and very cold fog but not much traffic. Every village we went through all the kids would run out and wave. There was a community shower in each village with people washing up for the day and woman doing laundry. Lots of pigs, chickens and cows wandering on the roads to watch out for. It was a nice ride with lots of twists and turns through some beautiful scenery. We stopped a couple times for pictures then got down out of the mountains and into more flat land before reaching Phonsavan. We got to the guest house at about 11:30 and checked in. Very nice rooms with showers and western style toilets (heaven). The other group we were meeting arrived 45 minutes later and we all ate some food and chatted for a while before I came to the internet cafe with some of the other guys.

After leaving the Internet cafe I headed back to the guest house and sat chatting with the guys for a while before we all headed across the street to a little bar with a thatched roof. There we proceeded to consume a large quantity of BeerLao, which isn't bad. I also bought the guys a bottle of Lao whiskey but did not partake in that as it was not to my taste. After drinking for a few hours and feeling pretty good we went back to the guest house and had a wonderful meal. They have a restaurant as part of the guest house and their food is amazing and varied. We sat around chatting and eating for about two hours before we turned in. It was really cold at night and I ended up shivering under the blanket until I could warn up enough to fall asleep.

In the morning we all talked about how cold we were. Only one guy was smart enough to go to the front desk and ask for more blankets. Guess what we are all doing tonight? After breakfast we said goodbye to one couple who were heading off on their own route. Most of us were going to head to the Plain of Jars at 9:00 so we met downstairs. The Plain of Jars is only a few miles from town. On the way over there we were riding single file and the rider on the lead bike, Lynn signaled a right turn. I put my hand on the clutch and just feathered the front brake when the next think I know the bike is sliding out from under me and I am on the ground sliding down the road. I was probably doing about 40 kilometers an hour so I slid a good ways and the bike went even farther. Thanks to good riding gear, worth every penny, the only thing hurt was my pride. As I was sliding I caught a glimpse of Lynn going down as well. One of the other guys also slid out but was able to keep the bike upright until he could hit the dirt side and stop. The road was a slick as black ice. It has sprinkled a little a few minutes earlier and it was enough to float a layer of oil to the surface. Pretty nasty conditions. Lynn and I were Both fine and the bikes help up well so we got back on and rode to the Plain of Jars.

Some people date the Pain of Jars back to 2000 BC. There are hundreds of huge stones that have been hollowed out. The stones are not from the area and had to be transported there from up river. These things are huge with most weighing in the 2 to 20 ton range. No one knows for sure what they were used for. There is some evidence they were used for burial. Others speculate they were used to store grain and other food. They were big enough that we could stand inside them. There were also a few stone tops lying half buried in the ground, with one still on the top of the pot. All around the area were bomb craters from where the Americans dropped bombs during the Vietnam war. These craters dot the whole area and some of them are huge. It was quite a site. We walked around to three different areas, careful to stay on the path cleared of unexploded munitions.

From there we rode to a memorial dedicated to the Lao and Vietnamese that fought in the war. It was a very interesting memorial with a huge statue and 4 bass relief panels depicting fighters and the people supporting them by raising children, harvesting food, building, etc. I took a bunch of pictures and will put them up when I can.

From there Lynn, Big John and I went for lunch and stopped in at the MAG office. MAG is responsible for clearing unexploded ammunition from around Laos. It is amazing that the unexploded ammunition is still killing dozens of people a year and injuring scores. We made a donation to support their work then ate and headed here to the internet cafe.

After getting back to the guest house I met up with Jerry and Lynn and we headed back into town to get a massage. After talking to some of the locals we ended up at a Red Cross clinic where they did massage. Unfortunately there were only two people doing massages so I left Lynn and Jerry to it and walked a couple kilometers back to the guest house. I walked over to the bar across the street and met up with some of the other guys. A cute little girl around 8 helped server us. It was funny to see her struggle to bring us a couple beers. I think she was helping out mom but it was mom who ended up helping her out. I bought a couple moon pies and gave her one as a tip, I think she liked that a lot  We ended up having a lot of beer and our little group grew to include everyone on the ride. There was of course lots of talk about the morning ride, quality of the roads and the Plain of Jars. I got some ice for Lynn’s wrist which had swollen up a bit. David and Mai who had ridden out that morning called to tell us the conditions of the road, which was not good. It was 200 kilometers of dirt road with 4 water crossings, some mud and one really steep section. We talked about it as a group and decided to change our travel plans and head to Luang Prabang. I was happy to hear that as it is a place I had wanted to see but was afraid I would miss it. I don’t know how many bottles of Beer Lao we drank; I do know it was a lot. Knowing we were not going to take the hard route we celebrated a bit.

After the beers we headed back to the guest house for another great dinner. Lots of food going around and all of it was really tasty. Thor had told me that one of the highlights of Phonsavan was the food in the guest house and he was right, it was really good. After dinner we all turned in so we could get up early for our ride. It was not going to be a difficult ride but it was still going to be about 265 kilometers. That may not sound far too many people but the roads make it a full day of riding.

The next morning we had a nice breakfast and headed out around 8:30 AM. On the way out of town we saw a really nasty wreck. It must have happened a couple hours before because it was roped off but a truck was on its side off the road in front of a couple businesses. There were a few crushed motor bikes on the side and under the truck. We hoped they were just parked and no one was riding them. After gassing up we rode out of town and toward Phue Khun, the town where we spent the night after I got a flat. It was a nice ride through the mountains, very twisty. After a quick stop where a couple people got lunch we rode on to Luang Prabang. Lots of more twists and turn and slow going. A couple of the guys rode ahead but I hung back with Jerry, Thor, Lynn, John and Big John. About 40 kilometers from our destination I came around a turn to find Lynn pulled off to the side of the road. He had a flat tire. We pulled out the tools and got to work. This time with much better results and got it changed and inflated in about 40 minutes. Everything worked great and off we went to town. The guest house we were staying at was right off the main street and on the street where they had the night market. It was a really great place, with nice rooms and really nice showers. After having problems getting hot water for the last few nights I spend 20 minutes just standing in the shower enjoying the hot water.

After getting cleaned up I went in search of the others and of course I found them at the closest bar. At least I found a few of them there, the rest found us a little later. We enjoyed a few cold beverages and chatted about the ride. We also made friends with some of the others around us. It was a nice place and we decided to get dinner there. They had great food and ended up being our hang out for the next couple days.

The next day we got up late, had some breakfast at the guest house and just did our own thing in the morning and met up around 12:30 to ride out to the 1,000 Buddha cave. It was about a 30 kilometer ride but the last 10 kilometers were on dirt. It was a long dusty ride and we almost lost Jerry at the end when he hit a rut, but he powered out of that and made it to the town. We parked, shopped at some of the little booths where Jerry and I bought a few old coins, then went to a place on the river where we ordered a little food and got some non-alcoholic drinks. I ended up giving most of my meat to a dog that was there. It wasn’t bad but my stomach just wasn’t up to eating it. The ride back was a bit better as we took a slightly different route with a better road. The only drawback was lots of huge piles of s**t in the road. Not sure if it was water buffalo or elephant but what ever it was the animal was not starving. That night we went to a very nice French restaurant with excellent food. The entertainment was a young girl around seven doing traditional dances. She was quite good and got many standing ovations. As we were leaving there was an accident on the street, a truck pulled out in front of a guy riding a scooter. He plowed into the side of it and did some pretty nasty damage. He walked around for a little but then passed out on the sidewalk and was taken to the hospital in a Tuk tuk. Of course he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

The next day some of the guys wanted to ride out to the falls but most of us decided to just hang out around town and relax. It was a good call as it started pouring about 45 minutes after they left. After a little shopping and some walking around the rest of us ended up getting some beer and drinking on the porch of the new guest house. We had to leave the other one as they were full. The guys pulled in a couple hours later and looked like drowned rats. We were pretty worried about the rain making the ride back to Vientiane a nightmare so Lynn and I checked into getting a boat and putting the bikes on it and going down the Mekong to Vientiane. It would cost us $800 for everyone and would take two days. We discussed it over dinner and decided to wait unto the next morning to decide. If it was sunny then Phil, Josh, John and I would ride to Vang Viene.

We woke up nice and early and looked out the door, it wasn’t raining but was overcast. I guessed we were riding, so I got packed and headed out to a quick breakfast at a local bakery with the guys. After breakfast John and I packed up the bike and went to find Phil and Josh to confirm we were riding. We found them and they were ready to go as well. We told them we would meet them at Phue Khun as they rode faster than John and I. While it didn’t rain we hit some really thick fog into the mountains so it was slow going for the first part of the ride. At one point Phil and Josh went zipping by us as we kept up a stead pace avoiding the general obstacles (kids, cows, chickens, etc). We reached Phue Khun just as they were getting bowls of noodle soup. John and I decided to make it a quick stop and were on our way after a little while. The first part of the afternoon was still twisty but the weather got nicer. As soon as we came down from the mountains it got hot and the road straightened out. We stopped for drinks at a little place along the road and Phil and Josh caught up to us there. They took off and john and I finished our drinks and we continued out ride to Vang Viene. On the way I tried to go around a chicken crossing the road, it panicked and ended up losing its tail feathers, but luckily not its life. About 15 kilometers from the town I pulled over to wait for John to catch up. When I started my bike there was something funny going on, with my clutch all the way it the gears were still engaging. I was able to get moving but about 2 minutes later when I changed gears my gear cable snapped. Glad it was a rental because for the next 15 kilometers I popped the gears with out a clutch, just a little rough on the bike. At one point I had to stop which meant killing the engine. Starting up and moving again was exciting, I think I did a bit of a wheelie.

Found the guest house and Phil and Josh. This was a different place than before and much nicer. This place was right on the water with a bar/restaurant that practically hung out over the river. We ordered beer and some appetizers and watched kids spear fish in the slow moving current. We also watched trucks and tractors drive across the river through shallow fords. The sun set behind the mountains making a beautiful sunset. Very nice place to be, and not a single rooster in sight. In fact we liked the place so much we booked rooms for the other guys for the next night and even pre-paid them for one night.

The next morning we had a nice breakfast and got moving early. It looked like rain and the manager said we would get wet after riding 20 kilometers. He was close, it was more like 30. At first it wasn’t bad but it quickly got worse so I pulled over and donned my rain gear. Glad I did as it started to pour. It is not fun riding in the rain, it hides potholes and other obstacles. I followed a tractor for part of the way so I could see any obstacles the rear wheel hit before I hit it. After a long, wet and pretty miserable ride we dropped off the bikes and got a tuk tuk to the guesthouse. John and I did a little shopping before dinner then we meet up with the Phil for a really nice French dinner, Josh was racked out from the long ride.

After dinner I went out for a beer and met Josh and Phil walking back from another place. We went into a dance bar for a drink and had one before we closed then we walked pack toward the guest house and were approached by a number of young ladies looking for business. I think a couple of them were guys. We stopped at the fountain to chat and watch the business transactions. It was quite funny. We got into a routine, a girl would ride by on her scooter, I would make brief eye contact which would cause her to turn around and come back. when she stopped Phil would chat a bit and then give her a sticker from his company (Alaska Rider). The girls were always a bit surprised and would thank him then realize we were not interested in what she was selling, say goodbye and ride off. It was quite funny and we did it until Phil ran out of stickers. When that happened we wandered back to the guest house and went to sleep.

We got up and flew to Bangkok the next day.

Here are some of the pictures I took during the trip.