Sam Nuea to Sop Lao

The guest house we stayed at in Sam Nuea was like many buildings in the cities: built in a kind of old colonial style even if the building is not that old.

The original plan for the day was to make it all the way to Phonsavan, over 200km. However the road, while paved, was a very winding mountainous road with steep up and down, up and down. It was also pouring rain for much of the day, and actually kind of cold up in the mountians. So we made it less than 100km and stopped at a small town called Sop Lao, by the Nameun river, which had a guest house.

On the way we passed more ethnic minority villages, up on mountain and covered in mist and the rain.

In this part of the country, rather than harvesting rice, they are planting seedlings in the paddies. It seems that the whole community gets involved.

When we arrived at Sop Lau we first stopped for lunch. I saw a girl at the restaurant making what was called a 'Cafe Lao', so I ordered one myself. It's basically coffee with condensed milk and lots of sugar.

Into Laos

We had a breakfast of pho in Na Meo, and waited for the border crossing to open. At the border we went to one office, filled out a form and paid money. Then went to another office, filled another form with the same information and paid more money ... and that was just the Vietnamese side. Then over to the Laos side where we went to one window and filled out a form, and then to another window and filled out another form with the same information. Part of the excess paperwork and fees arose because we were bringing vehicles across the border.

After about an hour everything was done and we rode into Laos. The road was extremely rough. Most of it was either under construction or washed out. Parts were so steep and rocky that they were just like logging roads in British Columbia. Also very muddy and I just about slipped and fell a few times. I would have liked to take pictures of it but finding a place to stop and start again was just too difficult.

I guess the rough road on this side of the border explains why there was so little traffic on the Vietnamese side the day before.

On the better parts of the road, when I didn't have to focus so much on the riding,  I could enjoy the amazing scenery and very quaint villages. It was interesting to notice, for example, tbat the style of making rice paddies was different compared to Vietnam.

Fortunately it was cloudy with just a little bit of rain, so the temperature was much more comfortable. We arrived at Sam Nuea, the first city about 80 km from the border, in the late afternoon.

Pu Luong to Na Meo

We rode to Na Meo, a very small town on the Vietnamese side of the Laos border. It was extremely hot and even when moving on the motorbike I felt baked by the sun. Fortunately the road was really good and there was hardly any traffic. Maybe because it was Sunday.

The ride took us through more great scenery, including crossing the Red River with people who live on boats there.

We also passed people harvesting rice. And everywhere in front of houses there were large nats with rice spread on them to dry.

In the middle of the day Luc had mechanical trouble with the motorbike, so we rolled downhill to a small garage on the side of the road. Turned out it just needed a new spark plug. Afterwards the family who run the garage invited us to have lunch with them. Every meal is accompanied by shots of a local rice wine.

We reached Na Meo in the late afternoon. It is a really small place, with two hotels. There was only one restaurant open at that time and it was under renovation. So we ate dinner in the middle of a construction zone, but the food was actually quite good.

During the day we had passed a couple travelling by bicycle, and we met up with them in Na Meo. Theu were from Brazil and they were taking one year to cycle from Portugal to Southeast Asia.

Pu Luong

We ended up spending 3 nights, 2 whole days, at the Pu Luong Retreat. The first day Luc and I spent the morning walking on paths around the retreat, which took us through the rice fields and neighbouring villages. The rice was ready for harvest in a couple of weeks, and the harvesting is done manually with scythes.

It was very hot in the morning and we were soaked in sweat by the time we got back. We went straight to the swimming pool. In the afternoon there was a strong rain storm which gave me the chance to just hang out, read, and draw.

The second day, Denis, Claude and I took the motorbikes on a trail that went off the main road.

The purpose was to find a cave that is a local attraction.  The road was quite remote, and on the way we passed through some very quaint enthic minority villages. The villages of the Thai ethnic minority, and are inside the Pu Luong Nature Preserve. The people seem to live the idylic village life, working in the rice fields, and keeping livestock like chickens and water buffalo.

Finally we reached the cave. We parked our motorbikes on the side of the road and did the short walk on the path to the large, limestone cave entrance.

Afterward we headed back to the retreat and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the pool.

First day of motorcycle trip: Hanoi to Pu Luong

Today was 11 hours on the road - with lots of breaks. It took over a couple of hours just to get out of Hanoi - it's actually a huge city. As soon as you're out of the city, however, the spectacular  scenery begins. The characteristic steep hills of Northern Vietnam.

We passed through the town of Hoa Binh and then climbed a pass on the way to Mai Chau. At the top of the pass there were many stalls selling food like roasted corn, with spectacular views of the valley below.

After stopping in Mai Chau for a while to have lunch and get out of the heat, we continued on. At one point we were riding through swarms of butterflies. Amazing. I stopped at a spot where they were particularly dense, to take some close pictures.

Then we started climbing again into the Pu Luong Nature reserve. Rough road dotted with simple villages and amazing scenery.

We stayed at the Pu Luong Retreat. It is a combination of cabins and homestay, and we stayed in the homestay part. We had a traditional dinner with the owner and manager of the retreat.

There are a lot of homestays in Mai Chau and Pu Luong. You stay in a tradtional structure which is a large open area upstairs for sleeping, with open the family who runs the homestay in adjacent quarters.  

Arrival in Hanoi

I arrived in Hanoi Sunday night. It was dark by the time I was in the car on the way to the hotel, and just as we left the airport, it started pouring rain like a tap was turned on in the sky. The storm had the strength of a thunderstorm or more, but went on for a couple of hours. Even with the windshield wipers on high they couldn't keep up. Traffic slowed to a crawl. When we arrived, the car parked just outside the hotel door, but even going the few feet from the car to hotel got me totally soaked. I kept thinking "Denis, Denis... what are you thinking, planning a motorcycle trip during monsoon season?"

The next few days were busy with preparations for the trip, dealing with things that came up, and drinking beer with the guys who are on the trip. It turns out there are only four of us, including Denis. The other two, Claude and Luc, are also old friends of Denis'.

Hanoi has a special character, especially the old quarter which was where we were staying: the narrow streets lined with trees, tangles of electrical wire, tall narrow buildings of musty colonial architecture, people eating pho from vendors on the sidewalk, and motorcycles.

I'd been to Hanoi before so I had no urge to go sightseeing, but it was interesting to take in the feeling of the city while we were walking around shopping for things that we needed for the trip. I also got a haircut right on the street.

Something that came up was that a filling in my teeth fell out, so I had to go a dentist. Luc lives in Laos but he comes to Hanoi to go to his dentist, so I went there. Serenity International Dental Clinic. The equipment was completely modern and they did a through job. All for $60.

We picked up the motorbikes from the rental company today and tomorrow we head out first thing in the morning.

Batticaloa to Colombo

Rather than a 10 hour car ride from Batticaloa to Colombo, I booked a flight on a local airline.

Originally it was supposed to go directly to Colombo, but the day before the flight I got an email saying that the departure time had changed, and that it would go through Kandy. It turned out to be quite lucky for me, since the scenery on the flight to Kandy was amazing. I think this is one of the best ways to see the country.

As we approached Colombo it became cloudy and rainy, and the flooding from the recent heavy rain became visible. Once I landed in Colombo a colleague of Celene's who is based there, Timothy, showed me around Colombo for the rest of the day. We went to the museum, the floating market, and a shopping and restaurant area called the Dutch Hospital Precinct. Colombo feels like such a big modern city compared to Batticaloa. There happened to be a street food festival going on when we where there, with live music and lots of people.

I noticed that the young people often spoke English with each other, even when they were obviously locals. I asked a friend of Timothy's about it, and he just shrugged and said it was a Colombo thing.

There is an amazing amount of contruction in Colombo right now, with cranes all over. Lots of foreign investment I think. The city will probably look very different in just a few years.