Vang Vieng to Vientiane

Vang Vieng is a tourist spot with lots of operators offering tours like river tubing, caving, kayaking, buggy tiding, etc. It is a major destination for young backpackers. There were also a lot of Korean tourists.

We stayed in bungalows by the river, and to get to them we had to cross this bridge on our motorbikes.

We had a day off in Vang Vieng. We got up early to check out the local food market, where vendors sold vegetables and all kinds of meat, including frogs and bats!

For the rest of the day the others went on a tour of a cave, but I just stayed at the bungalow to hang out and read, enjoying the down-time.

The next day was a fast ride to Vientiane, the capital city. It was a 150 km from Vang Vieng, but you have to realize the speed limit is 40 km/hr, although on a good flat road like this we could go more like 50 km/hr. (In the mountains we averaged about 30 km/hr).

As we got closer to the capital the towns got bigger and there was a lot more traffic of course. The bigger towns had more elaborate temples.

There were still food stalls along the side of the road, although they too got bigger and offered a lot of types of vegetables.

We arrived in Vientiane in the middle of the afternoon. A big city and noticably a lot of tourists. We took advantage of being in a big city, doing things like picking up some food at a big grocery store, taking in laundry, etc.

Sop Lau to Vang Vieng

The day from Sop Lau to just past Phonsavan was great. Nice weather, good road. The morning was spent in the mountains with beautiful misty scenery.

Parts of the hillsides are cleared to grow corn. I saw corn growing on the side of the road and in front of houses.

Many of the villages we passed through so far seemed ok in that the people seemed happy and well kept, and the kids would smile and wave as we passed. This day, however, we passed through some villages that seemed very poor: the houses were really run down, the children were scraggly and unkept, and nobody smiled or waved. Heartbreaking.

As we rode into Laos, the landscape changed from the steep limestone cliffs of Northern Vietnam,  to red clay hills.

We came out of the mountains into a broad valley that had cities and the people seemed well off.

We kept going until we reached Phonsavan. This is a tourist destination which is near the famous archealogical site called the Plain of Jars. The origin of the Jars is not clear, but they date from about the 5th century. It is also a place that was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War.

Laos is different from Vietnam in that religion has a much bigger presence. In Laos every town has a Buddhist temple.

After Phonsavan we continued until we hit a nice guest house about 20km out of town. It was actually run by the family of a doctor who worked on town. We talked a bit about the medical system. A year ago, medical care was made free in Laos, but the people in the mountains either don't know or don't believe it, so they don't seek medical care when they need it.

They next day we continued to Vang Vieng. Ran into some heavy rain. On the way we passed an area of steep hills reminiscint of Northern Vietnam.

The mountains made a great background to the stalls along the road.

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.