Northern Laos (Feb 2007)

[belgarathc]

Route: Vientiane -> Xayaboury -> Luang Prabang -> Nong Khiaw -> Xam Neua -> Phonsavan -> Vang Vieng -> Vientiane

Distance: ~1700km

Reference: Lonely Planet Laos, GT-Rider Laos map

Bike: Honda Baja from PVO at US$20 per day

Comments: A serene ride in sparsely populated Laos, with terrain that's largely mountainous.

http://adventurevacationtrip.com/photos/200702/Laos/01_Northern_Laos_Map.jpg

Route undertaken

 

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"Bridge" crossing

 

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Getting off to a bad start, puncture on the first day near Namhir village

 

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My fellow road users

 

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Quite a bit of logging activities in the country

 

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Slash and burn

 

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Now you know why Laos is also called the "Land of a Thousand Elephants"

 

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Oops

 

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Ferries along the Mekong, at Luang Prabang

 

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Nam Ou river, Nong Khiaw village on the left and Ban Sop Houn village on the right

 

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Nam Ou river, river of activities

 

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Nam Ou river, sunset

 

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Tham Pha Thok, a limestone cave where villagers lived during the war

 

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What's PSP?

[belgarathc]

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Minority tribes at a morning market

 

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It's that high, my GPS registered an elevation as high as 1700m

 

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Into the mist

 

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Door decorations

 

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Xam Neua

 

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Sunset at Xam Neua

 

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The famous Pathet Lao caves at Vieng Xai

 

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Pathet Lao caves

 

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Some sort of an air circulation machine

 

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Suan Hin (Stone garden), the less famous cousins of Plain of Jars. But no less mysterious.

 

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Kids going to school

 

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Kid at work

[belgarathc]

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The Plain of Jars near Phonsavan

 

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Most of the jars are concentrated at 3 sites

 

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One can easily spent a day wandering around

 

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Bike started leaking petrol and I pushed the bike from Site 3 to Lat Hai, a good distance of 2km.

 

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Winding roads

 

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More winding roads

 

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Looks like I will not be able to reach Vang Vieng before dark

 

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Results of riding in the dark

 

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Good food compensates a hard ride

 

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Well, this is Nong Khai (Thailand), rented a Honda dream to ride around.

[Ni3KiDz]

GREAT pics

seen like a thrillin and fruitful trip.....

[FB666Y]

Good trip belgarathc. From your route I see it was quite a large loop. Looks like you almost made it into Dien Bien Phu!

 

One of the better trips here.

[AspMonK]

I always wonder how to fix a punctured tyres.. while touring.. and no ppl

 

any emergency kits to bring along? u used GPS? portable type?

[belgarathc]

FB666Y: Yah, it's a pretty large loop. And it didn't help that I only have 9 days for the trip. Given more time, I would definitely want to visit Phongsali and spend more time at the Plain of Jars. How do you find the Plain of Jars? I find it seriously underrated. I would rather spend a day there than at the circus-like Angkor Wats.

 

AspMonK: The rental shop provided me with some basic tools (including a spare tube). I can't fix a punctured tyre too. I rode with the punctured tyre for 4km (not before staring at the bike for 5mins and wondering what to do) before I found a village with somebody who can fix the tyre. But I was left without a spare tube, and that really left me in a spot. If I continue on the journey, I had to pray that nothing happens before I find a place that sells a similar tube. If I do not continue, I can try to find a lorry to ferry the bike and me back to Vientiane. Or I can assume that the short (but rather deserted) 100km ride back to Vientiane would be problem free. I was seriously considering the second and third option as the punctured tyre really scares me a little and makes me wonder if I am doing something that I shouldn't be doing. In the end, after a night's sleep, I somehow became adventurous enough to continue the journey. Luckily, nothing significant happened before I reached Luang Prabang and bought a spare tube. I do have a GPS receiver with me. I used it to track my routes, save some waypoints and check my direction of travel. The maps inside are pretty useless. If anybody is going to Vientiane any time soon, do let me know. I left my GPS mount on the bike.

[belgarathc]

Anybody watched the Channel 8 program about this group of riders who went north to Laos? Well, my parents watched it.

[limbat]

Cool pictures....mate did u went alone ?

[belgarathc]

Cool pictures....mate did u went alone ?

Yeah alone.

 

Anyway, sorry for the yellowish photos. I think they were over corrected.

[limbat]

I 'll try to post some pictures as well ............ dun know if can make it ornot....... a normal digital cam is ok ? right ?

[belgarathc]

Yeah, please post!