For the latest news on Laos, check out the Vientiane Times. If you need up-to-date information on the roads, you can try asking in GT-Rider forum (requires registration).

GT-Rider Laos map provides an accurate travel map of Laos. The laminated map can be found in at some book stores and bike shops in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.  The publisher also provides overseas shipping. You can find more details at GT-Rider website.

GT-Rider Laos Map

If you need some help packing for your trip, head over to Motorcycle Trip Packing Checklist.

To prepare yourself for the trip, I also recommend reading and watching some related literature. Not only does it provides greater insight into the country, it also helps to get you into the ‘mood’. Here are a few recommended books and videos:

Books

1. Nightmare in Laos: The True Story of a Woman Imprisoned in a Communist Gulag

Do not read the above book if you would like to preserve your image of a peaceful and smiling Laos.

2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig

I took a morning stroll around Vang Vieng. There was little motivation to do anything more. Long rides into similar landscapes and settlements were dulling my senses, diminishing my power of observation. To continue making the ’best’ of my time here by forcing myself to visit popular sights seems to defeat the purpose of a relaxing holiday.

Early morning at Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng scenery

So after a lazy morning, I went back to the guesthouse and packed my stuffs for departure. On the easy roads back to Vientiane, I took a side road to Thalat, a town known for its exotic food. Instead, I found numerous guesthouses and pretty river views.

I continued to Vientiane to find that the guesthouses I have short listed fully occupied. In the end, I splurged on a US$16 room at Riverside hotel. It has a lift. The staffs saw me took a photo of it.

Next, I returned a fishy smelling Baja with squashed flying insects to PVO. The rest of the day was spent watching TVs, visiting the excellent Laos musuem, eating good food and planning my way back to Bangkok, Thailand for my Airasia flight back to Singapore. Riverside hotel did provide an affordable package for traveling from Vientiane to Bangkok. But as usual, I like to go through the logistics myself and taking a little risk by not booking the train ticket from Nong Khai to Bangkok in advance. A little risk gives me a little excitement and makes me feel alive.

Results of riding in the dark

Curry, Egg Prata and Iced Coffee

Day 8-9 (Vientiane to Bangkok)

I woke up at 7am, packed quickly and took a costly cab to the bus station. With some help from locals, I managed to find the public bus to the Friendship pass. The buses do not have any destinations marked in English. The bus ride cost 4k Kips.

At the border, I paid another 15Baht to cross the bridge on a minibus. At the other side of the bridge, I hired a Tuktuk for 40Baht which took me first to the train station where I bought a sleeper to Bangkok and later to Mut Mee Guesthouse at Nong Khai.

Mut Mee Guesthouse has got to be one of the prettiest, coziest and friendliest guesthouse I have been to.  It has a rather unique style of operation and offers a good range of services for travelers. However, the presence of so many westerners somehow makes the place less appealing.

I had lunch and left my backpack with Mut Mee before I headed out and rented a Honda Dream to explore Nong Khai. I contemplated visiting the Dinosaur museum but found that it is too far and I do not have great confidence with the light motorbike.

Evening quickly arrived and I took a ride to the train station where I boarded an overnight train to Bangkok. At Bangkok, I visited the popular Chatuchak market. At noon, I took a cheap public bus to the airport for my flight home.

Interestingly, the last entry in my note book is the following: “It’s just that he’s cannier and smarter than he lets on, and in the shippage between what he looks like and what he is, there’s a lot of freedom”. I can’t remember which book I was reading at that time.

Mut Mee Guesthouse

Tobacco Village at Nong Khai

The Plain of Jars is an area around Phonsavan where huge jars of unknown origin can be found. Most of these jars are situated in 3 major sites. I left my guesthouse for the Plain of Jars at 730am and easily found Site 1.

Admission ticket to Site 1 (and other sites) costs just about a buck. Maybe it’s still early but Site 1 was not crowded with tourists and I find wandering around the sites a very peaceful experience. But make sure you stick to the marked walking trail as they are still UXOs (unexploded bombs) lying around. Site 2 and 3 were slightly harder to locate but manageable with the excellent gt-rider Laos map.

The enigmatic Plain of Jars are said to be about 2000 years old

According to Madeleine Colani, a French archaeologist, the jars may be associated to the menhirs at Xam Neua

It is easy to spend a whole day wandering around the Plain of Jars

When I reached Site 3, I found that my bike was leaking petrol. As usual, I couldn’t figured out what’s wrong with the bike and I turned off the fuel cap to stop the leaking.  I asked around and found out that there is a mechanic at Lak Hai village, 2km away.

I decided to ignore the problem for now and set about exploring Site 3. Site 3’s trail is a very enjoyable hike across paddy dykes and low lying hills. After I completed the circuit, I decided to take down some notes. I dug for my notebook in my jacket’s pocket. There was a hole and the notepad was missing. It’s the notepad where I had logged down my journeys, not just this current Laos trip but also my previous trips. I couldn’t remember where I dropped it. Do I have to go back to Site 2 or Site 1? I backtracked my path at Site 3 and voila! There it is, a turned notebook on the track! Ah, the wonderful feeling of finding something you thought you had lost.

Found my notepad at Site 3

As the bike was leaking petrol, I pushed the bike for 2km to Lak Hai village. It was tiring and embarrassing. The mechanic did not seem to be able diagnose the problem. To make things worse, the bike was unable to electric start after his tinkering. I had to call PVO a couple of times for advice. But we had some communication problems and I passed the phone over to the mechanic. I was left wondering what they were discussing and what the mechanic was doing.

Motorbike under repair

After 1.5hr of little progress, I was thinking about towing the bike back to Phonsavan. Finally at 2pm, as if by miracle, the bike roared into life and the leak was gone. I paid the mechanic 400k Kips. I reached guesthouse at 245pm and paid 1.5 day of room. I quickly set off for Vang Vieng at 315pm. It was yet another day without lunch.

For the first 50km, it was straight road and I managed to hit 80km/h. I was optimistic about reaching Vang Vieng before nightfall. But the road soon turned winding. When I reached Kasi town, it was totally dark. I rode in almost total darkness during next 50km to Vang Vieng. Pampered with excellent lighting conditions in my homeland, it’s tough negotiating the roads with just my headlights. I had to go really slow and huge trucks carrying logs overtook me frequently. There was also the constant kamikaze insects splattering themselves on my helmet and clothing to deal with.

Winding roads to Vang Vieng

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

A huge surprise met me when I reached Vang Vieng. There were so many tourists, food stalls, guesthouses, souvenir shops and restaurants. Westerners were lying on mattresses, drinking beers and watching videos. It did not look like a place I would want to stay for long.

I went searching for a room and only managed to find one at the third guesthouse I visited. For dinner, I went to Nazim restaurant. The Indian mee goreng, egg prata and iced coffee were very good.

Tourists taking it easy in Vang Vieng

I had wanted to visit the tourist office to get some directions to the Suan Hin (Sao Hin Tang). But the staffs were out for lunch so I decided to find the stone garden myself. There are a couple of Hintang signboards (white stone pillars on red background) on the road to direct the traveler. But the signs were not very obvious and you might find the GPS coordinates N20 07.388 E103 53.737 helpful.

Road to Suan Hin – Guarded by staring cows

No admission tickets were required for Suan Hin. When I reached the place, nobody was around – no staffs, no tourists. If it wasn’t for the huge signboard, I would have thought I had gone to the wrong place. The stone slabs might look nondescript at first but you might find them more interesting after reading the legend behind them:

In ancient times, Laos was inhabited by the Kha Yeui. Their Chief, Ba Hat, was a great giant possessing amazing powers, to whom the gods also gave three magical objects; a double-headed drum – one face struck to make enemies disappear and the other to call help from the gods; an enormous awl which pierced the stoniest ground and made water gush out; and an axe which could cut hard rock like wood.

Ba Hat felt himself no less strong than the Luang Prabang Kingdom, thanks to these marvelous instruments, so he decided the Kha Yeui were no longer subjects of the King, who soon declared war. But the victory went to Ba Hat. Later, believing the enemy kind intended to return. Ba Hat called on the help of the gods. The chief of the gods descended in person and on seeing no enemies anywhere, he flew into a rage and seized back the magical drum.

Ba Hat still had the two other tools given him by the gods. With the magical axe, he set his people out to cut blocks of stone along Nam Peun, and bear them to the top of San Ang ridge to build the new city of Kong Phanh. This aroused the King of Luang Prabang’s fears and he decided upon a ruse to keep the city from ever being founded. He succeeded in marrying his son to Ba Hat’s daughter. Misplacing their confidence in the Prince, the Kha Yeui were induced to lay the magical awl and axe onto a white-hot brazier. The two instruments immediately lost all magic power.

So the Kha Yeui had to abandon their project and they just left the stones where they had been raised up along the crest. These later on became the menhir fields of San Kong Panh and the neighboring countryside.

More on the Huaphanh Menhirs:

At least 1500 years ago, people of whose origin and fate we know almost nothing, erected hundreds of menhirs along ten kilometers of summit trails atop-forested mountains in the present Huaphanh province of Laos. Three lower saddles were favored for the main menhir fields, linked one to the next by isolated menhir clusters.

The menhirs themselves – in the form of long and narrow blades – are plaques of cut schist then erected upright, one behind the other, with the tallest often in the middle. Interspersed among the groups of menhirs, in no discernible order, burial chambers were excavated deep into the bedrock. Access to the opening below was often through a narrow vertical chimney equipped with steps. Each of these was covered by an stone disk, up to several meters in diameter.

In 1931, the sites around San Kng Phanh were surveyed and partially excavated by a team from (blank), led by archaeologist Madeline Colani. By the time she got there, the chambers contained, for the most part, nothing bu alluvial clay which had gradually washed into the cavities. It appears that they had been originally occupied by several individual burials separated yb low walls of schist plaques. Very few artifacts were recovered by the Colani expedition, apart from rather rough funerary urns; certain objects in stone, evidently ceremonial; hanging pendants in crude ceramic, and several very simple bronze bracelets.

Until the present time, these menhirs and round-lidded tombs have held onto their secrets. Perhaps those many be revealed in the coming generations.

Suan Hin  (Sao Hin Tang)

I left Suan Hin at 230pm. It’s about 170km on Route 6 to Phonsavan, the next town on my itinerary. At Phonsavan, I checked in at White Orchid guesthouse. For just US$8, the spacious room even came with a bathtub. Dinner was settled at Nisha restaurant, an Indian eatery packed with tourists. In Laos, you can always count on finding excellent Indian restaurants in major cities and towns.

Winding roads to Phonsavan

Schooling Kids at Phonsavan

Working Kids at Phonsavan

Sunset by green padi fields

Often known as the birthplace of Lao PDR, Vieng Xai is home to the former Pathet Lao headquarters. In Vieng Xai, the Lao communist movement built an extensive network of caves to shelter themselves from the constant bombings during the Second Indochina War (aka Vietnam War). For the best part of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the hidden city of caves were homes to the people. Visiting the caves, with some artifacts still on display, offered a great insight of their lives during the period of uncertainty.

I left Xam Neua at 730am for Vieng Xai, a short 30km away. Route 6 was under repair and the ride was slow. Along the way, I tried to locate the Tat Nam Neua waterfall. But I was unable to find it with Lonely Planet’s directions. I could hear the water gushing but just couldn’t find the trail to a view of the waterfall. I moved on and reached the Kaysone Memorial Cave Tour Office in Vieng Xai at 855am, just in time for the 9am tour to the Pathet Lao caves.

Kaysone Memorial Cave Tour Office in Vieng Xai

There were an British and an American joining the tour as well. They had crossed the Vietnamese border at Na Maew and Nam Xoi to reach Vieng Xai. The guide suggested that we either walk or take motorcycles for the tour. The first option would take 4 hours while the second option would take half the time. As I wanted to get back to Xam Neau before 12pm to check out from my guesthouse, I suggested riding. Fortunately, the other tourists were easy-going and it was decided I pillion the American lady who’s smaller in size.

The English speaking guide took us to the major caves, carefully explaining to us the history behind each cave and its previous occupants. Famous ex-occupants of the caves are Prince Souphanouvong and Kaysone Phomvihan. The former was the figurehead leader of the Pathet Lao and the latter was the Pathet Lao chief who became the prime minister and president of Lao PDR. Most of the caves contain various rooms which included a reception centre, meeting room, bedroom and library. Some caves even housed weaving mills, hospitals and printing presses. According to the guide, while some of the caves are natural, others were actually created with dynamites.

To appreciate the caves better, it might be useful to read up the following topics:

• Pathet Lao
• Vietnam War
• Laotian Civil War

We finished the 30,000 Kips tour at 11am. I headed back to Xam Neua, but not before dropping my bike at a construction area. I had to be helped up by locals. It was a little embarrassing.

Limestone cave

More caves shot

Some sort of an air-circulation machine

If Luang Prabang is the most visited provincial capital in Laos, then Xam Neua (or Sam Neua) has got to be the least visited provincial capital in Laos. There are not many sites in Xam Neua to entice the tourist to travel to this remote city tucked in the north eastern corner of Laos. However, there are a few interesting attractions near Xam Neua – Suan Hin (Sao Hin Tang) stone garden and Vieng Xai Pathet Lao Caves. They were my reasons for taking the 320km ride from Nong Khiaw to Xam Neau.

I moved off from Sunrise Guesthouse at 7am. It was a chilly morning and the roads were all misty. For some reasons, it made the ride more interesting. Except for the gravel stretch from Vieng Thong to Phou Lau, the roads from Nong Khiaw to Sam Neua (Route 1C and Route 6) were mostly tarmac. There were some fun twisties from Phon Lau to Sam Neua.

Misty morning

Misty Mountains

Sometimes, it is hard to remember how sparsely populated Laos is when you are in places like Luang Prabang or Vientiane, until you really get out of the cities. During my long ride to Xam Neua, I encountered only a handful of vehicles and more often than not, I was the only vehicle or person on the road. At one such lonely stretch, I thought I had gone the wrong way until I suddenly hit a bustling morning market that appeared without warning. It seemed as though I have entered a secret world. It was almost surreal.

Bustling morning market (GPS N20 31.423 E102 47.635)

Villages were decorated with bomb casings but note that it is illegal in Laos to trade in these war scrap.

Xam Neua city in view

I finally reached Xam Neua at 330pm and I settled at Kheam Xam Guest House. I spent the rest of the evening wandering around the town. There were not many foreigners. Sites worth visiting are the market, tourist office and independence monument.

Xam Neua Market

Sunset at Xam Neua

Luang Prabang is one of the most visited cities in Laos. Formerly the royal capital of a kingdom, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and boasts some of Laos’ finest temples. I intend to spend the whole morning in Luang Prabang city before going to Nong Khiaw, a market village by the Nam Ou river in northern Luang Prabang province.

I woke up at 630am and took a morning stroll. Walking alone is an activity I enjoy. Evidently, Robert Louis Stevenson shared the same sentiment when he described it eloquently as follows:

A walking tour should be gone upon alone, because freedom is of the essence; because you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way or that, as the freak takes you; and because you must have your own pace, and neither trot alongside a champion walker, nor mince in time with a girl. And then you must be open to all impressions and let your thoughts take colour from what you see. You should be as a pipe for any wind to play upon. “I cannot see the wit,” says Hazlitt, “of walking and talking at the same time. When I am in the country I wish to vegetate like the country,” – which is the gist of all that can be said upon the matter. There should be no cackle of voices at your elbow, to jar on the meditative silence of the morning.

I came by the pier and there was a row of ferries docked neatly by the shore. These ferries are popular with tourists as an interesting mean to reach destinations such as Huay Xai and Nong Khiaw.

Ferries by the Mekong river

At 8am, I visited the Royal Palace Museum (Ho Kham). Housed in a building of Lao and French architectural styles, it is a place to soak up the local history. I find the pictorial stories hanging on the walls particularly interesting.

Next on my itinerary was Phu Si, a 100m tall hill dotted with a few temples. At the top of the hill, climbers are rewarded with a grand view of the town. After the descent, I visited the post office located opposite Phu Si where I changed some currencies.

I walked down Sisavangvong street for Green Discovery, where I hope to buy a spare tube. Unfortunately, the Green Discovery branch in Luang Prabang was just a tour agency and did not have motorcycle spare parts. But they gave me directions to the motorcycle shops in town. At 1130am, I finally found a motorcycle shop selling tubes of the correct size. Feeling more confident with a spare tube in my pack, I set off for Nong Khiaw.

After a three hour ride, I reached the riverside village of Nong Khiaw. I did a quick survey of the place and crossed the Nam Ou bridge to Ban Sop Houn village. Ban Sop Houn appeared more inviting and it reminded me of Lac Village in Vietnam. I found a room with a private bathroom at Sunrise Guesthouse for 40,000 Kips a night. The guest house is a Lao-style wooden stilt house commanding an excellent view of the Nam Ou river.

As I still have a couple of hours before sunset, I quickly headed for Tham Pha Pok. The limestone cave was a hideout for villagers during the Second Indochina War. After a tour of the cave, I returned to the villages for some photo taking and sunset. Dinner was a delightful meal of spring rolls and curry fried rice.

My guide at Tham Pha Thok

Nam Ou River – On the right is Ban Sop Houn while on the left is Nong Khiaw

Nam Ou River- River of activities

Sunset view from Nam Ou Bridge

What’s Sony PSP?

I overslept. I had planned to start the ride at sunrise and try to reach Hongsa in the afternoon to join day 2 of the elephant festival. I found out about the festival only after I had booked my air tickets. If I had known, I would have flown in 1 or 2 days earlier. With yesterday’s delay, I was not sure if I could still make it to the festival on time.

You would have noticed that despite the doubts I had yesterday, I had decided to continue with the motorcycle tour. Returning to Vientiane via the same route did not sound attractive to me. I would try to be more careful from now on. I would look for a spare tube and before then, stick to better roads if possible.

I moved off at 730am. Along the way to Xanamkhan, I noticed logging activities. Illegal logging is a problem in Laos. For the promise of good money, locals have turned to chopping down trees and selling them to Thailand and Vietnam. Maybe to them, what’s the environment when you are hungry?

Logs aplenty

The roads remained unpaved until Xanamkhan. From Xanamkhan to Paklay, I met elephants herders on the roads. Little did I know at that time that I was not going to make it to the elephant festival and these were the only elephants I would see in Laos. Talking about elephants, did you know Laos is also known as the Land of the Million Elephants?

Land of a Million Elephants

40km before Paklay, the roads turned winding and tarmac. There were even kilometer stones. My mood turned better and it was a joy riding the roads. I soon reached the Mekong river where I had to take a ferry to reach Paklay. I paid 30,000 Kips for the crossing. At 10am, I found myself at Paklay.

Taking the ferry to cross the Mekong River to Paklay

From Paklay, it was a long ride to Xayaboury on unpaved roads again. I reached Xayaboury at 2pm with sore bums. I had been riding for about 6 hours without any food. It was tiring and I wondered why I was doing this. I couldn’t think of any good reasons and decided that I must be masochistic.

I turned left at the junction to Hongsa. After 1km on bad roads, the engine suddenly stopped. I revived it after a few attempts. But my confidence had waned. I relooked at the maps. I calculated that I would take approximately 2 1/2 hours to travel the 90km road to Hongsa. Assuming I didn’t get into any mishaps, I might just be in time for the closing ceremony of the festival. Disappointed, I u-turned to Xayaboury and took the right fork to Luang Prabang.

After 27km, I reached the dock at Tha Deua where I had to cross the Mekong river once again. I found out that my bottle of engine oil had leaked, leaving a mess in my pack. I cleaned up as best as I could. While waiting for the ferry, I bought some drinks from the vendors. After a rather long wait, I paid 20,000 Kips to cross the Mekong river.

Taking the ferry to cross the Mekong River to Luang Prabang

The roads turned sandy after I crossed the river. Sands is my nemesis. I fell two or three times at the Death Highway in Cambodia. This time in Laos, I fell once. I passed by local villages where women were taking late afternoon baths in their sarongs (a piece of garment wrapped around the body). It’s funny that I did not see any men. Maybe they were still at work and bath at different times.

Oops

Route 4 soon joined Route 13. The 24km stretch on Route 13 to Luang Prabang was very excellent and I made good time at 70km/h. I reached Luang Prabang at 6pm and circled the town a few times for a guesthouse. There were many guesthouses to choose from. I ended up at Saysamore Guesthouse which faces the Mekong river. I splurged on a US$12 room with a private bathroom so I can clean my dirty stuffs.

At night, I visited the handicraft market where there were Hmong clothings, paintings and other sourvenirs for sale. There were many other tourists at the market and at the handful of pubs and cafes located by the street. I turned to the quiet Somchanh restaurant where I ordered fried chicken with yellow noodles to pacify my growling stomach. I salivated at the thought of biting into juicy and crispy deep fried chicken cooked in KFC’s style. Alas, fried chicken turned out to be stirred fried chicken. Well, at least it was delicious. On the way back to my guesthouse, I bought some deep fried coconut and bean puffs at 1000 Kips each from the street vendors.

Because there are no direct (and cheap) flights from Singapore to Laos, I took a Tigerairways flight to Udon Thani, a city in northeast Thailand. Udon Thani is located one hour by road to the friendship bridge, the Thailand-Laos border close to Vientiane. At the Laos side, Vientiane is about another hour by road. Many people have asked about the logistics of getting from Udon Thani to Vientiane. Here’s the gist of it:

1. Mini bus (150Baht) direct from Udon Thani airport to Friendship Bridge. The bus can drop and wait for you at a photo shop if you need photos for visa application at the borders.
2. Shuttle bus (15Baht) to cross the bridge. Currency exchange is available at the borders.
3. TukTuk/Taxi (200Baht for the whole vehicle) from bridge to Vientiane. I shared a Tuktuk with four other travelers, so we ended paying 40Baht each.

My plane landed at Udon Thani airport just after 8am and I managed to clear the customs only at 910am.  After the transports described above, I reached PVO motorcycle rental at 12pm. At PVO, the Honda Baja 250 scrambler I had selected was cleaned, serviced and adjusted. After loading up my pack and attaching my Garmin GPS receiver, I was finally ready to start my motorcycle tour at 2pm.

The first place I visited was a petrol station. Some friends would ask me how I get the petrol attendant to top up the petrol when I cannot speak their language. All I did was make a horizontal wave of the hand above the petrol tank and said the word “full”. All the petrol attendants I had encountered so far seemed to get my message. Locals usually top up petrol by the dollar or Kips (Laotian currency) though. I didn’t do so because I am a lousy gauge of how much petrol my tank can take and I always like to top up as much as possible. The attendants are smart enough to stop filling at a round figure so you would not have to take small changes. Of course, at villages where they sell petrol by the litre, all you need to do is to show your fingers.

The road along the Mekong river and Thailand-Laos border from Vientiane was not in the best condition and my progress was slow. There were also branch offs and I often rode into small villages and crossed crudely-constructed log bridges, only to find myself doubling back to try another road. By the time I reached Pakchan village (GPS N18 09.254 E102 01.140), it was already 4pm. I kept traveling west, hoping I would reach bigger towns like Pak Lay or Xanamkhan soon.

Unfortunately, when I was at a junction not far from Namhi village (GPS N18 02.328 E101 53.493), I discovered that my motorbike had suffered a punctured tire. Helpless at fixing motorcycles, I decided to ride the wobbling bike back to where I last saw civilisation – Namhi. It was a slow 2km ride. I can’t help feeling disappointed and worried about my predicament. With my confidence waned, I had many questions for myself.

Would I be able to find someone who can fix the tyre?
If the bike is fixed, would I have enough time to reach Xanamkhan town for the night?
Would I be able to find a spare tube? What if the same thing is to happen again should I continue with the journey?
Why am I doing such a trip when I can’t even patch a simple tyre?
Should I end the trip altogether and try to find a truck to bring me back to Vientiane?

Tyre puncture

Luckily, I found helpful locals at Namhi. I gratefully handed the bike over to them. But they were not familiar with the big bike and took some time tinkering with it. Meanwhile, a small crowd had gathered and a nice lady offered me some leaf-wrapped glutinous rice. It was my first bite of the day.

Just as the sky darkened, the motorcycle was repaired. I was charged just US$1 for their effort.  While I was extremely grateful for their help, I shamelessly inquire about possible lodgings in the village for the night. The friendly locals directed to a hotel (GPS N18 03.205 E101 51.539) located 4km from the village instead.

We found the culprit to the puncture – a nail.

And so I rode in the dark with flying insects smattering against my visor. The hotel was a creepy-looking row of rooms. Apart from a small house in front of the hotel where the owner lives, the whole place was isolated. Despite everything, I was glad to have a bed for the night. I paid US$6 for the room, one can of soya-bean milk, one can of energy drink and one bottle of mineral water. Staring at the mosquito net and spinning ceiling fan above me, I rested on head on the pillow, contemplating my plans for tomorrow.

Each room is equipped with a bed, mosquito net, fan and bathroom. There is no hot water or air conditioning.

Another place that rents out scramblers is Green Discovery, a company that also conduct motorcycle tours. Depending on the number of days of hire, they charge between US$25 to US$28 per day for a Honda Baja. A useful service they provide is that they allow one to pick up or drop off the bike at any of their branch offices. The branch offices are located in Luang Namtha, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Khammouane and Champasak while the head office is in Vientiane. It cost between US$20 to US$40 for the service.

I ended up choosing PVO as they are cheaper than Green Discovery. However, I would seriously consider Green Discovery if I am not traveling in a loop. They would be a good choice for a Southern Laos ride from Vientiane to Pakse (near Champasak).

PVO is headed by Mr Chanhtha Soukhummalay. Guidebooks and name cards might put PVO at 344 (or 314) Samsenthai Road but they had moved to Fa Ngum Road, along the Mekong river. With their big sign board, it is hard to miss them at the eastern end of Mekong promenade. Their email address is laopvo@hotmail.com and phone numbers are (856-21) 214444, 020 5515655 and 020 5654533.

It is advisable to reserve a motorcycle in advance. I reached PVO without a reservation and all I saw at their shop were scooters. Luckily, someone had just returned a Honda Baja in the morning and the bike was at their workshop. PVO took me there and I waited for two hours while they washed and serviced the bike. They were very accommodating when I requested them to lower the motorcycle’s height. The Honda Baja is bigger bike than the Honda Degree and is a little too tall for me.

PVO staffs fixing up my motorbike

PVO provides a basic set of tools with the motorcycle. Bike lock, rubber hooks, spare tyre tubing, chain lubricant and a bottle of engine oil are also given to the rider. So be prepared to add a sizable pack to your load. As usual, you have to deposit your passport and sign a motorcycle hire agreement with PVO. PVO also requires you to make payment in advance. If you run into any bike problems during your trip, contact PVO at the numbers found on their name card or on the prominent sticker pasted on the motorbike. While on the move, you are expected to check the engine oil and chain everyday, and maintain them if necessary.

P.V.O Motorycle Rental and Honda Baja 250

For this loop, it is best to plan at least ten days in order to ride at a reasonable pace and have adequate time for sightseeing. Depending on your interests, adding Hongsa (they have an elephant festival every year), Oudom Xai or Phongsali to the trip are possible. After all, this is the flexibility we enjoy by not taking a tour and having our own transport. Personally, I spent eight days for the 1700km loop. I had a pretty rushed trip and except for Vientiane, I did not spend more than a night at any other cities or towns. I wished I had spared more time for Phonsavan.

Map of northern Laos and route taken

The main highways such as route 13 (Luang Prabang to Vientiane) and 7 (Phonsavan to Luang Prabang) are in excellent conditions. The twisty tarmac roads are a joy for riders. However, expect dirt and gravels at the smaller roads such as route 4 (Xayaboury). As I was there during the dry season, it was quite dusty. Maybe it would be wise to bring along a face mask.

Dusty roads

Bridge crossing

The road directions in Laos are similar to Cambodia and Vietnam. You would be able to find road signs at major junctions. The helpful kilometers stones we have grown to love can also be found at most roads. Even with these aids and a good map, some tourist spots such as the Suan Hin (Sao Hin Tang) might not be easy to find. At such times, your best hope is the locals.

Basic road signs

Kilometer stones tell you the distance to the next major town or city. Notice our fellow road users in the photo?

Sometimes they hog the lane and you cannot do much about it.

Even though I brought my Garmin GPS receiver along, the memory card was dislodged after day 2 and I didn’t discover it until the end of the trip. So I only have a portion of the route. Luckily, my waypoints (including Plain of Jars and Suan Hin locations) were saved in the internal memory. If you would like a copy of the files, just post a comment and I will send the download link to your email. The file size is around 9.4MB.

Unlike its neighbors who boast world renown temples, beaches, cultural villages, minority tribes and mountains, Laos, with only two Unesco sites (Luang Prabang and Vat Phou) to its name, is largely forgotten. But undeservedly so. The mysterious Plain of Jars at Phonsavan, dramatic karst scenery at Tham Lot Kong Lo and 4000 islands at Si Phan Don are just a sample of Laos’ numerous attractions. And not to forget, the backpackers’ haven at Vang Vieng where travelers can laze around for days downing beer and watching movies or for the more energetic souls, take part in spelunking and tubing at this riverside town.

With terrain that’s largely mountainous, road travels in Laos are usually accompanied with glorious views and cool weather. And which better way to see the country than to rent a motorcycle and do it at your own pace? As fellow travelers advise me, the true meaning of Lao PDR is Lao – Please Don’t Rush.

Given my limited time available for Laos, I had decided on concentrate on Northern Laos. This would be my 4th motorcycle trip after previous rides in Vietnam and Cambodia. I tried looking for detailed Laos maps for my GPS receiver but couldn’t find any free ones. Nonetheless, I still brought my Garmin GPS receiver along as I like its direction, altitude, time, waypoint and route tracking features. Other specific gears in my pack were the Lonely Planet Laos guidebook, GT-rider Laos map, full-faced helmet and a good old compass.

The Northern Laos Loop trip report is divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction (You are here)
   
2. Route
3. Motorcycle
4. Journey Day 1 (Vientiane to Xayaboury)
5. Journey Day 2 (Xayaboury to Luang Prabang)
6. Journey Day 3 (Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw)
7. Journey Day 4 (Nong Khiaw to Xam Neua)
8. Journey Day 5 Part 1 (Xam Neua to Phonsavan)
9. Journey Day 5 Part 2 (Xam Neua to Phonsavan)
10. Journey Day 6 (Phonsavan to Vang Vieng)
11. Journey Day 7-9 (Vang Vieng to Vientiane to Bangkok)
12. Resources

Disclaimer: This trip was taken in February 2007. The information is provided ‘as is’ with no warranties and confers no rights. Please feel free to post a comment.