| Laos Quickie - Sept '08 - Part 1 |
| Visa-run time. A two-week whirl through northern Laos. A load of fun along the way and we like to go info-gathering on the travel scene. |
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| First step - day train from home (Chiang Mai) to Phitsanulok. |
| Next day bus to Udon Thani, six hours through familiar territory |
| Visiting the "Skylab" factory in Udon. They've been building them here for 30 years since they were named for the hi-tech space station. They are common in areas along the Laos border and are characterised by their squeaky brake noise. eek eek eek =) |
| Hanging out at Mutmee guesthouse in Nong Khai. Great spot! |
| Pantawee Resort Hotel by the Mekong. We've stayed here a few times and it seems like few people even know about it. 450 baht for ok room & restaurant and really quiet near the Friendship bridge. |
| Night time in front of the Kob Jai Deu restaurant in Vientiane |
| At the fountain circle, they actually turned on the fountain this time. |
| The Tat Khu Khana "waterfall" outside Vientiane |
| The relatively new Talat Sao Shopping Mall. Looks impressive by Laos standards but really the same clunky shops inside. Good place to find a Laos SIM card for your phone. |
| It's an "upgrade" to the Talat Sao (morning market) which has been around for many years. Boring but says something about the times |
| Beer Laos boat on the Mekong, 2 weeks after the river oveflowed |
| In mid-August the Mekong had its worst flooding in decades. Can see here at "Buddha Park" the water way higher than in many years. |
| "Jules' Classic Rentals in Vientiane has cool vintage and newer bikes. The owner, Thierry Dumont also runs the popular Phimphone Market. A good choice of well-maintained interesting rides. |
| We took this Honda FTR for about a week headed north. This is Thierry fitting our travel bags. $25/day +$40 1-way dropoff fee. He was very helpful getting us on the right bike. |
| Stopping near the Ang Ngum reservoir. Excellent mostly sunny day. |
| Afternoon school kids going home just south of Vang Vieng |
| Arrival in Vang Vieng with all the karsts towering over the horizon. Beautiful setting, just wish it was less "discovered" |
| Looking out the window at the Elephant Crossing hotel. $40 room, good choice. Pretty decent weather for September so far. We rode around the area a couple days. The day we left it was starting to cloud up. I stayed in V V for a dollar in '99. Different scene now. |
| Afternoon kayaking on the Song river. Backpackers go "tubing" along here and usually arrive in town in the evening. (Too late sometimes). |
| "Friends" re-runs are par for the course at a few "TV bars" SBT |
| Leaving Vang Vieng and heading north, probably to Phu Khoun |
| Noodle stop in the town of Kasi. |
| End of the valley and starting to climb hills |
| Stop in a village halfway up the pass. Lots of curious Hmong kids. |
| A favorite viewpoint draped in clouds. Photo-ops dampened =( |
| In Phu Khoun at the crossroads of routes 13&7. Our stop for tonight |
| There are three guesthouses in town. This is simply "Phukhoun GH" |
| "Tonglouher Muayialue" guesthouse (that's a mouthful) |
| Next to our guesthouse had been some landslides. I didn't sleep too well that night, thoughts of sliding down the valley. |
| Room at the Phu Khoun GH. Very basic but a great viewpoint. We stayed here a few years ago in April and at 1400 meters any month can be cool. It rained buckets this night. |
| The "Xaipavong" guesthouse has good food downstairs >> |
| Speaking of food, how about snacking on bee larvae |
| ...or crisp tweety birds on a stick? |
| In the end we opted for tasty chicken with ginger, garlic and stir-fried veg. and cold Bia Lao. Yummy! |
| Misty morning scene out the window turning into a blazing sunrise |
| An all too common sight on Laos roads - broken down bus |
| A pretty chilly ride that day. We decided to head for the comforts of Luang Prabang, about a 4 hour ride on roller coaster roads past many villages. Gorgeous if a bit cool. I only had shorts but the raincoat was handy. |
| Private songthaew to Nong Khai - 60km, 600 baht |
| Refreshing break away from the city |
| Our Honda FTR is still proving to be a good choice. It's a "one-lunger" with low-end torque and big grippy tires. Very capable on/off road |
| Nice sunset on the floating Mutmee bar |