The Loop

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En route we'd read about a 450km round trip you can do by motorbike called 'The Loop'. It's a sort of box-shape route that takes you into the more remote areas of central Laos.

We checked in to the "Travelodge Hotel" (not the sort you're thinking of), and had a look through the piles of guestbooks written by those who had done The Loop.

Our initial research led us to conclude that 3 days was not long to complete such a distance, given the rugged terrain. Add to this the rainy season had just started and a lot of the route was on mud, and that Paula hadn't really done any off-road riding, and that the only maps we could find looked like it had been drawn by pirates, I had some concerns.

However, all the entries in the book said to see "Mr Ku" and he would sort us out. I half expected to find him pruning bonsai trees in his office and speaking in riddles, but after a quick chat in broken English Mr Ku said that we'd be better doing the trip with two semi-automatics, and grabbed his keys and disappeared.

For a split second I thought he was going to come back with two light machine guns and that we probably wouldn't be covered on our travel insurance.

I was equally surprised when he returned a few minutes later on a Korean-made 110cc scooter, designed primarily for trips to the shop, hence the basket on the front. He said not to worry and they'd cope with the trip, then pointed at some rough translations to Lao on the back of the map that might help if we got into trouble (one of which was 'I have a serious head wound').

He then produced a one-page disclaimer (in pt6 font) for me to sign, cheerfully popped my passport into his breast pocket and lit a cigar.

The more we read, the more concerned we got: Pounding rain stranding us on a mountainside, Paula not having ridden a bike with gears before, neither of us having ridden a shopping bike off-road before, me finding a helmet to fit my (as it turns out) abnormally shaped head, having an A4 map that looked like it should have pictures of dragons on it.

We'd taken the plunge now though, and we decided to buy provisions. After a trip into town we had a bag of balloons, some sweets and 2 disposable ponchos. Sorted. Paula did some road testing of her bike, and we packed a small bag each to take. (We both called our parents that evening, which was probably a subconscious thing). I even found a helmet made in about 1972 that fitted.

The photos tell the story; it turns out we had nothing to worry about. The weather was glorious (except for the very last 50km, but at least we got to use our ponchos). Yes we had numb bums, a couple of minor crashes, sunburn, got eaten alive by mosquitoes, saw a truck full of yelping puppies being taken for slaughter, but we didn't get lost or injure ourselves (badly), we had an evening bath in a river, rode a boat through a 7.5km cave, stayed with a Lao family in their home, swerved around a huge green snake weaving furiously across the road, and drove the single most amazing 40 km stretch of tarmac ever - see the video at http://www.flickr.com/photos/30278624@N02/4720236286/

We arrived back 3 days later exhausted, dirty, with half a pack of balloons, tender buttocks and a new found respect for Korean scooters.

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Photos

Our rides.
All shiny.

Man and machine.
Filling up before we set out.

Day 1 morning and a few caves.
Paula and some local kids, moments before putting them to work as guides

What you can't see
...is the kid on the branch to Paula's left bouncing up and down trying to make her fall off.

Local swimming spot.
There was one kid here when we arrived. We gave her a balloon and word quickly spread. Before we knew it, kids were crawling out of bushes and dropping out of trees to get one. I think one even emerged from underwater.

Early afternoon, day 1.
We knew the tarmac was about to run out, and could see a biblical thundercloud ahead.

...this one.
We missed it though, so didn't get to test the ponchos.

Up into the hills, where it went tarmac for a bit.
But not for long.

Spot Paula?
Eating up the miles. This stretch was particularly hard on les buttoques.

Early evening, day 1, guesthouse on stilts.
in a resettlement built after the expanding damn water flooded the original village.

That's the reservoir at the bottom of the street.
A walk around the village (just 2 streets). We spoke to someone who worked for the damn, and apparently the resettled families get a brand new free house.

Contender for funniest photo of the trip so far.
Paula and a dog share a beer after a hard day on the road.

The smile before the pain.
Setting out on day 2. Gravel just about to become mud and potholes for the next 67km.

This is Rory.
Also doing the loop, so we joined forces.

Mud, puddles and potholes.
Deemed impassable when it rains (especially by scooter). No-one fell off, although Xan did hit a rooster.

Paula, Xan & Rory.
Taking 5.

Bomb boats.
In the Vietnam war, US planes dropped their empty fuel tanks whilst they were on carpet bombing missions in Laos. Enterprising locals made boats out of them, and they're still going strong.