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Published: June 14th 2007
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Thursday June 14, 2007
Laos Motorbike Trip - Day 2 (Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang) 240Km Covered
By 8:30am we were filling up the gas tanks and ready to hit the road again. It had rained all night and we were hoping we would have another clear day of travel. Today would be a long day. We estimated it would be about 250Km to Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is a world heritage site that has turned into the premier tourist destination of northern Laos as it is connected to the outside world by paved highway 13 and an international airport. We were planning on staying there for 2 days. With the tanks filled, I decided to fill up the back tire with some air and pulled up to a makeshift mechanic shop right next to the gas station. I turned off the bike and after getting the air, it wouldn’t start. With no kick-start we were dependent on the starter button. I feared that the rain had caused the starter to fritz out. We all looked nervously at each other while I kept trying to get the bike started. The mechanic that had filled my tire for free
gave us a nervous look as the starter just kept clicking. I don’t think he wanted to get involved with us. But, now he was stuck. *Mechanic #2* He quickly surveyed the situation and pulled out an electrical wire and connected the starter directly to the battery. To my surprise it worked. I tried to pay him something but he wouldn’t take it. 15 minutes of free mechanic work…unheard of in the Western world. We counted our blessings that it had happened in a mechanic’s shop, took a picture of Daragh and me with him and moved along. Not more than 10 minutes out of Vang Vieng the rain started. Daragh and Jo stopped to put on their rain gear and Kelly and I took some pictures of the bike in front of the limestone karsts - see pics. Because of the rain we decided against visiting the waterfall and river that are the reason for Vang Vieng being on the tourist trail. Just as fast as the rain started it stopped again. The wet roads slowed our speeds, but we pushed on. By 10:45AM we had covered considerable ground and were ready to stop as we rolled into the
small town of Kasi. Enjoying some snacks and a cold beverage - our backsides thanked us. I bought some baked pumpkin seeds that went by the name of M-16. The packaging had machine guns on it. I hoped they would keep me alert and on my game. Unfortunately, they weren’t very good. Daragh took this break to place plastic bags on his feet. Another great picture. He would be the one laughing later. Just outside of Kasi the views were amazing. As the Lonely Planet tells us “…the 44km section of highway between Kasi and Muang Phu Khoun, which runs along a mountain ridge with excellent views, is an area where Hmong rebel attacks have been known to take place”. At every stop we made we were treated with genuine kindness and respect. They would wave and watch in amazement as we blazed through town. As if riding these monstrous bikes on unknown roads wasn’t dangerous enough - passing through these villages brought on a whole new series of challenges. Cows, water buffaloes, chickens, dogs, pigs, children, other motorists, were always a possible hazard as you rounded the next corner. Sometimes it was like a video game where different obstacles
would bounce out from behind random obstacles. Out of courtesy to the locals, and for our own general safety, we made it a practice to slow down considerably as we came into the various villages. Even with these safety precautions, I must admit there was more than one instance where we nearly purchased a few pigs and chickens. The pigs and dogs were really good at making a last minute change of direction towards the knobby tires. The cows and water buffaloes commanded more respect as they would stop right in the middle of the road. On multiple occasions we would have to kick it down to 5-10 mph and weave through a herd of large horned beasts of burden. It was usually the smaller ones that would get spooked and make a run for the ditch as we passed. I really wasn’t interested in purchasing a water buffalo in Laos. As the road became more and more scenic we were constantly tempted to stop for photo sessions. At one of these stops Daragh’s clutch cable came off. At first we were worried it was a critical snap of the cable, but after further inspection it had just come loose
from the engine fitting and we were laughing. Moments after this fix had been made the rains came hard. We road out and tried to get ahead of it, but it was to no avail. We were soaked. We stopped at a roadside hut and had some beverages and attempted to dry off as best we could. Daragh & Jo had a Lao phrasebook and it allowed for some interesting “conversations” along the way. It was always a bummer to pull up to these amazing stops and be unable to really communicate. I think we did a good job of at least making people smile along the way. After the rains passed we weaved our way along the amazing roads to the crossroads of route 13 and route 7 and continued north to Luang Prabang. We stopped for tuna sandwiches at a stop where all the buses stopped for lunch. It felt pretty good to pull up on the bikes and see all the tourists dragging themselves back onto the crowded bus. I know I would have been jealous of us had I been getting on that bus. The place we ate at had a “pet” monkey chained to a
tree back by the toilets. We were all in awe as the woman handed the monkey a Pepsi to drink and an orange juice. I felt bad for the poor guy….chained up and fed human food. You could tell he didn’t like being there. He knew exactly how far he could reach without choking himself. He had obviously been there for a while. We had seen a lot of these “pet” monkeys in SE Asia, but none in the wild. We fed him some bananas and moved out. The bikes were running great as we pulled into Luang Prabang, but the 240Km journey had tired us out. The girls found a place to stay and we had a nice Thai dinner that night.
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