May 6, 2013 - Luang Prabang

Ya, the simple side turned into a breakdown about bugs and resulted in me leaving the hotel for another, which was actually pretty nice. There has been some crazy rain storms around here at night. Fast and furious. The arrival to Laos and transfer to the slow boat was a little rough I won't lie. Three hours in the Visa line, paid to use the most horrifying bathroom I've ever seen in my life (if you could even call it that) The slow boat ride was again an experience to say the least. Kinda fun though, good scenery. Boarded with our new...

Mar 7, 2013 - 4000 Islands

Tuesday 5 March to Don Khong Island…a long hot dusty 108ks ride time5hr:11 best average of 20.6kph Pete had to make the decision whether to bike back to Pakse where he might get more bike parts in case of another breakdown or to continue with the ride and pray for no more problems. He searched bike shops nearby but there was nothing. We encouraged the others to catch the ferry without us and we caught them up within an hour at a small village where they were stopped for cold drinks. Here we met some cute wee girls and their grandmother, the...

Mar 4, 2013 - Pakse to Champasak

Monday 4th March 58ks Pakse to Champasak , Wat Phou temple We got up early to farewell Luc and Christian on their way to Bangkok. Had a quick stop at the town Wat and then rode along the river and over the Lao-Nippon Bridge. New bitumen was being rolled at the bridge end, very squidgy under the wheels and we have probably left our tyre tracks… would not have been a good thing to fall off into hot tar! Temperature very hot already at 10am. At the turnoff we passed military looking guys at a toll booth who waved us through. To our left we...

Mar 3, 2013 - Pakse, tour on the Bolavan Plateau

Sunday Mar 3rd tour on the Bolavan Plateau 8am-6pm Last night was sooooo hot , was not much sleep had and just as well we had an easy day being driven around. We had no energy for biking but it did feel weird to travel so quickly in the van. Our guide, Kinoy was very humorous, and loved joking around with Pete. He is from one of the villages we visited, he moved to Pakse 4 yrs ago when he was 18yrs to work with tourists to learn English, and of course he speaks a little german and french too. He works 6 days week at sabaidy 2 and ‘never...

Mar 1, 2013 - 1st and 2nd March in Pakse

Friday March 1st 114k to Pakse , 6hr.30 ride time, Av speed 17.5 Pete did a repair job on the mossie screens before we went to bed last night, so we could sleep with the window open but around midnight Nickie wakes cos she’s been bitten on her backside. Then we see the huge gaps around the door, so up went the mossie net over the bed. Nickie spent a few hours listening to the many sounds of the geckos, they chuckle and gargle and bark, noisy things , ..not much sleep was had with a the biggest day ahead. At 7.15am the sun was a magenta...

Feb 25, 2013 - Paksan to Thakhet

Saturday Feb 23 87ks to Paksan Nickies sleep was disturbed with people coming and going to the hotel pete had earplugs in and was oblivious. . Outside our window a truck was left with motor running and blinker flashing for about 15 mins, there were noises in the room next door, then the truck drove off…mmm… maybe the massage service beside the restaurant was offering other services?? And this fellow’s need was so urgent he left the truck engine running!? We were glad to have stopped there, because there was very little along the next 20ks,...

Feb 22, 2013 - Vientiane to Paksan

Thursday Feb 21 24 ks into Vientiane The traffic into the city was busy and smelly, lots of diesel trucks need mechanical work. We had to be very aware of traffic from all sides, Nickie did a a lot of traffic control by gesturing, pointing and inner dialogue “ yeah you just see what happens if you pull out in front of me!!”. The narrow 2 way road morphed into 4 lanes and lo and behold!! The first traffic lights we have seen in Laos. We joined the scooters and other bikes to squeeze along the right lane of traffic and get to the front....

Feb 20, 2013 - Almost at Vientiane

Tues Feb 19 86ks -ride time 5hr:17 downhill mostly out of the mountains. The air felt so fresh this morning, following the rain through the night. We had to dodge muddy puddles and Nickie dropped her bike on the slippery boards on the bridge, when trying to avoid a headon with a tuk tuk. Nearly lost the suncream when it flew out of her front bag and skidded to within centimetres of going over into the river. Mama Sababa were happy to see us for our last meal with them. Here we talked again with Stuart, the civil engineer. He told us he has...

Feb 18, 2013 - Vang Vieng Day 2

Monday Feb 18 Vang Vieng 6k ride to some caves Had a great night sleep with the roll mat on top of the mattress. Breakfast at Mama Sababas, pancakes with pineapple, banana, choc syrup for Nickie. Eggs and bacon with salad and baguette for Pete. And great Lao coffee, it’s almost black but tastes rich and nutty, not bitter. Its Nickies favourite and we will think about posting some home for our new coffee machine . Tempting to have 2 cups, but that might be dangerous caffeine overload, for bike riding. We got talking with Stuart, a civil...

Feb 17, 2013 - Phoukhoun to Vang Vieng

Friday Feb 15 35km ride , 3hr 45 ride time. 30ks hitch on a ute to Phoukoun. A very fitful nights sleep as we were only metres from the road and the trucks rumbled past all night, if their brakes had failed we would be dead. Our “host” had very rowdy visitors and TV til 1.30pm, then the ‘man of the house” was a lumberjack snorer…..oh dear, even earplugs fail sometimes. However we were glad we stopped where we did as no room at the top of the hill. After about 3 ks of up and down and Nickie falling off her bike, (when trying to get back on...

Feb 15, 2013 - Top of the first mountain

Thursday Feb 14 On our bikes at last…45ks After spending an hour trying to find a bookstore to buy a Laos guide book (unsuccessfully) we headed out of town around 10am. 8 ks along, we diverted to Tad Sae waterfalls for lunch and then enjoyed an hour climbing in the cool jungle up the waterfall. Not a lot of water as it is the dry season but we could imagine how impressive it would be in the rainy season. Back onto the main road around 1pm, with the heat full on! Now the hills got serious!! And the heat was stifling, tar was melted on the...

Feb 14, 2013 - Luang Parbang

Auckland to Laos- Sunday February 10., The Air Malaysia flight, Auckland to Kuala Lumpur left on time at 2.40pm. Pete had to pay $40 for the extra kilo in his bike box, it must have been the extra pair of shoes he put in. Our panniers seem lighter and smaller than for our Europe trip, as we are only packing for 5 weeks and one season. Temperatures should range between 20 to 40C. Dinner, a spicy chicken curry and rice for Nickie and a beef curry for Pete,( Asian cuisine already!) was enjoyed with a celebratory Tiger Beer. Pete dozed and...