Laos

After a night in yet another shabby Hotel, our massive detour and probably the bumpiest road we encountered on the entire trip; Vietnam showed us one of its rougher sides.

Another tricky border crossing

However, on the 10th of July not long before lunch time, we arrived at the border post. But there was a problem: Although we entered into Vietnam through an official border post, we had no proper documentation proving legal import of our bikes. This in a way rendered them illegal and that in a communistic country with strict immigration rules.

Worried but still optimistic we marched into the border post office. Consequentially the Vietnamese customs officer did see some issues with our bikes and took us in for a questioning. Luckily, it only took a short walk to the Lao border post to see if they would allow us in, a prolonged chat and being sent from one counter to the next, a photo of our entry and a 10$ fee for a "formality" and we were on our bikes past the Vietnamese post.

With Laos being a neighbor country of Thailand, entry was a much smoother story. But with the time it took to cross over from Vietnam, we had another hold up as the Laos post went for lunch.

Fortunately, there was a canteen where we could refuel and kill the time – Awesome. Better still, a group of Lao locals including a police officer invited us over to their table for a lovely chat about our motorbike trip and some beers (never seen that happen in a Western country).

Vieng Xai

Once through, our first destination was Vieng Xai. A very memorable stop where we got to learn a good bit about the country’s history, particularly the Vietnam War era. During which, in an attempt to stop the spread of communism and to suppress the inhabitants, Laos had fallen victim to severe bombing by the US (260 million bombs were dropped).


Located in the mountains and a maze of sandstone karsts, Vieng Xai was an ideal location to hide from the bombings. The entire area is littered with man made caves that were used as bomb shelters, protecting the locals and the royal leadership.

Although to us Laos seems to be as poor as Cambodia, the history of teamwork and the communistic system (we never saw any rich Lao people) have influenced the way the people behave. Especially in the remote areas we felt an inquisitive and positive atmosphere.

Twisty Bends

Back on the road a new adventure began. Particularly the North is very mountainous and sparsely populated.


On the well surfaced, narrow and twisty roads we entered motorbike heaven. One corner chases another with steep ascends and descends demanding all from engines and brakes. Our average speed partially dropped down to 40KM/h but having this much fun and with the stunning views at an altitude of up to 1700m, we found what must be one of the longest great roads ever.


An also very rewarding experience were the small villages where except for the arrival of a few motorized vehicles, life remained virtually unchanged since hundreds of years. Being so remote tourism luckily hasn’t arrived yet, making it a special occasion for the villagers to see 2 “long noses” on tour. With their reserved attitude, genuine smiles accompanied with shy waves they allowed us an insight into their lives yet not making us feel like intruders.


A wonderful experience we won’t forget and one part of the world we would certainly like to revisit again.

Meeting fellow "long noses"

However, we couldn’t drive through an entire country without visiting some of the more touristic places. And so we paid a visit to one of South East Asia’s more mystical places, the Plain of Jars.


Being in areas with a strong influx of westerners it was a welcome break for us to finally meet some people that speak a language we can understand. Quite by accident we met up with a group of fellow backpackers that wanted to see the sites and to do a tour around – Great. In an assembly of 6 we went for a drive to visit the sites and other places the area had to offer.


Although we all got along quite well we weren’t meant to stay together. With everyone having a different schedule we carried on on our own the next day. Back to the twisty roads which brought us to an overnight stop in one of the dodgiest towns we had come across until then – something where one might imagine finding Borat himself.