Back to Da Nang

It was supposed to be a relatively quick and uneventful drive back to Da Nang. The reason or staying overnight inn Xepon was after all to shorted the distance of the return journey.

Well, after topping up the air in my rear tire (again), it was supposed to last for the 40 km back to Vietnam, where I wanted to check it further.
Well, it almost made it but fell short just a few km before the border so I had to resort of pushing it a few km to the next mechanic.

Back in Vietnam it never felt like the new tube was working that well and as it had to come I had another flat before reaching Lang Co. So one more repair was in order before I could make it back a few hours later than planned.

The 622km from Da Nang to Thakek

In another personal record breaking attempt to see how many km I can drive on my Honda Wave in a day, this is my personal best. Sure, it’s only 3km more than my last record but more is more.

The idea was to use the Vietnamese Independence Day weekend (Happy Independence Day to my Vietnamese friends!) to get out and go for a road trip to Laos.

Since I (only) like Thakek as a city in Laos it was the obvious destination but I wanted to take the scenic route. This took me from Da nang over road QL14G to Prao, from there on the Ho Chi Minh trail to Khe Sanh via A Luoi, crossing the border at Lao bao and heading across Laos to Thakek.

The journey started off with a lot of holiday traffic, road QL14G leads through a hot springs resort and past quite a few waterfalls and other streams so it’s popular with Vietnamese on weekends and holidays.

Once in Prao the traffic disappeared and I had he most scenic part of the journey almost to myself so I could enjoy not only the winding road but also the amazing scenery alongside it. The section between Prao and A Luoi is one of the most scenic ones on the Ho Chi Minh Road.

After a lunch and coffee break in A Luoi, I made good progress on my way to Khe Sanh until the rear of my bike started to feel a bit loose in corners. It didn’t take long to find out that there was not enough air in the tire so a top up was needed.

Unfortunately the top up didn’t fix the problem so I had to get the tube fixed or replaced, the next mechanics I found were all closed so I had to make it all the way up to Khe Sanh until I found someone to replace the tube.

Another delay occurred at the border crossing where it took longer than expected so this made it unlikely I would get to Thaek before 8pm as planned.

The road in Laos was an easy drive as long as there was still light. It got more difficult once it got dark since not all roads have markings and dogs like to sleep or wander in the middle of the street.

I did make it to Thakek just after 9:30pm so having left Da nang at 8am it wasn’t too long of a day overall, although I was very happy once I got some dinner and a big bottle of Beer Lao.

Lao Bao to Hue

After a coffee in the morning it was time to head to Lao Bao and cross into Laos for a very brief stay.

Laos is not my favorite country to visit but given it’s so close I would visit it more often just for fun if they would stop charging $35 for a visa and instead give a free 2 week visa.

Still, this time it had to be done and it is still cheaper to do this than fly out somewhere to renew my visa in Vietnam.

The ride back to Hue was nice and without rain. Lots of great driving on the roads from Khe Sanh to A Luoi and then the road to Hue is also better now and nicer to drive on.

Da Nang to Khe Sanh

My usual drive on Thursday takes me from Da Nang to Hue. This time however it was just the start for a road trip to Khe Sanh.

It started with great weather and a nice drive to Hue and from there halfway to A Luoi, when it started pouring down.

While it mostly stopped raining after a lunch break in A Luoi, it was still a bit mixed in terms of weather.

The clouds and rain however made for some great views of the jungle covered mountains.

Despite the rain and taking it easy at times, I got to Khe Sanh before it got dark.

Tet Road Trip – Da Nang to Khe Sanh

Having some time off over the Tet holidays, I decided to go on a road trip with a friend.

I started off in Da Nang and drive to Hue to meet up with him and start the first stage of the trip, the ride to Khe Sanh.

Unfortunately the start of the trip was cloudy with some rain but we were in good spirits it would stop raining.

The rain did intermittently stop but it was overall still pretty much a rain drenched ride along the HCM road via A Luoi all the way to Khe Sanh.

The scenery was still great as well as the roads are always nice to drive along so the rain didn’t spoil the trip.

Suoi Parle

A hot and sunny day so I went with some of my staff to cool down at a waterfall near A Luoi.

With it being Sunday and the summer holidays on, it was as expected packed and busy on the way there. While stopping for a coffee, I almost ended up being invited to a wedding party, which would have been the end of the trip.

The waterfall was nice and  it was fun to go for a swim.

After cooling off we continued on to A Luoi where we had a late lunch before heading back to Hue.

To Lao Bao and Back

Despite all my back problems recently, I decided to drive to Laos and to Vientiane to extend my visa. This being around 800km away, I wanted to make sure my back and bike are up to the task.

Since I had a day off, I figured I do a test drive to Lao Bao and back to see how the drive is going and how my back is holding up.

The day started a bit cold and foggy but it soon cleared up and became very hot. The first destination was A Luoi and from there up north to Khe Sanh and Lao Bao.

On the maps, I saw a smaller border crossing in La Lay and since it was on the way I wanted to find out how the roads are and if I can take my bike into Laos without problems there.

Turns out that it’s no problem there but the road on the Lao side is not great so it will take longer to get to Pakse or Savannakhet. Another downside was that I would need a Lao visa in advance since they don’t offer it at the border.

Still, happy with my finding and knowing I would make use of this crossing at  some point for one of my trips, I set off to Lao Bao.

I arrived in Lao Bao in the afternoon and after enjoying a late lunch and coffee, I went to the border to ask.
Finding the same two grumpy guys as 2 years ago, they told me no motorbikes into Laos. After some back and forth they decided they actually don’t really care but didn’t think the Laos border guards will let me through with a motorbike but I could just get a Laos visa for the La Lay crossing.

So the end result was to just show up in a few days and see what their current mood was, after that I left and made my way back to Hue via A Luoi again and driving at night across the mountains was certainly fun although not easy.

To A Luoi and Back Again

I’ve had the morning off so it seemed like a good idea top get out of Hue for a few hours and take the motorbike for a drive.

I wanted to go to A Luoi for a while now and this seemed like a good time to go there. It was also a good opportunity to test the Olympus TG-4 mounted on my motorbike again.

Two yars ago part opf the road there was under construction and this is now finished and very nice to drive but the rest of the way is the same as before with the potholes in the same places still.

It was a great day out and I enjoyed the drive although I didn’t fully charge the Olympus so ran out of battery a few times, lucky it charges over USB.

What I learned today is  that I need to make a proper mount for the camera so I can take photos manually rather than relying on the interval mode.

Day 170 – A Luoi Views

A bumpy ride over a narrow and partly still under construction road from Hue will lead you to the Ho Chi Minh Trail and just a bit to the north lies the town of A Luoi.

While the town itself is nothing special, the valley it lies in provides spectacular views and the small roads leading to the rice fields provide a goo opportunity to see some of the local people.

There are not many tourists here and given that even Vietnamese struggle to understand the local dialect, it makes for a great experience. The locals all seem friendly and specially the kids like posing for pictures.

After taking the wrong turn and having to go a longer way to get here, there was not too much time so I could only take photos in two places before it was time to head back and make it to Hue before it got dark. It is a 160km round trip and over the bumpy road it will take you quite a while to get there and back but it’s worthwhile.

I enjoyed the time there and it was great for photography, despite it being a bit brief. Maybe next time I will incorporate it into my journey and spend the night here to have more time for photography.