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.

Thakek to Xepon

The day started unsurprisingly with an exact damage check from last evening’s pothole incident and unfortunately with me having to get a replacement wheel.
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After getting the rear tire fixed and some breakfast it was time to head back towards Vietnam. To split the drive back to Da Nang in smaller chunks, I decided to stay in Xepon for the night.

The drive back to Xepon was pretty boring, aside from yet more visits to put air in my rear tire but I did make it to Xepon before the evening.

The Thakek Loop in a Day

Warning, this post contains plenty (too many?) photos of my Honda Wave so be warned.

The day started, as so many other days when I’m on a road trip, with a flat rear tire which needed fixing before I could set out to do the Thakek Loop.

The Thakek Loop, or simply ‘The Loop’, is one of the more famous roads and main things to do in Laos. It’s a 330-420km circular loop (depending if you do the back and forth to the famous Konglor cave).

Most people do it in 3-4 days and get to visit plenty of caves, some waterfalls and swimming spots along the way.

Not really having 3 days at my disposal but still wanting to do the loop, I figured I’ll just do it in one day and skip some of the caves and waterfalls. After all, I’ve seen plenty of caves and waterfalls before so after a while I don’t feel the need to stop at all of them anymore. I rather enjoy the ride on my bike and scenery.

The route is in one word breathtaking, the scenery is great, the road makes for a fun ride with the ups and downs and nice corners. So I can fully recommend you do it but maybe taken 2-3 days instead of 1 days for it.

While the distance wasn’t that long, plenty of stops for photography and some to top up the air in my tire, meant the drive took quite a bit longer than expected.

Now, you might have heard or read about terrible road conditions on the Loop but the road is in pretty good condition and is mostly new so don’t worry about any mud filed paths you might have heard about.

There are places with some massive potholes though, which can swallow you and your bike up if you’re not careful (more on that later) but for the most part it’s a smooth ride.

I’ve been to Laos a few times now and have done a few different loops, took some scenic and some challenging roads but none were as much fun as the Thakek Loop and I wish I would have had 2 days for it to do it in a more laid back way.

Still, if you’re in Laos you have to do the Loop on a motorbike, it’s worth it.

The initial plan was to either get back to Thakek before it got dark or stay somewhere overnight. Things changed when I kept stopping for photos and had to drive slow to find an open petrol station before running out of gas.

Things took a turn for the worse though when I hit a big pothole at about 65km/h and it managed to break some spokes off my rear wheel and bend the rim, too.

This meant the 40km drive back to Thakek ended up taking quite a bit longer and was more difficult than planned.

It will also mean I will have to replace the rear wheel in the morning (photos of the damage in the next post).

To Thakek Again

I’ve been to Laos too many times already but it’s close and convenient for a visa run so here I was heading back to Thakek.

The last days have seen a lot of rain so I was worried it would be a wet drive to Laos, but aside from a few scattered showers it stayed mostly dry.

Not wanting to risk the rain, I decided to take the short route to the border and from there it’s been nice and sunny.

The drive from Densavanh at the border to Thakek is pretty boring and uneventful, a bit dusty in palaces where they are working on the road but it’s mostly straight.

I arrived in Thakek around dinner time for a nice curry and a beer Lao.

The Worst Road

Today’s drive was supposed to go to Salavan and be pretty easy, too. Sure, at 290km it is a way but shouldn’t have been a big problem. It was also the last full day in Laos for this trip so I was looking forward to get some BBQ chicken and a big Beer Lao in the evening.

We left a bit later in the morning after having a relaxed breakfast and a bit of a quiet morning.

On the way we even stopped for coffee and Beer Lao breaks, it was during one of these Beer lao breaks that we had the idea to take a shortcut and a more scenic route.

This turned out to be quite a mistake and what started off as a bumpy but nice ride on a dirt road through small villages ended up being a long and muddy journey we didn’t expect or enjoy much.

After stopping for another break in a small village and talking with the locals, I had another flat tire and needed to change the tube again. This was maybe a sign to turn back and take the better road.

We continued on this road however and it soon became muddy, full of rocks, slippery mud, even huge holes where the ground gave in and some wobbly or completely broken bridges.

To make things more challenging it also got dark and the longer we went on this road the worse it became.

We were still over 20km away from the next bigger village, it was past 9pm and with an average speed of 2km/h it didn’t look like we were going to make it to Salavan or even any guesthouse in a reasonable timeframe.

We had to stop every few meters and try to solve the puzzle of which way to drive or push the bikes through the mud. The locals didn’t have any issues with this and were driving past us without issues.

At around 1km from the village we were hoping would have a guesthouse we almost got stuck in the mud but after a few tries managed to get through it and found the only guesthouse in the village.
We and the bikes were completely covered in mud, tired and hungry but no place served food at 11pm so we had to make do without dinner.

Usually I enjoy these roads and the challenge they present but this was too much and took too long so towards the end it became more annoying than fun.

Thakek to Savannakhet

After the long drive yesterday, I didn’t want to drive too much today. The closest destination was Savannakhet.

I didn’t think much of Savannekhet when I went there 4 years ago but figured it’s worth another look to see if and how much it changed.

Instead of taking the main road, we drive on the smaller road right next to the Mekong for the nicer views.

It was definitely worth it and not only more scenic but also more relaxed to drive there.

Aside from a small section which ended up a bit bumpy and muddy thanks to some puddles the road was in good condition.

Savannakhet hasn’t changed all that much but seems a bit less run down than it did 4 years ago and they seem to have got the stray dogs problem in check.

While it’s still not my favorite city in Laos, Savannakhet is at least ok to spend a night in or go to the consulate here instead of Paksen or Vientianne.

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.

Atapeu to Da Nang to Hong Kong

I knew this was going to be a long day. Waking up at 6am in Attapeu, I had to drive back the 360km to Da Nang, repack my bag and catch my 6pm flight to Hong Kong.

Since I couldn’t take any chances or delays with the borders or roads, I went back the same way I came, via Bo Y.

I am not usually one to get up too early but whenever I do, it’s always worth it. The sunrise and morning fog make for some great photos, especially when driving around the mountains.

Despite being in a rush, I did stop to take quite a few photos on my way to the border. I figured that should I miss my flight at least I’d have some nice photos to show for it.

Crossing the border was again no problem at all and very fast, not many people that early in the morning and the border guards were all friendly. Well, aside from the guy at the exit of the border area who was a bit grumpy so it seems they always find the grumpy guys to put there on the Vietnamese side.

I made good time, despite taking photos but to avoid any delays, I didn’t take that many photos once I crossed the border and focused more on driving.

I made it back to rainy Da Nang just after lunch, a bit later than I would have ideally liked but it gave mea time to freshen up, get some rest and lunch before heading to the airport.

The flight was pleasant enough and arrived early in Hong Kong so that was nice as it gave me some extra time to take some photos on my walk to my hotel.

I left my hotel booking for the last minute so I ended up staying in a nice enough hostel but it must be the smallest room and most expensive room (given the size) I stayed at in Asia. Still, it was located right in Mong Kok so ideal for what I had in mind for my Hong Kong trip.

It will certainly be a nice change again to walk everywhere and take photos instead of taking my motorbike everywhere.

A Day in Sanamxai

Today was all about waiting, the mechanic was working most of the day to get the Click running again.

The good news was that the part did indeed arrive in the morning as promised and it was now just about him putting the bike together again.

Sanamxai is a tiny village and there’s not much to do so the day was mostly drinking coffee and beer Lao while relaxing.

The Click got put back together at around 4pm so it was too late in the day to go anywhere but head back to Atttapeu once more.