After arriving from k.l. to Hanoi,Vietnam on the 7/2/2009the first mission was to hire some motorbike's,we tracked down a cheap place to hire,six dollars a day so we hired two bikes for two days.The 2nd tour of duty was a lot easier with the traffic,it was'nt so daunting and we launched straight into it! Purchased a bike helmet designed like an American marine helmet with full camouflage and netting!,which i fixed a helmet camera to.We got some strange looks,ha.ha.,but i made sure i was wearing a tee shirt with there national flag o
n the front!! just in case.Riding around was a blast and we visted the war museum we missed last time which was very intresting,
It was a bit cooler than last time but far from brass monkeys!
From Hanoi,we flew to Luang Prahbang,Laos where the plan was to hire bikes for a week and travel north. We found a great rental shop,which was also a great coffee 'n' cake shop as well as a well stocked western style supermarket with a great guy ,jules who was running a very busy motorbike rentals as a side line,we ended up getting a Suzuki 200cc Van Van bike for 22$ a day.The bike had huge tyres that seemed to be made for the potholed Laos roads! We did make a big mistake with our luggage that we would pay for later! we loaded up our packpacks on the back rack,where we discovered about an hour into the trip we were carrying to much!,so if we could make it to the town we wanted to stop at for the night we would leave one bag behind at the hot
el and pick it up on our return a week later. 
We tried to follow the minor road out of Veintiene north but after a while we lost the road and ended up going along some really dusty roads through some farming lands where we stopped in a village for a break which was amusing for the village shop owner,we carried on, then the dusty road unexpectedly spat us back on the main road! With some time lost we hit on to the stop for the night Vieng vaing.The scenery was getting good and mountain ranges started to appear in front of us,the road was starting to snake up the mountains,i'm sure i was wearing a smile a Cheshire cat would be proud of!
The road just kept going up and up until it plained of and came down a bit and we rolled into Vieng Vaing.
From Hanoi,we flew to Luang Prahbang,Laos where the plan was to hire bikes for a week and travel north. We found a great rental shop,which was also a great coffee 'n' cake shop as well as a well stocked western style supermarket with a great guy ,jules who was running a very busy motorbike rentals as a side line,we ended up getting a Suzuki 200cc Van Van bike for 22$ a day.The bike had huge tyres that seemed to be made for the potholed Laos roads! We did make a big mistake with our luggage that we would pay for later! we loaded up our packpacks on the back rack,where we discovered about an hour into the trip we were carrying to much!,so if we could make it to the town we wanted to stop at for the night we would leave one bag behind at the hot
el and pick it up on our return a week later. 
We tried to follow the minor road out of Veintiene north but after a while we lost the road and ended up going along some really dusty roads through some farming lands where we stopped in a village for a break which was amusing for the village shop owner,we carried on, then the dusty road unexpectedly spat us back on the main road! With some time lost we hit on to the stop for the night Vieng vaing.The scenery was getting good and mountain ranges started to appear in front of us,the road was starting to snake up the mountains,i'm sure i was wearing a smile a Cheshire cat would be proud of!
The road just kept going up and up until it plained of and came down a bit and we rolled into Vieng Vaing.got sorted with a hotel and then went out to look for dinner,we walked down to the fast flowing river with a rickety bridge crossing it with the sun setting behind the rugged mountains,breathtaking stuff!
We soon found that the budget backpackers who arrive on an overnight buses from Thailand have also discovered this little piece of paradise and have spoilt the vibe of the town with loud music,the simpsons playing non'stop in the bars and restaurants and the locals really catering for western tastes,shame really.
Having packed light,just one bag now,with our freinds deb'n'al shedding the biggest load,we arranged with the hotel to hang on to our bags until are return,the bikes handled a lot better now!
Having a big day ride in front of us to get to Luang Phrabang before nightfall we had an early breakfast and pulled into a fuel station to fill up,just as we were pulling out a local shouted to al' and was pointing to al' back tyre,shit,it was flat!! I rode up the road a bit and found someone who could fix it in what was a shop,repair and house hut on side of road,because the rear tyre was so wide he struggled to get tyre off the rim and had to take it to a car tyre shop to break the bead,with tyre off and a 3 inch nail removed,there was three holes to patch! While he was patching the tube his neighbour was running a dentist shop in the hut next door with his clients spitting there mouthwash straight out the window!!An hour and a half later we were on our way.The scenery was spectacular!
From following the river through the montains we started to ascend up and up,with tight snaking roads that went on for ever,awesome,you had to keep your eye on the corners because you could have met anything around the blind bend,trucks,buses,potholes,gravel ,dogs,cows to kids making sweeping brushes from the long grasses! We stopped for lunch in a hut that was under constuction for a bit of shade when debbie produced
the lunch!!
We ended up giving the bar'b'qued rat to the family next door.We ventured on an upward with the veiws of the Laos mountain all around us.We reached the peak and it was almost all down hill with a few rises here and there,i turned off the engine and coasted down to save a bit of fuel. We did see some H'Mong guerrilla's with what looked like machine guns watching the traffic! not a place to break down! We stopped to watch the locals make some brushes on the side of the road and try to help them,it was hard work,you had to bash the grass stems on the road to remove the seeds,it was hot and dusty work but we had laugh with them. We rode in to Luang Prahbang late in the afternoon and had a cold beer watching the locals set up there market stalls,which turned out to be some great market stalls,we then went to find a room for the night and found an old french colonial house which we ended up staying for four night!
Each morning,early,the monks pass on there way to collect there alms.
Having a big day ride in front of us to get to Luang Phrabang before nightfall we had an early breakfast and pulled into a fuel station to fill up,just as we were pulling out a local shouted to al' and was pointing to al' back tyre,shit,it was flat!! I rode up the road a bit and found someone who could fix it in what was a shop,repair and house hut on side of road,because the rear tyre was so wide he struggled to get tyre off the rim and had to take it to a car tyre shop to break the bead,with tyre off and a 3 inch nail removed,there was three holes to patch! While he was patching the tube his neighbour was running a dentist shop in the hut next door with his clients spitting there mouthwash straight out the window!!An hour and a half later we were on our way.The scenery was spectacular!
From following the river through the montains we started to ascend up and up,with tight snaking roads that went on for ever,awesome,you had to keep your eye on the corners because you could have met anything around the blind bend,trucks,buses,potholes,gravel ,dogs,cows to kids making sweeping brushes from the long grasses! We stopped for lunch in a hut that was under constuction for a bit of shade when debbie produced
the lunch!!We ended up giving the bar'b'qued rat to the family next door.We ventured on an upward with the veiws of the Laos mountain all around us.We reached the peak and it was almost all down hill with a few rises here and there,i turned off the engine and coasted down to save a bit of fuel. We did see some H'Mong guerrilla's with what looked like machine guns watching the traffic! not a place to break down! We stopped to watch the locals make some brushes on the side of the road and try to help them,it was hard work,you had to bash the grass stems on the road to remove the seeds,it was hot and dusty work but we had laugh with them. We rode in to Luang Prahbang late in the afternoon and had a cold beer watching the locals set up there market stalls,which turned out to be some great market stalls,we then went to find a room for the night and found an old french colonial house which we ended up staying for four night!
Each morning,early,the monks pass on there way to collect there alms.
We did a ride to a lesser known waterfall,and ended up eating dust most of the way! as it turned out we found another water fall that had to be reached by canoe which was recomended by another couple we met who were also on moterbikes and it turned out to be an awesome trip!
Chris 'n' Deb went for a swim to get rid of some of the dust,we were to late to see the elephants but the trip back up the fast flowing river was magic.we did find a great waterfall with a tar road all the way the next day where we spent most of the day,there was also a bear sanctuary there with a cache hidden where there used to be a enclosure for a rescued tiger,phet who sadly passed away last year.These waterfalls were very popular and very scenic and we had a great lunch and the girls had an afternoon nap!
It was time to leave to get to the plain of jars,the girls decieded to catch a bus while me and al' rode the bikes there.
END OF PART ONE.
