Veit nam for the third time 27/2/2010

Arrived back into Hanoi  again and checked into the majestic hotel where we have stayed before because of the location and the friendliest staff,it was a lot cooler and a bit drizzly,the first thing we had to do was hire a bigger bike for a week for the ride up to Sapa

We secured a XR250 from this place,Flamingo travel,we were looked after by a Mr Pink who spoke good English,we were all set to pick the bike up early Monday morning.

We hired a cheap scooter for a couple of days,So we revisited the war museum and somehow managed not to pay getting in,by having lunch next door

We also went and seen the man Ho Chi Min himself ,who was under very heavy guard with no photos allowed,Chris had to buy a cheap shawl to cover up here exposed arms before we were allowed in.

Monday morning came and there was light rain,shit we only had light shower proof jackets,oh well ,we left one back pack at the hotel and crammed the essentials into just one bag.

After getting the bike and filling up on petrol we headed out of Han oi,it took the best part of two hours until we were finally clear of the city and it had stopped raining and the sun came out and it was getting warmer.The scenery was getting spectacular with green rice fields with karst mountains thrown in,we were having a hard time trying to find anywhere to stop and have some food in the towns,but if you were after a new mobile phone ,no problem!!! We finally found a bakery and the cakes were awesome and we watched the girls decorate some birthday cakes will we sat and devoured ours with a cold drink.

we made it to Son La in the afternoon and found a ok hotel,they definitely do not see alot of westerners out this way.We scrubbed up and headed out for dinner and couldn't find anything that resembled a restaurant,bizarre,we then started to walk back to the hotel and found a place with a waitress who could speak broken English and had a great meal,so cheap as well.

The next morning we passed on the breakfast which was some kind of fatty meat served cold to us!,the coffee was good though and we loaded the bike up to get going and the battery was flat,great!,i kicked started it and it came to life ,relief!

We were heading towards Dien Bien an outpost border town where the french finally got booted out after a fiercest battle back in the fifties,there were alot of monuments for this battle.

Dien Bien was a hot and dusty town with only a handful of westerners,a hotel costing $20 or $6 were the same so went with the cheapest ,it the worst we had stayed in so we stayed out late and had a few beers so we didn't have to stay in the room to long!

We got up really early and left in the dark,it was freezing and we wore everything thing we had,the bike headlight was useless so we strained to see where we were going and i ended up following the tail light of a local on a scooter ,i hoped he was going the right way!.It soon got light and warmed up to the most breath taking scenery,we were riding through the biggest construction site in south east Asia,they were flooding a valley for a massive hydro dam

Some of the time we weren't sure if we were even on the right track,as there was no road left,it was dusty,dirty sometimes muddy but it was fun and we started to climb out of the valley in the afternoon up into the mountains but it was still hot.

The road just went up and up all afternoon,with no roadside barriers and a bloody long way down if you went over the edge,this was Viet nams highest road,finally we hit our destination Sapa

Luang Phrabang Lao, 2nd time around/march 2010

 

We arrived in to town early afternoon and started looking for accommodation and found a nice place called Sokidee ,the only trouble was that the first night we had to stay in there budget room which we christened the electric shock room! Water from upstairs shower  was running into our light socket!!!

We went out for the day and when we came back we were moved into there new room which was surperb,the best of the whole trip,we didn't want to leave.

We had the monks collecting there alms in the morning parading past our court yard.

We rode out to the waterfalls and saw the rescued bears,the water was to cold to go for a swim though

We took the bike on a ferry to the other side where there was a temple high on the hill,we had a rough track to get to it and not many tourists at all visited,it was very run down but in a way very peaceful and we just chilled out a bit and soaked in the atmosphere watching the river traffic that looked over to Luang Phrabang.

We bought a boat ticket to go and see the Pak Ou caves up river,the trip up river was spectacular and we stopped off at a whiskey village where we saw the whiskey distillery being made with large pottery jars.

We arrived at the caves which were busy but were very picturesque filled with centuries old buddas,there were some very cute children selling birds to be released and other little trinkets,we walked up the steep steps to the temple carved out of a cave the gates were very old

On the way back the guide had trouble with the boat ,he couldnt get the throttle to work from the steering wheel at the front so had to work the V8 engine from the back while i steered the boat,it was great fun and the rest of the passengers loved it too!

The next day we booked on a tour for a elephant trek and a bath afterwards,the mahout lead us through the bush and over to the over side of the river where we gave the elephant a bath in the deeper water,Chris went first and got abousutly soaked but she loved every minute of it!

Next off to Hanoi Vietnam

1977 xt500 restoration

My favorite bike when i was at school,owned a couple back in England,now these are vintage and getting more and more rare!
Decieded to strip the bike down for a resto project

Back to Lao for another tour part 2

Well woke up in the morning And I was feeling a bit better and decided we would push on up to Luang Phrabang. We packed all the bags onto the bike for the winding road up the mountains, a road that I really enjoyed riding last time we here,lots of switcbacks up and down an endless mountain range,has long as I kept the fluids up I would ok,right? Well we both got in the groove with the bike and we chewed up the miles,I was feeling tired but the vistas kept my mind off things in the rear plumbing department!!

We got to place that had a rest stop cafe that was made by pushing the top of the hill with a bulldozer,we had a cold coke and a chocolate bar overlooking a fantastic view down the mountains,we went back to the bike and I glanced across to the loos and then by magic there was a little grumbling in my stomach,that was enough I was no longer in control with my bum,I had to go ,well I only just made it!! Well I was nervous now with the rest of the journey.

We made it to Muang Phu Khun and stopped and had a tastiest pineapple ever,it's a y junction town with the other road going to Phonsavan where the plain of jars are.The town is a real hub with every traveller stopping for refreshments,there is also a local market where they sale some strange little animals??

We saddled up and pushed on to Luang Phrabang,up here is bandit country but now the Lao army has posts up here they are very quite,but we did see a bandit standing on a hillside looking down at the road below with what looked like a machine gun!!

Further on in the day the bike started to play up,missing occasionally and back firing,until going up one hill it stopped completely and wouldn't start again,I whipped of the back pack that was strapped to the tank and discovered we were low on fuel f@&k!,we were in the middle of nowhere on a mountain road,miles and miles from the nearest hut,let alone a town with fuels,I had a idea that if I lied the bike down on it's side so all the fuel would go over to the side of the tank where the fuel tap was because it was lower,we stood up the bike and it started,we strapped the bag back on to tank and got the he'll out of there with our finger crossed ,we coasted down hills with the engine to save fuel and then a hour later it started again but that last hour I was pondering on the bike what the problem could be.I came up with the conclusion that with the backpack srappted on the tank it was blocking the air vent on the filler cap and therefore was creating a vacuum,so basically starving the car by of fuel!,I took the bag off and it cured the problem,we cruised into Luang Phrabang with a sigh of relief!

Pottsville sept 2010

We all had a great time shareing a house,going for walks on beach,fishing, kite flying and relaxing together as a family