Lightening and Concrete - Last two weeks in Vietnam

A time for reflection as we're on the last two weeks in Vietnam. Saying that, I'm not feeling very reflective, just looking forward to the big journey ahead. We've been staying in a lovely apartment, courtesy of a very generous friend who's back in France during the summer. Must say we get some fabulous views over the city, we had a fabulous lightening storm night before last. Cleared the skies, and we have the rare opportunity to see the mountains that surround the city, but only appear once or twice a year through the pollution.

So, work is all finished, thinking back for me, it's been a varied time in Vietnam, with many different "phases"... Two years in Nha Trang, six months in Hanoi, almost two years in Ha Long City and the last almost two years based in Hanoi. Will likely write a few reflective thoughts over the next few weeks, but just wanted to share with the world how "special" Vietnam really is. Last night about midnight a large concrete truck arrived next door, and began an hour long pour of concrete, with all the accompanying shouting, banging etc. To me this is Hanoi - a loud city, a population that does not mind creating as much noise and chaos at possible, at any time of the day. It goes well with the city's slogan: "Hanoi - the city of peace".

Un avant-gout de notre tour du monde!

Alors voilà, ca y est le blog est enfin pret et rien de mieux pour l'inaugurer qu'une viree a moto au Laos! Un avant gout de notre tour du monde...

Notre periple en quelques chiffres:

• nombre de km parcourus = 2200 (mais seulement par deux membres sur trois de cette chevauchee fantastique!)
• nombre de pick-ups empruntes par Achim et sa super Honda = 3 (en deux jours, dont un sous la pluie battante au milieu de la nuit dans l'obscurite la plus totale...et le tout en pleine montagne au milieu de nulle part!)
• nombre de garagistes visites pour tenter de reparer la moto d'Achim = 6 … en trois jours!
• quantite d'assiettes de soupe de nouilles consommees = beaucoup trop petit-dej, dej et diner confondus! Avec quand meme une variante pour certains repas: laap et riz gluant!
• nombre d'heures passees assise sur la moto = beaucoup, beaucoup trop ...avec le record de 396 km de Phonsavan a Vientiane, et le tout en 11 heures!
• nombre de jours de repos = 2 a Vientiane ou nos fesses ont pu enfin avoir un peu de repit...merci la conference sur l'Ecotourisme...c'est quand meme pour ca qu'on y allait au depart!
• nombre de guesthouses laotiennes ou nous avons dormi = 5 (la premiere avec quelques cafards qu'il a fallu exterminer avant de se coucher!)

Mais quel fantastique periple a travers le Laos! Un voyage memorable, des paysages magnifiques et des gens super sympas... et pour vous quelques images en musique!

Et pour ceux qui voudraient prendre le temps de les regarder...sans la musique, il suffit de cliquer sur l'une des photos ou aller dans "Notre Album Photos" dans les liens en bas a gauche de votre ecran! Facile hein?! Enfin pour les details, il faut lire le post de Mike...in English of course!

...and for those who are far from being fluent in French including my beloved darling one :) here's a little recap of our trip in a few figures: 2200 km driven in just 10 days with only two days to rest our bums in Vientiane. Well, when I say 2200 km not for everybody since our good friend Achim spent a few hours at the back of pick-up trucks, and one night on a bus, his motorbike on the roof! We visited 6 garages in 3 days and only one mechanic accepted and managed to repair his bike!

We ate dozens of noodle soups for breakfast, lunch and dinner (well ok maybe not that many!)...and sometimes just to vary, we ordered some laap and sticky rice! And we stayed in wonderfully bizarre guesthouses, some we had to share with a few cockroaches which got exterminated before bedtime!

But what a great trip in Laos...just enjoy the movie and the pics now! For the pics, click on "Notre Album Photos" in the link section or click on one of the pics in our posts about Laos!

Motorbiking in Laos

Thought we'd begin the world adventure with a motorbike trip to Laos - all with the pretense of attending the World Ecotourism Conference in Vientiane. 2200km by bike through rural Vietnam and Laos, just fantastic. We'd heard so many stories about crossing the border with motorbikes, that in the end the "team" (us and our good friend Achim) just decided to try it out. After a good days drive we crossed the border at Na Meo, all required was a bit of friendly chit chat with the customs official, big smiles all round, and a stamping of our departure card (OK, 100,000d as well).

We'd made it! Quiet, empty country roads, gorgeous scenery, friendly locals and copious amounts of bia lao.First night at Viang Xai, the home of the Pathet Lao during the war. Plenty of bia lao to celebrate, and our first of many laap and sticky rice. Stayed in a previous re-education camp and met an Aussie working in tourism development called Meg (who shouted us a free guided trip to the caves!). Alas, by this stage, Achim's motorbike was failing with a broken syncro and fused piston ring, the following evening ending with a complete electrical failure (after an emergency clutch cable replacement) at 6pm in a the pouring rain and developing storm. We traveled to a local village, scaring everyone in our orange waterproofs and white NBC suit style waterproof trousers.

In the end (about 7.30, pitch black) we met a 4wd going to the Vietnam border (at midnight), who helped out and found us a truck to get Achim and his bike to a guest house for the night. Arrived at 9.30, soaking, and had the best Lao pho ever. And that was as far Achim got on his bike, he departed by flatbed in the morning to Phonsavanh, then on to Vientiane.

So for the next three days we were on our own through Laos. The road from Sam Nua to Phonsavanh is very mountainous and windy (and is all the way through to Vang Vieng), but with virtually no traffic and smooth surfaces, makes it gorge ous driving, and the slow speed giving plenty of time to enjoy the views. With a slight mishap of driving entirely the wrong way for an entire day, and ending back in Phonsavanh again, the trip was stunning all the way to Vientiane. What strikes me the most is how better drivers the Laotians are compared to the Vietnamese. I sounded my horn 3 times in the entire country - all to say hello. Last day to Vientiane - 11 hours of driving and 396km, arrived late to the conference gala dinner, but well worth it for seeing the country by bike.

In the end the conference was OK, interesting but not ground breaking. And if I had a beer lao for every time i heard "Malaysia truely Asia"... Nice to potter about in Vientiane though, nice steak and croissants.

The road back was totally different, following the flat plain of the Mekong, letting us open up on the way back. Achim had now rejoined with a fully repaired bike. Stopped at a little town called Pak Kading after some serious rain and some good fish. Back to the Vietnam border following day, Cau Treo, via the border town of Lak Sao... now this area is full of huge timber trucks, many with Vietnamese registrations... all heading to into Laos empty, returning with their fully laden cargo's. The border was fascinating, a smugglers paradise. A night in some little pink guesthouse in Ha Tinh province followed by a blast up the Ho Chi Minh Highway, only really stopping to hide from the lightening in a family's house on the way. Returned to Hanoi just before rush hour... the mayhem still going strong!

Recommendations for people doing the trip:

Take a very good bike (unless you're into roadside repairs). We hired a fabulous Yamaha YBR from Mr Hung at Flamingo Travel http://flamingotravel.com.vn/ 125cc, two people, full luggage, no problem in the mountains or highway. Its a kind of cross bike (all roads we traveled were either fully sealed or well graded gravel roads) - will do 500km to a tank, even in the mountains, so no worries about fuel (though you can get fuel even in the most remote villages).

Take decent waterproofs and waterproof saddlebags - Flamingo travels were excellent (alas my Made in Vietnam Columbia waterproof jacket was not waterproof). Also take warm stuff even in the middle of summer, it gets cold in the mountains, even during the daytime.

Be polite and exceptionally courteous to the customs officials when leaving Vietnam - this could be the toughest part of the trip. If you're friendly, they'll help, but I think they'd delight in saying no to an arrogant foreigner... afterall, unless you have your own name on the paper... Speaking Vietnamese definitely helps.

Enjoy the trip!