25 Days of Laos (Part 14)

This is a journal of our 25-day trip around Laos on a rented Honda FTR that we fondly called Mustafa. It starts with a long bus ride from Hanoi to Laos and ends with a longer bus ride back to Hanoi.

Day 18: Luang Prabang to Kasi
The next day, we packed up our things and headed to Cafe Bat Van Sene for our last breakfast in our favorite cafe. When we got back to the Khem Khong View, we were ready to hit the road. But, our bike wouldn't start and we had to wait for someone to come and fix it. The good thing is that the owner of Jules Classic Rental had a lot of contacts in Laos. And, he was able to ask a mechanic in Luang Prabang to pick up our bike and have it fixed.


We ended up leaving Luang Prabang around 12:30. Since we knew that we weren't going to make it to Vientiane before dark, we decided to spend the night in Vang Vieng. Although the motorbike problems held us back, our spirits weren't dampened because the landscapes that we passed on the way back to Vientiane were more beautiful because of the noon sun. It was the perfect time to take pictures. 

Taken from one of the view points indicated in the GT Rider Map

UH-OH!

 As we made our way through the town of Kasi, however, the weather suddenly changed. The skies became darker and then the rain fell in torrents. Although we had our rain gear on, it was impossible to drive through it. So, we had to stop by a shade in one of the houses that lined the streets. We were lucky that the rain fell when we were already in town and we weren't stuck in the middle of nowhere. It rained for a long time and we were lucky that the owners didn't mind having us in front of their house. They even asked us to come inside but we didn't want to intrude. And, we wanted to leave as soon as the rain lifted.


When it finally did, it was starting to get dark so we had to stay in Kasi. Since truck drivers use this town as a stopover, we were able to find some guest houses along road. We ended up staying in a small bungalow by a farm. We had dinner in a nearby duck restaurant and karaoke joint which seemed to be popular in the area. It wasn't the best dinner we've had in Laos but we were happy to find a place to stay and something to eat.


Day 19: Kasi to Vientiane
The next day, we headed for Vang Vieng with a craving for a greasy breakfast. We reached Vang Vieng around 10 in the morning. And, we found a nice, quiet restaurant where we got some cheesy garlic fries and toasties. The place had a unique motif -- It was filled with monkey figurines.

We finally reached Vientiane at around 4:30 PM. We decided to stay in the Mixay Guest House where we got a fan room for around 90,000 kip. The room we stayed in was very clean. And, there was a shared veranda outside our room. After we've taken our bags into the room and chilled for a bit, we headed to The Pizza Company for a pizza. 



The Journey Continues:

• Part 15
• Part 16
• Part 17
• Part 18