"Laos To The China Border" 18th - 25th April 2005

Today we entered Lao. Lawrie & I, The Robertson’s & Pinders were all together in Udon Thani (Thailand) getting all the last minute bits and bobs done. We all did a huge grocery shop and stocked up on food knowing we would not see an equivalent to a Tesco Lotus, Big C or Mackro for awhile. Yesterday Paul got too “Up close and personal” with another vehicle while reversing so it’s a quick visit to the insurance company for them before we leave town. Luckily the damage to the other vehicle was minor and only cost him NZ$185. It would have been 3 times the cost back home in New Zealand without a doubt. John also spent the morning getting his suspension repaired and checked after he damaged it on the terrible roads in Cambodia. Meanwhile poor Lawrie spent the morning having a different type of mechanical repair done at the local dentist hospital to his broken tooth! 2 hours later saw Laurie with a big gaping hole where his tooth had been extracted. So once that repair was taken care of we were finally ready to hit the road. We were very impressed with the treatment Lawrie received at the hospital not to mention stoked at the NZ$10.00 bill he was handed upon completion.

The entry from Nong Khai (Thailand) to Vientiane (in Laos) was pretty straight forward. Actually a real breeze after the heavy congestion we experienced upon entering Cambodia. Exiting Thailand was a short drive over the Friendship Bridge and we were then in Laos. We were stung a couple of extra dollars on our visa due to the fact it was still a public holiday. We all hoped that we wouldn't encounter any more water fights that we had seen in Thailand and Cambodia as they celebrated Songkran which is our equivalent to New Years. It was all in good fun. Traffic jams galore and anything with wheels were packed tightly with people squirting water at anything and everything that moved. The unfortunate motorbike riders were the preferred targets. We didn’t escape they mayhem and received several hose downs & water bombs tossed at us. Ruefee was covered in talcum powder as were our faces. For days afterwards the car wash industry did a roaring trade. The only down side to all the celebrations were the high accident rate. 481 deaths and 14’339 injuries in Thailand alone.

We are now driving on the right hand side of the road and the currency is the Kip. Vientiane boasts a population of 600'000 and is only 25 kilometers from the boarder and is the capitol of Laos. It’s a bustling city nestled along the banks of the Mekong River. With lots of buildings, cafe’s & markets etc its French connections were very evident. Vientiane’s own Arc de Triomphe closely resembling its Paris cousin but ornamented in Lao style (officially known locally as Patouxay). It was well worth the exhausting climb to the top as we were treated to a panoramic view right over top of the park, musical fountains and city. We all caught a tuk tuk to the morning markets‘Talat Sao’ (meaning poor wee tuk tuk). It groaned, grinded and clanked along with the six of us in it. I am sure I wasn’t the only one that had my fingers, arms and legs crossed hoping we would make it to our destination safely. John is our self appointed negotiator as he always drives a hard bargain and always barters well to get the best price. The market had the biggest array of goods for sale that we had seen in awhile. Our group came back stocked up to the hilt and they also enjoyed the chance to sharpen their bartering skills.

We are finding rice, soups & noodles too much to stomach first thing in the morning. So Lawrie has developed his own specialty called “Fusion Cuisine" where East meets West. Be sure to get a pen and paper and write this one down! Lawrie’s “Fusion Cuisine” recipe is: The main base of the dish being boiled rice with a generous lashing of mayonnaise with shredded lettuce mixed in, finished off with a chopped up boiled egg delicately mixed through the dish. I bet your mouths are watering, see what you all are missing out on?!! NOT!

We are currently traveling up the main highway No 13 towards Luang Prabang. Travel is slow as the roads are very uneven with "pothole pot luck" surprises every now and again. Still, no where near as bad as the roads we experienced in Cambodia. John is taking allot more care after his suspension trouble in Cambodia. Paul also had some strengthening work done on the rear of his Ute so hopefully now they won’t encounter too many problems. We still have a long way to travel. Laos has 14,000 km's of roads but only 20% are sealed, so as you can imagine the driving is pretty challenging. The locals scream by putting all their faith in Lord Buddha with not much respect for the local road code nor for the fellow driver sharing the road I might add!

170km from Vientiane we arrived at Vang Vieng on the banks of the beautiful Nam Song River. Armed with a cake of soap each we all plunged into the river, joining the locals for abit of “Self Maintenance Cleansing” which was thoroughly enjoyable after the dusty drive. Vang Viengs landscape is made up of strange shaped limestone mountains intricately carved out due to erosion over the years and there were many different caves that were able to be explored. On the drive north we enjoyed being back high into the hills once again, especially after the flatness of Cambodia and Thailand it made a nice change. While passing through lots of small villages it seemed to be a mixture of the modern and the old. Still, there were lots of bamboo constructed huts and loads of weaving looms set up under houses as families wove the detailed runners and scarves in preperation for selling in their stalls at the local markets. I am sure I can sneak a few more onboard Ruefee when Lawrie isn’t looking!.

While checking our emails the following morning we discovered that we faced yet another delay into China. So that meant we had to head back to Vientiane to renew our Chinese visas. We had hoped that entry would have been before the 25th of April which was when our visas were due to expire but it just wasn’t meant to be. So we said our goodbyes to the group and high tailed it back to Vientiane where luckily the Chinese Embassy was situated. As I write this, we are staying at a lovely place called ‘Hotel Beau Rivage Mekong'. Website address: www.hbrm.com Gordon, our Australian host has made us feel extremely welcome. We have a wonderful room with all the creature comforts of home. Air conditioning, cable TV, tea & coffee making facilities and a lovely balcony with superb views of the Mekong River. Situated on the 3rd floor we can sit back and watch all the busyness on the Mekong river with an array of long boats whizzing up and down, fishermen casting out their nets and then in the other direction we are able to watch the hustle and bustle on the streets. There are women pushing their carts full of fruit for sale, mothers sitting in a door ways with babes in arms begging for money, tuk tuk's galore, motor bikes and cars wizzing past all fighting for road space on the primitive dusty unsealed roads. There is so much movement, from every angle all around us and never a dull moment.

On Friday the 22nd of April armed with our Chinese visas safely in our hot little hands we signed a deep sigh of relief then proceeded to settle down for the 420 km drive to Luang Prabang. We fueled up in Vientiane because fuel was quite abit dearer in Laos due to all the gas being trucked in from Thailand. Once again the scenery was spectacular. At this point we reached the highest altitude to date of 1500 meters. The road required lots of concentration as we were again confronted with those dreaded nasty potholes, crazy drivers & narrow windy roads, where whole lanes had collapsed and disintegrated down the steep hillsides. We climbed steadily, passing through lots of tribal villages. In some villages the locals were quite clean looking while others were so grubby and their clothes were tattered, torn, stained and literally hanged off their thin frames The children were scratching their bodies and heads profusely, obviously riddled with nits as we saw them de-nitting each other. We felt itchy all over just looking at them. UNICEF had installed water wells in some of the villages as they were just so poor and primitive. We all commented how we didn’t feel particularly safe in certain villages as the locals seemed very unfriendly. Quite different from some of the other countries that we have visited where the locals always waved and wore huge smiles upon their faces. Here we barely got a wave let alone a smile and often they just held out their hands for money & gifts. If none were forth coming they spat at us. Some of the hill tribe people we noticed were from the “Akha Tribe” distinguished by their beaded head dress and feathers along with dangling silver ornaments. We also saw some “Hmong” tribal folk which I easily identified by their patchwork, embroided head gear, bags and jackets. The hill tribe villages were all set on steep slopes and along mountain ridges. They seemed to spend all day just sitting around, sleeping or producing children!

For us there was a noticeable absence of traffic. As we wound up yet another huge incline we looked slightly upwards and spied the Robertson’s and the Pinders slowly making their way to the top. Ruefee quickly caught them up near the peak and we surprised them all when we called out on the CB to let them know Ruefee had now joined the convoy. Just on sunset, and consciously looking after our brakes we slowly wound our way down to Luang Prabang which is Laos’s second largest city situated at the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. We enjoyed an idyllic 2 hour cruise down the Mekong River taking in its beauty and watching folk go about their business of washing clothes, fishing and fetching water. Although the water looked incredibly muddy it was surprisingly clear when we took a sample. With the temperature being 38 degree’s we stopped on an island for a nice cool swim. The sand was beautiful and sparkled with minute sprinklings of silver specs mixed through it. As we cruised along the river heading home, out of nowhere we were suddenly hit by strong winds and a spectacular electrical storm which had Paul our BIG BRAVE FARMER instantly floundering around for the closest possible life jacket, while sheepishly looking around to see if anyone had noticed his panic attack!. We docked safely much to everyone’s relief and the storm passed as quickly as it had arrived. It was a great place to spend a couple of days. With its unique atmosphere, interesting shops and French architecture Lynda was in heavenly bliss when she stumbled across a French cafe that served chocolate filled croissants. I must admit my strongest craving comes in the way of a New Zealand Lamb Roast with all the trimmings and a tall glass of icy cold Taupo water straight from the tap.

Continuing north on the only sealed road in sight and the absence of road signs I might add, it was not difficult to get lost. If in doubt our trusted GPS guided us in the right direction. Traveling with our CB’s also made oncoming obstacles & traffic much easier to negotiate although overtaking was made difficult by the very narrow roads. Paul was leading us all and every now and again his voice boomed across the CB “Nothing on the down hill run” and Lawrie would lean Ruefee into overtake position on the blind corners. Sometimes I have to remind Lawrie that Ruefee is not his BMW motorcycle! We camped on the river bed beside the Nam Ngoi River near Nong Khiaw which is a great spot for trekking enthusiasts. We must have soaked in the river for nearly 2 hours. It was an unreal place to relax and cool down. A steady procession of locals came and went doing a spot of fishing, washing them selves, their cars and their children and were always curious to have a closer inspection of us and our vehicles. The further north we traveled we encountered friendlier people.

Overnight we had another electrical storm so the track back out to the road was made very soft by the rain. Paul made it up ok but Lawrie had to tow John’s vehicle up the hill. Further up north in Udomxai we met up with Joseph and Janet. The scenery in Laos has been the best we have seen. It was very unspoiled, unpolluted and had rugged geography. Upon checking our email again we found out that our entry to China was scheduled for the next day. With little time to waste we refueled all the vehicles and topped up adequate water supplies then shifted into top gear. We had at least a 4 hour journey to reach the border and it didn’t help with the roads deteriorating kilometer by kilometer under our wheels. The last 25 kilometers of our trip were an utter nightmare. At times we doubted if we were actually on the main highway or on another road leading to nowhere. The GPS was given a good work out, checking and rechecking our position constantly. Finally arriving at Boten we briefly stopped and while giving Ruefee the once over we noticed his wheels had collected 4 inches of slushy clay, compacted red dust and mud. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief to of finally arrived at Boten, even more so relieved that all vehicles were fully intact and had not sustained any damage. One o’clock saw us heading off from Laos for the 2 kilometer drive into no mans land before hitting the China border at Mohan where we were scheduled to meet our guide for the long awaited entry into China. **Yippee**!

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