Wow! It's Lao. Part 2 - Vientiane

That's gotta tickle.

I mentioned in my previous video that there had been a miscommunication between myself and the tour company I was going to rent my motorcycle from. It turned out to be no big deal as I had anticipated that the Myanmar visa matter would be more problematic than it was. I had budgeted myself two nights in Vientiane and was able to get my motorcycle the following morning. 

I’d like to offer a full-hearted endorsement to Remote Asia Travel there in Vientiane and their owner, Jim. Not only did he take care of the snafu with the booking, but he asked the right questions to discover where I was going, about me physically and my experience touring. Initially, I had planned to rent a smaller bike: just 220cc and much lower to the ground.

Your humble blogger

At Jim’s recommendation and after a nice discount to make up for the previous day’s problem, he upgraded  me onto a Honda CRF250, and not just any CRF, the one he uses personally when he leads tours around Laos. Moreover, he took the time to go over my route with me in some detail. My plans weren’t set in stone, and his suggestions have helped me set a more modest, but still spectacular course. A dry bag to keep the rain off my backpack (no flimsy garbage bag like I’d used previously), a helmet, a full tool kit, map, lock and chain, two extra tires and BUNGEE CORDS were all provided at no extra cost. So if you’re planning a trip to Laos, go with Remote Asia. 

Although it looks ancient, the park is about 100 years old.

As I took off for Budda (sic) Park some 25 km east of Vientiane, I started to get the feel for this machine.  Although I’ve been riding motorbikes of one kind or another my whole like, lately it’s been scooters and strep-throughs. It had been 15 years since I’d ridden anything with a manual gear box and over 200cc. Remembering how to use the clutch work came back quickly. On my bike back in Myanmar, to shift to a higher gear, you step up on the gear-shifter. On this Honda, you click up. It only took one time changing gears the wrong direction to burn into my mind that I need to be careful with this.

The real advantage of the CRF wasn’t noticeable until I turned off the highway onto a 8 km stretch of back-road leading to the park.  The road was typical of many I’ve ridden in Myanmar: extremely bumpy, gravelly, and where there is pavement, there were more potholes than smooth pavement. It was the kind of road I would have dreaded facing on my scooter. It would have a slow, bone-jarring and taxing ride on my little bike. On the CRF, I couldn’t feel the bumps; it wasn’t bone-jarring at all. I could just drive right through the smaller potholes instead of having to carefully weave my through the maze of broken pavement. What an awesome bike for SE Asian travel. 

As for more on the park itself and the rest of my day in Vientiane, I’ll let you see for yourself in the video. 

First some picture highlights:

This man is playing a flute with his nose! 

 

It's a large, stone.....

From the remarkable COPE Visitor Center

Enjoy the video..