The way; Salavan - Pajudone - Dong - Xepon - Plin - Xethamouak - Vilabury.
This was a two day ride from Salavan to Vilabury, staying one night in Plin.
Great ride with everything from F1 track quality Tarmac, to tight first gear trails with vegetation so thick its like riding in a cave.
There’s also some interesting sites which include sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that have been fenced off in order to preserve the trail as it was, when used during the Vietnamese war.
This ride is shown in blue on the map below, the red line is another way to get to Plin from Salavan, which is dirt all the way, and a ride I did 2 years ago. You could make a good loop out of these two tracks.
The Salavan to Plin ride report (red Line) which I completed 2 years ago, which is a ripper dirt ride.
3 weeks in Laos
I awoke from my Salavan slumber at the salubrious Phonxay Hotel refreshed and ready for the days ride ahead.
After picking up some food, and restocking the Camelback for the journey, I rolled into the local gas station, where two happy attendants fuelled up the KLX,…which as you see, is a stylish, yet practical motorcycle, equally at home on the sheik boulevards of Paris, or the dusty trails of Laos.
The first part of the ride out of Salavan to Pajudone was on the Tarmac. I usually try and avoid the hard grey surface, but in this case I wanted to check it out, as I hadn’t ridden it before.
Just north of Salavan, and what looks to be a fairly new bridge next to one that’s had its day.
From this point its only a few Kilometres down stream to the Bombed Bridges shown in the Salavan to Plin ride report.
After a nice twisty tarmac ride, I arrived at the turn off at Pajudone, and from there its dirt all the way to Dong
A few Kilometres from Pajudone I came to this rocky river crossing.
The far side of the river crossing was fairly deep, so I took the 5000 kip toll bridge.
Just after the river crossing the track narrowed, and riding was great.
And it got even better.
This is the first village I came too after the river, and it was one of those villages that looks really poor.
If you ever think of riding this track, grab a blanket, or you’re a couple warm tops for the kids before you leave Salavan. It will only cost the price of a few beers.
The Pajudone/Dong super highway.
After riding past a few more very small villages, the jungle closed in.
It doesn’t get much better,..nice narrow trail, with plenty of cover, on a cool sunny day.
Great lush jungle,..with a lot of first gear riding on steep narrow rocky gully’s, with little river crossings that were like small oasis’s. There was one section where it was like riding in a cave that went for a few Kilometres…..Great stuff.
Selfie Time...Rex in the mist…I look like a spaceman. Any wonder some of the villagers run for the hills when I ride into town.
Me in my natural habitat.
A day riding the back blocks of Laos….beats working.
The KLX and the trail ahead. From this bridge there were tracks going everywhere, so I just kept following the one that seemed the most used.
A few huts with the standard bomb shell supports.
The track began to open up a little when I came to this crossway, which was a great spot for lunch.
I ventured on.
One of those classic Laos bridges.
The track now had become a road, and no doubt the road workers must have had the safety of the motorcycling public in mind when they planted a stick with a plastic bag to make you aware of danger that lay ahead.
Imagine this in the wet season.
I had seen these small fences that followed the maim road a few times, and had always wondered what they were.
Fortunately this time there was a sign to explain what it was all about.
The sign says it all.
Definitely not the trail to be riding on around 45 years ago.
A few kilometres from Dong and hwy 9E, you come to this beautiful old suspension bridge.
And right next to it is a new bridge under construction. It looks to me that there’s going to be a new road that will go from Dong to somewhere near Oi Ta
Once I hit hwy 9E, I rode the hwy to Plin where I stayed the night.
Next morning before heading off from Plim to Vilabury, I had a quick look around the town.
After taking a few photos, I rode west to what I think was the bustling town of Xethamouak, where after a few wrong turns, I finally found a track that looked like it was heading towards Vilabury.
When all else fails…follow the goats.
Cool stuff…Little tackers out having a ball, fishing rods in hand, and not a care in the world.
An early morning river crossing to wash the dust off.
This track is a ripper. Cruzy ride with plenty of villages, with a few river crossings.
This was another great ride, but as Ive said before,…its all good.
The next day I rode out and back from Vilabury to the Vietnamese border on the Ho Chi minh trail before heading further north.
Ho Chi Minh trail report.
Riding the Ho Chi Minh Trail, North East out of Vilabury Laos.
Moto-Rex.
This was a two day ride from Salavan to Vilabury, staying one night in Plin.
Great ride with everything from F1 track quality Tarmac, to tight first gear trails with vegetation so thick its like riding in a cave.
There’s also some interesting sites which include sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that have been fenced off in order to preserve the trail as it was, when used during the Vietnamese war.
This ride is shown in blue on the map below, the red line is another way to get to Plin from Salavan, which is dirt all the way, and a ride I did 2 years ago. You could make a good loop out of these two tracks.
The Salavan to Plin ride report (red Line) which I completed 2 years ago, which is a ripper dirt ride.
3 weeks in Laos
I awoke from my Salavan slumber at the salubrious Phonxay Hotel refreshed and ready for the days ride ahead.
After picking up some food, and restocking the Camelback for the journey, I rolled into the local gas station, where two happy attendants fuelled up the KLX,…which as you see, is a stylish, yet practical motorcycle, equally at home on the sheik boulevards of Paris, or the dusty trails of Laos.
The first part of the ride out of Salavan to Pajudone was on the Tarmac. I usually try and avoid the hard grey surface, but in this case I wanted to check it out, as I hadn’t ridden it before.
Just north of Salavan, and what looks to be a fairly new bridge next to one that’s had its day.
From this point its only a few Kilometres down stream to the Bombed Bridges shown in the Salavan to Plin ride report.
After a nice twisty tarmac ride, I arrived at the turn off at Pajudone, and from there its dirt all the way to Dong
A few Kilometres from Pajudone I came to this rocky river crossing.
The far side of the river crossing was fairly deep, so I took the 5000 kip toll bridge.
Just after the river crossing the track narrowed, and riding was great.
And it got even better.
This is the first village I came too after the river, and it was one of those villages that looks really poor.
If you ever think of riding this track, grab a blanket, or you’re a couple warm tops for the kids before you leave Salavan. It will only cost the price of a few beers.
The Pajudone/Dong super highway.
After riding past a few more very small villages, the jungle closed in.
It doesn’t get much better,..nice narrow trail, with plenty of cover, on a cool sunny day.
Great lush jungle,..with a lot of first gear riding on steep narrow rocky gully’s, with little river crossings that were like small oasis’s. There was one section where it was like riding in a cave that went for a few Kilometres…..Great stuff.
Selfie Time...Rex in the mist…I look like a spaceman. Any wonder some of the villagers run for the hills when I ride into town.
Me in my natural habitat.
A day riding the back blocks of Laos….beats working.
The KLX and the trail ahead. From this bridge there were tracks going everywhere, so I just kept following the one that seemed the most used.
A few huts with the standard bomb shell supports.
The track began to open up a little when I came to this crossway, which was a great spot for lunch.
I ventured on.
One of those classic Laos bridges.
The track now had become a road, and no doubt the road workers must have had the safety of the motorcycling public in mind when they planted a stick with a plastic bag to make you aware of danger that lay ahead.
Imagine this in the wet season.
I had seen these small fences that followed the maim road a few times, and had always wondered what they were.
Fortunately this time there was a sign to explain what it was all about.
The sign says it all.
Definitely not the trail to be riding on around 45 years ago.
A few kilometres from Dong and hwy 9E, you come to this beautiful old suspension bridge.
And right next to it is a new bridge under construction. It looks to me that there’s going to be a new road that will go from Dong to somewhere near Oi Ta
Once I hit hwy 9E, I rode the hwy to Plin where I stayed the night.
Next morning before heading off from Plim to Vilabury, I had a quick look around the town.
After taking a few photos, I rode west to what I think was the bustling town of Xethamouak, where after a few wrong turns, I finally found a track that looked like it was heading towards Vilabury.
When all else fails…follow the goats.
Cool stuff…Little tackers out having a ball, fishing rods in hand, and not a care in the world.
An early morning river crossing to wash the dust off.
This track is a ripper. Cruzy ride with plenty of villages, with a few river crossings.
This was another great ride, but as Ive said before,…its all good.
The next day I rode out and back from Vilabury to the Vietnamese border on the Ho Chi minh trail before heading further north.
Ho Chi Minh trail report.
Riding the Ho Chi Minh Trail, North East out of Vilabury Laos.
Moto-Rex.
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