advice on 4 day trip LAOS

NY1

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Mar 11, 2004
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Hello I will be flying to Bangkok (from New York) in the middle of may.
I would appreciate if one of you could offer some advice and be so kind and assist me with planing my trip.
I have been in Thailand + Cambodia before, but never in Laos.
I only have 2 weeks for my planed trip .so I figure I should take the plabe up to Vietienne from Bangkok, isntead of taking the bus, right.
I would like to spend Monday through Thursday in Laos.
Where should I go?
Should I fly into Vietienne on Monnday morning, then spend a day there and go up to Luang Prabang the next day, on Tuesday .. ? or right away from Bangkok to Luang Prabang. I would like to fly to Phnom Penh on Thursday .. or Friday.
Can I take the boad or 1/2 aday from up north ....andy other destinations within that area would be appreciated.
I figure it will take me all day Tuesday to get to LP... then check out the area on Wednesday and return to0 Vietienn on Thursday, maybe fly out to Cambodia on Thursday night, or Friday morning?

Greetings from New York
NY1
 

DavidFL

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NY1
4 days for motorcycling in Laos is hardly enough & whatever you do will leave you wanting to come back for more. But if that’s all the time you’ve got, then have a go……..

In Laos, (the same as in Thailand) all the great biking is in the North.

1. You have to start & finish from Vientiane where the bikes are for hire.
2. Route 13, specifically from Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang is arguably the greatest motorcycling road in S E Asia. It is a full day’s ride from Vientiane to Luang Prabang & most people break the journey in the backpacker’s paradise of Vang Vieng (1/3rd of the way to LPB from Vte.)
3. You need to spend at least 2 nights in LPB, then its time to head back home to Vientiane with the bike.
4. That’s your 4 days gone, not much is it? Just straight up & down the best biking road in S E Asia.

Summary: you need more time. Take a look at some of the Laos Road & trip, reports. You can easily spend 2-3 weeks riding in Laos. Susan spent 6 weeks. Pirip & I make regular trips & never get tired of it, as there are always new roads & places to explore.

Read through some of the Laos trip reports on this forum to get some ideas of how good it is.
Check out
Link removed
and any of Phil’s Laos Monkey reports
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... hichpage=1
and
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... hichpage=1
and
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... hichpage=1
and
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... hichpage=1
and
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... hichpage=1
and
Link removed

I hope this is a help.
Please let us know how you go with a trip report.

Davidfl
Keep the power on
 

NY1

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Mar 11, 2004
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Hello David, and thanks for your advice
I have to admit, I did not explore the site enough - when I posted the first time
Simply had no idea who David was, and why everybody was refering to Davids map, his site, etc ... Now, of course I know, and I am happy that I even got a reply from you.
It's like I joined a happy family !

It is such a fantastic tool .. to use the internet. How amazing!
I mean, you have a dream .. spread the word ..do your research .. and boom: you in the middle of it. - Think about it: I am in the middle of Manhattans dschungle in New York City and soon I'll be in a place where people might have no clue where I am from, might not know what a skyscraper is .. etc.

About 3 years ago I went to SouthEast Asia for the first time, after my best friend from Germany visited me in New York .. onhis way back home from 6 month traveling in SEA.
I asked him what he enjoyed most .. and he refered to Cambodia. - Until then, the only thing I remembered that there were riots in Phnom Penh, Pol Pott's horror .. from the days when I was a klittle kid .. but I never heard of Angkor, nor did I see images of this amazing place.
I choose to investigate .. and 3 month later I was there, to see first hand how amazing it is. I felt in love with Cambodia, the people .. and of course Angkor. I was so taken by the entire SouthEast Asian experiance, that I returned 3 time. Since I work in the corporate world (advertising), I could only take 2.5 weeks vacation at the time and I usually spend 2 days in Bangkok, then headed out to Phnom Penh, went up the river to Siem Reap, maade friends with some people up there, and finished the trip with 5 days in a b eautiful bungalow on the island of Koh Samui. I loved this combination so very much, that I always had a difficult time to stray away from that plan, and in the end almost did the same trip 3 times. The last time I rented a bike in Phnom Penh and headed down to the Shianoukville.

What an amazing experiance that was! I simply could not believe what I saw.. even I got totally drenchged in the rain (may), then just stopped somewhere, hung out with locals to wait for the rain to stop,- they cooked for me .. I loved it. Going through the rice field when the sun went down .. I mean, how can one describe that to people who have not seen that or been there?. It is so insane .. so beautiful. - I think these days on the bike were some of the most amazing in my adventourous life.
I decided to come back to that beautiful part of the world, but this time I have to add a new part: a new adventure. While on Cambodia, I met many people who've been to Laos and all of them praised the degree of friendlyness over there. I also heard about beautiful mountains, the Mekong river ..... many, many adventure stories,etc. Surfing the web forever, I came accross the GT riders board and I loved what I read.
Originally I wanted to go to the NorthEast of Cambodia this year, but since there is a high chance that my buddies won't come along and I'll be on my own .. I thought Mondulkiri and San Monorom might be too dangerous for me.

I figured that this would also be a good excuse to spend some time in Laos, and the more I read on the GT board .. the more it became clear, that I want to see Luang Prabang, etc. but I still need to see the south of Cambodia again.. and I still need a few days at the beach in Thailand.

I know: one cannot have it all ..so they say .but if I make a compromise .. I might get a taste of everthing .. and still be happy with my program? - Here's the trip that I put together for May 2004 .. let me know what you think .. and if anybody else wants to give me his/her 2 cents .. feel free to e-mail me. I'd appreciate every response.

I got a good deal on a flight from New York to Bangkok. Origiany I wanted to spend more time there, but I cut it down a bit here and there, so I have more time (just a bit) in Laos:

Bangkok Air only flys to LP, so I decided to go with Lao Air
They offered me a good deal on: Bangkok-Vientiann, Vientianne - Phnom Penh all for 5800 THB, and from Phnom Penh back to Bangkok I'll take President Air for 2800 THB)
I am a bit under time pressure, that's the reason why I have to take the plane.

Unfortunately the flight out of Bangkok to Vientiane does not leave early in the
morning, but at 3:00 PM in the afternoon .. and arrives at 4:00 pm ..guess
with customs, etc .. I will be in town around 5:30 PM .so way to late to
rent a bike at PPP and go up to Vang Vieng, where I planed to spend the
night. - Looks like I will get stuck in Vientiane that night ,which sucks
.because of that afternoon flight out of Bangkok ....there is not much I can do that day
.sort of a lost day ..which is NOT good.
here';s the plan for my trip:

MAY 20th
THURSDAY: NYC-TKO fly from New York to Tokyo

FRIDAY: THAILAND TKO-BKK
fly from Tokyo to Bangkok, arrive late night

SATURDAY: THAILAND BKK
spend the day in Bangkok, meet friends etc
SUNDAY: LAOS BKK-VTE
morning in Bangkok, then take the 3 PM flight to Vientiane in Laos,
spend the night in Vientiane, pick up the motorbike from PVP rental
MONDAY: LAOS VTE-VV
get up early and ride up to Vang Vieng, check out
stuff in and around town, sspend the night in Vang Vieng
TUESDAY: LAOS VV-LP
ride from Vang Vient to Kasi.. have lunch, then
continue to Luang Prabang, check out town etc, spend the night in LP
WEDNESDAY: LAOS LP
ride around Luang Prabang, check out Waterfalls by
bike, can I make it to Muang Kkam that day and back? spend the night in LP?
THURSDAY: LAOS LP-VTE
ride from Luang Prabang back to Vientianne via Ang
Nam Ngum and check out the lake, arrive early evening in Vientiane, return
bike, spend the night Vientiane
FRIDAY: CAMBODIA VTE-PNH
fly from Vientiang to Phnom Penh, arrive around noon, hang out in town,
hook up with friends, check with bike rental, stay in PP
SATURDAY: CAMBODIA PNH
rent a motorbike and ride from Phnom Penh to Skone
(50 miles) to check out the spider snacks they have for sale everywhere,
return to Phnom Penh
SUNDAY: CAMBODIA PNH-SV
take off after breakfast for Shianoukville via
Kompomng Speu on route 4, check out the ocean, stay in Shianoukville
MONDAY: CAMBODIA SV-KEP
spend the day in and around Shianoukille at the
beach, afternoon ride via Kampot to Kep, spend the night in Kep
TUESDAY: CAMBODIA KEP-PNH
ride from Kep via Takeo to Phnom Penh, return the
bike, spned the night in Phnom Penh
WEDNESDAY: THAILAND PNH-BKK-KS
fly from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, drive down south to Koh Samet
THURSDAY: THAILAND KS
relax at the beach in Koh Samet
FRIDAY: THAILAND KS
relax at the beach in Koh Samet
SATURDAY: THAILAND KS-BKK
in the afternoon: drive from Koh Samet to Bangkok,
spend the night in Bangkok
SUNDAY: BKK-TKO-NYC early morning flight from Bangkok via Tokyo back to
New York a .arrive 3:15 PM local time
MONDAY: NYC return to work at 09:30 AM

Hey, thanks for reading all this ... on the othet hand: maybe I inspired one of you to do a similar tour .. I am sure it will be great and yet another adventure in my book. Wish I had more time .. like so many others who travel for month at the time .but unfortunately that is not the case and I have to live from adventure to adventure .........well: living in New York ain't that bad either ..been here for 12 years.

If somebody could let me know if I have to go up and down from Vientiane to Luang Prabang .. or can I continue my trip from LP .. east and then head down south via Pakxan? .. and then back to Vientiane? Is that possible at all.
Have a good weekend, greetings from Manhattan .getting warmer here .. but still pretty cold (like 4 C)

NY1
 

Kyle

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Jan 1, 2004
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Hey, fellow Manhattan man here, now living in Thailand...interested in news from your Laos journey. THinking of putting together one of my one. Read your postings, and Dave's as well as many others...please send info on your bike, route, photos if you have them...Quite interested.

Thanks pal,
Kyle
[email [email protected]][email protected][/email]