Laos Adventure, A motorbike photography expedition

A three week motorbike trip encompassing some of the best of Laos. My main goal wat to revisit the plain of jars, last visited on a sabbatical back in 2009, and Vat Phou festival celebrated on Makha Bochea day on the third lunar month.

The plan.

• Siem Reap to Champassak – Border crossing with motorbike

Cambodian souvenir.

From the border, the roads to Champassak are good and flat.  There’s a ferry crossing to get into town, which saves you heading up to Pakse, then back down.

• Vat Phou – Champassak

Vat Phou, a Khmer temple, is located in Champassak, southern Laos.  The hillside setting gives this Khmer temple a wow factor, beaten only by the magical Preah Vihear.  Old Frangipani tress, said to be six hundred plus years old, line an ancient staircase heading to the hillside sanctuary.

Wha made this place feel special was freedom.  It seems you are free to wonder any time.  There’s a relaxed attitude, unlike the whistle blowing police & guards around the popular Angkor complex.  Entrance fee is only a few dollars, so one can wander in and out without breaking the bank.

Accommodation and a scattering of eateries can be found in Champassak, a delightful small town several kilometres from the temple.  It’s got that old school relaxed feel to it, similar to my first visit to Cambodia back in 2009.  There’s a scattering of old colonial buildings and plenty of flora coming into bloom during my February visit.

Davata, similar to the faces of Angkor, but fuller set figures similar to the locals.

• Savannakhet

Savannakhet is a pleasant stopping point along the Mekong.  My accommodation, Sala Thongyon Gusethouse was friendly and affordable.  Perhaps the most favourable find was Pilgrims Kitchen & Inn, providing Indian food and a couple of Laos finest BeerLao with a great sunset overlooking the Mekong.

• Thakhek Loop

I covered part of this loop on the way up and stopped in Thakhek town on my return leg. Thakhek town on the banks of river Mekong, was a delightful place. In many ways it reminded me of Kampot before the invasion, a sleepy colonial like town with good eateries. IThe town has a reputation for a motorbike ‘loop’. I kinda felt like the area was a tourist magnet when seeing half-clothes helmetless backpackers on motorbikes when heading to my second stop, the Buddhist carvings. They do not appear to be on the circuit / loop map. I arrived at the statues late afternoon for some light painting & nobody was stopping for these great sculptures.  Check the cover photo of this blog for the light painting photograph!

Typical colonial style architecture in Thathek Town

Laos Buddhist carvings.  Nobody was stopping..

• Ham Theun to Phonsavanh

A long day on the road, 9.5 hrs!  Google maps, at the time, gave me a different route,  but the trail diminished into a small single lane track.  This was a hard day.  The road started good but diminished to a stony dirt road.  The last third of my day’s ride was partly sealed into the higher land and down towards Phonsavan.  Altitudes of around 2500m were reached, with some great views above the clouds.  I didn’t have the time to stop, however, at one valley I had to.

One of the most picturesque areas of the whole trip other that Vang Vien was around Muang Moc. Unfortunately Nam Theun to Phonsavan was done in one day, better if I had taken two days for this. This windy road took me to around 2500m in altitude above the clouds.  Blossoming trees in this arid landscape were simply stunning.  If I had my time again i’d have done this in two days.  The journey started well, on good roads passing the Buddhist carvings again.

Trees coming into bloom

• Plain of Jars

Phonsavan, the gateway to the megalithic sights –  Plain of Jars.

Once in the town, there’s plenty to go to. The main jar sights 1,2 and 3 are fairly close. Sight number one, the closest, is gated and closes around 6pm. The other two sights were accessible for sunrise and sunset (not officially). Sight 51 had the greater number of jars but in a forest location. For me, the best was sight 2 as it was accessible and had some open space for light painting photography.

• Phonsavan to Vang Vien

The connecting road west to Luang Prabang / Vang Vien is tedious, good in parts and terrible on most corners. Luckily, there is a connecting flight to Phonsavan from Vientiane

Vang Vienne landscape is stunning. While it’s overrun with adventure tourists, getting out of town is easy on a motorbike. The rewards can be stunning for landscape photographers.  I spoke to people who regretted only staying here for one night, as the scenery is beautiful.  Get away from the adventure tourist area, rewards will come.

• Elephant Cave

South of Vang Vien is elephant cave, an hidden ancient Buddhist sight with impressive rock carvings. Best ask locals for directions when you are nearby. It took me several attempts along trails to find these.

• Bolaven Plateau Loop

If waterfalls are your thing, this area has a lot to offer. Some are free, others charge a few dollars, a huge difference to Cambodia’s Phnom Kulen entry fee and associated costs in getting there. Basic accommodation is available around the loop. If I were to go again, I’d probably stay in Pakse and day trip to the falls, which has more to offer. The waterfalls are not too far away.

• Vat Phou Festival

Vat Phou Festival, separate post, a wonderful cultural event for locals was my final stop before crossing back into Cambodia.

The trip home, Champassak to Siem Reap, started with an early morning ferry at 7.30am. With a smooth entry into Cambodia at the border, I was back in Siem Reap by 3.30pm.  The roads, other than the border to  Stung Treng, were good.  Crop burn off, which was pretty much most of the final leg, was stinging my eyes after this long day’s ride.

Ferry crossing on the Mekong on a 250 motorbike.

Some footage from my journey.