Posts in category motorcycle adventures

Lao LabRat Run Moto Inspection: Photos and Reportage From Our New Lao Tour

03 July 23

"I would like to see even more of Thailand, but it would be nice not to have to cycle everywhere," said Echo one day during the world's recent closure. To me, this sounded reasonable whilst also providing the opportunity to scratch a little itch that had been gradually growing stronger for a while; the time had come to revisit my formative passion for motorcycling.

Have motorcycle, will travel; and since getting our hands on our Honda Rally, travel we have. Our machine has given us much fun and freedom and taken us to parts of Thailand we probably wouldn't have seen by bicycle due to the distances between accomodation in some areas. Now with our LabRat Run in Lao just around the corner, it seemed like a blooming good excuse to load the Honda up and nip across the border to Lao for a route inspection.

A motorcyclist lost on a hillside in Laos

The premise for the new PaintedRoads Lao trip, when planned back in 2015, was for a tour that showed people how cycling was back in the days before the classic Highway-13 tour was torn asunder by the inevitable march of "progress", and tucks and ugly SUVs tear the once lovely little byway to shreds (which they now have).

Tha Plain of Jars in Phonsavan, Laos.

Back in the summer of 2015, my Laotian partner and I set off to find a route that visited the wonderful Luang Prabang, the capital of Vientiane, and the mysterious Plain of Jars, along with a day cruise on the Mekong River, all whilst avoiding trucks, cars, and the once wonderful HW13. And most successful we were. But, my recent gnawing concern has been how the route would be after so long.

A lady sitting on top of the view point overlooking Nong Kiaw in Laos

Although the purpose of LabRat Runs is to go with a group of laidback PaintedRoads regulars to inspect a trip I have, for some reason, not cycled or seen for some time, I am always anxious that the 'Rats, being such an adorable body of persons, should have a great holiday. And so, Echo and I were delighted to find ourselves plodding along meandering byways on our single cylinder four stroke enjoying an endless series of spectacular views that our photography skills can do no justice whatsoever.

A Honda CRF300 Rally in front of a mountain scene in Laos

Was our inspections a success? Most certainly. Am I looking forward to the Lao tour in December? Oh yes. Will I manage to cycle it after succumbing to a motorised two-wheeler? Um, well, the LabRats will be able to answer that whilst we enjoy post-tour, pre-Christmas wining and dining in the beautiful World Heritage town of Luang Prabang.

We plan to keep the group size cosy, so just three places remain available on the December trip. If you're a 'Rat and fancy coming along, give me a shout; if the trip sounds appealing and you're curious as to what it's all about, please follow this link for maps and an itinerary; I hope we'll run it again next autumn. I will now leave you with some pics from our recent Laotian adventure; it's what you'll see if you join us.

Typical Laotian scenery. The views on this tour are stunning, and capturing them is, alas, well beyond my limited photographic abilities

An adventure motorcyclist in Lao

The iconic Beer Lao, available everywhere

The Patuxai monument in Vientiane is dedicated to those who fought for independence from France

Lao noodle soup with fresh herbs

Well tended grass and buge stone jars at the Plain of Jars at Phonsavan, Laos We have time to visit The Plain of Jars at Phonsavan, a collection of mysterious jars dating back millennia, whose origin and purpose are unknown

Many of the jars, such as this one, were torn apart by American bombs during their secret and devastating bombing campaign of the '60s and '70s; this million-dollar-a-day endeavour, a violation of The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos signed in 1962, left Lao with the dubious title of the most bombed country per capita in history. At the current rate of clearance, the 80 million unexploded bombs still littering Lao will be all tidied up by the year 2800, or soon after.