cmongogogo
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Anyone been to laos free and easy before?
Generally accommodation is not expensive, if you keep yourself to guest-houses. Laos is an elongated country and there is a dearth of good roads and a highway system, so travel times are long. The Plain of Jars is way to the south of the country, far from Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
thanks for the info. generally would a short 4D3N be sufficient to explore some parts of Laos and the Plain of Jars?
technically speaking it would just be 1 day arrival, 2 days Laos, last day depart
Hi guys, going on a Laos trip in January for 5D4N.
I'll be renting a scrambler to ride around Laos.. I aim to see the Plain of Jars!
Would 5D4N be enough?
Don't have to tell me its stupid to ride a bike around Laos and stuff... I have done it in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand already.
5D4N should be fine if you just plan to do Vientiane - Luang Prabang - Phonsavan.
Of course, more days would be nicer and you can spend some time at Nong Khiaw and Vang Vieng.
Check out my ride:
Northern Laos Loop – 1. Introduction | Adventure Vacation Trip
As you can see, I have a thing about riding the same road twice so my route is a loop. But I will recommend you skip the Xayaboury and Xam Neua sections to save a few days.
Oooo, so you are Atticus! Read your blog quite some time back while hunting for tips!
Is it possible to meet up with you to ask you about some tips?
I was thinking, Vientiane-Phonsavan-Vang Vieng-Vientiane.. As I have only 5D4N.
Or, just ride straight up to Luang Prabang on Arrival since I will reach VTN at 7am or so.
Dude, 5D4N is too short to do Vietiane-Phonsavan-Vang Vieng-Vietiane. The journey between each of these places will take up a lot of time.
Vientian - Phonsavan will be around 10-11 hours or more. Phonsavan - VV is about 6-7 hours. VV-Vientiane is shorter, around 3 hours. So you'll be spending a total of at least 2 full days on the road.
If you only have 5 days, I would suggest either Luang Prabang + Plain of Jars, or Vientiane + either Luang Prabang or Plain Of Jars. Unless you must do river tubing or boozing, I'll skip Vang Vieng. It will be too rushed to do all.
And I would advise you against riding from town to town in your bike if you are alone. It's fine to ride in the cities on a bike. Riding from Phonsavan to the Plain of Jars is also doable, since it's only several km away from town.
But the inter-city roads are terrible and full of pot holes and filled with mini-vans driving like lunatics on the wrong side of the road. Even riding in a minivan is a bone-jarring experience. I think it's considerably worse than Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand.
Thanks for the reply.
I might just skip Plain of Jars and leave it for another trip then!
Probably just ride up to VV and lepak as a proper backpacker.
I have done considerably bad back roads in Cambodia earlier in April... like really BAD, back roads.
Potholes will not pose a problem as I got offroading experience..
Actually, I too, drive on the wrong side of the road if it's too inconvenient...... quite accustomed to riding like this already.