(SE Asia - Laos) - Thakhek Loop

There's a very popular motorbike route in Laos that takes you on a 450km journey through all sorts of caves, dirt roads, and really beautiful scenery. It starts in a town called Thakhek and what normally is completed in 3 days the crew that I went with did it in 36 hours.

I've got a lot to post on the 3 month South East Asia trip that I took in 2018 but this motorbike route was one of the most memorable parts of my whole trip.

Loop map: So you start at Thakhek and loop through counter-clock wise. I fell from my motorbike in the dirt road and on the busy highway I was pretty much riding in the dark with huge trucks passing me (which I would recommend 0/10).

Day 1

I think SE Asia was the first time I've actually ridden a moped. I rode a couple times in Thailand prior to riding this loop. If you can ride a bicycle, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Just make sure you don't over aceelerate from a stop because you'll just lose control and fall. Also, no helmet no ride.

Route crew: Met these guys (English and Brazilian) at the hostel the night before starting the trip. Right after we paid for our rentals we were just checking to see how our bikes were working. The pal on the left revs his engine and immediately crashes into the front gate (he was trying to stop his bike but got confused in the moment and ended up just accelerating even more lol). Thankfully he was fine but we could not stop laughing. Fun times.

On the road: rock on

Kids coming back from school: so cute

Random place: I think I lost a lot of weight travelling

Mountains: The mountains in Laos remind me a lot of the ones I saw in Peru and Bolivia. Round with bald patches.

Cloudy: pretty sure this is the skinnest I've been in the past 10 years

eh?: didn't know trees grew like this

Road selfie: lol

On the bike: lol again

Fuel up: Also map checking so we don't get lost. MAPS.ME is a popular map app among backpackers (works offline too)

Lagoon 1: We swam in here after a few hours of riding. So blue.

Lagoon 2: Can you see those abs? prob not because I compressed these pics

Dinner at the hostel: I'm pretty sure I ate more than this

Shower, cards, beer: best feeling after spending all day on the bike.

Day 2

Things took a sharp turn and we were met with heavy rain on the next day. It was going to rain all day so we just hit the road in the morning.

I can say from experience riding a moped in the rain is pretty tough and almost miserable - it's wet, riding through puddles of mud, and you're constantly trying not to fall. We had to cover almost 300km on the second day so it was quite a grind.

Wet dirt road: I fell here (although going like 5mph.. still ended up with a big scratch on my arm)

Farm land: so green

Kanglor Cave: Supposed to be the highlight of this trip. You take a boat through the water into a massive cave system. One of my flip flops broke and I had to go one barefoot through this entire tour..

Boat ride selfie: finished the cave tour yay

Mountain view 1: Before the really long highway starts the loop takes you through some really beautiful scenery in the mountains. One of the best views from the SE Asia trip.

Mountain view 2: cheese (feat. dirt covered pants from falling)

Mountain view 3: wow

No pictures but the last couple hours or so we had to ride in the dark on a super long highway with tons of huge trucks passing. Super dangerous - do not recommend to anyone

Thoughts

I think about these 2 days that I spent on the motorbike a lot. I rode through 450km with a group of people I've never met and we were basically dependent on each other throughout that entire trip. That is actually pretty crazy to think about - the people you are suddenly closest to are actually people you just met. That is not something you experience in normal day-to-day life.

There were nice parts of the trip like seeing really beautiful sites, the whole experience of exploring the rural lands of Laos, and just being able to have a drink and laugh together after a long day of riding. On the flip side, there were also a lot of bumps on the road - it was really hard on that second day riding through the rain, falling from my bike, losing one of my sandals, and riding that final 2 hours in the dark and busy highway.

But what is the most fulfilling was finally reaching back to Thakhek and realizing the memories I shared with these group of friends - and the fact that we finished together despite the circumstances we couldn't control.

Maybe such is life. The most comfortable is not the most fulfilling. And what gives meaning is each other