Topics

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Two Wheel Forum / Let's Ride, into Laos???

« on: September 18, 2012, 11:34:23 AM »

Hear me out... a friend of mine was in Thailand and Laos last year and he told me how beautiful the countryside was there… Lots of twisty curves, lush mountainsides and deep valleys to wet your appetites. Anyone up for a ride there?

Here is my plan…

1.   Fly into Thailand, rent streets bikes in Chaingmai.
2.   Spend a few days in Chaingmai. (New Years Celebration)
3.   Cross over to Laos. (on the ferry at Chaing Khong)
4.   Ride into Luang Prabang, spend a few days.
5.   Ride into Xieng Kouang, spend a few days.
6.   Ride into Vientiane/KM52, spend a few days.
7.   Split and visit your relatives…
8.   Meet up and ride back to Thailand.
9.   Fly home.

I figure about 3 weeks…. Prices in Thailand for bike rentals are reasonable.

Rental Rates
We have a broad range of bikes available, at the following daily rates;
•   Honda VRX 400 “Roadster Special” @ 1200 baht.
•   Honda CBR250 @ 800 baht. ( 25 US dollars per day)
•   Kawasaki Ninja 250 @ 800 baht. (25 US dollars per day)
•   Honda Super Four 400 @ 700 baht.
So, am I crazy or is anyone else up for it. So what if I don’t speak a single work in Laos or Thai… It will be the ride of a life time.

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Travel & Vacation Forum / Going to Laos... For Dummies (Like Me)

« on: August 31, 2012, 03:21:08 PM »

First of All, I am not a travel agent and I am not out to offend anyone. Please don't have any preconceived ideas of what I may or may not do while I am over there. This is my first time to Laos and I will be visiting my grandmother on my mother’s side. I am just trying to document the process I am and will be going thru. Follow my thread me if you want and if this helps you too, than my mission was accomplished.

So… to start off, about 5 years ago, after my mother’s death, I had an awakening. Her mortality made me question my life and who I was. In my search for myself, I realize, I needed to reconnect with my family including those relatives still back in Laos. Well, this year I am going to do it… I am going back to Laos, a place I left when I was just 3 years old.
1.  First thing first. I verified I have enough Paid Time Off at work and I have money for this trip.  Have my passport and importantly, it has more than 6 months left before expiration. Checked on PTO, about 300 hours left. Checked on cash on hand, about 4500.00. (Not sure if this will be enough.)

2. Requested time off at work and received approval for 3 weeks in December. Hmong New Years in Phonsavan is Nov. 14, 2012 and in KM52 is Dec. 14, 2012, according to the Hmong calender.

3. Started to look at Airline tickets back to Laos about a month ago. I will be flying from San Francisco (airport code SFO) to Vientiane (airport code VTE). Others codes of interest for Southeast Asia are TPE (Taipei), HAN (Hanoi), BKK (Bangkok), CNX (Chaing Mai), ICN (Seoul) and LPQ (Luang Prabang).
 
Very important note… All of my research seems to suggest that the best prices on international flights to Laos are in the Winter and are made 3-4 months before your travel date. In addition,  you must fly out on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday to get the best prices.

Vayama.com and Cheapoair.com are two of the best sites for flights to Laos and Thailand, I am not using a travel agent for my trip. Keep in mind that these prices are cheap, but they ARE NOT transferable or refundable. Please also make sure that you have the correct names when booking... EXACT and CORRECT spellings. Changes are not allow after booking.
 
On August 30, 2012, the best prices for Laos were on Cheapoair.com. Please see attached screen shot. (HELP.... How do I attached PIC?)
932.52 per person. SFO to ICN to HAN to VTE.

Stay tuned for HOTEL updates and Visa preparations.. .