Steven Raucher's World Tour

2001-06-20 in Huay Xai, Laos
The other side of the Mekong � undeveloped, unspoiled, smiling faces and cheap beer.

Being in Laos one immediately notices how different things are over here. Firstly there were no immigration officers to stamp our passports when we entered the country, instead we were told to go and look for them.

And so it came to be that within 20 minutes of being in Laos my bike scored its first casualty from the notorious roads with a corker of a puncture. There�s nothing quite like fixing a tyre in the scorching heat as an illegal alien (still no stamp) while all your friends look on with a fat smirk. Ahh, the joys of overlanding (see picture). Good news: got stamped into the country. All we had to do now was find a hotel, not step on a UXO (UneXploded Ordnance, aka landmine), shower, find food (read beer) and settle into our first night overlooking the Mekong River from the Laos side. Splendid.

We knew from thorough research that the road from Huay Xai going south was virtually impassable so instead of having a lazy beer-soaked afternoon congratulating ourselves on a smooth border crossing the reality is we spent the afternoon trying to find a riverboat to fit three fat Beemers (1150GS: mine; R80GS: Paul�s; R100GS-PD: Richard�s), easier said than done. The design of these riverboats does not easily allow for the loading of our beasts, they have low ceilings, high sides and of course there is no jetty to load the boats from. Finally after about four hours of negotiating we settled on the extortionate price of 5000 Thai Baht (hard currency here � monopoly money everywhere else). Very satisfied with ourselves we went off to sample some freshly baked baguettes (this used to be French Indochina, remember?) and Laos coffee (very good stuff, if you can stand the half can of condensed milk they throw in).

The next day we stripped our bikes of as much weight as we could and prepared to haul them over the side of river boat whilst standing them in the riverbed. Quite a laugh (see pic). Once aboard the captain pointed us downstream and we began our 6-hour journey to Pak Beng, where there is apparently a road. The anticipation was killing us.

There is a road, and it is terrible, but doable. Much to the discomfort of the pillion riders (passengers, in non-biker speak), as they tend to get thrown around a bit when navigating mud filled Mini Cooper-sized potholes. Stretches like this make one wish you listened to everyone who said either �Do not attempt Laos in the Monsoon season� OR �Your bike is too big, get a single cylinder 650cc with knobbly tyres�. Oh well, we smile in the face of adversity and laugh in the face of the weather: we are OVERLANDERS! (Sorry, I think I am getting a bit carried away)

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loading the bikes into the riverboat - thirsty work

Richard pointing out I shouldn't ride without a back wheel - what does he know?

cruising south on the Mekong River

the beauty of the jungle at sunset

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