Che-ing All Over

Che Guevara - Bumper Sticker and Icon of the People (who drive tuk tuks)

 

Scooting the Loop - Thakek

An Adventure on Two Wheels

In November  '13 I had a conversation with a friend about doing the "Thakek Loop". A few friends had done it and it looked like fun. Four days on motorbikes scooting around the Laos countryside. What's not to love? We started planning.

Lunchtime touring of the outer 'burbs

This post is basically to show a few photos of the outer 'burbs of Vientiane. First, let me explain...

I have wheels. I'm still enjoying the novelty. The bike is a bit, er, retro (as one person suggested). But it goes and goes and I enjoy the wind on my face and the opportunity to get out and about and see what's going on off the main roads.

the red rattler

Lunchtimes at work are often long and lazy. Several comrades have a regular system of taking naps at their desks. I've done that once or twice but lately have found something better to do with my time. I go motorbikin'!

If there's nothing else going on (shared lunches, lunch at the bosses restaurant, funeral or shopping to be done) I eat at my desk and then adjust my skirts and climb aboard the red rattler. Off to explore the outer 'burbs and the urban-rural interface of northern Vientiane.

So here's some photos of things that took my eye on one of these rides.

I watched a guy cut this tree down

This is the guy cutting down the aforementioned tree

 

Bummer of a place to be if you can't eat bread

Le Eiffel Tower - a la Laos Telecom

Of course. Penguins. Why not?

 A reminder

 

outer burbs slowly growing and paving

panorama - best viewed when clicked and enlarged

 

Vientiane under construction

 

Guard outside Department of Defence compound

 

 

I think New Zealanders own this company

Independence was won through war - and don't you forget it

A lake

the Lake House (without Keanu)

Rain threatening to ruin my lunch break (it didn't, though)

 

Zen and the Art of Motorbikin'

Needing to feel the wind in my hair, sun on my face, see some rice fields and feel glad to be alive, I suggested hiring scooters for a day and heading off into the wild green yonder. So we did...

Four Australians on three Japanese scooters.  We looked tough; we looked like a bikie gang. We WERE a bikie gang.

Tough - but fair

(yeah, I'm not convinced either)

 

We headed off in the general direction of Buddha Park. I have vague recollections of having been there before. It remember it was tacky and a bit decrepit.

 

We followed the guy with the GPS. He suggested the scenic route. I naively agreed.

 

Country roads - that's Martin in the distance

 

As we reached the outskirts of Vientiane (which didn't take long) the roads started to get thinner and wobblier.  Then they got dirtier. In fact, for a lot of the scenic route, the roads were dirt. And holes.

 

Dirt roads with many wet potholes

 

This picture shows one of the rutted red roads we negotiated. It's by no means one of the bad ones. There was no way I was going to try to ride one handed, manoeuvre around those holes and piles of dirt and the odd goat or two and take a photo at the same time. I would have been eating dirt in no time!

 

On the way we saw a lot of temples. Maybe about 20 or more. Every village had one or two. We stopped at one. A monk came out to chat and take photos.

 

Martin and a monk

 

Amidst the blue sky, fluffy white clouds, bright green rice fields and red-brown roads, the temples were strikingly gold and glittery. There's a lot of attention paid to the glittery bits. They shine and twinkle and make you forget that you are standing near a dead cat and a pile of old plastic bags.

 

Village temple

 

We rode alongside the Mekong River with Thailand on the other side.

 

Riverside Riding

 

This is an Isaan/Lao style temple on the Thai side of the river.

 

One of the things I was keen to see was Laos countryside. I knew it was out there. I'd seen it once a long time ago and more recently I'd seen pictures. It's not far away. Within a couple of kilometres I was seeing rural scenes that are postcard-worthy. Or at least blog-worthy.

 

Stay there, kids, I'm comin' through.

 

At one point a herd of stampeding goats came running at us with wild eyes and tails high and barking dogs at their heels. One of us was slightly startled and had to dodge a few galloping goats. (Not me). It was hilarious. I wished I had my camera in my hand!

Here's a family out for a day trip on the tractor

 

 I remembered the green of young rice fields as almost luminescent. It still is. Not sure if you can see this colour in the same way as I did but it hurts your eyes it is so fresh and crisp and gorgeously green.

That green is astoundingly, um, green.

 

Eventually - and I think it took about two and half hours of rumbling and shaking and dodging potholes and concentrating on the flattest part of the rutted road, we arrived at Buddha Park! Phew.

 

 

Buddha Park

 

Buddha Park was built by a rich eccentric guy in the 50s. It's bigger than I remembered.  And better. It's basically full of concrete statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities and characters. There are Shivas and Buddhas and Ganeshes. they were astounding.  And weird. And some were just tacky.  It was great! Here's some pictures:

This one is eating the moon.

Lots and lots of statues

Love these creepy guys!

 

Rows and rows of stones

 

Lots more statues (sick of them yet?)

 

Elcira climbing out at the top of the pumpkin

 

Here's some risk takers on top of the pumpkin. We endured some of the thinnest, steepest, unsafest staircases to get to the top. But it was worth it!

 

And here's a picture of the pumpkin thing. It's actually a structure representing various levels of hell.

 

Great pumpkin of hell. Or something like that.

 

And here's the view from on top of the pumpkin thing. The great big lying down Buddha was about, oh, lots of metres long and pretty tall. The topiary was interesting, too.

Buddha park from the top of the thing

 

On the way home we saw more pretty rural scenes of (probably poor and definitely nonunionised) farm labourers and green rice fields and we copped a whole lot more sunshine without the protection of conical bamboo hats.

 

Planting of the green stuff

 

Digging the red-brown stuff

 

Arriving home slightly sunburnt and tired I was satisfied I had seen a little bit of rural Laos - or at least the edges-of-the-city rural bits.

 

Vols on wheels. Heading back into the city.

 

Oh, and I am DEFINITELY going to buy a scooter now. I loved the freedom, the independence, the wind in my hair (despite the helmet that would have Eric Estrada green with envy) and what a great way to get away from squealing tuk tuks and the smell of death (or is that just rotting mangoes?)