Today was another early day, we got up at 630 and went out to the street in order to catch a bus to Tha Huea, where the dirtbiking place was (17 km south of Vang Vieng). The only problem was we had no idea how to catch the bus... We stood outside for literally 30 min trying to stop any car or bus to take us to see if they could take us there, no luck. Finally we were able to stop a guy in a mini bus who said he could take us for 100k (about $12). We said screw it and took him up on the offer. The van was pretty big, about 12 seats. We started with just my dad, me, another passenger and the driver. However as we kept driving he kept picking up more and MORE people!! Before we knew it we were PACKED into the van with 17 people! Seriously! We drove for 5 more minutes like this until we finally stopped and the driver told us to get out. He then ran across the street, ditching the other 14 people in the van, to get a truck! We had no clue what was going on. He told us to hop in the back and drove us down this dirt road to the dirtbike place.
Once we arrived we were greeted by Tom (the owner of the dirtbike shop). We were early so we had some breakfast at the resort restaurant. There was a little pet monkey and bird that were so cool!
After eating the bird attacked the left overs, it was kinda funny, I guess he does it all the time.
After eating we went down to the bike area and Tom showed us how to work the bikes. I had never ridden a manual bike with a clutch before but with minutes I was comfortable and ready to ride!
After getting our gear we got on the bikes and started up the dirt road to the street. We road for about 20 minutes to an open dirt field Tom called 'the playground'. Here we got to practice some different maneuvers on the bike and got comfortable with the bike.
We stayed there for another 30 mintites or so then headed by to the road. We drove to a small shop on the side of the road where Tom bought us a drink and told us some stories about how he ended up in Laos. Tom's from Wales, it's pretty amazing how some people can just pick up and move to a new country and start a life. After chatting we got back on the road and headed for a small village near the lake. The views along the way were incredible. The roads would wind back and forth with huge mountains and lakes in the distance, pictures and words really don't do the beauty of the landscape justice, it's just amazing. We went on a dirt road to this tiny village, Tom had bought some candy at the stop and told me to hand it out to the kids. As soon as I brought the bag if candy out about 10 kids swarmed over to me with their hands out wanting some. They were all incredibly cute! It was so much fun. They have a much more relaxed life without so many worries, it's a much more simpler way to live just enjoying life. And the view from the village of the lake was so amazing!
After hanging out for a while and listening to some more stories from Tom, we drive back out to the road and headed to this place called 'the jungle'. This was an off road track with lots of twists and turns and hills, it was so much fun to ride! Once we got to the end of the trail we took a break and then headed back to the resort where the bikes were kept.
We decided to have lunch there, I had the Lapp penin which is a type of fish that they catch fresh from the lake everyday, it was delicious!
There was one problem, when it came time to pay Tom for the tour we found out that they didn't accept credit card and the nearest ATM was 12 km away (almost all the way back to vang Vieng!). We didn't have enough cash on us to pay it either so Tom said I could take one of the bikes and find the ATM. Of course I jumped at the chance to ride again! I had no idea where I was going but there was only one road so I followed it until I reached some of the landmarks Tom told me to look for and sure enough there was the ATM! I rode back and we squared up with Tom. Btw all this riding makes me want to get a motorcycle even more once I get settled in savannah!
Now came the problem of finding a way back to vang Vieng. There are little tuk tuks that ride back and forth between the towns (sort of like a shuttle) Tom waited with us to get one however it was packed. After talking with the driver Tom said we could ride STANDING ON THE BACK! Haha, it was kinda crazy but screw it! So we rode all the way back to vang Vieng hanging onto the back of this tiny tuktuk it was a blast!
-Hanging on the back of a tuk tuk
Once we got back to vang Vieng we stopped in the hostel then went out to the town. I got some new Havianas (flip flops) since mine broke. After we went to Le cafe de Paris where I had some boeuf bourguinon, this was literally the best food id had all trip! I definitely need to learn how to make it!
After dinner we went back and chilled in the hostel watching some reruns of how I met your mother and checking my phone. I want to give a shoutout to Rachel, she just got offered and internship position at Boeing in St. Louis this summer. If you don't know Boeing builds commercial jets and is one of the largest manufacturers in the world! It's an amazing opportunity and I'm so proud and excited for her! :)
After a few episodes and some time writing my blog I headed back to the room. Tomorrow we leave on a 3.5 hour bus ride to Vientiane (the capital of Laos) at 10am! Only a few more days till Cambodia! It's gunna be hard to too these last couple of days!
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