On the road to Vang Vieng

We set off this morning after a rather rocky start of not being able to find a guesthouse willing to store out bags, not able to find a bike rental shop willing to let us take their bikes outside the city limits, and constant bickering between Jen and Sam over the stupid, little details. But by 10am, we had it all sorted out and were on our way to Vang Vieng, or so we thought. Getting out of Vientiane proved to be the hardest part of the day. Without a decent map to guide us, we relied on a cmpass and street signs to find out way north. While we eventually made it out, it's not exactly the most efficient way of getting around. After 2 hours of riding in a mostly northerly direction, we pulled off the road to ask for directions. Over a funky lemon-lime flavored energy drink and lots of pointing, we figured we were at tleast headed towards Vang Vieng, if not by the most direct route. Back on our bikes and Jen gets run off the road by a mother and her son on a motorbike who come barrelling down the road from seemingly nowhere. Toppled over in the dirt, oil starts spilling from Jen's motorbike leaving a vast puddle of oily muck beneath her. Concerned. we search out a mechanic in hopes of getting what we assume to be a problem, fixed. A few hundred meters and numerous bewildered looks later, Sam finds the mechanic who explains that oil leaks out when motorbikes tip over. Nothing to worry about. Great, another hour lost I think to myself. By this time its nearly 1pm, the time we had anticipated arriving in Vang Vieng, and still we're nowhere near the half-way point. We are rewarded however from this point on with magnificnet rolling, twisty mountain roads. Despite the fact we had no idea where we were, we had a great time riding on those roads. The traffic was minimal and the scenery was great.

We eventually met up with Road 13, the road that leads directly from Vientiane to Vang Vieng. By inadvertantly taking back roads and logging quiet a few extra kilometers we managed to avoid road construction, big trucks, and of course, I'm convinced had a more enjoyable, scenic ride. 8 hours later, we finally made it Vang Vieng, found a decent guest house, and made a bee-line to the nearest restaurant. Having not eaten since breakfast, we were faminshed. It's safe to say that I devoured my bowl of vegetable curry and sticky rice!