5 days in Southern Laos! ^.^ Jungle boogie

[N[]vA]

So....

Myself and a few mates are busy planning 5 day ride through Southern Laos Starting the 26th April :ricky:

Some of the most untouched jungle riding the world has to offer  :thumleft:

Was going to wait till it was closer to the date to start a thread but I CANNOT FUCKIGN WAUT  :deal:

:ricky: :ricky:

some info on our planning.

Hello all,

Alright, it's time to discuss our next motorbike trip in Lao for the week-end between Friday the 26th of April and Wednesday the 1st of May !

A little background information first. I have checked several options in Thailand and Lao, and here are the alternatives I could find:

   Offroad Laos: www.offroadlaos.com
   The tour departs from Luang Prabang (north Lao) and it is priced at 721$ per person with Honda XR 250 or Honda BAJA 250 for 5 full days of riding.
   Green Earth Adventure: www.greenearthadventure.in.th
   The tour departs from Chiang Mai (north Thailand) and it is priced at 1000$ for 5 days per person. They have planned a trip around the Golden Triangle.
   Cambodia Cycling: www.cambodiacycling.com
   The tour departs from Pakse (south Lao) and it is priced at 500$ per person (or 450$ if we are 8 participants). We already know them as we did a 3 days of riding in Cambodia (around Siem Reap) with them last year, and it was just perfect.


Given that information, the option I have taken is the third one. The reasons:

   The price. FYI, we paid USD400 per person last year for a 3 day riding trip.
   The fact that the transportation is cheaper to go to Pakse than Luang Prabang.
   We already know them and know we can trust them.
   More choice of bikes (namely the WR250, XR400 and CRF230) which is quite rare in Lao (they only have Baja usually).


I have already pre-booked with them and told them we will be at least 4. I have attached the document they sent to me explaining what they planned for the tour. I added several maps for you to have a better understanding of our ride. Here is a summary:

   Friday 26th of March: Traveling to Pakse
   Saturday 27th of March: Tour departure, briefing and bike fitting
   Sunday 28th of March: Riding full day
   Monday 29th of March: Riding full day
   Tuesday 30th of March: Riding full day
   Wednesday 1st of May: Riding back to Pakse full day
   Thursday the 2nd of May: Traveling to Pakse


For Phuong, Benjamin and Elodie, the difficulty level of the tour will be similar as last year. Some part are hard, some easy but they will be flexible like last year too. If some would like to have more fun and ride harder this is something they can accommodate.

These are the motorbikes they have:

   1 x WR250 > I am taking this one ! It's the same as my bike here.
   1 x XR400 > Good bike for experienced rider, I would recommend this to Jan
   2 x CRF230 > Good for small people (so Phuong and Elodie)
   4 x XR250 (or Baja) > Good versatile bike suitable for Benjamin and Jean-Philippe


The equipment included (Helmets, googles, armours for chest and elbow protection, boots, knees guards and gloves), so for those that don't bring their own gear (namely Jan, Phuong and myself), we will need your size: height, shoes and pants.

The hardest part now is how to get to Pakse. I have looked at the options available and direct flight to Lao is expensive, and they only have 4 flights a week. I have attached the options I quickly looked for on the Internet. Please note it may be cheaper in a travel agency.
A cheaper option would be to take the bus from either Da Nang or Phnom Penh (much cheaper) but it will take no less than 6 hours either way not counting the time to get to Da Nang or Phnom Penh. A valid option for people leaving from HCMC would be to take the bus to Phnom Penh on Friday, overnight there, and bus to Pakse in the early morning to be there in the afternoon. Same from Da Nang but this time plane and then bus. Should be no more than 100USD one way with the additional accommodation on Friday night. However with this option we would need to take a leave on the 2nd of May as well to come back home.

For our people joining from Singapore, going to HCMC seems to be the cheaper option but you could also check out for Bangkok.

Estimated budget per person from HCMC would be as follow:

   Flight round trip: 377$
   Tour for 4 days of riding (includes everything but lunches and dinners): 500$
   Extra accommodation on Friday and/or Wednesday: 50$
   Beer and food money: 150$
   Total: 1077$ or about 1100$ per person.


People joining us from Singapore would need to add the trip to HCMC to that amount.

There you go ! I am now waiting for your feedback, the most important part being your official confirmation that you can come and how you plan on getting to Pakse depending on what you value most (basically, time or money). Cheers !

ps: if any one is keen on joining in just shout  :deal:

 

[MURPHY]

 

[N[]vA]

 

[Crossed-up]