Day 67! It’s sad to leave Vietnam, but man I’m so proud of myself for motorbiking it all! I’ll definitely be back to spend even more time in specific spots. But now it’s time to attempt something I was told was impossible… motorbiking across the Vietnam border into Laos! Adventure awaits me on the other side, so I hope they let me in!

I woke up bright and early at 7:30am and headed down to my hostel’s (Bonjour Hostel) breakfast.

It wasn’t as filling as I had gotten used to in Hoi An, but an egg Banh Mi always hits the spot! Especially this one since the bread was buttered on the outside!

By 8:15am I was packed up and ready to set out on my craziest adventure yet, hopefully crossing a border on a motorbike!

But before I set out, my friend Immy came running downstairs to say goodbye. Her and I have become tight friends and I look forward to our paths crossing again in the future, potentially in Koh Tao, Thailand.

I started my drive through a very busy Hue. The city and the surrounding towns were jam packed with cars as I hit the morning rush hour. There were plenty of motorbikes zooming by and a lot of trucks to get stuck behind.

As I made my way out of the city, I started to see some great views. But these views turned sour as I headed further into the mountains and was met with another round of white out cloudy conditions.

The white out fog definitely set me back on time but I wasn’t in the biggest rush today. I wanted to make sure I made it to the border in one piece and also successfully cross the border with my motorbike!

I kept on driving and ran into some local children who were very excited to see me! They came running over and then got really shy as they got closer, but it was a nice finale to my time in Vietnam and really sums up how nice everyone here is!

Two hours into my ride, I stoped for gas. It was really nice to take a break after gripping the steering wheel tight when I couldn’t see in front of me.

As I got closer and closer to the border, my nerves were starting to sky rocket as the thoughts of what would happen if I didn’t get in creeped in. But to soothe these nerves, I was met with more amazing views!

10 km before the checkpoint there was a gas station. Even though I had recently gotten gas, I thought it’d be a good idea to fill up because Google maps didn’t show any gas stations between the checkpoint and my destination for the night.

On top of that, as a precaution, I filled up a couple bottles last minute to make sure I wouldn’t be stranded.

(My dad will be upset that I did this BUT it was necessary to do. Along with that, the bottles have paper underneath the cap so they are not fully sealed this time around. And yes, these bottles came in handy this time!!)

I continued on and got a couple more views before arriving at the border… but as I got closer the roads became terrible which was a bit of foreshadowing to how the roads in Laos were supposedly going to be.

I hopped off my bike and headed inside the border checkpoint. I was immediately harassed by ladies trying to get me to exchange currency. I ignored them at first because I still wasn’t sure if I was going to get in and need the cash.

I stepped up to the counter and handed my passport over to the border patrol. He asked me a few questions like what my plans were after Laos and the purpose of my trip. I actually told him my true plans and that I was going to go to Thailand and he found that acceptable! Then he quickly stamped my exit stamp and sent me on my way! I asked him about a D53 form that I saw I might need and he said he didn’t know anything about it so I left!

I exchanged my currency for almost the exact exchange rate that Google said. Afterwards I quickly FaceTimed my parents to tell them the news and that I was about to lose service for the day!

I then rode to the border and actually got to see the physical marker of where Vietnam turns into Laos!

The roads around the border were awful. They were full of rocks and gravel. On top of that, there was so much dust flying everywhere that I was INSANELY grateful I got my new face mask!

But 3 kilometers later I arrived at the Laos entry point.

Here they made me fill out another form, asked me the same questions. I inquired about the D53 form for my motorbike but they weren’t sure. I found a room with a kiosk for the form and I was told very firmly that I didn’t need it… so I hope that’s the case!

After another 15 minutes I was stamped and cleared to enter Laos on my motorbike!!

All the nerves and worrying were for nothing as I was in and out of the border patrol in 30-40 minutes! All of the officers were super friendly and helpful which made for such a smooth process. I’m not sure if other borders are like this, but now I can confirm that the La Lay border allows for Vietnamese motorbikes to come through!

Filled with excitement, I set off onto the rocky, pothole filled, and dusty roads of Laos!

Even though the roads were actually some of the worst I’ve been on, they were very doable AND had spectacular views. I have no prior knowledge of Laos, but I can already tell motorbiking this country is going to be a major treat!

The scenery around me today was very dry, beautiful fields and mountains! The dust in the air added to the effect too which was interesting!

I also stumbled across a few gas stations along the way which I tried to make note of so I could mark them on a map for others later since Google doesn’t know they exist!

By this point I was pretty exhausted. The sun was out in full force and it was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). I had a lot more driving to go so I took lots of breaks to take pictures and drink water.

I was also really hungry and struggling to find a place to eat. Up until this point I had only seen small villages with wooden huts. These were incredible to see but weren’t going to help me curb my hunger!

Eventually I found a cafe that had food. I parked my bike and walked in and asked if they had food, they said yes… and then that was it. I never actually ordered food and then all of a sudden a big tray was brought out for me for my first taste of Laotian cuisine!

The food was exactly what I needed and was Com! I’m not sure if this is because I was so close to the Vietnamese border… but I guess I’ll find out as I continue on!

I’m not sure what sauce was on the fish on the top left of the plate. But it was amazing! I lucked out with the spot I found.

I saw they had a sugar cane press for juice and I’ve been wanting to try this since I made it to SE Asia! So I got one to finish off my meal with hopes that the sugar would give me energy to finish the long day!

The drink helped for a bit, but my energy was getting low with how hot of a day it was.

I saw something interesting on my drive. There was a truck spraying water across the entire road and I realized it was to make the roads less dusty! Very cool to see in person and I think it definitely helped and is very necessary!

After a bit more riding, I pulled over to fill up my gas tank with one of my bottles of gasoline and used the whole bottle!

An hour out I took one more break then pressed on through the bumpy streets! The sun was quickly setting so I didn’t have much more time for breaks.

After almost 9 hours I made it to the village of Tad Lo where I was staying for the night!

There wasn’t much in terms of places to stay on the way to the south of Laos… but I feel like I found an incredible spot!

This tent is right next to a beautiful river and a very culturally rich set of villages. I was also immediately met by the lovely owner, Bo, and a couple from Switzerland!

I got my bag and everything into my tent and when I got out the couple from Switzerland offered to buy me a beer! I thanked them and welcomed the treat as it had been such a long day. So I joined them on a bridge looking over the river!

Lawrence, Sophie, and I dove into conversations about our lives, their family and kids, and much more! They are traveling for a year before Sophie needs to go back to Switzerland to teach French! We talked about the importance of travel and how it’s so important to do it before you get to an age where you can’t anymore!

We also discussed how it’s a privilege to be able to travel but it’s even more important to use that privilege so we can learn and grow to be better for others around us!

It was a very nice introduction to my stay in Laos and my night wasn’t over yet of meeting wonderful people!

After parting ways with Sophie and Lawrence, I hopped back on my motorbike in search of dinner!

I drove into the center of the village and saw a restaurant that had a cheap menu outside, so I stepped inside to a group of people drinking beers and chatting!

There were two girls from France, Eymma and Alexine, and three Laos locals! They invited me to sit with them and gave me a few cups of beer for free which was very kind of them.

I ended up eating stir fried noodles with chicken but it looked like pad thai… I’m getting curious what the local Laos cuisine is or if it’s all influenced by the surrounding counties.

Eymma, Alexine, and I chatted late into the night. They are traveling for 6 months and then heading to Australia too! They’ve been friends since they were young and went to university together, so it was fun hearing stories and learning about their lives!

They also told me about some traditional live music happening tonight so we hopped over a few buildings to listen and ended up dancing with locals and tourists for an hour!

The hand motions for their dancing reminds me of dancing in Indian culture. I’m curious if there’s any parallels or if it’s just Asian culture in general! Something to add to my ever growing list of things to look into!

I parted ways with my new friends and headed back to my tent. But before I made it to my bed, I went to the main area to work on my blog in a chair.

This ended up turning into a deep and lengthy conversation with the owner of the place, Bo!

He opened up about his life and how he grew up very poor and without his mother, who passed away when he was 2 years old. His father left him after he remarried and he had a book to show the story of his life after he was a bit older.

He built himself his own house and then met some foreigners from Austria who gave home $2,000 to fix his house. But instead of using that money for his house, he used it to build a shop for his wife to work in. Then he saved money to build a guest house. Then saved money to build a homestay. And then finally in 2019, he built the property that I’m staying at.

It was quite a moving story and made me really glad I chose to stay here! He also extended an offer that if I ever want to stay and help out/volunteer, I’m welcome any time! I told him I’d definitely take him up on that but later in my travels of South East Asia!

He also told me that there’s a lot of trekking and different villages/cultures to see so I’m excited to come back and visit again for longer!

We chatted for an hour and then we both decided it was time to go to bed for the night!

It was an amazing and long day! I can’t believe I made it into Laos! I’ll miss Vietnam for sure, but if this is how day one of Laos starts… this country is about to be something special!

See you tomorrow, hopefully in Don Det!

– Elie