Day 75! Time for another famous motorbike loop! This time, it’s in Laos! The Tahkhek loop used to be a dirt road that travelers traversed for the thrill of exploring a national park. But now the road has been properly paved for tourists and locals alike! But it does mean trucks and busses now have access to it… anyways, the loop has a lot of treats in store for me and I can’t wait for you all to see them as well! Let’s dive into the day!

7am rolled around and my internal alarm clock shot me awake! Not really sure why, but I was up and alert and ready to take on the day.

I got ready for the morning, packed my things, and was on the road just after 7:30am!

Before getting too far on my adventure, I stopped for gas so I wouldn’t have to worry about it for the time being! I wanted my full attention on the views I was going to see.

I pulled out from the gas station and set off on an hour ride to my first stop of the day.

Immediately I was blown away by the views and was surrounded by gorgeous rock structures. These small mountains appeared like they were coming out of nowhere and was an insane change of scenery to the roads I’ve been on so far in Laos!

I couldn’t help myself and I stopped time after time to take pictures and soak in the majestic sights! It really helped that I wasn’t in a rush today and set out early. So early in fact I was really the only tourist on the road!

The roads were actually fantastic and pretty much pot hole free. I was thoroughly enjoying myself on this ride so far and was excited to keep zipping along through the loop.

There was so much greenery and life in the plants around me but there was an ominous river that had a bunch of dead tree stumps… and we’ll see more of that later.

After an hour, I made it to my first stop, the Pha Katai Viewpoint!

I actually arrived here an hour before Google said it was open, so I was hoping I’d be able to sneak by without having to pay. But I’m sure my motorbike engine was loud enough and the man tending the area was quick to come out and meet me and ask me to pay 20,000 Kip to explore the view.

I climbed up a lot of rickety metal stairs to get to the top. But after 15 minutes of sweating my butt off I felt like the view was worth the trek up!

I ended up sitting at the top admiring the view for a bit before making my decent back down. I was very sweaty by the end of it and guzzled some water before heading back out on the road.

It was a quick 20 minute ride to the turn for my next destination. And at the entrance to the road, I ran into two tourists from Germany who were bicycling the Loop! I learned more about them once I got to the spot we were all heading but first I got to enjoy it for a bit by myself!

I set off down a gravel and dirt road for about 10 minutes and arrived at the entrance to my next stop, the Song Sa Waterfall!

After paying an entrance fee of 10,000 Kip (which apparently you don’t have to pay) I parked my bike and walked to a gorgeous plunge pool that I had completely to myself!

There was about a 7 meter cliff to jump off of too and I of course had to try it out! Here’s a video:

Eventually the German couple arrived and I found out their names were Mariel and Henning! They have been traveling by bicycle for the past two years straight! Starting in Germany, they’ve peddled their way across Europe and Asia. Sometimes camping or staying in hostels/homestays and also hitchhiking when conditions got bad, their adventure sounded incredible and exhausting!

We chatted for a bit and then another traveler showed up… and one that I recognized! It was Oscar (also from Germany) who I met in Don Det! He was the one that cut his toe on the waterfall and had me take a look at it.

It was a nice moment of serendipity and it was nice to chat more and hear about what he’d been up to!

I ended up staying at the private oasis for about an hour and a half! By this point, a small group of local teens had shown up and were enjoying the plunge pool as well!

I let myself air dry and then hopped back on my motorbike for a 40 minute ride to where I was planning on having lunch!

I arrived in Thalang at just before 1pm! So that decided it, I was staying in Lak Sao for the night!

I found a restaurant called Tony Anlee House, that had cheap, good food!

After enjoying my minced chicken, I set back out on the road towards Lak Sao. On this road were a few more destinations I had pinned to my Google maps, so I had a bit more exploring to do!

The first stop was the Flooded Forest Viewpoint. Now there’s many spots to see the flooded forest as you drive through the loop, but this is definitely the more dense forest!

It’s a little mysterious and eerie looking at a bunch of half chopped trees in flooded waters. It’s very reminiscent of the Lorax and this thought was stuck in my head every time I saw a view of the trees.

I then drove on a bit further until I reached my next stop!

My next stop was the Sandstone Buddha Rock Sculptures!

These ornate buddhas were carved out of the sandstone rock face and were very impressive to see. The level of detail and craftsmanship in the rocks was really cool to see up close and it left me wondering when they were created (which I couldn’t find on Google).

I set back out on the road for my last “official” stop before reach Lak Sao. Luckily all of these stops were nearby each other because for a brief stretch after eating lunch, I had no service!

The last stop I had marked down was the Beautiful Landscape Viewpoint. As impressive as it was, the whole drive around this viewpoint was gorgeous and it overlooked a valley of farmland and trees!

This ride had been the change of pace I needed! I was getting a bit tired of the flat, dry roads I had been driving down. This loop started off flat, but then became a lovely road of winding turns through hills! It was a blast!

I then rode on another 35 minutes and arrived at the homestay I was hoping to spend the night at! Thankfully they had a room and asking at the door ended up being a few dollars cheaper than booking online!

I had a nice and new private room for 200,000 Kip. Even though it was only 3pm, I was ready for a shower, nap, and to be done with my long day of riding!

After my nap I woke up with a bunch of time on my hands! So I headed out for a much needed errand, a haircut!

On my way to my homestay I saw a street that had barbers scattered throughout! So I set out to find an open one and I found a winner!

For 30,000 Kip I got a nice haircut! My sides and neck were cleaned up, my hair was trimmed a tiny bit, and it was thinned out which was really needed!

I ended up paying him 50,000 which was still absurdly cheap!

With my new dew, I went a few more minutes down the road to a restaurant I found on Google maps. And this time it was open on the first try!

My hair was a bit poofy from being combed out so when I got to my homestay I made sure to get it all curly again.

But before that, I enjoyed a nice meal of crispy fried chicken with rice and a refreshing Beerlao for 65,000 Kip!

When I got back to my room, I tried working on my taxes… but the wifi was not working, so I’ll try again soon!

I then capped off the night with more reading and went to bed early as I’ll be getting up early again to start day 2 of the Thakhek Loop!

I really enjoyed my day today! Even though I’m doing another loop alone, I met some wonderful people! I also got to take the loop at my own pace and saw some very beautiful sites. I’m looking forward to what day 2 has in store as I should be getting to explore the massive Konglor Cave at the end of my ride!

– Elie