Cycling in Laos

Hi...
Anyone been to Laos? Any tips for riding in Laos (most likely in Luang Prabang/Vientiene/Vang Vieng)?

Anyone know how easy it is to hire a bike there? And if anyone's done cycling in Vietnam too, how is it in comparison?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Read One Foot in Laos - Dervla Murphy for advice. I think I still have it so can send it to you if you want. Interesting read if now a little dated, will have some good pointers.

that would be awesome, thanks so much. would pick one up myself but i'm all for recycling. can i repay you by book swap? i have "he's just not that into you", "skinny bitch", "it's called breakup because it's broken"...

I've read on a few travel logs that they are pretty good, safe places to cycle. Check on crazyguyonabike.com for some trip reports, maybe email some people on there as well.

that would be awesome, thanks so much. would pick one up myself but i'm all for recycling. can i repay you by book swap? i have "he's just not that into you", "skinny bitch", "it's called breakup because it's broken"...

Not really my kind or reading there, if you have anything in sci fi fantasy or gritty drama that would be cool. Travelogs are also usually welcome along with sociopolitical studies. I'll check the book is still in my library this evening and get back to you.

thanks heaps TheBrick(Tommy), that's a really good site, found some travel logs that has really useful info. just read a bit about a couple travelling through Laos on a tandem... nice!

Not really my kind or reading there, if you have anything in sci fi fantasy or gritty drama that would be cool. Travelogs are also usually welcome along with sociopolitical studies. I'll check the book is still in my library this evening and get back to you.

Great thanks The Seldom Killer! Yea sure, have some Travelogs kicking around too, thanks again. :)

visit www.thehungrycyclist.com he is currently cycling through lao.

i've been to laos. it's brilliant. nicest country in the world... can't recommend it enough. go to vietnam/thailand/wherever first, not afterwards and save laos for the last place you visit on your trip.

vientiane is nice but not particularly special. luang prabang though is incredible and easily one of the best places i've ever visited in my life.

roads throughout laos are pretty much dirt roads. bring a bike if you want to do it; the bikes that i saw there were mostly cheap chinese citybikes that looked like they were about to fall apart. we rented scooters and did a bit of touring, which was great.

pm me if you need more advice. but seriousy... go to laos.

Laos is a really lovely country with friendly locals from what I saw. Didn't cycle there but the road down from Luang Prabang is seriously mountainous so you'll need stamina and a decent geared bike with tyres that can deal with dirt roads.
Enjoy.

i've been to laos. it's brilliant. nicest country in the world... can't recommend it enough. go to vietnam/thailand/wherever first, not afterwards and save laos for the last place you visit on your trip.

vientiane is nice but not particularly special. luang prabang though is incredible and easily one of the best places i've ever visited in my life.

roads throughout laos are pretty much dirt roads. bring a bike if you want to do it; the bikes that i saw there were mostly cheap chinese citybikes that looked like they were about to fall apart. we rented scooters and did a bit of touring, which was great.

pm me if you need more advice. but seriousy... go to laos.

thanks teddy. yea vietnam is amazing eh... been there three times and counting. it's only my favourite country in the whole world. after nz and uk of course :) but some say that laos is ever lovelier than vietnam so will have to check it out!

but yea i think i know what you mean about the chinese citybikes, sounds like the ones they have in VN, had to use my jandals to brake as the brakes didn't work that well... they also used wood stick things for pedals as they were all broken. i was just glad to be on two wheels so no complaints there.

thanks for the advice, will have to ask you about the scooter/touring thing too.

Laos is a really lovely country with friendly locals from what I saw. Didn't cycle there but the road down from Luang Prabang is seriously mountainous so you'll need stamina and a decent geared bike with tyres that can deal with dirt roads.
Enjoy.

thanks for the tip Special K. yea been reading some blogs from the links above about guys that have done cycling through laos and they talk about 20km uphills then 15km downhills, through pretty atrocious terrains, so not sure if that's the best way to go about it for the kind of trip i'm thinking of. thinking of maybe just riding within the towns to be on the safe side. am sure it will be an awesome trip all the same! aw, can't wait now :)

Buying a bike is best done in Bangkok, Thailand. Velo Thailand or Probike for example sell good and affordable bikes. Check Bangkok Fixed Gear if you want to get something fixed.

Good maps of Laos are for sale in BKK. Golden Triangle Riders (motorbikes) make a good waterproof map of Laos with very accurate distances.

Enjoy Laos, it's a beautiful country with beautiful people. I keep coming back tima and again. Soon on my fixed. I am currently riding from Singapore to Shanghai on a single speed Alta Bike.

Cheers,

Sebastian Wevers
www.osmosno.wordpress.com