Canadian Dave's Laos tour

[KTMphil]

Canadian Dave just went through Laos on his BMW 1200GS, he sent me this a few minutes ago:




"Hi,

Just got to Cambodia. Laos got a bit interesting- got a couple of days of travllers sickness (my fault) and had an accident that sent 2 people to hospital and almost destroyed one of my panniers. All is okay and it ended up costing me nothing after about 4-5 hours with the police. Scooter took a hard left right in front of me on the highway- no warning, didn't look, nothing. I tried to avoid them, but the idiot just keep going without looking so I ended up clipping them with my pannier doing about 70-80km/hr. Kind of a long story, but other than the pannier all is well with the bike I didn't get a scratch. Still really liked Laos and want to go back with more time/better weather since I really don't feel like I did it justice,
enjoy some pics of my pannier and a couple of random others!".

Great rainy season clear views

Seems you can't go to Laos without seeing one of these

Russian made MIG fighters out-of-commission around the back of Phonsavan airport

 

[Lone Rider]

Nice pictures - it looks like that the MIG's are getting popular. Sorry to hear about the accident but happy that the damage was only a bent pannier with no one having serious problems. In Laos you need to have eyes on all sides because they expect that you will see them and will take action instead of them having to look first if the road is clear.

 

[2wheels]

I'm glad you are ok Dave.

This has gotta be a first, surely.

" .... it ended up costing me nothing after about 4-5 hours with the police."

Your mediation and negotiating skills must be superb.
There's a position for you at the United Nations.

Hope you have a great tour of Asia and please remember us when you do Mongolia.

(I met you at Riders Corner on the day you sat at the same table for 7 hours doing research).

 

[KTMphil]

"Yeah- the whole story with the accident is quite entertaining- a village divided, a foreigner thrust between to the two factions, the police trying to keep peace while making sure they have the first chance to milk the buffalo, and a local woman pushing herself into the middle to ensure that her newly found understanding would hold up to it's first challenge.. Only thing it was missing was a love interest!




Laos was really great- my only problem with it was my short stay and the time of year I was there- it really deserves more time. I especially would want to do it either on a smaller bike or with a group- heck, even with the 1200 while leaving all my gear at a hotel for a day ride would be great. Guess I'll just have to come back!




David"

 

[KTMphil]

Looks like Dave's got a data link



"Actually, so far, I've found the bikes less of an issue than in southern Laos. The one that took me was a total tool- on the very edge of the road, puttering like they do, past where the village limit went from 50 to 80 and did a hard left straight across without a glance! I actually almost made it past hm, but he just kept on going- even after he saw me at the last minute! He broke a couple of fingers and his wife had a badly broken arm (read- looked like a new elbow).




BTW- thanks for the insurance tip! I didn't need it, but it was a good feeling to have in my hip pocket and actually gave me my final confirmation that things were going to work out. I'll give you the whole story when I get back.





All the best,

David"

 

[KTMphil]

So glad Dave got Laos insurance at the border going into Laos, should be a wake-up call for everyone.

Looks like Dave's got a data link



"Actually, so far, I've found the bikes less of an issue than in southern Laos. The one that took me was a total tool- on the very edge of the road, puttering like they do, past where the village limit went from 50 to 80 and did a hard left straight across without a glance! I actually almost made it past hm, but he just kept on going- even after he saw me at the last minute! He broke a couple of fingers and his wife had a badly broken arm (read- looked like a new elbow).




BTW- thanks for the insurance tip! I didn't need it, but it was a good feeling to have in my hip pocket and actually gave me my final confirmation that things were going to work out. I'll give you the whole story when I get back.





All the best,

David"