I have 3 weeks of summer vacation in 2026, but a reading assignment on June 30th. That leaves only 1.5 weeks. The next 2 weeks of study are done online, so if I combine them, I get 3.5 weeks! Accounting for all months of 2026 was finished by July 4th, so I headed out after some rain had subsided. But rain would be a defining feature of this road trip!
July 4th - start from Saigon, up to Dak Mil - 262 km
After 261.8 kilometers I arrive totally soaked at a small Nha Nghi to get a little dryer.
5th - To the border crossing Bò Y - 374 km
With clothes to change I put Jersey and pants into the wind while driving to BMT. After one hour they were dry again. It was not sunny, but I got a severe sunburn this day, that peeled of 10 days later in Hanoi.
6 - Can’t cross, flat tire, Hương Danh homestay - 376 km
It was easy to leave Vietnam at Bo Y, but when I arrived on the Lao side and wanted to by my D53 insurance they told me that from 2026 on you need a Vietnamese tour organizer to get your Vietnamese bike admitted to Laos. So I returned and got restampted into Vietnam.
While driving north to the next border crossing, I skipped ___ since it’s a 3 hour ride into the mountains. And I would have to return this whole road if Laos does not agree again. Let’s take the next one north, closer to Hue/Danang.
Then in the middle of the mountain my front tire got a giant hole, probably hitting a very sharp stone directly. It was a deserted road on 1000 meter height, the closest settlement in both directions with humans on the 500 meter plains was at least 35 kilometers away. So I continued slowly with 20 km/h on a flat front tire further north. Why go back?
A young man tried to reinflate, but we discovered the huge hole in the tire. A homestay was 2 kilometers away, and that’s where I spend the night. I learned about the Ta Oi minority and Muon Di minority that live there in the mountains.
7 Tire fix and finally in Laos -
After breakfast we went south 4 kilometers, but the repair shop was deserted. Then 8 kilometers north to the big intersection, and while having a coffee the hole was filled for 30k. It would survive the next 1500 kilometer!
Almost at the border crossing I saw a sign that a road leading to Laos would be at
In pouring rain I could leave Vietnam. And in pouring rain I could also enter Laos! I was so happy. Because of the rain I didn’t pay attention to D53, and got into Laos without it. A few kilometers further with Wifi (my eSim and Vantel are not very strong) and I could actually pay with my Vietnamese Vietcombank account and the QR code at the gas station. The road was bad, it got dark, no lights on the street, even the villages are dark. Most people drive without helment, and many motorbikes don’t even have a licence plate.
It kept raining, so I decided to stop ad Salavan for the night.