No SE Asia trip would be complete without some motorbike adventures. Mine takes place over the course of five action-packed days in Laos.

Day 1: Crash
I arrive in Luang Prabang fresh off a 13-hour night bus from Huay Xai and decide this is the perfect time to drive a motorbike for the first time. Some new friends from the hostel are renting motorbikes to go to the Kuang Si waterfall, about 30km away. When the kid brings out the bikes, I ask him to teach me, emphasizing that I’ve never driven one before. His tutorial lasts about 30 seconds. I’m sensing a trend in this country (see previous post on the amazing tutorial I got on zip lining in Laos).

With not much else to go on, I decide to hop on and give it a go. Women and kids all over Asia ride these things with bags of groceries, half their family, and a chicken coop piled on the back. This can’t be that hard. I inch down the narrow little street, wobble over a couple speed bumps, and then crash full-on into a parked car while trying to make a tight left turn. Crap. The bike falls on me but luckily not much damage is done except for a scraped knee and shattered ego. The locals at that corner got quite a show.

I decide perhaps this isn’t the best time to drive a motorbike for the first time after all.
Continue reading →