Was going to India now Laos
 

Hi I am trying to plan a 'short' 10 to 14 day trip in Nov as a pre ride for next year, in Northern Laos.
Any information to start from and take a round route for the 10/14 days,
I am intending to Hire the bike out there, while any info
i.e. place to hire from suggested places would be much apreciated.

Laos sampler
 

you can rent from Chang Mai, Thailand and ride into Laos or from Hanoi and into Laos that way. I did the latter couple years ago with Flamingo Travel in Hanoi (me and owner and staff person doing a dry run for a potential tour) and it was great. Part of the trip was up a river with the bikes to a little village where there was a dirt road that ran back to Vietnam and came out near Dien BIen Phu. Fantastic trip. Google Flamingo Travel Vietnam. Guys name is Hung and he is great.
I have an article in current Canadian Biker if you can get ahold of a copy which describes my trip.
Cheers
Larry

Thanks for that will do not sure about Can Biker as in UK

I had a couple of weeks riding is Laos last year.

I rented a SLR650 from Jules bike rental in Vientiane. I would recommend the hire company (v professional & friendly) but I would choose another bike if you are thinking of heading off the beaten path as the SLR is pretty heavy and, despite the looks, not at all suited to mud.

Regarding your route you have plenty of options. Laos has some of the worlds greatest biking roads.

GT riders 'Laos' map is the planning weapon of choice. You can get it directly from GT riders and plan away at home, or pick up a copy when you reach Vientiane.

Given that you have 2 weeks or so, you're probably going to concentrate on either the North of the country (mountainous) or the South (largely flat) We did our biking in the North and travelled by bus in the south and I would definitely recommend doing it this way round. Plenty of smooth, lightly trafficked tarmac winding it's way through the mountains, or, if you like going off piste, there are LOTS of arse braking minor roads to while away a few days on.

The major attractions are in your friendly Lost & Paranoid guidebook, that and the GT riders map, plus maybe an ice cold Beer Laos or 6 in a Vientiane bar should be all you need to plan your route

(the guys at Jules rental will give you some pointers though)

Any other questions let me know.

Have a good one.