tim morch
Laos
I am a chronic traveller. You might find me in the cockpit of a sea kayak, hiking a backcountry trail, riding a wave, cycling single-track or riding a motorcycle on another adventure.
In Search of the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Offroad in southern Laos PDR
On the morning of November 16, 2016, my travel partner and I set out on a 20-day, 2,100 km off-road motorcycle adventure in search of the Ho Chi Minh trail. We started and ended the great loop in Tha Kaek, southern Laos, and discovered a countryside full of genuine, generous people. Dozens of rivers introduced new ways of crossing, from narrow dugout canoes and rafts, to thigh deep failed attempts. The scenery was mind-bending. There were literal and figurative ups and downs, the kind that never fail to create eternal memories.
The map, Garmin GPS and Google Map had numerous variations. With tenacity, there is always a way.
Near Vieng Thong, Bolikhamsai Province.
In Search of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
A Motorcycle Adventure in Southern Laos PDR
A 2,100 km mostly off-road motorcycle adventure in search of the Ho Chi Minh trail starting and ending in Tha Kaek, southern Laos, PDR.
The plan: explore rural southern Laos PDR, targeting the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the eastern section of the country near the Vietnam border. The first item on the agenda was to find suitable bikes to rent.
​The Ho Chi Minh Trail is a network of trails used by the North Vietnamese Army to transport personnel and supplies south during the Vietnam war by going through Laos and around the US Army.
We dodged potholes big enough to swallow a truck, crossed a rickety bridge, and found a rough, rocky track. Marked as National Highway 23 on the map, my GPS disagreed.
The track became a path and indications of civilization grew increasingly infrequent. Our mantra: “follow the power lines” kept us assured there was something beyond ... until they stopped.