ANSWER: They are both found in Savanaket!
Savanaket was a 5hour ride from Vientiane. Could have been faster if not for the fact that the roads were so confusing in Vientiane, and our GPS was going bonkers in there.
At least the roads in the South of Laos were relatively smooth, flat and straight. No more crazy fire and hell offroads like those in the Mountainous north.
Oh yes before we forget, a note on Laotian petrol. There are only 1 choice of petrol in Laos. We've no idea how many Ron the petrol here is, but it works just fine. Even Gasohol in Thailand has no adverse effects on our bike's performance at all! It must be BMW engineering. When we return home, we're gonna start pumping Ron 92 petrol.
Another misconception we must clear. Before coming in to Laos, we were advised by friends to purchase some canned food, energy bars etc lest we can't find food, and are forced to eat rodents or roadkill. So we obeyed and bought some canned food in Thailand before crossing over. But guess what! Food is in abundance here. Every corner there is food. Even in the most ulu parts of the mountains, there will be some sort of foodstall where u can buy food and drinks. So do not make the same mistake as we did.
Last tip for Laos - Bring a mask. It will come in useful in the dusty offroads, and in Vientiane.
We spotted a dinosaur in Savanaket!
The 3rd Friendship Bridge (Laos to Thailand) being built in Thakek. The first two are in Vientiane and Savanaket.
We stayed in a Hotel who's name we cant pronounce.
20USD a night. Basic rooms. At least there are sheltered carpark lots for some of us.
A visit to Dinoland! Did u know dinosaur remains have been found in Laos! Some of the fossils were unearthed in Luang Prabang, but most of the dinosaurs were unearthed in Savanaket.
That solves the mystery of the Potholes in the roads leading to Luang Prabang! They must be dinosaur footprints.
Oldman laughing at some thing older than he.
A dinosaurs toe is larger than youngman's leg.
Some dinosaur fish.
Miscellaneous bones..
Another dino to human comparison
A dino themed roundabout in the heart of Savanaket.
There are hardly any restaurants in Savanaket, except in the casino. So in our bid to find clean food for Mr Lao Sai, we had no choice but to pay a visit to the casino.
Since Thailand doesnt allow casinos, this casino at the Thai - Lao border was constructed to fulfill the Thai's gambling needs.
This Casino is much nicer than the one at the Chinese border, and it is very very very crowded. Busloads of Thais come here by the minute. Its the Genting of Laos.
Free limo service if u lose 1m baht.
Because of the collective wisdom of the Bochapoldmen, we multiplied 3000baht to about 10 000baht.
Enough for us to buy some clean food in the Casino restaurant.
Warning: 8 hours in a Casino felt like only 5mins. Time flies in here. Its really addictive.
Great blog guys. Really enjoyed following your trip on facebook and here. Plenty of pictures for lots of laughs. Respect!
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