Dong Phu Vieng Trek Cheaper Starting in Sepon or Muang Phin?

We want trek to the Katang villages in the Dong Phu Vieng NPA. The LP guide says that the prices for this trek are high because of the distance it is from savannakhet. If you have done this trek before starting in muang phin or sepon, is the price much different?

There's no trekking operators in Sepon or Muang Phin.

You would have to talk to locals and set it up with them. Might require a bit of Lao language...
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Agree with T4F - spent a lot of time in Phin and there is no tourism businesses or trekking guides. Quite a few of the villagers go into the Park to help the local Vietnamese timber yards steal prime trees, but I doubt they'd take passengers..

Hmm, I have a very basic understanding of the Lao language now (my mother is lao and I spent about 6 weeks there last summer with my grandma) I will practice more between now and when I go and hope for the best :-) I wonder if it would be better to go with one of the locals if I could set it up in sepon or muang phin or if i should just do it with someone like green discovery in savannakhet

After reading some trekking itenaries another option would be to go there by yourself - renting a little moto...

South of Phin there is a turn off at
16°28'55.27"N
106° 1'5.45"E
saw that one, it sure is a drive road.

Next turn off at:
16°23'57.21"N
106° 4'28.09"E
this leads to the Xe Banghiang river, my guess there will be boats there to cross the river and service the village on the other side.
If you continue south there is another river crossing, this one seemingly to have vehicle ramps, so there might be a small vehicle ferry - maybe just for motos, maybe even for little tractors:
16°19'42.53"N
106° 6'22.23"E

Shortly before another trail heads into the forest, junction at:
16°24'56.97"N
106° 7'44.63"E

This trail leads straight to a small village at
16°26'59.21"N
106° 7'30.67"E
Several other villages around there.

Look up the coordinates at Google Earth...

Trekkings:
http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/activities/dongphouvieng_trk.htm
http://africanpallotta.blogspot.com/2008/01/dong-phu-vieng-npa.html
(there is a tractor in one of those images, so that village must have some road access...)
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Another good suggestion, thank you tools. This might be a good option for us as we are looking to try to buy a motorbike when we get to savannakhet. There is not much info out there on this tho so we may end up just having to rent one here and there for small excursions. Renting one for the entire trip would be quite expensive!

How many are you? If you are two riding on a little Honda/Suzuki with all the luggage is no fun. You would be better off renting one for a few days every now and then and bringing along only the small set of clothes for that time period.

I have seen a young tourist couple on one of those little bikes on their way to Luang Prabang, He ha his backpack between his legs, came up all the way to his chest/chin, had to place arms around it to reach handle bar. She, 4 months pregnant or more, sat in the back, her backpack hanging entirely suspended from her shoulders as it was too far back to be rested on the rear seat...

If you want to go on one with two folks on it, then go to a local welder and have a luggage rack welded on at the rear. Put small but heavy stuff between drivers legs but in such way that it doesn't interfere with your driving.

You might find more on GT riders about buyibg a bike:
http://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/index.php
Basically I think you will have buy it in the name of a Lao (maybe your grandma or some other relative there).
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Haha yeah there are two of us and I was definitely going to have a rack put on the back. That couple doesn't sound too bright, his steering is compromised by the backpack and she's pregnant, hmmm... whatevs, good thing the roads in laos aren't too crowded and the farm animals know when to get the hell out of the way! Thanks for the tip about putting it in my grandmother's name, i hadn't even thought of that! Although, I wonder how difficult it would be to sell it later on down the road without her there and it being in her name...we dont plan on backtracking to savannakhet...

• I wonder how difficult it would be to sell it later on down the road without her there and it being in her name.

Dunno about that. Maybe get a sales contract done before you leave, pre-signed by the owner, just leave price and name of buyer blank?

How long are you planning to stay in Laos for that trip? Renting might be more economical...
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Just a thought on the rack - as another option to getting one welded up, you can buy stainless steel luggage racks that bolt on to where the handrail round the seat goes. I had one fitted for $30 on my 110cc and they are very useful - can carry anything from a rucksack to 3 cases of beerlao. Motorbike repair/spare parts shops round Vientiane either have them or can get them - they are from Vietnam.

Premade rack is indeed better if you plan to resell. If it carries 3 cases of beer Lao even better!!!

There is premade little racks for between the legs as well. Maybe that can be used as the 'ready rack' for a few bottles...

;-)

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@ tools: Probably about 5-6 weeks and we were thinking of taking the bike with us over land into northern vietnam for a week or to and then back into laos again??? can only stay in laos for 30 days at a time so we would have to leave and come back, haven't really looked that far into it but from what I understand, you cant drive in vietnam w/out a viet? license so...yeah, gotta work out that kink somehow. I have read many blogs of people who traveled vietnam on motorbikes that they bought so the enforcement may be kind of lax but I am sure it would be another story if you tried to cross the border. Unless we could park it somewhere and come back to it but I don't know if i trust that...

@ nabanga: sounds useful, wonder if savannakhet has many places like these. don't remember seeing them when i was there but then again i wasn't really looking for that kind of thing...

on a side note, if we plan on going up to northern laos, do you think 110cc would work for us? Considering there will be two of us riding the bike with a total of 310lbs (~140 kilos) + 2 backpacks between the two of us? or should we get something better

Haha, yeah. Rack between the legs would be perfect for some beerlao. Or a car seat for a little lao child if we try to smuggle one and bring it back to the US (jk...)

Bonsai - In savannakhet there is a row of about 6 motorbike spares shops opposite the main entrance to the main town market(next to the bus station). They will be able to sort you out.
140kg plus 2 rucksacks might be a little slow going up the hills particularly if the bike you get isn't in the best condition. I travel with me + girlfriend at 140kg plus a 10kg bag on a 110cc Kolao and its OK but can't get much above 25kph up the hills - but thats OK if theres no hurry. Still cruises at 50-60kph on the flat with that weight. (We're riding up to vangvieng this afternoon and it doesn't take much longer than the bus normally).
Re Vietnam - I owned & rode a bike there for a year and was told by the police (in central Vietnam) not to bother about a license as they only enforce the rule in heavily touristed towns like Hanoi, Na Trang & Muine- they said outside of these areas the cops wouldn't stop a foreigner as they don't speak english. I guess it is a risk though, as if you are stopped the fines are large by all accounts.

I don't know too much about bikes, is there one that is between 110cc and 125cc that might offer a little more power?

Vietnam: how difficult would it be to border cross with the bike?

Thanks so much for all the feedback!

Bonsa you can stay longer than 30 days by getting a visa exension in Vientiane at around $2 per day. I have a freind who bought a Kaolao (Korean assembled in Laos) bike for around $550 and drove himself, bags, one medium sized Lao University student, and her bags, all over Northern Laos for a couple of months.

we are working out all the kinks right now. you can definitely extend your visa for 2usd a day but i would rather not do that as is it more expensive than just getting another visa at 30usd (or 35?, cant remember) for 30 days, also we will be reentering laos so we would end up having to get another visa anyway. I am just trying to save time by not having to backtrack... it seems as though no matter how much time you have in a country, you always want more...like you're not getting to do everything that you want or something... i almost feel spoiled but it makes me wonder how people can be satisfied with just a long weekend in another country you know?

anyway, sorry for getting off track, it wouldn't cost that much to extend the visa by a week ($14) but at that price, you might as well just exit and reenter to get 30 days for $35usd... i don't know, I will have to fiddle around with the route I have planned for a bit... or i could just suck it up and stay in vinh no? it's only for a night! i don't know why i am fretting so much!

• on a side note, if we plan on going up to northern laos, do you think 110cc would work for us? Considering there will be two of us riding the bike with a total of 310lbs (~140 kilos) + 2 backpacks between the two of us? or should we get something better

The German couple I met told me that occasionally she had to walk when the slopes got to steep...

Getting the bike across to Vietnam might be difficult. Might ask GT riders, they should know more about that kind of stuff. Think it will be more of an import/export problem as drivers licence.
Another option would be to cross over to Thailand at Huay Xai and com e beack same day getting new Lao visa.
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Good story, I think we will go for something with a little more power! Or we might just rent here and there. Its looking like its going to be more trouble than its worth!

We will eventually exit laos through huay xai and travel norther thailand but that is planned for then end of our trip so that we can make our way to bkk to fly to india. We were going to have a two week break from laos in northern vietnam.

#4 - just had a look at your coordinates.
I've ridden in this area a few times - the main road south from Phin before you turn off to the river is the old Saravan road. Its a clay/dirt road and very slippy and muddy in the wet season. Its fairly well used with local traffic, a truck or bike passing every 2 minutes or so. If you head down the main dirt (Saravan) road without turning off, you get to an old iron bridge that was bombed in the war.
Where the smaller road you describe meets the Xe Banghiang river there is a restaurant with a dozen bamboo huts, very popular with Phin District residents over PiMai. You can't see it on google earth becasue it has full tree cover but its been there at least 4 years. (Theres an old sign advertising it where the Saravan road leaves the main Route 7 near Phin market.) The river is very stony at this point and creates lots of pools for bathing during the dry season. The fording/boat crossing for the area is a little further north at
16deg26'40.91N
106deg09'00.58E

Its a nice area to explore. Just when you think you're away in the bush, you turn a corner and theres a little shop with cold drinks.

Cool, thanks for the info. We had gotten so far off topic, I had forgotten about my original question! I am definitely going to explore this area, we need to invest in a GPS first tho!