A friend and I (both late 30s) plan to be in Yangon, Myanmar for 3 days, Vientiane for 1.5 days, 4.5 days in Luang Prabang, and 4 days in Chiang Mai, Thailand (this is the actual time we'll have to spend in each city; I've subtracted out travel time). We plan to fly between each. This will be 19 September through 1 October.
My main question is whether Luang Prabang is a good place to rent a scooter and take a day trip to see some villages and mountain scenery on safe roads without much traffic. I did that in Maungmagan Beach in Myanmar a few years ago and it was my favorite day of my trip. Are the areas surrounding LP good for this, or would it be better to head to Nong Khiaw? We'd prefer to stay in one hotel in LP all 4.5 nights we are in the area, but would consider a side trip to NK if that be much better for what we want to do. I read the following on another forum and it sounds perfect:
"Hi all, just wanted to share with you something that I don't think a lot of tourists do but which is incredible in Nong Khiaw. We hired a motorbike (there is a bike hire place on the eastern side of the bridge, 80,000 kip per day) - put in 2 litres of petrol which will be ample (20,000 kip) and then head east. The road is sealed and in reasonable condition, there is virtually no traffic and it was just the most incredible day passing through a dozen or so minority ethnic villages which rarely see tourists. We did a 6 hour round trip (3 hours there and then 3 hours back) and in that time did not see a single other tourist. The scenery is staggering - an open road with mist-shrouded mountains at every turn, mountain ranges as far as you can see. The villages are incredible"
Could we have a day like this near LP, or would it be better to go to NK?
Also, I would love to take a slow boat trip to enjoy the scenery and see some villages. I thought about doing the 2 day trip to Thailand from LP instead of flying to Chiang Mai, but 2 days is longer than I'd like to spend (unless people really think this is not to be missed). The trip from Nong Khiaw to LP would have been perfect, but I understand it isn't possible due to dam construction. Is that still true? Is there anything else like that we could do around Luang Prabang (or Nong Khiaw if it would be better) - i.e. something between a few hours and a full day on on a slow boat? Could we take a taxi to a nearby village, then slow boat back to LP? Would the scenery be as pretty as near NK?
Finally, any comments on the itinerary? The Yangon part is fixed (I've been twice before and love it - the food, the art, the people - and am visiting a friend those 3 days). And we fly home from Chiang Mai. The rest is flexible.
Priorities in Laos and Chiang Mai are local food, art, scenery, shopping, the Kuang Si waterfall, seeing villages, temples (for some meditation in the morning and as scenery, but we won't want to tour a bunch of them), a scooter day or two, and a boat ride. For the most part we'll skip museums, tours to see handicrafts being made, organized tours in general, and partying. Generally we'd rather spend more to get from A to B faster, unless the slow route is an experience not to be missed.
I'd be inclined to skip the day and a half in Vientiane (becuase it doesn't seem long enough), but I usually enjoy seeing a country's main city (e.g. Yangon) to get a real feel for the culture and food so I'm trying to fit it in. But I'm open to feedback and any suggestions on adjusting how many days we have in each city - e.g. should we spend more time in CM than LP because scootering is better there, or more time in Vientiane for food/art/shopping? Thanks so much in advance for any input!
