Thought it was about time we posted again as it looks like we’ve not been up to much.  The thing is, we have, but nothing as long or as challenging as previous trips, so not really worth saying much about!  It also looks like the van hasn’t been used much, but in 2012 we probably had 70+ days away, and 2013 already its been used more than the house – and its holding up well.  So don’t worry, we’re still not reverted to “normality” again!

We’ve headed to Valloire again ( See HERE for previous trip) which is a lovely town in the French Alps.  We bought the ANNUAL seasom ticket (for winter and summer) again for a bargain €265 and decided to have a month snowboarding.  We’re camping in the campsite (<€25/n) which isn’t bad at all for a reasonable campsite and much needed 16A electricity to keep the van nice and snug.

Valloire is a fun little place, a bit off the beaten track and full of French and Dutch – not many English at all.  They have ice and snow sculpture competitions so thought we’d show you some we made

As usual, the slopes are good and reasonably quiet, and as usual we aren’t great.  We’ve had more lessons and had some excellent tuition so I guess we’re okay, but far from natural experts.  The wnow has been good, a couple of good dump downs since we’ve been here, so the pistes are good and off-piste is fantastic.  We’ve had a lot of fun off piste (with a guide of course, as our insurance doesn’t cover us off piste without one), and even went out and need to take avalanche packs with us.  Fortunately not needed, but the powder was amazing.  B****dy hard work mind, as if you fall then you are stuck, and Mel needed digging out a few times as she was like a cross between a flailing snow-angel and bambi with only one leg!  Still, all great fun!

This time we actually managed to overlap some friends here which has been nice.  Some other friends changed mind at the last minute, and boy-oh-boy did they miss out

The van is holding up well, very cozy and warm (despite external appearances), and the snow-tyres are doing their bit to keep us on the road.

Some pictures attached, but for all pictures of this trip see HERE

See trip index here, Laos index here, and more photos from Laos here

Vang Vieng is pretty much a nowhere place – its entire existence seems to be a travellers way point and has little Laos character, but the scenery and activities more than make up for it.  To be fair, its clean, easy to get around, and you are spoilt with many food choices and styles, and bars more like lounges where you can chill with a beer and watching funny TV.  The nightlife is very much how you’d expect a backpacker town to be, with lots of young people behaving like its their first time away from home.  Riding on roofs of tuktuks, being very drunk by 6pm, and wearing pretty much nothing.  Its not all bad!

The main attraction is the warm river and scenery with one of the main activities being tubing.  Here, you get taken in a tuk tuk 5km or so up the river and you go down it floating on an inner tube. Nothing special, but along the way there are many cool music bars to grab a drink and chill and pretty much its a party from the start.  Some bars have swings, zip-lines and some even death slides.  I use that term literally as two people a month dies whilst tubing, though mostly its due to too much drink or drugs.  It really has to be experienced, but it really is a good laugh from the start.  Sadly Mels shoulder still isn’t healed so she got out of the swings.

Our second day was spent playing on the river a bit more, a bit of tubing inside a cave (fun, but not as spectacular as Thailand), and then a long kayak trip down the river taking in some of the stunning scenery and, of course, popping into a tubing bar on the way down.  Some lovely natural views of people working the river, and even water buffalo bathing!  Our kayak had a hole in and thus almost sank a few times…

Kayaking probably wasn’t a great idea as the following day I did a day rock climbing, and with an aching upper body (and of course no natural ability) it was tough going.  Managed to do about half of the climbs attempted, mainly 5b/5c but failed on the 6’s.  Not enough stamina to make some of the moves   The limestone rocks were also pretty rough on the body so left there with a few more scratches than when I started.  Excellent fun, and again the scenery is superb.

We could easily spend more time in Vang Vieng playing and having fun but decided to move on as we have many more places to see before we get back – and with under 4 weeks left the end is getting closer.  So we say goodbye to the adult-less party town and head on an 8 hour bus ride north to Luang Prabang…. 

The journey is renowned to be awful – of the 8 hours about 6 are on very windy mountain passes with no crash barriers, and just about wide enough for 2 vehicles.  We opted for the bigger coach rather than the mini bus, but even so we both felt a little rough towards the end.  Not helped by seeing a baby bear in a jar at one of the stops…  The road was not the sort of place you want to have a tyre blow out lest you end up like the bus at the end of the Italian Job!

But yes, we got a tyre blow out! 

Fortunately our driver was very smooth and slow, not a madman.  Also the bus had twin rear wheels and we were going round a left hand bend when the left tyre went bang in style.  Could’ve been a lot worse as really it was without drama and only cost us some time as the drivers changed the wheel.  The spare tyre though looked in a really bad treadles way, but it is fortunately dry and it held out.

On arrival at Luang Prabang we got the usual necessary tuk-tuk vulture cartel and had to pay to get transferred into town to our pre booked hotel which is rather smart, and we look forward to exploring what is described as “The most charming city in SE Asia” in the morning…

See next installment here

Index for this trip HERE

After exploring L2A and not really feeling chilled there, the weather turned to heavy rain which made the decision to leave for us.  We decided to head for Gap for no other reason than the route would take us via roads and places we’ve never been and we’re pleased we did.  Whilst wet and no great towns or villages en route, the views in places were stunning, valleys, waterfalls, over two Cols, tight and windy roads and really spectacular panoramic views.  Gap was just that – filling a gap.  We had planned to stay there, but a wet Sunday doesn’t really do any place justice, so we dawdled (swam?) on till we got to Aspres-sur-Buëch where there was a quiet area to chill for the night.  It was so wet even the fields of sunflowers hung their heads in shame.

The morning however saw the clouds clear and the sun and blue sky return  showing how changeable conditions can be, and we headed off on slow roads (D993/93)heading west through beautiful  countryside and interesting hill formations.  We stopped at Die which was a pretty and busy town, then through Rompon.  So I guess, if you are going to Die soon, best way to get there is through Romp-on   We spend the night in Aubenas at the bottom of a reasonably interesting Hilltop town.

We had planned a fun trip to the Ardeche region, and had planned to make a base in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc for a few days.  But blimey – the place was chaos and full of other tourists – something we seldom see going out of season.  The town looked our sort of fun town, but with almost nowhere to park, nowhere to wildcamp, and heaving and crammed campsites being €40 we opted to disappointingly leave.  On the way out though we found the kayak/canoe companies and booked on a 4 hour canoe trip down the Ardeche through Pont d’Arc (the biggest natural arc in Europe).  Beautiful scenery and a lot of fun down through a few rapids and over dams, and we actually worked well together in a 2-man boat.  But the river was swarming with loads of other boats and swimmers and was M25 esque!  It took around an hour for the minibus to drive the 3-4km back to their base.  Remind us to only go out of season in the future!

Afterwards we took the very impressive D290 to Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche – not as tight as the Gorges de Verdon, but a stunning drive with loads of viewing points along the way.  Very impressive.

We appear now to have run out of realistic unique routes in this part of France, so after a detour to Uzès (which had a very very busy market, loads of top quality buskers, and far too many people) we had to reuse old routes.  As the sun was out we headed to La Grande-Motte where you can still park 20m from the beach and enjoyed a chilled beach and swim and a long walk, but whilst showering in the van we noticed a peeping tom in the dunes watching Mel clean the shower without much on.  Bit of a perv – and surely there was more variety of flesh on the beach?

We had another day window shopping in the chaotic and bustling Montpelier before heading to Sete for the evening where we ventured out for a rather good fishie meal pretty much straight from the boat.  I had a shell-fish platter for starters which I was supposed to share with Mel, but she didn’t like the idea of ripping sea-snails out of their shells….  She did have her first Oyster though – and it may be her last… (You have to read the last bit in the Peperami advert style…).  Surprisingly neither of us were ill overnight and it turned into a reasonable evening. 

The next day we headed to the coast but far too busy for us at the weekend (bank holiday weekend at that) so we headed to Carcassonne the impressive walled medieval city which was crammed packed with tourists, and then down to the new town that wasn’t really stunning.  Finally, for the night we headed to Homps where we found a lovely area next to a lake so we were able to indulge in an evening swim – the sort of evening and location where campervan come into their own…

So much so in fact we decided to say another day and just chill out in the sun, reading and making ongoing plans.  It was so hot I’m pleased we fitted the extra fridge fan as even in 35’C+ the freezer keeps our stash of Magum ice creams frozen solid.  Not that they last long mind…

Fortunately for us there was a thunderstorm in the evening that cleared everyone out leaving us the place nice and quiet for just us!

We’ve decided we like places with enough people to make an atmosphere, but not so many that it is too busy.  I know, we’re fussy!!! 

So we’re ending week 5, chilled in one piece, and dreading the next few weeks as from here we’ll be heading closer to home which always puts you in “home mode”  – hopefully we can stem this for as long as possible.

To go to week 6, click HERE

Index for this trip HERE

We awoke at the start of our 4th week to glorious sunshine, so we were out bright and early on the trails.  They opened up another lift, so we took that up and played on trails that we hadn’t tried before, as well as improving on one of the difficult blues.  A top-of-the-mountain puncture was no problem as we now carry spare inner tubes!  Due to a pro race we opted to have the afternoon off and had a shower.

Well I say we had a shower, but the van hot water is playing up.  This meant Mel had to have a “kettle shower” whist I fiddled, and though it started working again its knackered to what I believe to be a flame-sensor fault.   So the next morning I spoke to the technical support people and they sent  parts out to Valloire, and then I guess it’ll be fun and games getting the boiler out and taken apart…  All fun!  Its this sort of maintenance I think we all forget – the equipment on Motorhomes takes endless abuse on bumpy roads and in effect is designed for the leisure market – not the use we’ve given it. 

We’re still improving on the blue runs, but I have attempted a downhill red which was very interesting indeed.  40% fun and easy; 40% very challenging, 10% thinking I was going to crash, and 10% walking.  Bit tougher than expected and probably close to our bikes limits – though currently beyond mine!

After late nights, BBQ and camp fire with our new friends, we decided we are too knackered to push ourselves, so opted for a restful day next to the river in our chairs soaking up the sun and eating ice cream!   We deserve it!

The glorious weather continued, so after another early start (and puncture repair) we headed off into the hills again – so hot at the top it is hard to believe it was almost freezing up there less than a week ago.  We decided to take on a 10km red run which we did and rode most of it with very few walks, but we must’ve taken a wrong turn towards the end as we ended up near Valmeinier on the other side of the mountain.  This meant a long uphill climb on the road to the Col de Telegraph where we got a few bemused looks from the road cyclists clearly not expecting to see mountain bikes on their patch. 

After that we split when I did a challenging red and we met up half way and continued down.  The red was more challenging than expected, as I’d locked my suspension for the road climb and forgot to release it, and my rear brakes burnt out and left me with no rear brakes…  Not sure why they’ve worn out in 2 weeks but there was no braking material left on them at all! Reasonably quick fix and didn’t spoil a very challenging and successful day.

Our good weather continued for the next few days, and great biking followed – both of us now doing a few reds (though walking in the odd place).  Not many incidents, but Mel did a great “superman” impression when entering a bog and went flying.  Fortunately, I guess, she had a very soft landing in a pile of fresh cow sh*t!  She did smell a little but otherwise unharmed.  The bikes were both better after their service and even more brake pads!  We have even played in the Valmeinier hills too, but these were too easy for us now which shows how much we’ve improved.

Whilst waiting for the boiler spares I took the boiler apart and out in preparation, and the burner is badly rusted and should probably be replaced…  But in the end the spares arrived and I managed to get it back together again and it works – hurrah!  Elsewhere on this site I’ve got a “how to” guide if it happens to anyone else.

Finally, after a last ride (where I had two big falls pushing a bit too hard!), we decided to call it a day at Valloire and move on.  We are actually quite sad – Valloire has been a superb location for both our 2 months snowboarding and our 3 weeks biking.  We feel quite at home there, its small, friendly, and big enough – we highly recommend it, and of course the annual pass is an absolute bargain! 

On leaving we headed over the Col de Galibier with some stunning views, across to Les Deux Alpes where we had a week skiing years ago.  This reminded us how good (and cheap) Valloire is – L2A just felt very busy, very commercial, and not at all homely.

Thus we ended week 4, knackered after a great time in Valloire, but pleased to be in one piece!

To go to week 5 click HERE

Index for this trip HERE

We started week 3 counting bruises on Mel, but apart from the multi-colouring she was fine.  We opted for a day off biking and instead went on a good walk to one of the little mountain villages, passed a gorge and waterfall we didn’t know existed, and just enjoyed some spectacular scenery.  The next day the weather was superb so we went out for a good ride on a blue we’ve never ridden before.  Superb riding, single tracks, curved banks, until….

…Mel had a screaming fall on a tight wet downhill bit.  We think she got her position wrong and in a panic went over bars bruising herself and pulling some muscles, and she broke the front brake.  Oops.  We got down and got the bike fixed but Mel is a little sore and will need a day or two of rest.  Guess there is a reason most people doing this are half our age and have even more crash gear than us.  As well as being more competent and having bikes worth 10x more than ours.  Think we’ve been outclassed somewhat!

The following day Mel was okay to walk (with a limp) – so we just did another walk in the hills.  The Alpine views really are very pretty!  We followed another bike trial so that when we ride it we know what to expect.  Sadly, this one started with a long ascent!  The day ended drinking us dry of beer with a young English couple who actually know what they are doing! 

With the weather still a bit pants, we worked out why Mel was getting hurt, and it turns out she has never learned to fall off a bike!  Not being a bloke, all she has previously done is road riding to-from places, and never really “played” with a bike.  So she has never had any silly accidents. So we spent a damp morning teaching Mel how to fall off (not that she needed much practice at that bit), but fall off in such a way the bike doesn’t cause you damage. 

After yet more naff weather, we decided to fill up with LPG.  Only problem was the “nearby” garage was only accessible via the motorway toll (which wasn’t what the road looked like on the maps), so we went to a plan B garage and they no longer sold LPG.  Then we found the motorway LPG was only accessible one way, so had to drive way past it, get on the toll, get LPG, drive miles to the next junction only to return the start!  50 miles for a tank of LPG!  Ah well, at least we’re full and I guess the batteries benefitted from the charge.  We also managed to get out on the bikes and hit a blue run, Mels 20+ bruise count wasn’t increased and we did okay.   We settled with more beers with our new young English friends (who must hate drinking with people who could be their parents!)

Then, at last, we awoke to a superb warm sunny day with clear skies.  So we got ready and were cycling to the lift when I had to wait at a roundabout to give way to a van.  Some blind French woman then decided to reverse out of a space and hit me and drove over the bike.  Needless to say I used some strong French words, and despite the urge to put her head under the wheel and drive over her, I thought I was quite diplomatic.  I was fine (jumped clear), and the bike had a lucky escape – the wheel axle popped off the frame so the frame wasn’t damaged and amazingly the wheel wasn’t warped, and all that was needed was for the shop to fix the derailleur and adjust things back.  Very lucky – and the blind bint paid the bill.

That didn’t ruin the day – the cycling was excellent and we both did bits of runs we hadn’t done before, and we even rode the entire run that scared us senseless a week or so previous.  Not in any style, but safe and controlled.  Mel fell a couple of times but her falling training paid off as she cleared the bike both times.  And I fell off the edge of a narrow run and “vanished” with a few rolly-pollies down a very steep bank.  No bruises (or screaming!) – but overall a very good fun and testing day.  We finished off with yet more beers with our new found friends only to be scared how small a world it is.  When in France a few years previously they met a guy saying he was going to take a trip to South Africa, and bizarely we met the same guy in Morocco who had just completed the trip earlier this year.  What is even more bizarre is he only got mentioned only because there was a 4×4 motorhome nearby. 

We ended week 3 in Valloire having had an eventful but very rewarding week, loads of walking and some real improvement of our riding ability.  The weather has even taken a turn for the better which should make next week even more fun!

Click HERE to go to week 4

Index for this trip HERE

After a couple of great hot days at Chanez the weather turned overnight to a massive storm.  Which would have been fine if we remembered we left the skylight open, but with the blackout blind we didn’t noticed till the blind became full of water and poured it over Mel.  Bugger.

So we opted to leave and headed up to Valloire hoping to get above the clouds, but instead we were in them so had to do the pass in thick fog.  We were going to come in from the opposite direction to see the Col de Galibier but the weather didn’t encourage it so we’ll go that way when we leave.  We were very much looking forward to coming “home” to Valloire, but the weather was pants and the temperature freezing – it seemed colder than when we were here snowboarding!  And of course, in July we don’t have our thermals…

The following day the weather was much better and we did a little “green” run on the bikes which was fine, but blimey – its a lot harder than we ever thought, and cycling up hill is a leg burner!  Not sure how much we can cope with!  We did take our bikes up on the lift but the second lift (to the downhill greens) was closed, so we tried a downhill blue.

Well, I say tried, but I actually mean we went about 20 meters down it and started soiling our underwear.  It was mental!  We decided we’d live another day and walked back to the top and got the lift down.  Something tells me its easier to watch people go down the runs than it is doing them – the margin of error is so small compared to snowboarding, and if you cock up a corner the drop onto gravel/trees/air has more dire results than a pile of snow.

Our plans to ride in the morning were dashed when it was raining and there was a river outside our door, and the top of the mountain was invisible through cloud.  Once the cloud cleared we saw there was fresh snow! Amazing – all that time we wanted snow when we were here snowboarding, and then it comes in July.  Typical!  A day of reading, cards, and household chores hoping the following day will be better…

Which it was!  Well in the afternoon at least.  We opted to go for a long walk, so took the cable car up and then walked down a run which was partly blue and partly “track” – and it made our legs ache!  We thought it was bikable though, so after lunch we had a couple of goes down it (6km each) and did okay and improved our technique.  Aha!

The next day the second higher lift was open and we took that and it was blinking freezing!  Probably literally.  We did however do 2 green runs, one a 10km one which we did fine but pushed our muscles a bit, but it was well within our ability.  So in the afternoon we decided to walk the blue run that scared us senseless a few days earlier….  Within 20m from the start we both fell over – me doing a few rolly-pollies!  Yep – it was a bit steep and slippery.  After the first 200m though it looked okay, and we also found a way to join it after the daunting 200m. 

We then followed another run and sort of got lost and ended up miles away, but the route was all single track which looked awesome and apart from a couple of drops looked quite rideable…  However, our bodies were aching, in Mels worlds, “Like we’ve just run a Marathon”.  And that hurt…

Still, we’ve got 5L of good wine, and after a few glasses we finished it off in our favourite restaurant where the waitress (qui a un bon derrière) was superb in allowing us to practice our French – and we did okay. 

The following day was Tour de France day, so the road was closed and there was a big build up which is quite a spectacle.  Load of promotional vehicles throwing out freebies – Mel tried to get all the freebies she could but failed badly on the sweet front.  Fortunately we were storing some German bikers gear and they “paid” us in Haribos that they got!  The riders were split over a few minutes so saw loads, but don’t think we got on TV…  Mel really enjoyed it – she was in her element eyeing up blokes in tight shorts that left little to her imagination! 

Our last day for week 2 started wet (again).  Bl**dy French weather!  We took a drive to Valmeinier but that was cold and wet – more typical of November than July.  The low cloud ruined views and the bike lifts were shut.  We found out they are only open for a day and a bit a week and our passes aren’t valid on them.  Bit annoying.  We’ve also found out a couple of the runs in Valloire are closed for the season as they upgrade some ski runs for the next season.

We managed to get out for a few runs in the afternoon, Mel taking her first “screaming fall” with instant bruising.  But apart from that it was a good (and cold/wet) muddy ride so we gave the bikes a good clean at the bike wash and retired back to the van.  Thank goodness for decent heating and a decent hot shower in the van!

So after a week back in Valloire, we’re having fun but slightly disappointed.  The weather is pretty bad and not what we expected, and there isn’t a buzzing atmosphere as its a lot quieter than over winter.  (Though saying that, there are far too many big white campervans everywhere!  We don’t count ourselves of course…)  We also have quickly learned we’re not and never going to be a biking expert!  So we’ll stay and enjoy what we have and hope the weather improves….

Click HERE to go to week 3

Yeah, its been a quiet time on this site, but not really for us.  Apart from planning the next 2 trips – including our epic backpacking in Asia trip (how much planning!?) –  we’ve been spending time wakeboarding and mountain biking.  We’re getting better at both, with us learning new tricks and jumps, but very much know the bikes and boards are far more capable than us!!  After visiting a bike park today everything was put in perspective when we were too scared to even look at some of the ramps!  We are a case of “all the gear and no idea” – but we’re trying!!!

Anyway, just leaving the New Forest where we’ve had kind biking weather – just slightly knackered now.  Just in time for more wakeboarding this weekend!

Next Eurpean trip planned to leave in 3-4 weeks for 2-4 months, so also trying to catch up with friends before we go.

Finished our snowboarding in Sierra Nevada yesterday, and then went to a campsite to sort our stuff out.  Met my parents who kindly delivered us our 3 months worth of post and some new toys that I’d ordered, as well as UK-only supplies.  Sadly they lost our stock of breakfast cereal and my spare shaving cream seemed to leak over everything., but my biscuit supply is replenished.  Amazingly we did get some more Christmas cards and a couple of birthday cards which was nice though it does appear the in-laws aren’t bothering with birthday cards or even birthday emails any more. 

Anyway, with my usual death wish, my new toys were also hand delivered – thanks to www.powerkiteshop.com for the advice on products.  If you fancy kites these guys know their stuff and give good advice for your budget without any up-sell pressure.  Very pleased with them.

So now I’ve got a new Kite (4m, 4 line bar) , new kiteboard, and a new harness.  And of course saftey padding.  Only problem is with 2 snowboards in the back box there isn’t room for the kiteboard.  Doh!  Have to work on that….

So if I don’t post for a while you know I’m injured lol!

After a good day playing in the park, doing rails, a few jumps and a bit of boarder-cross, I was just planning on venturing back to the van when…..

…Into the snow-park and did a small jump really well, then on to the next bigger jump (which I’d done a few times today already), and ollie’d off the top and went a little higher/further than expected.  No big deal.  Landed okay, but then instantly caught my heel edge

Considering its maybe 3-4m height from the top of the jump to where I landed I was going fairly quick. The heel-edge caught and through me over backwards smashing me into the ground.  The impact shorts did their best and the helmet took a huge impact, goggles came off and I summersaulted ending up some how face first in the snow.  Hard snow – not soft stuff

Took me around 5 minutes to move (no help from anyone – cheers fellow boarders) and I’ve damaged muscles in my left shoulder and have a huge impact on my right lower back to the right of the coccyx (pelvis?).  Anyway, the heat-pads we had saved up have been applied – and sadly Mel didn’t bring our stock of codine or dyzapan. 

No permanent damage but I’ll definately have tomorrow off and that may be it as we are planning to leave Vallorie on Monday.

Mels foot/ankle is also hurting so maybe a good rest is in order.

And the worst thing?  No one caught it on camera!

Here are some poor pics of todays fun at the snowpark.

No animals or humans were overly hurt during the taking of these pictures….