Tad Lo to Da Nang

Waking up in Tad Lo, the plan was to head back to Pakse to complete the loop and from then down to the 4000 Islands.

But sometimes things don't go according to plan and something came up so I had to drive back to Da Nang.

I decided to take the road via Salavan to the La Lay border crossing as it was the nearest and I figured will be very scenic.

I was certainly not disappointed, it is a stunning drive along the mountains with lots of spectacular views, nice corners, steep inclines and equally long ways just rolling down enjoying the views.

Despite the actual distance not being all that far, due to the mountain roads it will take you a lot longer to get all the way to the border.

The road seems very new and is in pretty good shape aside from the occasional stretch with some potholes.

Getting to the La Lay border is a very nice experience and it doesn't take long to get through. Although on the Vietnamese side they don't get many foreigners through so everyone wanted to say something. This meant they asked all kind of questions and for a first asked about my blue card for my motorbike, although nobody actually looked at it very much.
The area between the two border checkpoints is quite far though and you even drive past a Lao village after passing through the Lao immigration so it's a bit weird.

Once I was back in Vietnam, I tried to get to A Luoi as fast as I could to make up some time, although it started to get late.

After a short coffee break in A Luoi, I headed towards Hue but unfortunately rain made my progress slower and less pleasant. This meant I only got back to Da Nang in the evening.