I have been doing some additional research and it is hard not to conclude that at some point Ride Lara operated a legitimate business but that does not excuse the fact that more recently "the wheels have come off" leading to significant monetary losses to more than one group.

Don Duvall aka "Midnight Mapper" seems to be quite a well known figure in Laos so I am surprised that Eric has not been able to contact him to try and understand where the missing funds have got to.

I have searched for an ombudsman in Laos or a place to file consumer complaints which may provide us an avenue for investigation into malpractice. The link is here: ACCP :: Consumer Redress

I am not clear if this encompasses tourist gripes or is a resource specifically for Lao / ASEAN nationals however will enquire and perhaps they will have a view on where else to register our experience.

Looks like a very long shot. Eric's moved lock, stock and barrel back to the US so it would be difficult to get redress. That's not to say I'm going to sit on my hands either.

Yeah, he's very well known. And every ex-pat we spoke to who knew him said he was rock solid and a stand-up guy. I haven't met him personally but if verbal references are anything to go by, it would seem out of character for him to be involved in anything dodgy.

Personally, I don't think there was any sinister motives from Don. I think it was a case of Eric not planning his exit from Laos properly, selling his business on a whim without due consideration for how the forward tours were going to be handled and not coming to a formal agreement with the buyer.

Then, when he realized what was going to happen, instead of manning up and dealing with his responsibilities, he stuck his head in the sand and left it to the last minute to tell his clients what was about to happen to their tours. I mean emailing people to tell them their tour is f**ked when you know they are the flight over is pretty bloody piss poor in my books and implies either cowardice or blatant deceit. Especially when you consider this behavior by Eric was repeated.

Anyone up for redress through legal channels? Possibly all affected and interested parties pooling resources to investigate the likelihood of a successful claim being launched in the US??

Don Duvall has a web site called Laos GPS Maps Laos GPS Map & The Ho Chi Minh Trail
This may be the only way to contact him. Best of luck trying to get a refund. I can only hope that you booked your own insurance before you traveled, you may also be covered if you booked your international flights with your credit card as some of them have automatic travel insurance.

Thanks WB. Will try to get in touch w/ Don through that web site. It would be interesting to hear his version of events.

As for insurance, we have found out that it is void once you cross international boundaries, when the trip is deemed to have started - so no luck there.

The money we paid was direct to Eric's bank account. Eric claims that he gave that money to Don who then reneged on his agreement to carry out our tour. So depending what you believe, either Don has the money - who has not come forward to explain himself. Or Eric has still got the money.

The only possible excuse I can think of for Eric is that it sounds like we all booked our holidays around a similar time. In this case it is conceivable that Eric did pay Don forward a lump sum on all of our tours, and was trying to fix the mess right up until the moment we arrived. As we know, he was not successful.

The alternative is that Eric was out of pocket and willfully continued to take bookings that he knew he would not be able to fulfill, in order to recoup some of the losses he incurred through his disagreement with Don.

Either way, the average punter is paying the price for their disastrous business deal. One of them is clearly out of pocket and happy to take our money in order to make back their losses. So one or other of them is definitely not "a stand up guy."

At this point unless one of them comes forward to reimburse or propose an alternative (free tour in Myanmar perhaps)? - we can only draw attention to the problem.

Lex / wb holden, I have sent you guys a PM but have not had a reply. Maybe the PM system isn't working??

Joeblo, it says you need minimum of 5 posts to activate PM function.

So post one more time and you're golden!

Right o, should work now..

Looks like you all got screwed and the only ones with a smile are Eric and Don.

Morality of the story: buy yourself good shoes and go hiking...

Seriously, if you have so much money to spend for such neo-colonialist all-inclusive adventure "for the wealthiest", makes more sense to spend it while visiting the country and support their tourism industry. At least you see and learn something of a lifetime.

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*** Travelling is an everyday discovery of our own ignorance ***