Northern Thailand and Laos on a CRF 250L

[Lonerider]

Day 12 Mae Sai to Chiang Khong Part 3
Once out of Chiang Saen I ended up on the 1129 for awhile before going on to the CHR 4007 following the edge of the Mighty Mekong River as close as I could over my left shoulder

Came across this Wat/Temple on a hill, couldn't find a name, but what a view from the top

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Getting the boots wet in the Mekong River

[Lonerider]

Day 12 Mae Sai to Chiang Khong Part 4
I stayed on the CHR 4007 till I got back to the 1129 and visited a Coffee House/ Restaurant called The View, coords N20.34001 E100.3741,
and yes it was a great view. So I sat and chilled with a small Singar looking across the Mekong River looking into Laos.

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A Beer with a view of Laos, great


Once I had left there it was a 9km run into Chiang Khong
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I had already done my research on places to stay and opted for the Nam Khong Riverside Hotel, a room with a great view, sat on my balcony over looking the Mekong and looking into Houayxay in Laos and I could see the old French Fort that I want to visit when I get over there.

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The view from my balcony for Christmas Day

Chilling here now for Christmas Day, moving on on Boxing Day to go to the Border Crossing for Laos. Then I will see if my paperwork works!?

[Lonerider]

Day 13 Chiang Khong
Had a great Christmas Day. I spent it at The Hub Pub, the Pub is owned and run by a guy from Liverpool called Alan and his wife May, as well as the pub they also have a hostel next door to the pub. It was a day when total strangers, including some locals just had a good time eating and drinking
I was made to feel welcome, the hospitality of Alan and May was great
If you are in the area I would recommend popping in for food, drink, or a good old cheap bed for the night

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Alan

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May

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Coords

[Lonerider]

Day 14 Chiang Khong to Thung Chang via Thoeng Part 1

What a ride I had through some great countryside and mountain climbs with lots of bends.
Day 14 Chiang Khong to Thung Chang via Thoeng by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 14 Chiang Khong to Thung Chang via Thoeng 1 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I set off from Chiang Khong at around 0815hrs as I knew it was going to be a long day to get to my destination Chiang Klang, but I ended up in a place called Thung Chang
From Chaing Khong is took the 1020 then I went on to the 1155 which was a really good road through the mountains with some terrific views.

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[Lonerider]

Day 14 Chiang Khong to Thung Chang via Thoeng Part 2
I went into Thoeng to visit a guy from the Netherlands who lives in the area, I have been in touch with him from the Rideasia site, I had some very nice coffee and some Christmas bread and his hospitality was great, Thank you.
Once I has left his house I used the 1021 and then the 1148, again through the mountains, towards Chiang Klang

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I did my usual ride through the little town to see what was happening , not a lot, as I could not find any place to sleep in Chiang Klang or and good eateries I decided to push on a bit further and I needed fuel and I got a petrol station from the Satnav which was a bout 2 k’s away. After that was a place called Thung Chang which after sitting and having a Mocha Frappe and asking for hotels I managed to get The Nice Bungalows in Thung Chang....coords N19.41831 E100.87993, not a bad room, got a bed and shower room with the all important Wifi.
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Tomorrow is the short journey to the border and on into Laos, fingers crossed. Going to get there nice and early as I don’t know how long it will take to cross.

[Allan]

Been riding bikes for over 40 years now and this trip report simply leaves me in awe! I would never have the guts to do a solo trip of this magnitude. Loving every second of the report and my cap (Caberg Duke) is well and truly "doffed" in total respect for you Wayne / Lonerider! Can't wait for the next episode!

[Lonerider]

Been riding bikes for over 40 years now and this trip report simply leaves me in awe! I would never have the guts to do a solo trip of this magnitude. Loving every second of the report and my cap (Caberg Duke) is well and truly "doffed" in total respect for you Wayne / Lonerider! Can't wait for the next episode!

Thank you Allan.
Glad you are enjoying it, I like the solo bike travel. Getting out there meeting new people, sorting out dramas as they occur etc is all part of it. Just before Christmas I did 8 weeks in the Balkans doing the same thing. Its not Thailand so I can't really put on here!? But I will put the link to the Ride Report at the end of this Report. Then if you want to look at that you can

Wayne

[Lonerider]

Day 15 Thung Chang, Thailand to Sayaboury, Laos Part 1
Up and out early so I could get to the border sooner rather than later. The ride from Thung Chang to to the Thailand/Laos border crossing certainly woke me up, it was really cold and covered in mist in the hills, route 101 which took me straight in to the crossing was a nice road with lots of ups and downs with the usual bends and twists.

Day 15 Thung Chang to Sayaboury, Laos by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 15 Thung Chang to Sayaboury, Laos1 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

When I got to the border it was already very busy, there was a market there also and a lots of people buying and selling goods.
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The Customs Building Thailand


I went straight to the departures window at the passport control and gave then my passport, arrivals card and the copies of the paperwork given to me by the rental people. In return he gave me some paperwork to fill out which was something to do with me being allowed back in with me taking one of there bikes out of the country. One of the guys behind the desk was f\very helpful and came outside to fill it in for me (sorted). Once that was done they stamped me out of the country and then sent me to customs with the other half of the paperwork I had with me. Again they were very helpful in the office and there was no messing about. I was given my customs paperwork, he pointed out that I have to be back in Thailand no later than the 25 Jan 15 or face a fine, and then told have a good trip.
So armed with my passport, Information of Conveyance letter from Immigration and my Customs form I went down the hill to leave Thailand.
No problems, I was waved through once they had seen all my paperwork.
Got to the Laos Border, the guy there looked at all my paperwork and pointed out that they had put the 26 Dec on the Information of Conveyance letter and the correct date in my passport, the 27th
So I was sent back to the Thai border to get it sorted.
Back at the Laos Border post, I was this time let through.
Went to the arrivals office where I had to get a visa on arrival, so after filling in an arrivals card and paying $35 I was given my Laos Visa for 30 days. Next up was customs, Gave them my passport and the Customs paperwork and Information of Conveyance letter from Thailand and in a few minutes I was given a green TIPV and parted with 200 Bht.

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Laos Customs in the wooden hut

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The Visa Office, Laos

That was it all done, off I went to the last Laos Border control point where they checked my paperwork and I was them allowed through. I left a parting gesture of a unopened packet of Oreo biscuits which he was quite happy with.


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The first photo inside Laos

First stop was to find somewhere for breakfast and sort out where I was going to end up this evening. Found a nice little place on the right just down the road, had some good food and sorted myself out for the ride to Sayaboury along the 4A

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Breakfast

[Lonerider]

The 4A was quite a good ride, it stared off quite a big, wide road then as it progressed just after the big Power Station it went on to a narrow road all the way to Sayaboury. It was very enjoyable with some stunning scenery.
They do however like putting the stone chippings on the corners as I found out, it gave me a bit of a ar*e twitch the first time I came found the bend on to it. I was quite regular and you just got used to it. The villages I passed through high in the hills were great, kids and adults waving as you went through.

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Early 4A

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Later on the 4A

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Got to Sayaboury at about 1430hrs, went to the bank to change some money, sat and had a cold beer with some spicy squid and rice while trying to find some place to sleep.

I went for a ride round and after trying a couple of places I eventually picked the Makee Guest House N 19.16078 E101.42769, the bike is parked round the side of the building out of the way.

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[Lonerider]

Day 16 Sayaboury to Luang Prabang Part 1
Had a nice and relaxed day, I travelled from Sayaboury to Luang Prabang after spending a couple of hours trying to get to the Elephant Conservation outside Sayaboury. I could not find a track to get there, the only place I could find was a boat to take me across the lake but I was not willing to leave the bike overnight. So off I went to Luang Prabang.

Day 16 Sayaboury to Luang Prabang by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 16 Sayaboury to Luang Prabang1 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

It was a good ride and I took a leisurely pace stopping at quite a few villages on the way for a drink and a relax. Of course the breakfast stop was done, had a very good noodle soup with some rice and a plate of salad, tasty indeed.
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The route I took was straight up the 4 and I crossed the newish bridge over the Mekong River, then I went back across to try and find the ferry, I went down to the waters edge where you could see vehicles had driven and waited, hoping that one of the boats would come across from the otherside, after waiting for about 20mins I gave up and continued on my journey.
The road got a bit pole holed in places and there was even places where the road was completely gone. but it kept it interesting.

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[Lonerider]

Day 16 Sayaboury to Luang Prabang Part 2

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Finally got to Luang Prabang and found the town centre, once there I had a bacon sarnie and a Oreo and banana milkshake whilst trying to get some accommodation. That was to prove a task in its self, i looked on some sites and found some to go see, but everywhere was full, I took me over an hour to find a place, eventually I managed to get myself in to the Seng Phet Guesthouse N19.53340 E102.07946, a nice clean place with aircon, tv, hot water and a nice outside sitting area so you can watch the world go past. The bike was parked outside on the road till the evening then I was bought in to the sitting area at night and the gates are closed. There is also someone on all night.



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Staying local till after New Years Eve

[Lonerider]

Day 17 Luang Prabang Part 1
Relaxed day in Lauang Prabang

Visited Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham which had some old temple pieces and a newer temple. It also looked like it was a Monk school as there were some classrooms there.

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[Lonerider]

Day 17 Luang Prabang Part 2
From there I went on to visit Wat Pathouak which is set just below Phou Si Mountain. In the temple the walls are covered in a mural which is said to date to back to 1860
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I also climbed Phou Si Mountain and visited That Chomsi and got some great views of the surrounding countryside and Luang Prabang. There was also an anti-aircraft gun from the Vietnam War perched on the hill

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[Lonerider]

Day 18 Kuang Si Waterfall and Trailing in Luang Prabang Part 1


Day 18 Kuang Si Waterfall and Trailing in Luang Prabang by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 18 Kuang Si Waterfall and Trailing in Luang Prabang1 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Kuang Si Waterfall, well worth a visit, cost 2000 Kip to park the bike which was watched by the guy who took the money and it cost 20,000 to visit the falls, worth the money, there is also a bear sanctuary which was good also, there bears were out and about and playing when I was there. Just before the falls there is a Butterfly farm but I did not visit it.

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[Lonerider]

Day 18 Kuang Si Waterfall and Trailing in Luang Prabang Part 2
Then I went off road, met a guy from Denmark, I forget his name. We rode a great track. The track started off quite wide and then went very narrow and closed in, this we followed for a lot of kilometres before coming out in Muang Nan. We went our separate ways after a well earned rest and drink in the village. It made a really nice change to ride with someone rather than doing it on your own.
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[Lonerider]

Day 19 New Years Eve
Spent the day just relaxing and wandering around the town.
New Years Eve was spent with the family who owned the Guesthouse I was stopping in, it was a good night, lots of Laos food and lots of Laos, they made me feel really welcome as we ticked off the hours. It was a good night. There hospitality was great. There was a couple of younger lads there who spoke quite good English which was a bonus for me, and they were into their western music.

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[Lonerider]

Day 20 Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng Part 1
I traveled from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng today, I took the old road rather than the new, which was a longer route but the road was far better for bends and scenery
Day 20 Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 20 Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng1 by Wayne 66, on Flickr


I set off at around 0815hrs and I took the 13N, The climbs and the valleys were great and the views wearisome of the best . It was about 150 mile but I took it nice and steady with lots of breaks and the obligatory stop for some food at about 1030hrs.

I stopped in one of the hill top villages for the Noodle soup of the day which was very nice, I also had a coffee as I was a bit cold, in fact is was quite cold and my hands were starting to get a bit numb

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As I left my food stop there were a group of Malasian riders went past on there big bikes, I latched myself on to the back and was the tailend charlie for about 30Km’s till they went left and I carried on right in a little place called Phoukhoun. But it was nice for awhile to have someone to follow and I was acknowledged by their rider in front more than once.

Some of the views to be had are fantastic and I am getting close to saying that they are better than the views in Thailand.
Once I got to Vang Vieng I did the usual and stopped for a drink after a drive through and looked for somewhere to stop for the night.

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[Lonerider]

Day 20 Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng Part 2

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I went for Dok Khoun Guesthouse which I got for 200,000kip, when I questioned his price he did say its New Year?! Ummm it finished yesterday?! Not a bad room but had better during my travels. Coords N18.92602 E102.44854.
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[marshall]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, these are the first photos I've seen of Laos, had no idea how scenic it is, some of those views look breathtaking, much different to how I imagined it would be.

[Lonerider]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, these are the first photos I've seen of Laos, had no idea how scenic it is, some of those views look breathtaking, much different to how I imagined it would be.

Glad you are still along and enjoying it. Laos was great and once I get settled in Thailand I will definitely go back, there are still a lot of places I want to visit