The highlighted blue routes are the ones we've biked. Markers not connected by blue routes we either took a train or bus to.
View Southeast Asia bike route in a larger map
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Phitsanlok onward to Chiang Mai
Leaving the falls was no easy task, it was such a cool, peaceful, and beautiful landscape, but leave we did, and early. To Phitsanlok from Poi falls we covered a pleasantly flat 60k. Our ride consisted of the usual: traffic, beautiful scenery, and plenty of dogs chasing us down the road, maybe we look like giant salty steaks on bikes. For whatever reason, they catch our scent and they are after us and letting anybody in the vicinity know about us. Not really a problem, but when you're riding nonchalantly down the road, spacing out in the hills, having a little ball of fur hurtle out at you from the bushes can be awfully startling.
Originally we planned to crash for a night in Phitsanlok before catching the train to Chiang Mai, but after our initial cruise through the town, we decided to skip the night in town and shoot for an afternoon train to Chiang Mai. Since we had managed to acquire our usual fetid odor after 3 hours of riding, we decided to find a cheap hotel room to shower up and store our things until the train left at 1:30pm. This was before we actually bought the tickets. When we did purchase the tickets we found out that our 1:30 train didn't actually leave until 8:40pm, leaving us with roughly 12 hours to kill in town. The hotel room wasn't exactly posh, which left us searching for a place to spend the day.
Well, if you have 12 hours to kill in a smallish town in Thailand, what better way to spend the day than at a local mall. That's right, we spent the better part of our day in Phitsanlok at the mall. Got some shopping done (my Chaco's are sadly about to go), hit up the old internet, and of course hit up the mall arcade to play some ping-pong, it felt like middle-school all over again.
We did manage during the course of the day to make our way to the local weekend market in town, and see something closer to traditional Thai culture. The weekend market was an impressive display of meat, fish, fruit, clothing, pretty much anything you could want. If you want to buy a pigs head, that is the place to go. Plus they keep the fish fresh in basins built into the countertops. Pick your fish and that is filleted right there for you...entertaining.
After 12 highly entertaining hours in Phitsanlok we packed our bikes onto the train and proceeded on what turned out to be an uncomfortable 8 hour train ride to Chiang Mai. I know I've said it before but infrastructure in southeast asia is not meant to accomodate tall lanky white guys. 8 hours of fitful sleep later we arrived in the mountains of Chiang Mai.
Originally we planned to crash for a night in Phitsanlok before catching the train to Chiang Mai, but after our initial cruise through the town, we decided to skip the night in town and shoot for an afternoon train to Chiang Mai. Since we had managed to acquire our usual fetid odor after 3 hours of riding, we decided to find a cheap hotel room to shower up and store our things until the train left at 1:30pm. This was before we actually bought the tickets. When we did purchase the tickets we found out that our 1:30 train didn't actually leave until 8:40pm, leaving us with roughly 12 hours to kill in town. The hotel room wasn't exactly posh, which left us searching for a place to spend the day.
Well, if you have 12 hours to kill in a smallish town in Thailand, what better way to spend the day than at a local mall. That's right, we spent the better part of our day in Phitsanlok at the mall. Got some shopping done (my Chaco's are sadly about to go), hit up the old internet, and of course hit up the mall arcade to play some ping-pong, it felt like middle-school all over again.
We did manage during the course of the day to make our way to the local weekend market in town, and see something closer to traditional Thai culture. The weekend market was an impressive display of meat, fish, fruit, clothing, pretty much anything you could want. If you want to buy a pigs head, that is the place to go. Plus they keep the fish fresh in basins built into the countertops. Pick your fish and that is filleted right there for you...entertaining.
After 12 highly entertaining hours in Phitsanlok we packed our bikes onto the train and proceeded on what turned out to be an uncomfortable 8 hour train ride to Chiang Mai. I know I've said it before but infrastructure in southeast asia is not meant to accomodate tall lanky white guys. 8 hours of fitful sleep later we arrived in the mountains of Chiang Mai.
Impromptu rest day
Our afternoon spent relaxing at the falls was so nice we decided to take a rest day and kill another day there. We blissfully slept in until 7:30am and then made a bee line to the falls and proceeded to copy the kids from the day before, leaping off the ledge and into the pool below. The morning swim was followed by a few hours of lazy riding in the villages around the river, checking out the local wats, and taking in a cold bubbly beverage as the temperature began to crank up. We sat out the mid-afternoon heat in our lovely refrigerated paradise, followed by some evening river wandering and delicious dinner from the weekend night market. Exactly what my tired legs needed.
Riding to the unknown
From Dansai we wanted to ride somewhere that put us within a reasonable day of riding from the town of Phitsanlok. Sounds easy, but we weren't at all sure what kind of accomodation there would be along the road, which as always left me a little apprehensive about the ride.
The day started early, and so did the hills. We climbed for the first hour or so out of Dansai and descended down a comprable down hill, followed by kilometers of rolling hills. Rolling hills may not actually be the best description of the terrain, they were actually short, steep ascents, followed by short, steep descents. A few kilometers into the ride you don't really mind them that much, but when you're struggling up one of the steep hills at 10am on spent legs, they're much less pleasant.
About 45k out of Dansai we stopped in the town of Nahkon Thai for a little breakfast recharge. Unfortunately for us the first place we stopped wasn't serving food and came with an elderly drunk lady who followed us to the next restaurant. Despite the fact that we don't speak Thai, she was pretty intent on asking us questions we didn't understand, and was unperturbed by the frequent shrugs of bewilderment I gave in response to her many queries.
We sat down for a breakfast of fried rice with chicken, but she remained unfazed and continued firing away at us in Thai. At this point the ladies in the shop tried to pull her away, but she was pretty obstinate and was unwilling to vacate our table. It wasn't until one of the waitresses hopped on her moped and brought back what I can only guess was a relative, that she finally left. Even then it wasn't without a fight. A woman, maybe her daughter, literally pulled the old lady out of her seat and onto the floor, despite her protests, and dragged her by the arm out of the shop and down the street. The ladies at the restaurant were visibly relieved to finally have her out, and appeared to be pretty embarassed by the whole affair. Our breakfast was delicious though, even with the in-meal entertainment.
Nakhon Thai to our final destination for the day was a bit of a slog, we only had 29k, but every meter of it hurt. Of course the road tormented us with a few extended hills in the last 5k to the junction where we planned on staying. Unfortunately when we arrived at the highway junction we found that there weren't actually any places to stay. This left us with a decision: continue riding and hope to find something down the road, or hop a bus the remaining distance to Phitsanlok. Some of the vendors at the highway junction spoke enough english to let us know that there were a few resorts down the road on the way to Phitsanlok. Than the question became whether we wanted to risk having to stay at a place that could be well out of our price range. The last roadside resort we checked the prices at was close to $60 a night, a little higher than our preferred $10 accomodations.
Our main obstacle with the bus was our overwhelming stench and the fact that we would be marinating in it on a public bus for a few hours. Thai people pride themselves on cleanliness, so two foreigners drenched in sweat, in an enclosed environment may not have gone over all that well. With that in mind, we pounded a couple of cold drink and decided to head down the road, and hope for reasonable priced accomodation.
Thankfully from the highway junction the road was flat and well shaded, a huge relief for my tired legs. About 7k from the junction we passed signs for Poi Waterfall and sleeping bungalows. Since we weren't sure what else was going to come along, we took a shot, turned off the highway and hoped for the best.
Once again our inability to communicate in Thai proved troublesome. Trying to use the language guide in the Lonely Planet has proved useless. I absolutely butcher the phonetic spellings they provide, rendering them into incomprehensible babble. I get lots of blank stares when I try to speak in Thai.
There was a girl at the desk who spoke a little english, she understood that we were trying to find a place to sleep. With that out of the way she took us out to one of the bungalows. We were definitely impressed. The bungalow rested on a hillside overlooking the river, shaded by a thick canopy of trees, with a large shared wooden balcony and benches. Basically an ideal place to kill the rest of the afternnon...and it had AC. It was great until she told us the price, at $40 it was well out of our price range. That was when the liguistic adventure began. Over the next ten minutes or so we tried everything we could to try and communicate that we would love to stay, but wanted to know if there were any cheaper rooms. This was greeted by looks of complete bewilderment, by the multiple people they brought out to try and communicate with us. Finally we were saved by a miracle pocket sized translater...a calculator. Turns out the room was only $14 dollars a night, more expensive than what we usually paid, but given the circumstances well worth it. After solving that minor problem we were left to unpack, shower, and enjoy the beaufiful surroundings.
A few hours of snacking and napping later the prospect of the waterfall pulled us out of our mid-afternoon lethargy and led us outside once more. Poi waterfall is a 20-25ft ledge of sandstone with brown sediment rich water plunging over its edge. The falls were a popular spot with locals swimming in the cool water and picnicing on the shaded banks of the river. Lying in submersed in the cool flowing waters felt great in the midst of the afternoon heat.
The day started early, and so did the hills. We climbed for the first hour or so out of Dansai and descended down a comprable down hill, followed by kilometers of rolling hills. Rolling hills may not actually be the best description of the terrain, they were actually short, steep ascents, followed by short, steep descents. A few kilometers into the ride you don't really mind them that much, but when you're struggling up one of the steep hills at 10am on spent legs, they're much less pleasant.
About 45k out of Dansai we stopped in the town of Nahkon Thai for a little breakfast recharge. Unfortunately for us the first place we stopped wasn't serving food and came with an elderly drunk lady who followed us to the next restaurant. Despite the fact that we don't speak Thai, she was pretty intent on asking us questions we didn't understand, and was unperturbed by the frequent shrugs of bewilderment I gave in response to her many queries.
We sat down for a breakfast of fried rice with chicken, but she remained unfazed and continued firing away at us in Thai. At this point the ladies in the shop tried to pull her away, but she was pretty obstinate and was unwilling to vacate our table. It wasn't until one of the waitresses hopped on her moped and brought back what I can only guess was a relative, that she finally left. Even then it wasn't without a fight. A woman, maybe her daughter, literally pulled the old lady out of her seat and onto the floor, despite her protests, and dragged her by the arm out of the shop and down the street. The ladies at the restaurant were visibly relieved to finally have her out, and appeared to be pretty embarassed by the whole affair. Our breakfast was delicious though, even with the in-meal entertainment.
Nakhon Thai to our final destination for the day was a bit of a slog, we only had 29k, but every meter of it hurt. Of course the road tormented us with a few extended hills in the last 5k to the junction where we planned on staying. Unfortunately when we arrived at the highway junction we found that there weren't actually any places to stay. This left us with a decision: continue riding and hope to find something down the road, or hop a bus the remaining distance to Phitsanlok. Some of the vendors at the highway junction spoke enough english to let us know that there were a few resorts down the road on the way to Phitsanlok. Than the question became whether we wanted to risk having to stay at a place that could be well out of our price range. The last roadside resort we checked the prices at was close to $60 a night, a little higher than our preferred $10 accomodations.
Our main obstacle with the bus was our overwhelming stench and the fact that we would be marinating in it on a public bus for a few hours. Thai people pride themselves on cleanliness, so two foreigners drenched in sweat, in an enclosed environment may not have gone over all that well. With that in mind, we pounded a couple of cold drink and decided to head down the road, and hope for reasonable priced accomodation.
Thankfully from the highway junction the road was flat and well shaded, a huge relief for my tired legs. About 7k from the junction we passed signs for Poi Waterfall and sleeping bungalows. Since we weren't sure what else was going to come along, we took a shot, turned off the highway and hoped for the best.
Once again our inability to communicate in Thai proved troublesome. Trying to use the language guide in the Lonely Planet has proved useless. I absolutely butcher the phonetic spellings they provide, rendering them into incomprehensible babble. I get lots of blank stares when I try to speak in Thai.
There was a girl at the desk who spoke a little english, she understood that we were trying to find a place to sleep. With that out of the way she took us out to one of the bungalows. We were definitely impressed. The bungalow rested on a hillside overlooking the river, shaded by a thick canopy of trees, with a large shared wooden balcony and benches. Basically an ideal place to kill the rest of the afternnon...and it had AC. It was great until she told us the price, at $40 it was well out of our price range. That was when the liguistic adventure began. Over the next ten minutes or so we tried everything we could to try and communicate that we would love to stay, but wanted to know if there were any cheaper rooms. This was greeted by looks of complete bewilderment, by the multiple people they brought out to try and communicate with us. Finally we were saved by a miracle pocket sized translater...a calculator. Turns out the room was only $14 dollars a night, more expensive than what we usually paid, but given the circumstances well worth it. After solving that minor problem we were left to unpack, shower, and enjoy the beaufiful surroundings.
A few hours of snacking and napping later the prospect of the waterfall pulled us out of our mid-afternoon lethargy and led us outside once more. Poi waterfall is a 20-25ft ledge of sandstone with brown sediment rich water plunging over its edge. The falls were a popular spot with locals swimming in the cool water and picnicing on the shaded banks of the river. Lying in submersed in the cool flowing waters felt great in the midst of the afternoon heat.
Riding west
Out of Loei, we headed west to the festival town of Dansai, nestled in the undulating hills south of the Mekong. Our goal as always was to shoot for a 10am arrival and beat the mid-afternoon triple digit heat. Apparently Dansai is the location of a three day spirit festival at some point in June, but outside of that the town maintains a pretty low-key atmosphere.
We laid low for a few hours in the hotel room staying cool and re-hydrating after the ride before venturing out into the town in the late afternoon to collect snacks for the next day. Our wandering leds us to the large open air market in downtown Dansai, a large concrete roof covering tiled islands where people have laid out their goods for purchase. All the usual fare was there, various types of meat on a stick, all kinds of fresh fruit, cold drinks, and an assortment of bagged snacks.
After picking up some fresh fruit at the market we poked our heads into a few smaller snack shops in search of our dietary staples so far in Thailand: half-liter cartons of chocolate soy milk, and raw peanuts. Healthy, healthy...what can I say.
In the evening, after an underwhelming dinner of fried rice, we wandered to the imposing Wat on the hillside overlooking our hotel. By the time we arrived the light was almost gone which limited our views of the temple, but we were treated to a tour of the grounds by a nun who spotted us wandering aimlessly around by the entrance. She was a wonderful guide and the first local we had met who spoke fluent english and we were able to have a conversation with. The grounds of the Was were beautiful, immaculate gardens, high golden arches, and the dark silohuettes of the buildings against the purple evening sky.
We laid low for a few hours in the hotel room staying cool and re-hydrating after the ride before venturing out into the town in the late afternoon to collect snacks for the next day. Our wandering leds us to the large open air market in downtown Dansai, a large concrete roof covering tiled islands where people have laid out their goods for purchase. All the usual fare was there, various types of meat on a stick, all kinds of fresh fruit, cold drinks, and an assortment of bagged snacks.
After picking up some fresh fruit at the market we poked our heads into a few smaller snack shops in search of our dietary staples so far in Thailand: half-liter cartons of chocolate soy milk, and raw peanuts. Healthy, healthy...what can I say.
In the evening, after an underwhelming dinner of fried rice, we wandered to the imposing Wat on the hillside overlooking our hotel. By the time we arrived the light was almost gone which limited our views of the temple, but we were treated to a tour of the grounds by a nun who spotted us wandering aimlessly around by the entrance. She was a wonderful guide and the first local we had met who spoke fluent english and we were able to have a conversation with. The grounds of the Was were beautiful, immaculate gardens, high golden arches, and the dark silohuettes of the buildings against the purple evening sky.
Phu Kradung
After killing a day in Loei, based on the mutual conclusion at 5am that we didn't want to get up, we rose early the following morning and caught a bus to Phu Kradung national park for a day of hiking. Phu Kradung is a sandstone plateau rising out of the tropical forests of northern Thailand, and the first national park we've visited in Thailand. Upon arriving at the park we were hit with a bit of sticker shock when we saw the roughly $14 dollar entrance fee. Definitely much more than we've had to pay thus far on the trip, but it quickly became apparent that the money is put to good use in the park. The visitors center and entrance to the park is immaculately kept. The park is dotted with secluded well shaded picinic areas, winding nature paths, and a well maintained trail to the top.
The trail up Phu Kradung rises sharply out of the rolling northern plains of Thailand, ascending the shoulder of the extensive plateau. We began on a 4m wide boulevard cutting throught the thick tropical forests and accompanying humidity. The boulevard gave way to a wide stone staircase climbing the slopes of the plateau. As we gained elevation the trail slowly began to narrow from the wide boulevard to a well worn rock strewn path.
Brief respites in the slope were accomapanied by rows of bamboo food stalls occupying the precious flat ground. We didn't hit the park during the peak tourist season, which meant the bamboo huts stood empty, waiting for cooler temperatures and larger crowds. Each short bench etched into the slopes of the plateau would soon give way once more to the steep rocky slopes sending us toward the summit.
By the time we reached the summit we had passed from dense tropical forests at the base, into a cool pine savannah blanketing the top of the plateau. Aided by the cooler temperatures and teh gentle breeze blowing across the savannah, our arrival at the top of Phu Kradung felt wonderful. Open grasslands with a scattering of stately pines, offering pockets of shade to the landscape.
We wandered around the edge of the plateau skirting the sandstone cliffs the define the mountain top, peering into the distance, absorbing the beauty of the undualating hills below. From the cliffs we headed across the savannah towards the mountain top visitor's center, passing by a beautiful pond/stream, the most relaxing spot of the day. Cool water winding its way amid the grassland and pine trees, rolling and tumbling over the moss covered sandstone beneath it. Serene. Sadly our time constraints(mainly the need to catch an afternoon bus back to Loei) kept us from taking in all the sights.
Phu Kradung took a solid eight hours of hiking to explore, and we still only managed to scrape the surface of its beauty. I regretted the eight hours of hiking the next day on the bike, but the park was absolutely worth it.
The trail up Phu Kradung rises sharply out of the rolling northern plains of Thailand, ascending the shoulder of the extensive plateau. We began on a 4m wide boulevard cutting throught the thick tropical forests and accompanying humidity. The boulevard gave way to a wide stone staircase climbing the slopes of the plateau. As we gained elevation the trail slowly began to narrow from the wide boulevard to a well worn rock strewn path.
Brief respites in the slope were accomapanied by rows of bamboo food stalls occupying the precious flat ground. We didn't hit the park during the peak tourist season, which meant the bamboo huts stood empty, waiting for cooler temperatures and larger crowds. Each short bench etched into the slopes of the plateau would soon give way once more to the steep rocky slopes sending us toward the summit.
By the time we reached the summit we had passed from dense tropical forests at the base, into a cool pine savannah blanketing the top of the plateau. Aided by the cooler temperatures and teh gentle breeze blowing across the savannah, our arrival at the top of Phu Kradung felt wonderful. Open grasslands with a scattering of stately pines, offering pockets of shade to the landscape.
We wandered around the edge of the plateau skirting the sandstone cliffs the define the mountain top, peering into the distance, absorbing the beauty of the undualating hills below. From the cliffs we headed across the savannah towards the mountain top visitor's center, passing by a beautiful pond/stream, the most relaxing spot of the day. Cool water winding its way amid the grassland and pine trees, rolling and tumbling over the moss covered sandstone beneath it. Serene. Sadly our time constraints(mainly the need to catch an afternoon bus back to Loei) kept us from taking in all the sights.
Phu Kradung took a solid eight hours of hiking to explore, and we still only managed to scrape the surface of its beauty. I regretted the eight hours of hiking the next day on the bike, but the park was absolutely worth it.
Always hot
Another day of biking, another 4:30 am wake up call, or alarm at least. Waking up that early does not get any easier. What usually drives me from the sweet sweet comforts of my pillow is the knowledge that biking at 5am is far more comfortable than biking through the midday heat. Not that I needed further confirmation, but the early morning hours of the ride were absolutely beautiful, and a joy to ride in. By 9am the heat was already becoming unbearable. Our early start put us into Chiang Khan a little after 11am, which is about as late as I am willing to push it, past that and I start melting like a stick of sweaty butter. After a solid six hours of riding, we spent the afternoon between our refrigerated room and the guest-house terrace overlooking the Mekong, resting up for the next day of biking to Loei.
The ride to Loei turned us south and took us away from the languid Mekong. Rolling hills, rice paddies, and a short ride. We were off the road by 9:30am and retreated to our air conditioned paradise. Loei has the feel of a developing Thai city, overflowing with electronics, cars, and larger grocery stores.
Our afternoon storm in Loei was impressive. The storms start out so gentle and indecisive. Light rain evaporating off the still sizzling concrete and wind passing in scattered gusts. Trees swaying and dancing to the periodic bursts of wind, obeying the whims of the circulating air. Each succesive gust of wind hits a little harder and carries with it more sustained rainfall. Finally the dam bursts, horizontal sheets of rain are pounding into buildings, attacking open windows, and drenching clothes carelessly left on balconies to dry. Thunder rumbling through the clouds and flashes of lightening illuminating the darkened sky.
Then, the storm has spent its fury and the dark clouds begin to break, rays of light pierce throught the once foreboding darkness. Intimidating cloud banks bathed in the soft glow of the returning light. A melange of pink, orange, and red patterned with a patchwork of decaying clouds. Dusk in Loei is an amazing sight.
The ride to Loei turned us south and took us away from the languid Mekong. Rolling hills, rice paddies, and a short ride. We were off the road by 9:30am and retreated to our air conditioned paradise. Loei has the feel of a developing Thai city, overflowing with electronics, cars, and larger grocery stores.
Our afternoon storm in Loei was impressive. The storms start out so gentle and indecisive. Light rain evaporating off the still sizzling concrete and wind passing in scattered gusts. Trees swaying and dancing to the periodic bursts of wind, obeying the whims of the circulating air. Each succesive gust of wind hits a little harder and carries with it more sustained rainfall. Finally the dam bursts, horizontal sheets of rain are pounding into buildings, attacking open windows, and drenching clothes carelessly left on balconies to dry. Thunder rumbling through the clouds and flashes of lightening illuminating the darkened sky.
Then, the storm has spent its fury and the dark clouds begin to break, rays of light pierce throught the once foreboding darkness. Intimidating cloud banks bathed in the soft glow of the returning light. A melange of pink, orange, and red patterned with a patchwork of decaying clouds. Dusk in Loei is an amazing sight.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Waking up before the heat
Our first actual day of biking in Thailand started early the next morning, 5 in the AM, to beat the heat to our next destination. The ride treated us to flat roads with a few small rolling hills, all while hugging the Mekong. It was a little disconcerting that after we had ridden 25k that morning we were probably about 3k from where we had started the day before in Lao, just on the opposite of the river.
An hour or two later we rolled into the lazy little town of Siangkhan, and enjoyed an afternoon of leisure out of the brain boiling heat, and my first full submersion in the cool flowing waters of the Mekong. The calm surface of the river belies its power. After jumping in the river I quickly realized the current was significantly stronger than I had anticipated, it didn't take long for the river to take me farther down the bank than I wanted to go.
Riding along the river all day it has become apparent how low the water level is on the Mekong. Large sandbars overgrown with scrub brush bifurcate the river into a series of smaller channels, some stagnating in pools among the exposed rock outcrops. I can only imagine how the Mekong must appear to those who have spent a lifetime along its banks witnessing the years of higher flow. Conversely this may not be the worst that they have seen, which may actually provide a small comfort. Or perhaps I'm talking out of my ass, I'll let you choose.
Evening approached accompanied by a dark, ominous cloud bank creeping in on the town. The clouds released their moisture slowly at first, in fat, scattered drops of rain. Once the outer fringes of the storm passed we were treated to the full strength of the storm, sheet after sheet of rain blown sideways by the warm gusts of wind. We sat in a gazebo overlooking the river amidst the cascade of water, taking in the full strength of the storm, beautiful to watch.
An hour or two later we rolled into the lazy little town of Siangkhan, and enjoyed an afternoon of leisure out of the brain boiling heat, and my first full submersion in the cool flowing waters of the Mekong. The calm surface of the river belies its power. After jumping in the river I quickly realized the current was significantly stronger than I had anticipated, it didn't take long for the river to take me farther down the bank than I wanted to go.
Riding along the river all day it has become apparent how low the water level is on the Mekong. Large sandbars overgrown with scrub brush bifurcate the river into a series of smaller channels, some stagnating in pools among the exposed rock outcrops. I can only imagine how the Mekong must appear to those who have spent a lifetime along its banks witnessing the years of higher flow. Conversely this may not be the worst that they have seen, which may actually provide a small comfort. Or perhaps I'm talking out of my ass, I'll let you choose.
Evening approached accompanied by a dark, ominous cloud bank creeping in on the town. The clouds released their moisture slowly at first, in fat, scattered drops of rain. Once the outer fringes of the storm passed we were treated to the full strength of the storm, sheet after sheet of rain blown sideways by the warm gusts of wind. We sat in a gazebo overlooking the river amidst the cascade of water, taking in the full strength of the storm, beautiful to watch.
Arriving in Thailand
Behind yet again. We've been in Thailand for a little over a week, but I'm just now starting to blog about it, whoops. The trip from Lao to Thailand was the easiest border crossing thus far, one stamp and a ride across the bridge, one more stamp, one more form, and we were in Thailand. Done and done.
Our first sight leaving customs in Thailand: a trusty old 7-11, a touch of home across the world. As tempting as a slurpee sounded in the heat, we decided our time would be better spent finding lunch and a good map of the country. Having a vague idea of where you are and where you're headed have turned out to be pretty important pieces of information.
After a little wandering around Nong Khai we found both a good book store to pick up a map, and a nice little spot to grab lunch and figure out what to do with the rest of the day. We spent some time perusing the map and decided to make a 20k push to the next town along the Mekong and shorten the ride for the next day. The 20k push only lasted about 5k before we folded in the face of the heat, probably low triple digits, and found a hotel where we could luxuriate in the frosty embrace of AC. It felt oh so good. One day in Thailand about 5k of biking, and many wonderful hours relishing the miracle of air conditioning. I'm a bit of a pansy when it comes to heat.
Our first sight leaving customs in Thailand: a trusty old 7-11, a touch of home across the world. As tempting as a slurpee sounded in the heat, we decided our time would be better spent finding lunch and a good map of the country. Having a vague idea of where you are and where you're headed have turned out to be pretty important pieces of information.
After a little wandering around Nong Khai we found both a good book store to pick up a map, and a nice little spot to grab lunch and figure out what to do with the rest of the day. We spent some time perusing the map and decided to make a 20k push to the next town along the Mekong and shorten the ride for the next day. The 20k push only lasted about 5k before we folded in the face of the heat, probably low triple digits, and found a hotel where we could luxuriate in the frosty embrace of AC. It felt oh so good. One day in Thailand about 5k of biking, and many wonderful hours relishing the miracle of air conditioning. I'm a bit of a pansy when it comes to heat.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Updated Lao bike map
Blue lines indicate where we biked, and random way-points show the places we took buses to.
View Vietnam and Laos bike route in a larger map
View Vietnam and Laos bike route in a larger map
Fixing the bike and moving on
After a few days of staking out the lone western bike shop in Lao, hoping to find a solution to my current equipment problem, I was finally rewarded today. I assumed that I would need to buy a new crank set to replace the one stripped out arm, but it turns out the friendly owner of the bike shop can simply re-thread the arm, which means I only have to buy a new set of pedals. Now that we have our Thai visas in hand all we have to do is hop on our bikes tomorrow and head out of Lao, and start biking in a new country. It works out well, because our Lao visas expire tomorrow, so if my bike breaks again we could be SOL.
Vang Vieng onto Vientiane
After the short bus ride back to Phoukoun, we grabbed the bikes and made a break for Kasi about 50k away, taking advantage of the mid-afternoon clouds and resulting cooler temperatures. The road wound along the ridgeline from Phoukoun before dropping us amid the jagged limestone remains of eons of erosion. We've seen karsts everywhere in Lao, but they never cease to blow me away. Kasi was an unexciting town, but one with spectacular scenery. No karsts, but rolling hills scattered with rice paddies and stilted bamboo huts overlooking it all.
The ride to Vang Vieng the next day took us up a small pass before sending us tumbling down to the Nam Song river, as it sliced through the karsts towering over the road. All the downhill put us into town around 10am, leaving us with plenty of time to wander around and get our bearing for the next few days.
Before we arrived, plenty of people had warned us about the drugged out, tourist party culture that permeates throughout the town; they definitely weren't lying and it is over the top. Walking the main drag your ears are assualted by bars and restaurants running continuous loops of Friends and The Family Guy. Hearing the soundtrack for Friends felt oddly discordant while walking down a street in Lao.
Despite the over-development of some parts of Vang Vieng, it takes only a short trip across the river to leave it all behind and enter a world of jagged karsts, winding networks of limestone caves, and tranquil lagoons of cool clear water. We spent many of our days on the winding dirt roads across the river enjoying the sharp limestone ridgelines or exploring the various networks of narrow caves.
As someone who has always been a bit shy of confined spaces, the cave exploration put my nerves to the test a few times. I persevered when I could, but I was definitely turned back by more than a few narrow crawl spaces. Mentally there was only so much I could handle, plus being 6'5" doesn't really help the situation.
But, out of the caves flowed beautiful springs of cool, clear water; perfect places to take a midday siesta to beat the heat. My favorite location came equipped with a rope swing and oppurtunities to gain some altitude in the trees before entering the water. For the low price of $1.25 it was a relaxing way to kill an afternoon, and wash off all the sweat from the morning rides.
Alas our time in Vang Vieng had to come to an end. After six days in town we tried to leave but my bike wouldn't cooperate, or more accurately my pedals wouldn't cooperate. I tried to pedal up to the road from our hotel, but soon found that while my shoe was still clipped into the pedal, the pedal was no longer attached to the bike; a bit of a perplexing problem. After some careful consideration, we decided that riding wasn't going to be an option until my pedals could be fixed (unlikely) or replaced. I ultimately purchased some cheap replacement pedals at the local market hoping that they would last the final 150k or so into Vientiane.
Unfortunately the next day the pedals managed to make it about 15k out town before breaking. Or more accurately they took me 15k out of town and completely stripped out the threading on one of my crank arms in the process. I went from needing new pedals, to needing new pedals and a new crank arm as well. Joyous day. I wish I could say I maintained a calm relaxed demeanor in the face of my equipment problem, but I didn't. Somethings were thrown (the faulty pedal, possibly a wrench) before I mellowed out a bit.
After my tantrum we faced the more immediate dilemma of whether to head back to town to catch a bus, or try and hail one from the road. As luck would have it (the only lucky moment of the day) a bus rolled up in the midst of our decision making and solved the problem. Two hours later we arrived in Vientiane, broken bike and all. T
The ride to Vang Vieng the next day took us up a small pass before sending us tumbling down to the Nam Song river, as it sliced through the karsts towering over the road. All the downhill put us into town around 10am, leaving us with plenty of time to wander around and get our bearing for the next few days.
Before we arrived, plenty of people had warned us about the drugged out, tourist party culture that permeates throughout the town; they definitely weren't lying and it is over the top. Walking the main drag your ears are assualted by bars and restaurants running continuous loops of Friends and The Family Guy. Hearing the soundtrack for Friends felt oddly discordant while walking down a street in Lao.
Despite the over-development of some parts of Vang Vieng, it takes only a short trip across the river to leave it all behind and enter a world of jagged karsts, winding networks of limestone caves, and tranquil lagoons of cool clear water. We spent many of our days on the winding dirt roads across the river enjoying the sharp limestone ridgelines or exploring the various networks of narrow caves.
As someone who has always been a bit shy of confined spaces, the cave exploration put my nerves to the test a few times. I persevered when I could, but I was definitely turned back by more than a few narrow crawl spaces. Mentally there was only so much I could handle, plus being 6'5" doesn't really help the situation.
But, out of the caves flowed beautiful springs of cool, clear water; perfect places to take a midday siesta to beat the heat. My favorite location came equipped with a rope swing and oppurtunities to gain some altitude in the trees before entering the water. For the low price of $1.25 it was a relaxing way to kill an afternoon, and wash off all the sweat from the morning rides.
Alas our time in Vang Vieng had to come to an end. After six days in town we tried to leave but my bike wouldn't cooperate, or more accurately my pedals wouldn't cooperate. I tried to pedal up to the road from our hotel, but soon found that while my shoe was still clipped into the pedal, the pedal was no longer attached to the bike; a bit of a perplexing problem. After some careful consideration, we decided that riding wasn't going to be an option until my pedals could be fixed (unlikely) or replaced. I ultimately purchased some cheap replacement pedals at the local market hoping that they would last the final 150k or so into Vientiane.
Unfortunately the next day the pedals managed to make it about 15k out town before breaking. Or more accurately they took me 15k out of town and completely stripped out the threading on one of my crank arms in the process. I went from needing new pedals, to needing new pedals and a new crank arm as well. Joyous day. I wish I could say I maintained a calm relaxed demeanor in the face of my equipment problem, but I didn't. Somethings were thrown (the faulty pedal, possibly a wrench) before I mellowed out a bit.
After my tantrum we faced the more immediate dilemma of whether to head back to town to catch a bus, or try and hail one from the road. As luck would have it (the only lucky moment of the day) a bus rolled up in the midst of our decision making and solved the problem. Two hours later we arrived in Vientiane, broken bike and all. T
Plain of Jars
Kiawakuchum led us to Phoukoun, a short 50k away, and our departure point for Phonesavan and the Plain of Jars. In the interest of time and perhaps a bit of laziness we decided to stash our bikes in Phoukoun and hop a bus to Phonesavan, which conveniently arrived in town about 30 minutes after us and sent us on our way.
The Plain of Jars...was, well...plains full of Jars. 3,000 year old stone burial relics, scattered about the cratered fields of Phonesavan. I don't know if archaeologist are entirely sure why they were used, but the basic idea was bodies (or maybe it was ashes) were placed in the jars after they passed away, some with lids and some without. Not necessarily and exhilarating experience but definitely a unique sight, and well worth the side trip to Phonesavan.
The more depressing aspect of Phonesavan is the thousands of unexploded bombs dropped by the US during the Vietnam war that continue to wreak havoc in the area. Definitely a situation that leaves you feeling a little less than proud of the US.
Minus the bomb craters Phonesavan felt strangely familiar, rolling green hills dotted with clusters of pine trees. Expansive fields covered in a ceiling of gray misting clouds. On the otherside of the world in a largely tropical country, the landscape was oddly reminiscent of the Willamette Valley. The landscape was a beautiful amalgamation of familiar terrain in a foreign country.
The Plain of Jars...was, well...plains full of Jars. 3,000 year old stone burial relics, scattered about the cratered fields of Phonesavan. I don't know if archaeologist are entirely sure why they were used, but the basic idea was bodies (or maybe it was ashes) were placed in the jars after they passed away, some with lids and some without. Not necessarily and exhilarating experience but definitely a unique sight, and well worth the side trip to Phonesavan.
The more depressing aspect of Phonesavan is the thousands of unexploded bombs dropped by the US during the Vietnam war that continue to wreak havoc in the area. Definitely a situation that leaves you feeling a little less than proud of the US.
Minus the bomb craters Phonesavan felt strangely familiar, rolling green hills dotted with clusters of pine trees. Expansive fields covered in a ceiling of gray misting clouds. On the otherside of the world in a largely tropical country, the landscape was oddly reminiscent of the Willamette Valley. The landscape was a beautiful amalgamation of familiar terrain in a foreign country.
Tackling the hills
Based on some conversations with other cyclists we knew heading south out of Luang Prabang we were going to be tackling a series of steep climbs over the next 210k to Vang Vieng. Sure enough it didn't take all that long, about 20k south of town we started with an absolutely lovely 8k climb on some windy roads up to a nice ridgeline view point. The view was nice, but sadly it was nowhere near the top of the climb, that was still another 6k away. After mashing out the last 6k we were treated to a nice long 16k descent, leaving us at just about the same elevation that we started at four hours earlier, wahoo. Which left us starting the truly beastly climb of the day, all 25k of it, just as the mid-afternoon heat was ratcheting up. I know I bitch alot about sweating profusely and the heat, but its really damn hot here, and I'm from Seattle, where the thermometer hardly ever goes north of 85. The climb was beautiful, it just necessitated frequent snack and water breaks to make sure we didn't pass out in the road halfway up. Probably a little dramatic, but it felt pretty brutal at the time.
Our destination for the day was Kiawakuchum, a humble roadside town perched atop a sinuous ridgeline overlooking the distant peaks, and the valley's below. After a day of brutal climbing it was nice to take in a ridge-top sunset, while attempting to inhale all of the calories I had burned off during the day, thank god for sticky rice.
Our destination for the day was Kiawakuchum, a humble roadside town perched atop a sinuous ridgeline overlooking the distant peaks, and the valley's below. After a day of brutal climbing it was nice to take in a ridge-top sunset, while attempting to inhale all of the calories I had burned off during the day, thank god for sticky rice.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Luang Prabang
The morning we took off for Luang Prabang we were treated to a massive down pouring of rain that provided a nice end to the Lao New Year, since it cleared the smoke from the air and provided us with our first unimpeded views of Laos. Disappoint they did not. In the early morning light the limestone cliffs were magnificent, touching the sky all around us. Ridgelines extending miles up the river previously cloaked in a thick haze. We had entered a completely different world, fresh and clean and full of beauty. My head was on a swivel the entire ride, trying to take in all the spectacular views that had suddenly materialized out of the smoke.
The ride from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang was tackled in two days, with the first day to the unexceptional Pak Mong, a way-point for those on longer journeys. Luang Prabang was a 110k ride through rolling hills backed by beautiful limestone cliffs. We started early and rolled into Luang Prabang before the heat of the day set in, a beautiful town lying at the convergence of the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers. If I wasn't so far behind in the blog I would spend a little more time describing our time there, but I am that far behind, essentially Luang Prabang boiled down to a series of disappointments.
Our attempt to see the normally beautiful Tat Sae waterfall fizzled out due to natural causes. Somebody tried to tell us before we paid for admission that it wasn't worth it since there was no water. We nodded and said we'd think about it, but ultimately figured it would be worth seeing even if it wasn't gushing. Turns out when he said there was no water, he meant absolutely no water. The falls were bone dry, leaving us with a beautiful views of moss and artificial sand bag walls. Truly epic. So sad because in full flow the falls look unbelievable with a series of steps of cascading turquoise water leading down to the river. Pak Ou cave also provided us with a less than memorable experience. Maybe it was the cost of the ferry and the admission that soured it for me, but for one of the Holier sites in Lao, they did not use the money all that efficiently to help with the upkeep. Again less than memorable.
Luang Prabang did have its moments, a beautiful sunset from a hilltop shrine, my first view of the mighty mighty Mekong, and an noverall mellow atmosphere despite the abundance of tourists. I'm sure I've glossed over quite a bit, but I imagine if you're reading this you probably don't mind.
The ride from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang was tackled in two days, with the first day to the unexceptional Pak Mong, a way-point for those on longer journeys. Luang Prabang was a 110k ride through rolling hills backed by beautiful limestone cliffs. We started early and rolled into Luang Prabang before the heat of the day set in, a beautiful town lying at the convergence of the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers. If I wasn't so far behind in the blog I would spend a little more time describing our time there, but I am that far behind, essentially Luang Prabang boiled down to a series of disappointments.
Our attempt to see the normally beautiful Tat Sae waterfall fizzled out due to natural causes. Somebody tried to tell us before we paid for admission that it wasn't worth it since there was no water. We nodded and said we'd think about it, but ultimately figured it would be worth seeing even if it wasn't gushing. Turns out when he said there was no water, he meant absolutely no water. The falls were bone dry, leaving us with a beautiful views of moss and artificial sand bag walls. Truly epic. So sad because in full flow the falls look unbelievable with a series of steps of cascading turquoise water leading down to the river. Pak Ou cave also provided us with a less than memorable experience. Maybe it was the cost of the ferry and the admission that soured it for me, but for one of the Holier sites in Lao, they did not use the money all that efficiently to help with the upkeep. Again less than memorable.
Luang Prabang did have its moments, a beautiful sunset from a hilltop shrine, my first view of the mighty mighty Mekong, and an noverall mellow atmosphere despite the abundance of tourists. I'm sure I've glossed over quite a bit, but I imagine if you're reading this you probably don't mind.
Celebrating the new year
From Nong Khiaw we took a day trip up the river to the small town of Muang Ngoi to catch what supposed to be some amazing scenery. In Nong Khiaw it was easy to forget it was the Lao New Year because the town played it pretty low key. Our first look at the boats heading up to Muang Ngoi, or at least the cargo that was heading up there, hinted at a slightly more boisterous celebration of the New Year. While we ate breakfast above the river, we watched as two proters made a continuous circuit to and from the beach, each carrying two cases of 12 bottles of 700ml beers apiece. The result of this procession was as one would expect, a very large formation of beer cases stacked on the beach ready to be shipped up the river.
A little over an hour after we had shoved off we puttered into Muang Ngoi the party was already getting started at 11am. On the opposite bank of the river there were a couple of tents set up, a makeshift soundsystem, and plenty of Beer Lao. This complicated our original plans to make our trip to Muang Ngoi just a day, seeing as anybody that could potentially give us a ride back down the river was well on their way to having trouble walking, let alone steering a boat.
We decided to head out for a hike and weigh our options when we returned. The hike was serene, but as usual most of the views were obscured by smoke. We spent an hour or two wandering out to a nearby village, than meandering back through the open fields. The heat of the day required a mid-afternoon plunge in the cleanest part of the river we could find. Apparently others had the same idea because just down stream we found about 10-15 water buffaloes placidly standing and lying in the river avoiding the heat.
We made some quick tracks back to town, only to find the town dock more-or-less deserted and a huge party raging across the river. I say more-or-less because there was a blue tarp party boat shuttling stragglers to the party as well as dispensing beer along the way. When it came down to it we really didn't have much of a choice, stay on the empty beach...or join the party. As soon as the party boat floated up, we hopped on and joined the party. Since celebrating the New Year involves throwing water on everybody in sight, and we were by a river, total saturation occurred in about 30 seconds.
Luckily when we arrived on the opposite bank we managed to find our ferry driver and surprisingly he was sober and heading back down the river in a few hours. Until then we joined in on the festivities, drank beer, swam in the river, and threw water on anybody in sight. Our ride back down the river an hour or so later provided absolutely stunning views. Although smoke limited the views, it also managed to illuminate the karsts with a beautiful fiery red aura as the sun descended below the horizon and we glided down the Nam Ou.
A little over an hour after we had shoved off we puttered into Muang Ngoi the party was already getting started at 11am. On the opposite bank of the river there were a couple of tents set up, a makeshift soundsystem, and plenty of Beer Lao. This complicated our original plans to make our trip to Muang Ngoi just a day, seeing as anybody that could potentially give us a ride back down the river was well on their way to having trouble walking, let alone steering a boat.
We decided to head out for a hike and weigh our options when we returned. The hike was serene, but as usual most of the views were obscured by smoke. We spent an hour or two wandering out to a nearby village, than meandering back through the open fields. The heat of the day required a mid-afternoon plunge in the cleanest part of the river we could find. Apparently others had the same idea because just down stream we found about 10-15 water buffaloes placidly standing and lying in the river avoiding the heat.
We made some quick tracks back to town, only to find the town dock more-or-less deserted and a huge party raging across the river. I say more-or-less because there was a blue tarp party boat shuttling stragglers to the party as well as dispensing beer along the way. When it came down to it we really didn't have much of a choice, stay on the empty beach...or join the party. As soon as the party boat floated up, we hopped on and joined the party. Since celebrating the New Year involves throwing water on everybody in sight, and we were by a river, total saturation occurred in about 30 seconds.
Luckily when we arrived on the opposite bank we managed to find our ferry driver and surprisingly he was sober and heading back down the river in a few hours. Until then we joined in on the festivities, drank beer, swam in the river, and threw water on anybody in sight. Our ride back down the river an hour or so later provided absolutely stunning views. Although smoke limited the views, it also managed to illuminate the karsts with a beautiful fiery red aura as the sun descended below the horizon and we glided down the Nam Ou.
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