I then got what I thought was a lucky break and hit some more tarmac, yeah, for all of about 18km’s then straight back into the jungle again haha.

On route the track was blocked yet again this time there were some excavators clearing the way so me and a load of Laos people were sat waiting for them to finish, it was about 30 to 40 mins before we got going.

IMG_1356 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1353 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1357 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1360 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1363 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1364 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1365 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1367 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I had drunk all my water in my Camelbak and was gagging for a drink so I stopped in this village in the middle of nowhere and they kindly gave me water and even let me take a pic before I moved off again.

IMG_1368 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

After 200.3km I finally got onto a proper tarmac road for the last leg into Phonsavan, which I got to at about 1730hrs

Found the Nice Guesthouse, wifi, hot water, 100,000kip per night for a double room N19.45045 E103.21892

Day 23 Local around Phonsavan

Visited Site 1 of the Plain of jars, coords N 19.42577 E103.15878. Very interesting to visit. They had a little museum to tell you all about the jars and a little bit about the Vietnam War in the area, they reckon over 270 million bombs dropped on Laos. There were still a lot of trenches visible when you were walking round and also plenty of bomb craters. MAG had cleared bit of the area and you are advised to walk between the markers.

IMG_1369 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1371 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1370 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1372 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1374 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1376 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1377 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1378 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1379 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1380 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1385 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1388 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1394 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1390 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1392 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1401 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I also visited the Vietnamese War Memorial and the Laos War Memorial. The Vietnamese one was in a very good state of repair but the Laos one had lots of graffiti over it. I would have thought if anything it would be the other way round

IMG_1418 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1417 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1410 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1412 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1413 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1414 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
All the above is the Vietnamese War Memorial

IMG_1419 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1421 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The two above is the Laos War Memorial

Day 24 Phonsavan to Nong Khiaw

Set off nice and early, it was about 0745 after I had filled up and filled my reserve bottles. The route was the 7N the on to the 1C all the way in to Nong Khiaw.

Day 24 Phonsavan to Nong Khiaw by Wayne 66, on Flickr

It was a good steady road all the way except for the last 80km or so. Then it was very potholed and went from paved to unpaved every now and again. There were lots of nice villages to ride through, spent a lot of time waving when going through the villages. I think thats why I prefer being on a bike, in my opinion you are more attuned to the surrounding area. I got some great video of them and the surrounding countryside, yet again lots of stunning views to be had. Early on in the route I met with a lot of wet patches where the sun had not been on them and there was loads of diesel on the road,in some places it was quite thick due to the trucks going slow up and down the hills.

IMG_1429 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1431 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1432 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1435 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1433 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1446 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1447 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1448 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1450 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1453 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1454 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I got to Nong Khiaw at about 1715, after numerous stops to chill, get fuel and eat and after a ride through the town I opted for the CT Guesthouse and restaurant, clean room, hot water and wifi. The bike is park in the owners drive with CCTV, with disc lock applied, coords N20.57020 E102.61657

IMG_1456 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1458 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1459 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1460 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Long Tien ( lima site 22) was the most secret place on earth during the Vietnam war.

ur lucky to have been thru there. For years (Only recently have u been able to access there) it was closed,

I tired to get thru in 2013 but was turned back

Edited June 2, 201610 yr by phuketrichard

Long Tien ( lima site 22) was the most secret place on earth during the Vietnam war.

ur lucky to have been thru there. For years (Only recently have u been able to access there) it was closed,

I tired to get thru in 2013 but was turned back

Yes I was lucky, but to be honest I didn't have a clue where I was, but it was great days ride

Day 25 Nong Khiaw to Oudomxay

Nong Khiaw to Oudomxay,

Day 25 Nong Khiaw to Oudomxay by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I set off at about 0825hrs after I had topped up my fuel. The 1C/13N started off really nice with a lot of flowing bends with decent tarmac.

IMG_1464 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1462 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
So calm and peaceful
Then!

I then got to Pakmong, as I left there I went on to a really wide great piece of road, it was great for about 6k’s then I turned bad, through lots of roads works, chewing on loads of dust when trying to get past the lorries and buses which were on the route. Really narrow points where they are trying to build the road and a lot of heavy machinery, saying that I was surprised on how much was still done by hand.

IMG_1468 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1469 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1470 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1471 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1472 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Between 50 and 60 kms there is a large rest stop area with a restaurant and a small shop, also toilets. I stopped there and had a coffee in a tin and got talking to some Westeners who were milling about in the bus stop, it turns out that the bus they were on (which I passed about a 100 meters down the road) had broken down and they had been stuck there for 5 hours. They were not happy, but I was, the sun was out and had my trusty steed.

IMG_1475 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1479 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1480 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1481 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1483 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1484 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1487 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

The road stayed pretty much very bumpy and dusty till I started to drop down the other side of the mountain towards Oudomxay then I was blessed with damp mud, it make the road like an ice skating ring and I could feel my wheels wanting to tuck from underneath me all the time I was on it. Thankfully made it down in one piece

Finally the last 10 to 12 k’s was good tarmac again all the was in to town

IMG_1489 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Lunch stop

After stopping for food and a luke warm Lao dark I had a ride through town and settled on the Dokbouadeng Guesthouse, wifi, best I have had in about 6 days, 30 photos uploads to Flickr in half hour, thats a record since I have been in Laos, hot water is very good, very hot with a decent pressure, bike parked out the front, only downside is it could do with a good lick of paint, but everything else is probably best, coords N20.68781 E101.98650

IMG_1493 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1490 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1491 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Took a walk into the town, the main road I am on is the town centre, visited the Phouthad Temple on top of a hill, not may good views of the town but the temple was ok

IMG_1509 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1506 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1505 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1504 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1503 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1499 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 26 Oudomxay

Stayed in Oudoxmay for the day and just relaxed, had two massages as the first one didn’t seem like it had done the trick. Had the same girl twice and she was very good. I felt so much better after the second one. The remainder of the day was spent drinking Beer Lao and eating food.
I also took the bike for a good wash, the second of the tour.

IMG_1495 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 27 Oudomxay to Ban Chom Ong

Set off at about 0815 hours after filling my now replenished reserve fuel bottle which I had lost the other day.

Day 27 Oudomxay to Ban Chom Ong by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I was travelling to Ban Chom Ong which is a homestay village. The route was very misty and I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t even know where it was. I was following a map which was give to me by the tourist information people, and I decided to go the long way round which was through about 8 to 10 villages till I got to Ban Chom Ong. After getting a bit lost on the way as there were loads of tracks and in some places I was not even on a track according to the OSM mapping on my GPS, but its all part of the fun, so as and when I came across a different village I was asking the name of the village and then the way to Chom Ong.

IMG_1516 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1517 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1518 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1519 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1522 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1524 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The first river crossing off the day, watch this guy nearly loose it at it was quite deep in the middle

IMG_1525 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
This second river I had just crossed and stopped to watch the trucks go through, it was very slippery

IMG_1526 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1529 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1531 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1532 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1535 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1539 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1540 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I eventually got there for about 1130hrs, I was about 55 to 60 km the long way round, but I was not in any rush. Ban Chom Ong coords N20.70597 E101.78142.

Once I got there I stopped at a small shack in the middle of the village and started to ask about the homestay whist drinking a bottle of cold pop (soda).

IMG_1542 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1543 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

The girl at the shack had a book with English phrases but nothing on the homestay, then all of a sudden she ran off, must have been the aftershave I was wearing, she disappeared into the village and came back with a young man, who I later found out was 19m and married to the girl who ran the shack. He ended up hosting me and spoke reasonable English. Sorted, time to go to my hut for the night. When I got to it it was a hut on stilts and inside were some thin mattresses and some quilts in a bag. Very Very basic and I was thinking what had I let myself in for…..

IMG_1545 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
My dwelling for the night

IMG_1544 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1547 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

My host hung about whilst I unloaded the bike and got changed. Then it was back to the shack where we sat and drank cold beer Lao whilst his wife cooked some fried eggs with bits of chilli in them, we also had rice, the rice was just presented in a bamboo bowl and you just grabbed a hand full, literally. The egg was eaten with chopsticks.

Whilst we were eating a couple of the villagers came up to see who the foreigner was, one of them was a teacher (28yrs old) who spoke good English so we had quite a good natter, at about 1400hrs I said I was going for a walk and I was also going to secretly check on the bike and all my stuff because nothing was locked up, there were no locks on the doors at all, Ummmm, I was a bit dubious about leaving all the electronics laying about, but I had no choice unless I sat with it all the time. As I got up to leave thinking that this is going to be a long day as I didn't even have any comms, my host said that he was going to a farty, I later found out it was his pronunciation of party, as the villagers were celebrating something, he did tell me what but, after a few Lao whiskeys it was all a blur…….
So off we went further in to the village but closer to where I was staying, thankfully… When we got there it was packed out in the little area they were using, and I was shown to a wooden bench next to a table and sat down with all the other men. They made me feel right at home and involved me in all the days activities. The women served the men the beer and whiskey whilst the men ate, most of the food was in bowls but some of it was just on big leaves directly on the table, sticky rice, some kind of noodle thing, then a mix of pork and chicken soups with veg and other pork and chicken dishes, we all had a spoon each and the rest was just use you hands. I was quite taken aback by the way the women tended all the men, sorting the food, pouring the drinks etc. When the drink was being passed round you didn’t get your own cup, the cup started at the end of the line, the woman poured the drink, beer and or whiskey and you drank it, tipping the dregs on the floor and giving the cup back to the woman who then went to the next man. Once all the men had had their food they left the table and all the women and kids sat down to eat. By this stage I was in a group of about 10 Lao men of which a couple spoke reasonable English. I bought 5 bottles of beer Lao for the group which was well appreciated. Whilst we were eating men were singing and there was another guy on a key board. to be honest they sound really good, this continued all they way through the day/evening.
When the women had eaten all the tables and benches were moved off the the side to make a dance floor…Ummm…when in Rome! I was sat drinking and smoking with the men and a village woman, probably in her early 20’s took a bit of a shine to me and kept asking me to dance, and feed me alcohol, all the men and women who were there were dancing and singing and having a really good time. Then they brought out some big clay urns filled with what looked like wheat chaff and other stuff, I later found out it was rice particals, with long bamboo straws sticking in them, and the villagers took it in turns to sit and fill up the urns with water, and keep them topped up. The stuff was like a wine and the straw was passed round the group sat round the urns. Whilst it was kept filled with water, it was quite potent stuff. More sing and dancing until it started to get dark, which was around 1830hrs.

IMG_1549 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1550 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1551 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Food, spoons and more importantly the Lao Whiskey

IMG_1552 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The guy in the blue denim jacket spoke ok English and the guy in the red sleeved shirt on the right was Ban Chom Ong's answer to Elvis when he got going

IMG_1557 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
One of the solitary cups being filled and passed round

IMG_1560 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The woman in the pink jacket took a bit of a shine to me and kept asking me to dance (middle of pic)

IMG_1565 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1567 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1568 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1571 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
My host

IMG_1577 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The dreaded wine Urns

IMG_1582 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Sat round the Urns

IMG_1564 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1576 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The Urns and dancing

My host then took me back to his home where I had more food, fish cooked on an open fire and sticky rice, only hands were used for eating, I was sat with his wife, brothers, and grandmother.
Once we had eaten he took me back to my hut as I didn’t have a clue where I was as it was pitch black by this time. Once at the hut he went back home and I grabbed my torch and went back to the party which was dwindling down, my female friend had gone, more rice wine was in order before I stumbled back to the hut where I went straight to sleep, alcohol induced haha.
What I thought was going to be long and boring day turn into an exceptional day/evening and I was made very welcome by all at the party. Well worth the time and very glad I decided to go.

Great stuff Caps.

Following every update. Thanks.

Great stuff Caps.

Following every update. Thanks.

Thanks Scott

Will continue on Tuesday as at village now and no internet except phone

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk whilst drinking a cold beer

Day 28 Ban Chom Ong to Luang Namtha

Woke up with a cracking hangover, but had a good 9hrs sleep and sorted out my kit ready to pack the bike, this was at about 0630hrs, it was still dark outside, so glad I brought a torch with me

The plan was to ride to Phonsali today and then go further up north to the Chinese border. However when I went out side my initial thoughts came true as I could hear the noise on the roof of the hut, it was raining. In fact it wasn’t just raining it was lashing it down. Not good..
I had about 14km to do before I got on to some tarmac, what a hard 14 km it was. The track had turned to a slippery top surface of mud which yet again was like riding over ice. So very slowly and precariously I made my way along the track, had to do two river crossing, one of which was a straight ride through after a very slippery slope down to the water, how I didn’t end up in the river i’ll never know. The second was a wooden log bridge, the logs had been laid bank to bank and not side on, and there was big gaps in the logs, big enough for a tyre to fit between. So it was off the bike and keeping it in first gear I walked the bike across using the engine to move the bike along. Once cleared it was back on the very slippery track and heading for the 13N, that took me about an hour to do.

Finally I got to the main road and by this time I was well and truly drenched and extremely cold. Bearing in mind I am only wearing my motocross gear, glad I was, more to come…

I set the GPS to a road junction where I was then going to turn left and head for Phonsali, but… as I was going down the 13N towards the junction I was on a down hill stretch which was very twisty so I was only going very slowly as I could see diesel all over the place, any way I came slowly round this left hand bend and that that it the front went straight from underneath me, I went down quite hard but the bike used me as a cushion, thankfully, and we both slid down hill for about 10 feet before coming to a stop in a verge. Managed to get the bike off me and picked it up, Bike ok, just a scrapped clutch leaver, happy with that, I have got a bruised elbow, but the full body armour certainly did its job, the motocross shirt is a bit shredded so is off in the bin. So apart from a bruised elbow where it clattered against the elbow protectors, all it good.
So I was now wet, cold and hurting. Got to the junction of the 13N and a road near Namotay and looked at the road, not good and I decided against traveling it. I am here to enjoy it and not do any unnecessary risk. So I set of for Luang Namtha a few days early. It was still 50k’s before I got there, and it was a long, wet, cold 50k’s. Eventually got here for about 1045hrs and rode up the main street looking for a place to get a room.
I found the ManyChan Guesthouse and Restaurant N21.00251° E101.40943° on the main drag and went in to see if they had a room after having two coffees to try and warm up. I got a room, clean with luke warm water and wifi in the restaurant area. The poor lady in the Guesthouse was following me about with the mop as I was dripping water all over the place. Hot shower and food was in order. Then to plan what I am going to do next?

Hence not many photos today

IMG_1586 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1587 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1588 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1589 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 29 Cold and damp in Luang Namtha

Spent it in Luang Namtha, it rained till gone 1200hrs and it was really cold, to top it all there was no hot water and we had a power cut till 1330hrs.
Went out for a walk and had a pizza across the road and he even had hot coffee on (thx again Bob), bonus! Gave me something to do whilst I watched the guys fix the power cables

IMG_1591 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1592 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1593 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1594 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1595 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Seafood special, very tasty

IMG_1596 by Wayne 66, on Flickr