Day 2 - Out and Back

03/04/2012 5:56 PM

Me and Tom - Morning of Day 2

So day two of my motorbike adventure; it was another day on the road, but no new location. As I’ve previously stated, I needed guaranteed internet access tonight to do my fall/winter registration so I opted

to stay another night in Oudom Xai, that did not, however, stop me from riding. My registration is done and my day has been utterly enjoyable, yet somewhat stressful. 

Tom and Ann were headed for Phongsali today and I have no doubt they made it even though I have not heard from them yet. I opted to ride out with them this morning up highway 2E until the turn off to Phongsali; it was about a 70 km ride. I had not much to do this morning, so I figured a short trip would be a nice activity. I also wanted to find out the condition of highway 1B given that it is not paved. For the most part, I think I have my answer, nonetheless, Ann is supposed to email me tonight with the road conditions. I rode up Highway 1B for about 5k and while it is not paved, it is hard packed dirt... that was the first 5k at least, but minibuses do travel along it, so I figure it cannot be that bad. It will take some time given the bike I'm riding does not have knobby tires on it. It will be slow, but doable nonetheless. I have looked into renting a much bigger bike, something like a Baja 250, which is for the most part a dirt bike, but while they are easy to rent in Louang Prabang; they are not so easy to find here. There is one

Our bikes - Day 2

motorbike agency who rents bikes here, but they do not stock anything more than I already have, however, with a bit of persuading, I convinced the owner of the shop to make a few calls to see if he can find me something. He told me he would do his best and that there was a 50/50 chance that he might be able to find one. He told me to check back with him later tonight. While a bigger bike is not entirely necessary, I would be much more comfortable (safety wise), given the road conditions, and it would turn the 150 km of unpaved road from a somewhat arduous journey into pure fun. We will see what happens later tonight. Either way, I'm heading to Phongsali tomorrow. 

This morning’s ride was absolutely beautiful. It was a 70km ride up to the turn off at Sin Xai along highway 2E which is a perfectly paved road that follows a river; it is completely deserted and winds through the mountains and valleys. Tom has been riding a motorbike for 40 years and he said it was the nicest 70 km he has ever ridden. I will be doing it again tomorrow, and again on my journey back from Phongsali, but I am in no way lamenting this.  

Highway 2E and My Bike

So that’s it for now. Hopefully I’ll be picking up a big bike this evening, but even if I don’t, who cares! This place is beautiful and this is a journey of a lifetime!

03/04/2012 6:59 PM

Quick update: Just dropped into my motorbike guy in Oudom Xai and it looks like I will not be getting a bigger bike, oh well!