05/04/2012 6:02 AM
I got in late last night and simply didn’t have the energy to write. It is now 6 AM.Things seem to start early in Phongsali, like really early. The power supply to the town is only turned on between 5AM and 11 AM and then again from 5PM to 9 PM, so people sleep and wake on that schedule; I'm not entirely sure what it is, but at about 5 AM music starts playing over the entire town through loud speakers... so there is not much sleeping once that starts.... I also made the mistake of leaving my TV and all the lights on when the power was cut at 9 PM last night, so I got a pretty brutal wake up. Either way, today will be relaxing and after yesterday my body definitely needs a break.
Yesterday I rode 219 KM from Oudom Xai to Phongsali. The first 60 km were great (the section that I had ridden the previous day, the next 100 km however, well, it would be hard to call it a dirt road. It is more of a 4WD road with huge rocky sections, incredibly sandy corners, and just an unpleasantness about it. I left at 7 AM yesterday morning and arrived at the turnoff at Sin Xai before 8:30, from there it took me about 4 hours to ride the 100 km of, well, they actually call it a highway, but that is a freaking joke, it really is a 4WD trail.
From Boun Tai, things turn a bit better, the road goes from being incredibly rocky, to gravel with really sandy corners, making it not a fun ride. Getting to Boun Tai was a bit of a relief, because it meant the roads were getting a bit better, however, about 4km outside of town, a 2 inch nail found its way into my back tire. So, I spent about an hour and a half walking the bike back to town, to get it fixed. I could have hailed a ride back in with no problem or flagged someone down in the worst case scenario, but I wasn’t too far, so I just walked. I put the bike in first gear so that it drove itself, while I walked beside it, holding onto it of course.
So by about 2:45 PM I was in Boun Tai for the second time with 94 km left to ride, about 30 km of which was still gravel. By the time I hit Boun Neua, which is where the turnoff for Phongsali is as well as where the road begins to be paved again, I was exhausted, but I didn’t care... I was so glad to see paved road again. The last 60 KM was very similar to the first, beautifully winding roads that are completely deserted, except with more elevation. Phongsali literally sits on top of a mountain, so you pretty much spend 60 km winding your way up to it.
These last 60 km were unbelievably beautiful; unfortunately I didn’t really stop much. I was exhausted and just wanted to get here. I will probably ride them again this afternoon just because they were so nice. So when I arrived in town I spent about 20 minutes looking for Tom and Ann, a task made easy given that there are only four guesthouses listed in Lonely Planet and knowing Ann, they would undoubltby be staying at one of those. I actually ended up bumping into them in town rather than at a guesthouse. I am currently staying at the Fu Pha Hotel. Internet is scarce here and obviously only works when the power is on so I will look into that today.
My plan as it stands thus far is to hop on a boat tomorrow morning, which is actually more of a ferry, that will take me to Muang Khua, which is about 80 KM from Oudom Xai, where I need to return to given that the rest of my route out East goes through there. Of course, I have to buy two tickets, one for me and one for my bike, but for about $20 it is a far better alternative then riding back the way I came. It also should be an incredibly beautiful boat trip as the Nam Ou river is said to be the cleanest and most spectacular river in Laos. The boat leaves tomorrow morning from Hat Sa, 22 KM east of here, at around 9 AM and should hopefully get in early enough to Muang Khua that I can ride to Oudom Xai the same day. If it gets in late, I will spend the night in Muang Khua and make for Oudom Xai the next day. While the ride is maximally 2 hours, I could do it in the dark, but I’d rather do it during the day.
Today, I will ride out to Hat Sa to ensure space on the boat tomorrow. I may also ride 30 KM back the way I came, because the road was perfect and the views spectacular. I am going to try to find internet today, but it will most likely not be until tonight, after 5 PM. This morning I will head up to Hat Sa as Tom and Ann are riding out there to begin their two day trek north from there.
So thats pretty much it for now.
05/04/2012 5:55 PM
So evening of day four on the bike and I’m feeling fantastic. I slept in this morning and gave my body some well needed rest on time off the bike. I rode to Hat Sa this afternoon and have decided I will be riding back the way I came. I’ve decided this for a number of reasons; firstly they wanted to charge me 400 000 kip, about $50 USD to bring the bike along, second the 120 km boat journey was to take 10 hours meaning that it would mean two days back to Oudom Xai as I would have to spend a night in a guest house in Nong Kuah given I don’t want to ride the 120 KM stretch at 10 PM at night. Finally, I’ve rented this bike so I might as well use it.
My plan has somewhat altered. Today, rather last night, I discovered that the bike I am riding is actually only 125 CC.... meaning its pretty much a scooter with different gearing.... So there is a pretty good chance that I will ride back to Louang Prabang and get a bigger bike there then continue the rest of my journey out east.
There has been a lot that I have learned over the past few days about riding a bike; that it is both incredibly physically demanding as well mentally demanding; especially in these winding roads. To put in mileage on these roads, every corner needs to be set up perfectly, which generally means breaking, downshifting, breaking again, hitting the apex of the corner perfectly, shifting up again and accelerating. Given that over a 10 km stretch, you might get 100 corners like this, it takes a huge amount of concentration as well as a lot of energy. At times, like when I rode the last 40 km last night, it can be exhausting. To put in any serious mileage, every corner has to be taken as fast as possible which requires full concentration. Now, I have only been on a bike for four days now, so I am going to assume that this eventually comes naturally, but for now, it’s hard. All I know is that these roads are exhausting to ride when you have not got the energy. But when you have the energy, they are nothing but utter bliss, pure fun and completely exhilarating.
I am not really looking forward to the ride back tomorrow but things could be worse; the only issue is the 100km section of unpaved road, about 60 KM of which are terrible. But the 60 KM on either end of the 100 km unpaved stretch are fantastic. So whatever! I’ll leave early and hopefully won’t get another flat... rather, hopefully, if I get another flat, it will be near a town... or even better IN a town.
I’ve looked into getting a repair kit, but there is not really much point; changing an inner tube, requires large wrenches and a number of other tools I simply don’t want to buy. If it is just a small puncture, pretty much anyone in any village or passing motorbike will be able to fix it. So, while flats happen, and can be a bit annoying, they are in no way the end of a ride..... Knock on wood.
I will get an early start tomorrow, I’ve picked up some snacks for breakfast and the bike is almost fully fueled, so I’ll just need to strap on my bags and I should be good to go (fingers crossed).... I'm not sure why but this whole experience has made me highly superstitious about this bike.... maybe it’s the two flat tires in three days... who knows.
Phongsali as a town itself, is not all that special; the reason people come here, rather, I should say, the reason Westerners come here, as opposed to the Chinese who are just passing though, is to trek. I unfortunately simply don’t have the cash to do this... as guides and whatnot are expensive. I’m already low on cash and getting a bigger bike is going to diminish my funds slightly more, but it is necessary.
I’ve got two more weeks before I come home to Canada and it really feels like I arrived in Hanoi last week. I don’t think there is any better way to end these four months than to finish it with a 18 day tour of northern Lao by motorbike.
All for now; need to pack and get organized.
06/04/2012 6:27 PM
So, back in Oudom Xai for the night. Il head back to Louang Prabang tomorrow which should be a relatively easier ride. Today was not so bad. There was talk about taking the boat back, but it would have meant two days and money I don’t have. It took me about 9 hours altogether. I left at around 7 AM this morning and got in around 4 PM. It rained last night, which meant the sandy roads were a bit better.
Nothing much new, It was the same ride back as it was up... so not much to talk about. I did take a wrong turn and ended up at the Chinese border... fortunately it only meant an extra 40 KM to my ride today.
I’m tired. Looking forward to being back in Louang Prabang for a night before I head out east. Also looking forward to a bigger bike. Should be much more comfortable and make things a lot more enjoyable.
All for now.
Pic to come later.
No comments:
Post a Comment