ONLY SWEAT & TEARS CAN JUSTIFY...

Thank you sifu...

SEPERATION TIME

After quite some hassles with the insurance company, finally DREAM is going to see a doctor. He was taken away 2 days ago and will be back in my arms about 3 weeks from now. I MISS HIM SOOO BADDDDDDDD :(    :(    :(

INDOCHINA RIDE...22 DAYS...BEEN THERE, DONE THAT....ALHAMDULILLAH

KL - BKH - DANOK - NAKHON SI THAMMARAT - SURAT THANI - HUA HIN - KANCHANABURI - SANGKHLABURI - THREE PAGODA PASS (THL / MYANMAR BORDER) - KANCHANABURI - KAMPHEN PHET - TAK - MAE SOT - MAE SARIANG - MAE HONG SON - PAI - FANG - MAE MALAI - MAE SUAI - CHIANG RAI -  MAE SAI - TAI CHYI LIEK (MYANMAR) - CHIANG KHONG - HUAY XAI (LAOS) - LUANG NAMTHA - BOTEN (CHINA) - ODUMXAY (LAOS) - HOUA MOUNG - NA MEO (LAOS/VIETNAM) - NAM NEUN - PHONSAVAN - PAKXAN - PAKXE - VEUN KHAM (LAOS/CAMBODIA) - STUNG TRENG - KRATIE - KRAEK - KAMPONG CHAM - PHNOM PENH - SIHANOUKVILLE - KOH KONG (CAMBODIA/THAILAND) - PATTAYA - BANGKOK - HUA HIN - PATTHALUNG - HADYAI -BKH - SIMPANG PULAI - IPOH

16 JUNE 2012 DAY 22: HADYAI (THAILAND) - IPOH (400kms) THE FINAL FRONTIER

As I am writing this, I am about few hours before checking out from the hotel that I stayed last night, and will be heading to the Thailand-Malaysian border, and ride back home. There are still about 400kms more to go. I have experienced so many new things for the past three weeks that I never imagine in my whole life. Traveling overland on a motorbike is definitely a lot tougher and challenging than backpacking. There are plenty plenty more to learn before I can overland by myself. A million thanks to Hadi for giving me this chance to do something rarely done by a Malay woman, and for all the knowledge that he had been giving to me all this while, for all the guidance and for everything. I am truly sorry for all the stupid mistakes that I had done, and for not being up to his expectation. Quoting Hadi, it’s a learning process. I agree, and its a tough one as well.

The last ride back to home sweet home was smooth except for some incident in the morning (again I would not discuss it here). Border crossing was easy as well. After being through so much for the past 3 weeks, god knows how glad I was to be back to motherland. Nothing is better than being in my own beloved country – Malaysia. After lunch and fueling up at Changlun, Hadi and I rode separately according to our own pace as we have set to meet at Simpang Pulai R n R. I was ahead of him. I can’t wait to be back home as I missed my family so much. However, at one time, I was forced to take the Penang Bridge exit since I was riding on the motorbike lane. Its too late and dangerous for me to change to middle lane as lots of fast speeding cars taking the exit. I had to turn back and lost 20minutes due to this. The highway was jammed packed with vehicles until Bukit Merah. After that, I rode full throttle almost all the way as I thought that Hadi must have been waiting for me. It took me 3 hours to ride from Changlun to Simpang Pulai (plus the turning back at Penang Bridge). However, I arrived Simpang Pulai first and after a long talk with my sifu, we bided good bye and I rode back to my mom’s house. How I have hugged my mom!!! There were countless of times I thought that  my family will only receive my body in a plastic bag. After what I have gone through, it was unbelievable that not only I made it this far, but I came back alive, safe and sound. Don't forget that my riding experience was only 43 days when I first started the ride 22 days ago.

Some stats for this ride:

Most challenging ride: In and out of Bangkok (Samut Prakan)

Most enjoyful ride: The moment we entered Laos

Most relaxing ride: Riding alone from Hua Hin to Kanchanaburi

Most stressful ride: Riding on the winding Laos mountain road when night falls, its raining, misty and I am tired, shivering due to chill & also very hungry
Total bike drop: 6 (1 serious drop, 5 stupid drops due to critical fatigue)

Most spectacular view: Laos mountains
Most expensive place that we stayed: Danok and Hatyai (Thailand)

Cheapest place that we stayed: Chiang Khong (Thailand)

Most yummy food: Tomyam kung in Maesot and seafood fried noodle in Chiang Khong

Best road: Huay Xai – intersection to Boten (Laos)

Worst road: Laos mountains, and Kampong Cham – Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

Most tolerable driver: Laotian (they reserved a wide space and honked when overtaking)

Craziest driver: Cambodians

If you asked me how I feel?

Do I feel great after completing this ride? NO.

Do I feel good about myself? NO.

So what exactly are my feelings now?

I felt small, yet grateful and happy. After three weeks of riding, my knowledge about over landing is comparable to a drop of indigo in an ocean.  I felt grateful that Allah had permitted me to do this ride safely, and to let me witness how great His creations were….It is a blessing from Him that I am able to do and complete this ride, and I am happy that finally, I united with the people who loved and cared for me. Alhamdulillah….

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Do drop me a few lines and if you have questions in mind, I will be more than happy to answer. So, until next ride friends, babye…

15 JUNE 2012 DAY 21: HUA HIN - HADYAI (750kms)

We have targeted to reach Danok from Hua Hin for Day 21’s ride. Hadi gave me a task, which is to navigate the way to Hua Hin Floating Market - the biggest floating market in South East Asia. I have asked the locals last night and they told me that it was about 10-15kms from Hua Hin. We went there and it was actually not that far. However, not many shops open at such an early hour.

We continued our ride via route 4. I was quite moody after an incident (which I wouldn’t write here), so I rode as fast as I could. It was a long journey to arrive Danok. The wind was quite strong. However, it was a smooth ride as not many vehicles were on the road. The road condition? It may not be as nice as Malaysian highway, but after riding in Laos and Cambodia, to me, the road condition is ok-lah. When we stopped at a petrol station after Chumphon, I asked Hadi:

Me: If its not too much to ask, is it okey if I ride faster today according to my own pace?

Hadi: Why?

Me: Don’t get me wrong. I just want to arrive Danok before it gets dark.

Hadi: Are you confident to ride solo?

Me: We have passed this route on our way up previously, and I think I can navigate my way. My biggest concern is to arrive before dark. I don’t want to ride at night as my eye sight is bad.

Hadi: Do you think that is all that matters? How if something happen to you or your bike on the way? How if you get a flat tyre? How if your bike break down? Don’t you think about it? Who is going to help you? We are still far to reach our destination.

Me: Gulppp….

So, the conclusion is we will ride together. However, as Hadi always mentioned, when we were on the go (musafir), Allah always give us ‘cash’. Whatever that we said, that is what’s going to happen. I have seen it happen so many times during the past three weeks. Today, it happened again not long after our conversation above. After Hadi stopped by to fuel up his tank by the road side, and he asked me to go first, I came to an intersection, saying Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat to the left, and Thung Son to the right. I took the left road as in my mind, the next big town after Surat is Nakhon Si Thammarat. I knew from the beginning that we actually will only bypass these towns, but at that moment, I don’t know why I suddenly forget about that. It seemed that god had shut down my memory for a while. I took the wrong way for about 2kms, and when my instinct told me that this is not the route, I turned back. The sign post confused me and at that time, I was very grateful that earlier, Hadi had taught me how to determine direction by looking at the sun. So, after checking the position of the sun, I took the south way, and after a while, I found a sign post confirming that I am on the correct route again.

The confusion and the turning back took less than 15minutes, and I was ahead of Hadi when it happened. However, when I fuel up at a petrol station after the intersection, I was told by the staff that Hadi also fuel up at the same place about 20 minutes ago. I rode full throttle all the way to catch up with Hadi again, but I only manage to locate him hours later. I lost him again very soon as he didn’t noticed that I was waiting at the next petrol station to fuel up (as he was overtaking some lorries). In the end, I was riding alone almost all the way from Hua Hin (suiting what I have said earlier during our conversation). I was very exhausted as I only fuel up twice, and I didn’t take any rest or toilet stop at all after I lost Hadi. I must rush before it gets dark. Even though I tried as much as I can, I still have to ride when night already falls. When I stopped at a traffic light about 30kms from Hadyai, Hadi suddenly appeared by my side. I was so relieved. I knew I must have made him worried and I am sorry for that. The ride into Hadyai town was not very difficult as the locals can speak English, and since I have been to this town a few times before. Total ride today is approximately 750kms, about 11 hours.

14 JUNE 2012 DAY 20: PATTAYA - HUA HIN (350kms)

The famous Pattaya Beach

Ever seen someone wearing helmet on the beach? HAHAHA....thats me!!!

HRC Pattaya

I will never forget the ride for Day 20 in my whole life. My fever had lessened, so after taking some pics at Pattaya Beach and HRC, we started our ride, heading to the most complex point of my whole journey – in and out of Bangkok. Even though I was sick yesterday, I still have to do research, checking out google earth map and had been posting questions on travel forum, seeking for advises on how to do this route. The journey must be continued today as I have urgent matters to settle back home, so another rest day in Pattaya is out of the question. From the responses in the travel forum, and my own reading, I decided to take route 3 all the way from Pattaya to Chonburi, and later try to find Bang Na Road. There were lots of vehicles and I was stuck many times as I kept to the ground level road. Reason being was motorbikes are restricted to travel on certain elevated motorway, and if one is not careful enough, they can be fined up to B2000. It took so long to ride from Chonburi to Samut Prakan, via Bang Na Road. I was confused in the beginning as I didn’t understand and I didn’t realized that there were two 3 lanes highway running parallel heading to the same direction, but the right side was not advisable for me, as vehicles passing that highway were very fast. No wonder the responses that I got, told me to keep to the left. I made some stupid mistakes today, such as entering the right side highway, stopping at the exit point, and entering Samut Prakan via kampong road. I was really tensed and all I want is to get out from this chaotic highway as soon as possible.

Once the sign for ‘Bang Na’ ended, I am not sure which way to go. I don’t have a GPS or a street map. The highway map that I have was useless as it only had the bigger town names on it. Bang Na was not even stated in the map. So, when I saw the green sign post of Samut Prakan (green always meant for highway, isn’t it?), I took that way and ended up into its town. Hadi told me that we were going the wrong way. I was tensed, and I couldn’t think straight when I’m in this condition. We have to make U-turns several times bcos of the mistakes that I did, and in the end, Hadi told me to ask locals for the ferry pier. From direction given by the motorbike-taxi drivers and policeman, I finally found the pier and we made it to the other side of the river. We were both hungry as we didn’t take breakfast today. Normally, we will skip lunch as to avoid from getting sleepy during the ride. However, today is an exceptional. As usual, Hadi always find a strategic place to dine. We had a sumptuous lunch of rice with omelette and a very tasty coconut milk seafood tomyam at a riverside restaurant which had a nice view of Bhumibol Bridge.

Bhumibol Bridge

Coconut milk seafood tomyam

After lunch, we continued with our ride. I thought that the complicated part was over. How wrong I was. It was quite a challenge for me to find route 35 to Samut Sakhon. The traffic were very congested. Cement lorries, container lorries, all sorts of lorries - big, medium and small, dominated the highway. Their number were more than cars or motorbikes on the road. I was really scared. Hadi asked me take the middle lane so as not to be stuck if I keep to the left lane. The lorries were fast, and in order to overtake them, I have to ride even faster. The wind was so strong that whenever I overtake the lorries, I can feel my bike swayed and I almost blown off. Not just that, the wind also makes me sneeze and cough many times, as I am still not fully recovered from my illness. I have to grip the handle very tight that my fingers hurt, to keep it on the move. I got so exhausted bcos of the tense, and the wind, that when we fuel up at Ban Lat, after 2 and a half hours hell ride (for me), the numbness arise again.

The remaining ride was smooth as we were now riding on route 4. Hadi told me to find Bird Guest House, so I ride alone all the way to Hua Hin. When I stopped by at a petrol station to check on the map on Lonely Planet book, I met a Malay family. We had a short conversation, and later I asked a motorbike-taxi driver on how to get to Bird Guest House. I found it without much difficulty. I was so relieved, as troubling Hadi to find me will be the last thing that I wanted. Total ride for today is 350kms, approximately 9 hours.

13 JUNE 2012 DAY 19: PATTAYA (DAY BREAK)

The situation which I worried most finally arrived. I was down with fever, flu, cough and sore throat on Day 19. Thank god today is a rest day. We had been riding continuously for two weeks from the beginning (except one day break on Day 5 at Kanchanaburi after I fall from the bike), and I was very tired due to the lack of rest and sleep. I have been loosing weight even though I ate normally. I took the opportunity to sleep longer, and at 12pm, we checked out to another nicer guest house. I continued sleeping and I felt a little bit better. 

In late afternoon, we serviced our bikes and send it for washing. Our bikes were as clean and sparkling as new now. After that, we did our own activities. I change my Cambodian Riels at Central Plaza (as normal money changers didn’t accept this currency) and did some shopping. Then, I took a stroll on the street and I saw lots of prostitutes everywhere as Pattaya is a sex city. As for dinner, I bought rice, BBQ squids and papaya salad from street stalls and ate it inside my room. Yummy.

12 JUNE 2012 DAY 18: SIHANOUKVILLE (CAMBODIA) - PATTAYA (THAILAND) (570kms)

It was raining on the morning of Day 18. I looked at the gloomy skies with a heavy heart. After breakfast, we started our ride out of Sihanoukville, taking the same 90km distance as yesterday, until we reached an intersection before Chamkar Luong. We took the left road and headed for Koh Kong. The view was nice as we were now riding on a hilly road. There were paddy fields which looked like green carpet with some coconut trees in between the paddy fields. I saw one very big pig at one place, and at other times, while crossing a bridge, I passed a family of buffaloes, walking in a straight line with the father buffalo leads the way, followed by the kids and the mother buffalo the most behind. This brought smile on my face when thinking that even buffaloes can behave, why can’t the Cambodian drivers?

Serendipity beach on a gloomy rainy day

The road to the border was deserted, but once in a while when a vehicle overtook me, I noticed that they loaded their vehicles as much as they can. It was a common view to see Cambodians tied up their boot door with a string bcos it barely can be close due to fully loaded with lots of stuff. It was also very common to see motorbikes or bicycles on top of a van or a bus. So far, I have yet to see a car on a bus. That would have been hilarious. By this time, I have lost Hadi bcos I was way ahead of him and there was no petrol pump at all. I knew he must be stopping somewhere to fuel up using the spare oil which he brought along. It was raining while I rode on the hilly and winding road (but not as stressful as in Laos). I noticed some instant waterfalls, and a nice beautiful river with rapids. I also passed a red rock cut road, which somehow reminded me of Petra, Jordan.

When I finally arrived Koh Kong Friendship Bridge, and was asking some locals about the direction to the border, Hadi catch up with me. We crossed the long bridge to the other side, and had to pay the toll of R1400 per motorbike. The border crossing was very smooth and easy. After done with the Cambodian side, we continued with the Thailand side. A Thai immigration officer recognized Hadi and he assisted us to settle our papers. His name is Wiwat Butardee and he can speak some Malay words and was very friendly. It was still raining as we rode on via route 48 and 318, stopping by at ‘The Narrowest of Thailand’ sign post for pics and headed on to Trat. We stopped for fuel and some snacks at 7-Eleven. Finally, welcome back to civilization.

A Petronas petrol station somewhere before Pattaya
where I fuel up

The smooth ride continued via route 3 to Chanthaburi. When we fueled up at the next petrol station, Hadi suggested that we put the night at Pattaya, instead of Rayong, so that we could rest on Day 19. I was already tired, but I have to try. It was already dark but we were still about 50kms away from Pattaya. I was worried to ride at night bcos of my eye sight and the number of traffic on the road was much more in Thailand. Finally, after struggling with the ride in extreme exhaustion, I arrived Pattaya around 9pm (10pm Malaysian time). It was quite a challenge for already a very tired me to find my way to the beach road since Pattaya is a big city with lots of vehicles. After finding my way, I have to find a guest house suitable with my budget. I finally got one and checked in. God knows how tired I am today. Total ride today is 570km, approximately 13 hours (inclusive of border crossing).

11 JUNE 2012 DAY 17: KRAEK - SIHANOUKVILLE (430kms)

On Day 17, we rode on route 7 heading to Phnom Penh. Out of no where, the yesterday’s less traffic road was jam packed with vehicles. Then only I realized, perhaps it was a co-incident, that every time I enter a new country, it will be on Sunday, as to give me an orientation to the new place and surroundings. The road was getting from bad to worse. It took us 4 hours from Kampong Cham to reach Phnom Penh even though the distance is only 123kms. Road constructions were every where. There were many times that we had to ride on gravel and red earth roads which were heavy with traffic. Upon entering Phnom Penh, I had to cross a big bridge via motorbike lane with lots of bikes on it. We fueled up at a petrol station, and I took the opportunity to ask for direction from the friendly owner who converse very good English.

The ride in and out of Phnom Penh definitely is not for a faint-hearted person. There were lots and lots of vehicles on the road and Cambodian drivers were the worst that I have encountered with. They never follow driving rules (I wonder if driving rules ever exists in Cambodia?), they crossed and zig-zagged the road as they liked. Whenever they overtake the vehicle in front of them, they simply don’t give a damn towards vehicles from the opposite lane, especially motorbikes. There were times that I was forced out of the road due to this kind of behavior. It took us about 30 minutes to exit Phnom Penh and continue with route 4, heading to Sihanoukville. After a while, the vehicles lessened and the ride became more relaxing. As we approached a Wat, I asked Hadi to take a break as my knees hurts for sitting too long on the motorbike. While making a U-turn, I loose balance and I fall from the bike. Thank god that I didn’t suffer from any injuries, and DREAM didn’t suffer any damage as well. We took a rest at a stall near the Wat.

Taking a break after I fall from the bike

We continued on to Sihanoukville and I was welcomed to the beach city with a big shock of how busy the traffic was. I had to ask locals for direction to Serendipity Beach, and we finally checked in at Siddharta Guest House. I fall from my bike again today when going down a steep motorbike passageway to park my bike inside the guest house. This is the 6^th fall so far and this time, I fall to the left side. I just told Hadi that all 5 falls that I suffered previously were to the right side, and now, god had granted my statement. Remember, be cautious when making a statement during musafir. That night we had a nice BBQ dinner, only USD3 each, which was very cheap indeed. Total ride today is 430km, 10 and a half hours.

BBQ dinner, only USD3

10 JUNE 2012 DAY 16: PAKXE (LAOS) - KRAEK (CAMBODIA) (520kms)

The target for Day 16 is to cross Lao – Cambodia border via route 13. The weather was fine and we started early. The view was again, boring, and the road condition was so-so. I was riding fast and Hadi was left behind. I knew he could catch up with me at any time, so I don’t mind leaving him behind. It was a smooth ride with not many vehicles on the road. This situation enables me to think of lots of things, about my tough childhood life, my present life, my job, my kids and such. After riding for 16 days, it was only today that I suddenly remember about my thesis and what needs to be done once I finished this ride.

When I was nearing Veun Kham, the Lao border town, I saw a red and white gate, which was elevated, but there was no one around. So, I rode on, until I saw a gate which looks most likely the border, but there was some road construction going on and I had to take the red earth road to reach the border. I looked around to check on the custom office, but couldn’t see any. There was only the immigration office at the Laos border. I greeted the immigration officer, and asked him about the custom office. He asked for my passport. When I gave him, and while answering my question saying that the custom office was about 2kms from the border, he stamped my passport without I have the chance to stop him. I told him that I’m taking my motorbike to Cambodia, and I have to submit my papers to the custom office first. Now that he already stamped my passport, will I be in trouble for going back to the custom office? He said not to worry.

When I’m about to leave the place, Hadi arrived. He told me that he had been waiting at the custom office. It seems that the elevated gate with no single human that I can see around when I passed the place was actually the custom place. I rode back and realized that I hadn’t notice the blue custom check point sign board. I submitted my papers to the ever smiling and very friendly officer and he waved me off. One thing that I always practiced not only when I travel, but in my daily life as well, that is, respect other people….and they will respect you. Its not hard to greet and smile to others. One thing I would like to share when doing a border crossing is, always praised their country and how much you liked the country. As far as I have experienced, by doing this, the officers will be more then willing to assist you.

It rained heavily once I am done with the custom. I hurriedly go back to the border. Weird but true, it was shining brightly on the Cambodian side, but rained heavily on the Laos side. I settled all my papers and stamped my passport. I had to take a medical examination at the Cambodian side and paid USD1 for it. We continued our ride on Cambodia land via route 7. The road was nicely paved and deserted. The weather was fine with beautiful blue skies and some clouds. There was nothing to see except bushes on the sides of the road, however, the green yellowish bushes did look beautiful. There was no petrol station that we could find until we reached Stung Treng. The fuel here was sold at USD1.25, compared to 11 350 Kips in Laos. After a while, the nicely paved road was gone and we had to ride on some gravel road and some red dirt road, but after my experiences in Laos, this was fine with me.

Once we reached Kratie, Hadi told me to take the shorter route, but we had to ride on kampong road. The kampong road here meaning a very narrow and bumpy road. We rode alongside of Mekong River. Suddenly, Hadi asked me to stop. I thought I have navigated wrongly, but actually he wanted us take a break at a famous dolphin viewing point. What? A dolphin in Mekong River? Yes, it seemed they have dolphins here. It was called Irrawady dolphins. There was a dolphin statue at this resting place. Mekong River which can be seen from here was very wide. After resting, we continued on, passing lots of kampong houses which looked like a slump area. The road was bad and we couldn’t ride fast. In the end, we headed back to the highway. 

Mekong River is huge!!!

Notice the difference in colours?

Dolphin statue @ Kratie

I sped as fast as I can whenever possible as it was getting late. However, it was difficult to even cover a distance of 50kms in an hour due to strong winds. We targeted Kampong Cham, but as the sun gets down, we were still far from our target. The night falls and the riding became dangerous to me since my eye sight was bad at night. To make matters worse, here in Cambodia, the drivers didn’t switch on their lights even when it was totally dark. There was one time when I was riding fast, I only noticed a pickup truck stopping in the middle of the road when I was less than 50 meters away from it. This is really crazy, so I told Hadi that we must find a guest house. We ended up at a hotel in a small town named Kraek (near to the Cambodia – Vietnam border), but it happened to be a red-light area. I couldn’t sleep well that night bcos of the loud noise coming from a karaoke cum disco next door. Total ride today was 520kms, 10 hours 45minutes (inclusive of border crossing time).

9 JUNE 2012 DAY 15: PAKXAN - PAKXE (530kms)

After breakfast at Pakxan Hotel, the one and only hotel in Pakxan with free wifi, on Day 15, we headed to Pakxe via route 13 all the way. It was a straight road and I felt relieved that the winding road was finally over. However, the view was boring as we were now riding on a low land. There was nothing to see except ragged paddy fields and kampong houses. To sum it all, riding on the mountains was difficult, but the view was superb. On the other hand, riding on the low lands was much easier, but offer only boring views. Conclusion – NO PAIN, NO GAIN.

A landmark near a river but I am not sure of its significance...may be someone can tell me

I noticed one good thing about the Lao drivers were whenever they overtake, they will spare much space on your side and will honk as to alarm you. This is something which we can learn from them. The road condition that we passed today was okey, but at certain parts, uneven. There was one time that I didn’t manage to avoid a big hole with water in it, and I almost fell from my bike. I found that, even though I rode much faster compared to riding in the mountains, it was difficult to cover many kilometers per hour. There were many times that we had to slow down as to avoid a group of cows on the road. The most annoying to me was dogs lazing on the road, and didn’t make the slightest effort to move even when they saw vehicles approaching. I had to ride carefully so as not to hit them. 

Not long after we fuel up, Hadi slowed down his bike due to some problems. The carburetor was wet. Weird. It was not raining. After checking it out, Hadi assumed that the oil sold at the petrol station was mixed with kerosene, hence the engine choking. 

There were some mountain background views 50kms before we arrive Pakxe. Upon arrival, we checked in at Sabady Guest House which had lots of foreigners staying here. Total ride today is 530kms, 10 hours.

8 JUNE 2012 DAY 14: NAM NEUN - PAKXAN (400kms)

We have lost some days due to the mountain riding, so today on Day 14 of the ride, we must make it to Pakxan. We had our early breakfast at the same place we had dinner last night. The lady was very nice and even though she couldn't speak a word of English, we can still communicate using hand signals and I had to enter her kitchen in order to tell her what I want to eat. I had sticky rice and omelette for breakfast and while she's cooking in the kitchen, I took the opportunity to visit a nearby market and check out stuff sold there.

The guest house with no electricity which I stayed last night

Very nice smell of the BBQ fresh water fishes sold at the market

After breakfast, we rode the steep winding road from Nam Neun to Muang Kham. It has been 10 days in a row that I'm riding on winding road, and frankly speaking, I am getting very tired of it. How I longed for a straight road!!! It took 2hrs 15 mins to cover the 90kms journey via route 6. The view was as usual beautiful with greens, mountains and valleys. 


After Muang Kham, the road got easier as it was more straighten. I was very happy that finally the winding and the tiring challenges had ended (and so I thought). Hadi need to change his tyres at Phonsavan, so he rode ahead while I took my own sweet time riding alone for about 60kms, enjoying the view and took pics - something which I didn't quite get the chance when riding in the mountains, due to the rushing and lack of suitable place to stop the bike as the most beautiful views can only be seen while ascending or descending very steep road. I didn't face any trouble to find the bike service shop in Phonsavan, and we took the opportunity to service our bikes. 


The ride from Phonsavan to Moung Khoune was an easy one. There were some winding roads, but not so bad. We visited the Plain of Jars (site 1), as this is the trade mark of Laos. The jars were fine (I have yet to read about it), but what I really like was the view at this place. The green hills reminded me of Switzerland. Very beautiful.

Terrace rice fields

The Plain of Jars (site 1)

Then we moved on, riding a combination of tarred road, gravel road, rocky road and red dirt road until Hatdiat. Even though this is a new experience for me, I was kind of enjoying it, until the next challenge arise. Two bridges at Hatdiat were under construction (due to flood), and this left us with no choice but to transfer our bikes on sampan and bamboo raft. I had to ride down a steep rocky road with loose stones to reach the place where my bike will be loaded on the thin sampan and later a raft. It was very challenging for me to keep the stability of the bike. Being foreigners, of course we had to pay for the ride, when locals rode for free. While rafting the river, six local guys had to support the raft to keep it floating. The river got deeper and I was kinda worried when the water level rose to the guys' chests. Thank god we managed to cross to the other side of the river safely. 

The rocky road that I had to pass

The steep red dirt road to get to the sampan

The 1st collapsed bridge under construction

1st river crossing on a thin sampan

2nd rocky path leading to the river

The river is only about 80meters....not wide...NOT WIDE?

The 2nd bridge still under construction

The only mode of transportation - bamboo raft

We continued on. I was careless as to miss a junction and was scolded by Hadi. Its getting late and we rode on to Pakxan as fast as we could. The road was slightly winding, ascending and descending, but paved nicely and deserted, so we didn’t have to take so long to cover the remaining 80kms. However, still we reached Pakxan after dark. I have to navigate my way to the town centre without a street map and have to ask locals for direction. I was lucky that I found someone who can speak good English at this town to help me with direction. There were quite a number of guest houses in Pakxan, but only one with wifi and very cheap as well - USD10 for a nice private room with attached bathroom and airconditioned. Total ride today is approximately 400kms, 12 hours (inclusive of waiting time to cross the river).