You win some...

January 30, 2014

… and you lose some.  We had several amazing days of biking through Laos (as the pics will show), before we picked a road that ended in failure.  We made a good try of biking out of Oudom Xai, but eventually we had to give up between the endless dirt roads and the lush valleys full of burning rubbish smoke. We took a 6 hour bus ride over truly, the worst road I have ever been on in my life, before arriving in Luang Prabang to meet up with our besties, Jim and Wendy.

 

We met, Wat, a local bike enthusiast who helped us plan our roads and route for the next few weeks.

After our first night in Laos on the border town of Houay Xai, we boarded a slow boat to head up the Mekong River to Pak Beng. 

If you look closely you can see our bikes on top of our boat!

This was before the boat was packed full of other travelers headed east, but you can see the seats were a mix of old car seats . . . not screwed to the floor.

Just some scenery as we enjoyed the 6 hour boat ride up the river.

Here was our guest house in the town of Pak Beng.

And the bustling town itself as we headed out the next morning.

It was hot and dusty at times, but the scenery was beautiful.

Yeah bike touring!

I have a note in Laos that says I am a vegetarian and won’t eat eggs or fish sauce, etc.  I hand it to restaurants who read it, nod to themselves, and then disappear.  I never know what I am going to get, but they always return with delicious vegis and rice.

These were our guest house owners, night 2, in the town of Muang Beng.  They let me share their family fire with them, which I could only manage for a few mins as it was fueled by plastic bags.  :(   81 km to get here and 1300 meters of climbing. 

We set off early to beat the afternoon heat only to discover a lack of paved roads.  hmm . . .

Fallen tree?  Not quite - the locals were using this blockade to stop vehicles and earn a few bucks before letting them on their way.  They waved us through though free of charge.

Scenery shot!  This was nearing the end of our second day of riding in Laos as we heading into Oudom Xai - 65 km and 1300 meters of climbing - again!  

We left Oudom Xai heading towards Muang La, hoping for a short, easy day.   We certainly got it.  The roads were so bad we had to call it quits just 10km into the ride.  Thankfully this lorry was driving by and came to our rescue.  Back to Oudom Xai to make new plans. 

Our new plan was a bus to Luang Prabang as the road there wasn’t road bike friendly.  It wasn’t friendly at all.  The number one worst road I have been on in all my life.  It took us 2 hours to go 80 km because of the bumps, not because of the twists.  You know it’s bad when the locals cry out in pain.

Life here is bit different. 

And to our great relief we finally arrived in Luang Prabang to meet up with our buddies Jim and Wendy for a fabulous dinner.

First morning in LP - outdoor yoga on the river front.  Life is good.

A New Adventure Begins

January 26, 2014

We are five days into our bike touring and sore all over.  I actually have feet pain from cycling, not to mention how my butt feels.  In hind sight, going from 7 months of lounging on a boat and islands to biking over 300 km in a few days wasn’t the brightest idea ever.  It is however done and we are alive and really experiencing Thailand. ;)

Lunch stop day 1 - dirt floor shacks, one burner kitchens and always lovely, smiling women.  We poured over this map quite a bit trying to figure out which route.

After a good day of climbing and 55 km, we were happy to call it quits and have a quiet night in the mountains at Happy House.  The woman here, Sue, took great care of us and we enjoyed listening to her life story working with Ziuggy Marley and the Wailers.

While there we befriended the local cop, Rambo.  He invited us to his police box for a visit the next morning to teach us some more Muay Thai moves.

He gave us tea and snacks and Buddha statues to keep us safe.  Not to mention we switched numbers and he has already called us once to make sure we were safe!

Day two - lunch stop at the hot springs.

We didn’t spend the night at this hotel, but we certainly stopped for the photo op!

Despite all the condom jokes and fun here, all the proceeds from this place go to HIV prevention and education for the mountain tribes in Northern Thailand.

Our bungalows for the night - day 2: 69 km of riding and over 850 meters of climbing.

The White Temple just outside Chiang Rai.  Incredible!  It’s still under construction - the artist who designed it says it will take 90 years to complete.  This is the only pagoda finished so far.

Not only is the temple white, but mirrors are set into the concrete making it sparkle in the afternoon light.

As beautiful as it is, there are lots of disturbing images too.

The grandiose walkway up.  This is still an active temple and religious site, so proper dress and good behavior was required.

I didn’t take a picture of our hotel in Chiang Rai - it was nothing special, but here is the clock tower in the town designed by the same artist who is now constructing the White Temple.  This was the end of day 3 - 72 km and only 340 meters of climbing. 

Day 4 - rest day!  aaahhh...

We are in Chiang Khong now after 122km of riding yesterday and are just getting ready to cross into Laos.  Don’t expect much with the internet over the next week!!!

Good Bye Chiang Mai

January 25, 2014

It was with long faces and heavy hearts that we left Chiang Mai 5 days ago and our new BFF’s Jim and Wendy.  We could have stayed in Chaing Mai happily for another month with all the fun activities and friends we made there. 

My last Mauy Thai training at the gym, drenched in sweat.

Walking home from the gym that night we saw a peace gathering in hopes to calm tensions in Bangkok.

I had a check up with a dermatologist (US $14).  He says no signs of skin cancer for me!

I love browsing the stores here to see what oddities I can find.

Read the ingredients - it really does have snail goo inside!!!  Where’s  PETA!!?!?!?!?!

Good bye to our new besties  . . . for now!

A new adventure begins . . .

The ride that made the loop fun.

We rented bikes for our ride and treated myself to a Kawi DTracker 250. I could have rented a BMW 650 GS for gobs of money, but out here that is overkill and certainly way too much when Ali was on a 110 cc scooter.

My ride was tall, fun, nimble and very easy on gas. It was like a reliable version of my KTM.

The rest of the gangs got scooters which meant waiting for everyone at the top of the hills. (Although Ali handled the turns in a way I didn't know people could do on scooters!)

On our fifth day Jim and I went out exploring on unmarked roads to see if we could make a loop to Sappong. This allowed for us to spend time with buffaloes!

As our road deteriorated into nothing we came to a river with no bridge. Scooters can do river crossings as Jim would later prove.

The water buffalo were not too impressed though.

Eventually the road turned into a rice field. That is where we decided to turn back.

On our way back we found 100's of fish gathering on their own at the river. Turns out the local monks blessed them and now feed them. So the locals don’t eat them and the fish just hang out in this tiny section of the whole river. 

I definitely put the 250 thru its paces and the rear tire would show it. I would not be able to finish the ride without a new tire.

We found a local shop to put a new tire. Our mechanic handled a new tire into that rim with nothing else other than a pair of spoons and jumping up and down on the new tire like a monkey. He was the leader of the local dirt riding club and all around a cool cat.

Good thing I got new rubber. I would scrub it from edge to edge on our way back to Chiang Mai. The twisties were so much fun I didn’t get around to taking any other pictures. Those who ride will understand ;)

Going to the cave

As we continued our motorcycle loop thought northern Thailand we headed to the cave lodge so we could explore the world class caves Thailand has to offer.

Our ride started with piggies on the side of the road that were cute enough to make us stop and take a picture.

The scenery was very pretty and colorful.

More piggies on the side of the road.

And more awesome roads of the less traveled kind.

We arrived at Lod Cave and hired a local guide to show the caves and take us there on a bamboo raft.

The rock formations were fun.

Sometimes very pretty. 

Our guides pointed out very useful information to us, such as: "look, a boob." I am sure Micha would appreciate such good guidance.

Our guides also pointed out the crocodile shown here. There were elephants, frogs, and a myriad of other animals. Turns out our guides were not going to educate us about the geology of the place.

The cave has ancient coffins inside. It's hard to tell, but the coffins are so tiny, they would fit a kid now a days. We have definitely gotten bigger over time.

We made our way through treacherous steps and ladders covered in bird and bat poop so we could eventually make our way out of the bowels of earth.

As we exited the cave we saw a spectacular show of thousands of swifts flying into the cave and thousands of bats flying out for dinner. It was fun until Ali got pooped on!