{"id":5829,"date":"2015-01-13T09:53:49","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T08:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=5829"},"modified":"2020-01-05T14:57:05","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T19:57:05","slug":"biking-laos-backroads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2015\/01\/biking-laos-backroads\/","title":{"rendered":"Where’s your sense of Adventure?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric normally hammers out our routes.\u00a0 I trust him, most of the time.\u00a0 We both like big mountains and empty spaces.\u00a0 Neither of us are big city people and we\u2019re fairly indifferent towards most major tourist meccas.<\/p>\n

After China, I was up for some easy cycling.\u00a0 Scenic Highway 13, with all its facilities catering towards tourists, sounded perfect.\u00a0 A guesthouse every night.\u00a0 Restaurant meals.\u00a0\u00a0 A steady stream of fellow cyclists.\u00a0 Some climbs, for sure, but on paved roads with reasonable grades.<\/p>\n

\u201cHighway 13?\u201d screeched my husband.\u00a0 \u201cYou wanna wimp out on the tourist trail?\u00a0 We can save that for when we\u2019re retired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the scenery\u2019s great,\u201d I countered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve seen photos.\u00a0 Everybody raves about highway 13.\u00a0 It\u2019s got to be the most popular cycling route in Southeast Asia\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly,\u201d he sneered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got something much, much better planned for us.\u00a0 The Akka road.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see all sorts of tribal people and there won\u2019t be a single backpacker within a 100 kilometer radius.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but I\u2019ve had enough suffering for 2014.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just relax for once.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what Thailand\u2019s for,\u201d he said with a not-so-subtle note of scorn.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway it won\u2019t be that tough,\u201d he explained.\u00a0 \u201cThere are a few hills and 30 kilometers on a track through the jungle, but it\u2019ll be nothing compared to what we did in China.\u00a0 Come on\u2014where\u2019s your sense of adventure?\u201d<\/p>\n

After 8 years together on the road, Eric knew exactly which buttons to push. Appeals to my FOMO generally worked.\u00a0 As did suggestions that I wasn\u2019t up for a challenge.<\/p>\n

The road was tough.\u00a0 Extremely tough.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying I regret it. \u00a0But in the future, I think I’ll take a more active role in route planning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
After crossing the border from China into Laos at Boten we headed towards Luang Namtha, on to Muang Sing and then on a tiny road towards the Mekong at the village of Xieng Kok. Here’s where the jungle track started. This was the first of a couple minor stream crossings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The first few kilometers were a real road where vehicles could pass. Then the track got narrower and narrower till we were rubbing arms with vegetation. The track was just wide enough for a motorbike.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Definitely IMPOSSIBLE in the rainy season.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
My arms were really aching the next day. Lots of trees were down and we struggled to get the heavy bikes over the rough track.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Luckily we knew we’d reach a real road (not a great one mind you–dusty and rough) after 30 kilometers. If not, I’d have seriously considered turning back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A local guy heading out to his farm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The whole village gathers to build a family home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The hills didn’t relent all the way to Sanyaburi, a place famous for its elephant sanctuary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Never could convince the kids to give us a push!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"camping<\/a>
We did our usual mix of temple camping, staying at schools and just pitching up in the middle of nowhere. Laos has lots of empty spaces but sadly land mines still litter much of the countryside so wild camping isn’t without its dangers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Life is still tough in remote parts of Laos. Firewood must be gathered, water fetched and crops tended with very basic tools.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Life in the capital is far easier. Thanks to generous foreign aid and massive Chinese investment, Vientiane is booming. Trendy cafes dot the once scruffy downtown and shopping malls are springing up on the banks of the Mekong.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Evening row along the Mekong–I fear sights like this may soon be something of the past.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
At least the spectacular sunsets won’t disappear–may even improve with the added pollution.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
One of the last few days in Laos–easy cycling along the Mekong.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
Our Laos Route:<\/div>\n
Mohan-Boten border crossing from China<\/div>\n
Luang Namtha, Muang Sing, Xieng Kok<\/div>\n
from Xieng Kok it is a 30 km forest dirt track to Xieng Dao<\/div>\n
from Xieng Dao to Huay Xai via Pha Oudom it’s a tough section were only the last 30 km are paved<\/div>\n
from Huay to Pakbeng it’s also very tough section with only a few kms of pavement here and there.<\/div>\n
from Pakbeng to Sainyabuli it’s all paved but with some very steep hills<\/div>\n
Sainyabuli to Paklai on the Mekong is a relatively easy paved stretch<\/div>\n
from there a mountain road (steep grades) took us to the Mekong again at Sanakhan<\/div>\n
then we followed the Mekong to Vientiane (the first 30 km were unpaved and rather challenging also with ups and downs)<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eric normally hammers out our routes.\u00a0 I trust him, most of the time.\u00a0 We both like big mountains and empty spaces.\u00a0 Neither of us are big city people and we\u2019re fairly indifferent towards most major tourist meccas. After China, I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[126,49],"tags":[25],"yoast_head":"\nWhere's your sense of Adventure? - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2015\/01\/biking-laos-backroads\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where's your sense of Adventure? - Worldbiking.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eric normally hammers out our routes.\u00a0 I trust him, most of the time.\u00a0 We both like big mountains and empty spaces.\u00a0 Neither of us are big city people and we\u2019re fairly indifferent towards most major tourist meccas. 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