Category Archives: Laos

Day 227 – Stats 108 Laos

The small test ride I did today does not really justify a full blog post on its own. Therefore, it is time and we have the space for another stats post.

Country data #8: Laos

Full screen version of the map

  • 3228 km in total. 2979 km traveled, 249 km towed (2923 km of GPS tracked)
  • 13 travel days, 23 days total
  • $18.89 Average cost per night (23x room, no invitation)
  • 151l of standard fuel for $  214.25 (5.1 l / 100km)
  • ~$31.62 for food every day, always eating out with no invitations
  • ~$2,900 in total – $900 to be refunded by the insurance

All $ values are converted to NZD.

Day 223 – Pick up line

The owner of our guesthouse organised a pick-up truck to drive us to the border himself

The owner of our guesthouse organised a pick-up truck to drive us to the border himself

Well, here we were. Ready to load the bike onto the back of our guesthouse owner’s Hillux and to leave Laos for good. It hurts – also quite literally, which works as a constant reminder of the rational to leave via truck. Still, skipping almost 400 km, or at least traveling by other means, feels like a little defeat.

We even had to ask Marten to interrupt his morning routine to come help load up the bike. Everything was tied down pretty solid, I got the money from an ATM and off we went. The Hillux was a good mode of transport, however, comfortable back seats meant that the hatch didn’t fully close while Rocinante was back there.

Saying good-bye to the guesthouse owner at the border

Saying good-bye to the guesthouse owner at the border

The road towards the border town of Houay Xai was a lovely mountain road, if in a bit of disrepair in places. The first two rough bits still let our heads snap round to the back, but Rocinante was tied down quite well. Only 191 km, but the windy road and careful driving meant that it took quite a while. Including a brief coffee break on the roadside, the whole leg took a bit more than three hours.

Getting the bike down at the border was exhausting in the heat. We did bring a ramp but three people, Flo with his arm in a sling, weren’t enough for a safe affair. When I went to recruit two “strong” guys to help unload, all four guys around felt that could only mean them. All the better. 🙂

Flo had to ride for the bit in between borders

Flo had to ride for the bit in between borders

The border posts are on opposite sides of the Mekong river, connected by Friendship Bridge number 4. This meant that I did have to ride the bike, at least for the 2 km between borders. A fact that got Nina pretty nervous to begin with. I took an Ibuprofen and bit down the pain.

Border crossing was a smooth affair, if a bit tiresome. Heaps of bureaucratic procedure meant that we would need the whole of two hours. Nina had to fill out all the forms as I simply cannot write with my left hand. All the while, our pickup was waiting only 10 meters away, just in sight.

Our pick-up on the left...with no ramp

Our pick-up on the left…with no ramp

Said pickup was provided by a young couple and their Isuzu truck.  They did not bring any kind of ramp or recruited help, so getting the bike up took another moment. Some workmen came past and we used a pile of dirt on a building site nearby as a ramp. At least the bed of the truck was long enough to get all of the bike in and close the latch. On the downside, the rear seats in the cabin had that much less space and would rather qualify as “emergency seats”. Ah well.

Again, no ramp but lots of manpower this time

Again, no ramp but lots of manpower this time

In the end, it took us another 5 hours to reach our pre-booked guesthouse in Chiang Mai. All we had to eat since breakfast were a round of snacks from a 7eleven. The guesthouse sure lived up to its reviews. The staff was supremely helpful and eager. They lifted the bike of the back even without a ramp and carried all our stuff up to the third floor to our lovely room.

It was late, 8 pm by the time we shambled out one last time in search for food. The big weekend market was on, so we walked all the way to the center of the old town for some nice street food treats and an interesting chat with a pair of German expats.