Tag Archives: dam

Day 204 – The loop

We were expecting hills, but cliffy limestone is a positive surprise

We were expecting hills, but cliffy limestone is a positive surprise

Staying at the Traveller’s Lodge in Thakhek, you can be pretty sure that everyone had been on the loop or is going to go on the loop. “The loop” is an actual loop from Thakhek back to Thakhek through the mountains which is recommended by the Lonely Planet. However, it seems to be a generally popular route as we have seen a few people with hand-drawn maps from their guest houses. 

The Lonely Planet suggests to take 4-5 days for the loop on a real motorcycle, not a scooter. Luckily, we brought our own real motorcycle so we don’t need to go through the trouble of hiring one but somehow, we didn’t see the point of taking 4-5 days for a 350km loop. Maybe the length of our journey starts to show. Continue reading →

Day 172 – 20.000 miles over land (well, kilometers really)

Waking up to this cool but eerie view.

Waking up to this cool but eerie view.

Getting up in the Khao Sok National Park, we got a taste of why it is the wettest region in Thailand. It didn’t rain as such but thick clouds were hanging so low that everything was covered in fog and thus also quite damp. Though Silver Cliff had been an awesome accommodation with really good food last night, it was slightly too expensive to stay for breakfast. Instead, we hit the road early looking out for a roadside food stall.

The second one we tried had at least coffee so we decided that it would do. Food-wise, only curries were served: Big pots with fish, chicken, pork and beef curries. But nothing vegetarian. Given that I wasn’t that keen on curry for breakfast anyway, I found some sweet buns in a nearby shop. Flo dug into the pork curry in the meantime and was rewarded with a plate full of cucumber and beans as a side and a bunch of bananas as dessert.

The moment when the fog broke ... wow

The moment when the fog broke … wow

After breakfast, the sky started to clear which made for some great shots of the National Park. The road was fun as well so our spirits were high. Leaving the National Park behind, we had to come up with a plan of where to next. A great dam was advertised as a tourist attraction so we went there to have a look. Leaving the dam, we saw that we missed the iconic “55555” on Rocinante’s display by 4 kilometers and then realized that we have made more than 20.000 kilometers on this trip alone now. Continue reading →