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Day 235 – Get a move on

Such a lovely, cozy room

Such a lovely, cozy room

It is just too hot to do anything. Yesterday, before going out for dinner, we had a look at a guesthouse we saw on Agoda for the remaining two nights. Our current hotel was still overpriced and underwhelming and not even the WiFi was that good. The place we looked at was lovely – it had shared bathrooms, but those were spotless and just around the corner. The room itself was perfect for us. Cute, with AC and a flat screen TV, and most of all a very comfy bed. So we booked in till Sunday.

The most touristy street we found

The most touristy street we found

Which leads us to today, the move day. We stuck out in the old room until it was check out time, shouldered our few bags and walked the 15 minutes to the new guesthouse. That was pretty much our day, really. After the slightly stressful time with dropping off the bike and the sightseeing yesterday; today, we just chilled. After Nina took a nap, we put the flat screen to good use with season 4 of the Great British Bake Off (no judging!).

Food wise, we were quite conservative. For lunch, we walked a bit further out to avoid westernised stuff and found a cool little stall at a street corner selling food kind of Padang style with mix and match rice and ready-made dishes. Dinner was even more conservative, with another trip to last night’s Israeli place.

Day 233 – Tiger Cage

Arriving early to stay for the whole process

Arriving early to stay for the whole process

The warehouse would open at 8.30 am and was only 3 km away as the crow flies, giving us ample time to pack and have a leisurely breakfast. There was a beautiful grey cat with sky blue eyes living at the resort, and she joined us in the hope for scraps. Only one of us was disappointed in the end 😉

Both our resort and the warehouse were at the eastern edge of town, where rice paddies and wooden huts mix with motorways and industrial development on a lot by lot basis. Luckily the GPS was un-phased and we had the coordinates for the place. I sometimes wonder how people found anything in places like this before good maps and GPS …

Battery has to be disconnected. Also note that the wind screen and mirrors are gone

Battery has to be disconnected. Also note that the wind screen and mirrors are gone

At the packing place, people were already busy at work. I was determined to stick around and make sure the box ends up as small as possible, after the disaster in Auckland. Since it was only for sea freight then, the enormous box only lost us about $100, but this time the story was different. I knew how small the bike could be packed from the crate I built for when we shipped the bike to New Zealand. The difference between these two crates would be $1500 NZ in air freight fares, so I was not about to leave that to chance.

Sure enough, the first suggestion from the master crate maker was comically huge – coming out at a volume weight of 550 kg. So with some pointing and an old picture of the bike in the crate I made, he agreed to these measurements – resulting in a crate with 375 kg volume weight.

Third step: Secure the front fork so the bike can't move

Third step: Secure the front fork so the bike can’t move

We had to wait a little while for the guys to finish an urgent order of some 15 pallets – all build from scratch – to finish. That gave us just enough time to finish the paperwork. But soon enough, the base pallet was assembled and I joined the guys in getting the bike in place. Getting the front wheel out was a bit of a mission without a jack, but it worked. Some re-positioning and the bike was being secured on the pallet.

Next step was getting all the other bits and bobs on and shrink wrap it all up like Spiderman’s wildest dream. While taking some pictures, we realised just in time that we had left the surface in one pannier. I rushed down and saved it from the clutches of the wrapper just in time.

The final product: Rocinante in a tiger cage

The final product: Rocinante in a tiger cage

The crate was nice and solid in the end and came in at about 1/4 of what we payed in New Zealand. Then again, also came with an annoyance in the end. Once everything was done, master crater Bob realized that he forgot to take the pallet itself into account and the box ended up 10 cm higher. I once again scold myself for being respectful and nice and suffering the fool in the end. So here we are, with a crate slightly bigger than the one I build myself – costing us another 200 euro in freight more than it needed to.

The whole affair took us less than 2.5 hrs. By 11 am, we were in a taxi on our way to central Bangkok. We even got to use the cursed elevated highways for the meager fee of 75 baht – since this time we were in a vehicle with the “appropriate” number of wheels.

Expensive but moldy "superior" room in central Bangkok...disappointed

Expensive but moldy “superior” room in central Bangkok…disappointed

Our hotel ended up as quite the disappointment. We chose a recommendation from the lonely planet, and it was not cheap (by our standards). Even though the room was big, it was damp, moldy and smelly and overall a lot tourist trappy in its feel.

For lunch, we went to a recommended vegetarian Thai restaurant, but were a bit disappointed again. The area here, near Khao San Road, is called a “backpacker ghetto” by some and we are learning why. Here more than anywhere else, we get the feeling that a lot of the economy is based on whities fresh from the plane with no idea of what things should cost. It is not uncommon that you can get a pad thai of similar quality for 40 bath in one place and 140 baht next door.

One of Bangkok's canals in evening light during our food hunt

One of Bangkok’s canals in evening light during our food hunt

That night we also went through the ordeal of buying flights for Dubai. Initially we wanted to leave on Saturday, but there were no good deals available any more. Only Emirates flies directly and their prices are about 50% more than any other one stop would cost. We ended up with a good compromise with an overnight flight Sunday to Monday via Muscat that was about 10% more than the cheapest flights but would save us one night in a hotel. But just when we wanted to buy it, it was not available anymore! From previous experiences I knew that researching flights can lead to increased prices or even offers being gone entirely because every site locks the flight for 15 minutes or so to complete your booking. Looking at more than one site at once can lead to gridlock. Lucky for us, just waiting an hour to release all the reservation did the trick and we were able to book. Dubai, here we come!

Day 231 – Klicks

We had a good night’s sleep in our little “resort” in Hot (resort in Thailand means a hotel a bit out of the city center or out in the fields). Today, we even got a free breakfast – including fresh strawberries!

The first bit of the route was "scenic"

The first bit of the route was “scenic”

We had about another 100 km of more or less windy back road until we were planning on hitting the highway 1. These really turned out to be quite nice, even if my arm was still taking a bit of enjoyment out of riding. It would still get stiff and cramp after like 30 minutes of riding. On top of it all, it was once again scolding hot. Riding was still fine, but any amount of walking or stopping out of the shade were just … inadvisable.

Once we hit the highway 1, it became quite a different ride again. 600 km of flat land on a road pretty close to a motorway. Cruising speed moved up to 110 km/h, at least outside of the many stretches of roadworks forcing both directions on one of the two multi-lane strips. The kilometers just melted away.

We passed this pick-up going at least 80kmh so the dog was quite deformed

We passed this pick-up going at least 80kmh so the dog was quite deformed

After a very brief and unmemorable lunch in Tak, we were on the road again when a macabre first for the two of us occurred. As expected at a little traffic jam on a stretch of roadwork, we came past an accident. A ute came off the road and had hit a tree. As we passed it, we both got a look at our first dead person that we can remember. Lying right there on the road with the paramedic just taking pictures of him was a lifeless human form wrapped in white sheets – with one blue and mangled hand sticking out.

We got the whole thing for a very good price

We got the whole thing for a very good price

We ended that day with only 250 km to go in another resort somewhere in the no-man’s-land between towns. The benefit was a killer price for an excellent room – the down side was that we were not prepared for the fact that we could not just walk 100m and have dinner ready. I ended up riding another 20 km alone in search of food and all I came up with in the end were crisps and an eight month old one-square-meal.

 

 

Day 229 – Pain & gain

Dream team reunited =P

Dream team reunited =P

It was a normal overtaking, maybe a bit energetic, but nothing too brash. But now the next turn was coming closer fast … closer and closer, until there was no more road. Two wheels flying over the grassy shoulder down to the now overgrown drainage channel on the side of the road. Lucky that there are very few guard rails or posts on the side of Thai roads. Still going maybe 40 km/h, clutching madly at the handlebars, bouncing wildly … and then the other rider made it! He was so darn lucky to make it out of this one in one piece. We? No, we were going at a super relaxed pace, stopped and checked if he was ok. He was.

So, we were on the road again. After the second break in two weeks, seeing three different hospitals in the process, I could wait no longer. Yes, two more days probably would have been the cautious route, but I so desperately wanted to get back on the road again. I was sure getting this message hammered home as a constant low level pain throbbing in my arm. Yet, I was still happy. The pain was manageable with regular breaks. It would be always the same – good for 15 minutes or so and then slowly starting to tense up and sting, until almost stiff. Like a super slow motion cramp. I think that probably circulation in the arm muscles is not yet fully restored and the breaks “loosened up” everything enough to get the blood flowing again.

Back on the road!

Back on the road!

But these roads! We went on the Mae Hong Son loop, a legendary motorcycle trip of 600 km starting and ending in Chiang Mai. We will do all of it but the boring last 85 km back to Chiang Mai, of course not today. Today’s goal is Mae Hong Son, a little provincial town near the Myanmar border. An easy 235 km day – and we got onto the road reasonably early. The road was just marvelous. Perfect seal and turn after turn after turn. I have missed this.

Sadly the scenery could not quite hold up, especially with the ever increasing haze. Mae Hong Son district is infamous for the amount of haze during the late dry season due to the locals burning their fields and additional forest fires. Around Mae Hong Son, visibility got down to less than 300m at times. At least it shielded us from the sun a little bit. The day was scorching hot – 34.5°C at 9 am and going steadily up.

Giant overland vehicle...it comes with a motorcycle in the back and a tank the size of our motorcycle plus ourselves

Giant overland vehicle…it comes with a motorcycle in the back and a tank the size of our motorcycle plus ourselves

When it was time for our first break after about 60 km, we spotted a huge white truck with the unmistakable signs of overander-dom to it. When we pulled over to have a look we immediately got welcomed and invited to a cup of coffee by Maéva, Rémi and their visiting dad. The content of their tank weights more than our bike (including us) and they carry a 400cc motorcycle. Still, we are not jealous. We had a nice chat and got back on the road after exchanging contact details and good wishes.

We had lunch at Pai, the half way point of the day. Initially we though we might stay here if the arm is not up for more, but in the end we were keen on leaving again. Pai evolved from a 5 hut village to backpacker central, with not really much to go for other than the surrounding national parks. So the town itself is like a copy and past of any other backpacker hub in Southeast Asia, sans the main attraction that usually goes with these.

Evening haze over the town when we were on our way to the local market

Evening haze over the town when we were on our way to the local market

Mae Hong Son was more up our alley. We found an affordable room within walking distance of the market. Dinner was nice and cheap that way, and we got a load of fresh and sweet strawberries for under $1. We even managed to find a cozy spot to finish season 3 of the the Great British Bake-Off. The wrong baker won, though … 😉

 

 

 

 

 

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 225 – Reunions

One of the great inspiring websites for motorcycle travelers

One of the great inspiring websites for motorcycle travelers

The days get pretty same-y after a while. We have either done the homework we had or can not do it until I am healed up a bit more. That, still, is like watching rice grow. Agonizingly slow (yes, I am aware that one week is not a long time for an injury and it could be much worse – I am just not that good with waiting). I spent a little bit of time following up another potential option for shipping the bike, thanks to Peter.

Luckily, there are two things to keep us in good spirit: Good food and good company. The first one came in the form of delicious Indian food. The naan was the best we had in a long while. Once again the Lonely Planet held true, and judging by the long list for Chiang Mai, we won’t have to settle for bad food until we leave. Ok, well, we did actually, trying to grab a cheap bite before meeting up that night … but that was our own fault. 😉

Leonie and Peter - Amsterdam to Anywhere

Leonie and Peter – Amsterdam to Anywhere

That evening, we were set to see Leonie and  Peter again – plus Chantal (Chick on a chook chaser), who was on her way to Chiang Mai that day. We have last seen her in Dili and followed her trip updates on Facebook and her blog since. Once more, it was a lovely evening. We talked to Leonie and Peter for an hour or so about this, that and everything before Chantal joined us. It is amazing every time how often we meet fellow travelers and it just ‘clicks’ and after only a handful of hours you end up talking about real heartfelt stuff that one normally only shares with good friends.

Chantal arrived and filled us in on her latest exploits. So we hung around, nursing the one

Chantal - Chick on the chook chaser

Chantal – Chick on the chook chaser

drink we all had budget for until we got finally booted out near midnight again. Best of all, we did not even have to say goodbye, since we are all staying another day in town!

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.