Tag Archives: long day on the road

Day 271 – Shiraz

Posing over the breakfast table, especially vegetarian just for me

Posing over the breakfast table, especially vegetarian just for me

The girls were sad that we had to leave so early, while they were still in school, but the way to Shiraz was long and we needed the time on the road. We did, however, jump in the car with all of them on Azemeh’s morning school run to say goodbye. Such smart girls, it was a pleasure to meet them.

Azemeh made a special vegetarian breakfast treat for Nina – a tomato and egg affair that tasted delicious. We took a round of goodbye photos and packed the bike. Then, it was time to leave for good. We are so glad to have had the chance to share a day in this family’s life and experience Persian hospitality first hand. It did not stop at their door, either. Azemeh insisted to guide us to the edge of town, where the road that we would need to take goes east. Thank you all!

What a lovely road!

What a lovely road!

We followed the road east across a vast plain until we hit the first of the mountain ranges between us and Shiraz. Instead of following the route suggested by our hosts, we decided on a little detour further south. The shorter route would have led us past Pasargadae and Persepolis. Both of them we wanted to do as a day trip from Shiraz, and we hate doubling up on routes. This way, we got the chance to see some more beautiful scenery and go past three almost dried up lakes.

Flo on his way to play with the salt

Flo on his way to play with the salt

We had a short rest at the first one, before re-fulling and pushing on. A few kilometers out of Shiraz, we passed the last lake – this one is a salt lake. There was a sort of jetty going down and we had a bit of fun playing around with the salt on the shore.

Once we were in Shiraz, we gave Hamid (our contact from Dubai) a call. Instead of him, his wife answered the phone and informed us that Hamid was currently in the operation room for surgery on his hands. Two days after we had left, Hamid had broken both his hands in a motorcycle accident. But this is Persia, after all. In no time, we were offered help and two blokes dropped us off at the hotel we had quickly looked up in the Lonely Planet.

Pretty knackered after a long day of riding, we only went out one more time in search for dinner and some light sightseeing. Dinner proved to be hard once again, with all the recommendations failing to offer any vegetarian dish for Nina. This is kebab land.

Checking out the handicraft

Checking out the handicraft

For now, we resorted to some people-watching across from the old palace, with a cup of tea from a street vendor. It turned out to be mostly people watching us, though, and we continued to one of the three bazars. We saw Persian carpets, spices and all manner of more or less useful wares, but still no food.

As we came out of the bazar, we decided to go for the safe route of bread and cheese instead and started to ask around. Turned out we walked just right past the bakery, obscured by a crowd of shoppers. We got a nice bread straight out of the oven and some veg and cheese and headed back to the hotel. On our way back, it actually started raining – the second time in two days for us in Iran.

Back in the hotel, during dinner, Hamid got in touch with us (bless him) fresh out of surgery. He got us in contact with his sister who lives in Shiraz and soon we got the offer of a guide for sightseeing for tomorrow morning. Pick up 9.30 am. All was well – we love Iranian hospitality.

P.S.: Get well soon, Hamid!

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 218 – Distances

Pretty landscape on the first stretch

Pretty landscape on the first stretch

The only downside of wanting to see the caves of Vieng Xai was that we now were in the far eastern regions of Laos, nearly in Vietnam, while our preferred border crossing back into Thailand is on the far western edge. A lot of distance needs to be covered so we thought we should start on it today. With a 320km chunk. On the bad Laotian roads.

Flo and I actually thought we wouldn’t be able to make it as we left Sam Neua too late. Our communication played up again and we had to figure out what’s wrong, find a place that sells cables and buy a replacement before leaving. However, the cable was crucial to being able to listen to an audio book so the time was well spent.

Picture I snatched when the ladies weren't looking

Picture I snatched when the ladies weren’t looking

Going back through the weaver’s village, we, of course, didn’t see nearly as many women weaving as on the way in. I still tried to snatch a picture but the ladies weren’t that keen to be photographed.

While the scenery was stunning, the road was a disaster. Big patches were missing, reminding us again of Timor-Leste. Riding was hard work rather than a pleasant activity. So really, we just kept going the whole morning. At some point, the road got better again. As we stopped for lunch, the GPS told us that Nong Khiaw is 160km away. Somehow, despite our late start, we had managed to ride half of the distance before lunch. Thus, we might actually reach Nong Khiew…though probably late in the day.

These looked fascinating

These looked fascinating

Just keep riding, just keep riding…at 4.30pm we arrived in the tiny town of Nong Khiew which, to our eyes, was filled to burst with white tourists. The town’s setting on a river with steep cliffs to either side is spectacular but we were just through with this day.

Amazing Indian food saved us from an empty stomach, even if we had to wait for it for a long time, before we snobed the views again to go back into our room to collapse.

Day 216 – To the East

The "crater" cafe ... at least they have not lost their sense of humor

The “crater” cafe … at least they have not lost their sense of humor

From Phonsavan to Sam Neua, our next destination, you have to ride 230km. This constitutes a “long riding day” for us in Laos. It’s mostly important to be mentally prepared that you won’t be doing much else than riding today but we also try to be on the road early.

Cranky-T, the lovely cafe where we had dinner last night, was not open for breakfast so we moved three doors down and across the street to “Craters” which was open. The breakfast was satisfying as it included a lot of fruit and some yummy yogurt. Looking out of the window, the cafe’s fence was rather disturbing though: Made out of bomb shells rammed into the ground.

Not the greatest rendering depth in the morning

Not the greatest rendering depth in the morning

Today started out rather chilly. Being 1100 meters above sea level, Phonsavan and the subsequent roads all vanished in thick clouds. Without the sun to drive away the night’s chill, Flo and I were cold on the bike despite an extra fleece layer. But we won’t complain; sleeping is so much better in the mountainous regions when it actually cools down significantly for the night and you can snuggle into a duvet.

At about 10am, the sun finally won and started burning away the clouds. Immediately, it got warmer but the clouds still lingered in the valleys which made for some beautiful views from the road. For quite a while we also rode through an area where every single tree was snapped off at the top like twigs. We were unsure if it was man-made or maybe from a storm? Because…who would do such a thing? And to what purpose? The effected area was immense though so if it was really due to a storm…that must have been a bad one.

A scene like from any village on the road

A scene like from any village on the road

Going through the mountain villages, children at the roadside always wave at you enthusiastically. I always feel bad if I miss a group because I can hear them shouting to get attention but by the time I turn around, we are much further and I usually can’t spot anyone anymore. Oh, if you haven’t guessed, I am the official waving-back person. 🙂

The last village before we arrived in Sam Neua was amazing. It seemed like all of the women were sitting at their looms, weaving cloth with traditional patterns. Unfortunately, we didn’t take any pictures which might have been a mistake as it is Sunday today and we have no way of knowing if they will all have time for weaving on our way back…on a week day.

Sam Neua was a mixed bag for us. On the way in, we were raced by a family of three on a single scooter, mostly because the boy was super excited about our bike. When we arrived at the guest house though, the owner looked at our motorbike and decided to not give us a room. He didn’t speak English but his gestures seemed to say that our motorbike was too wide to fit in the hallway; something that we hadn’t planned on anyway. He remained adamant though and we had to ride to a different guest house. This one was happy to have us so we booked in for two nights to have tomorrow free for tourist things.

tastes vary - but unfortunately these are dying out due to over hunting

tastes vary – but unfortunately these are dying out due to over hunting

Food was also not that easy. Sam Neua does not see a lot of white tourists that much is for sure. The market is almost completely for the locals. Ingrediences yes, take-away food no. Despite being one of the cleanest markets we have seen in Asia so far, I felt really bad moving through the stalls. So many dead fluffy animals on display! Not to speak of the dead rats or random entrails. Not a very nice place to be for a vegetarian.