Ramblings of a Singapore Biker Boy
Adventures and micro-adventures on a motorcycle
16-17 July 2016, Sat-Sun. And so I decided to set off for Vientiane – the capital city of Laos. Breakfast in Vang Vieng in a nice little cafe with wifi somewhere near my hotel. Needed that wifi to update the blog as the hotel’s wifi was horribly slow.
I was worried about Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 26 and 27”
15 July 2015, Friday. I woke up with disappointment this morning. I had hoped for the weather to turn good and the fog to clear. But unfortunately, the roads were still wet and the fog remained thick – not exactly the best conditions for motorcycle travel, especially on a mountain snake pass filled with loose gravel, sand and soil patches. But instead of getting stuck here, I decided to trod on.
So I packed my stuff, and hurled it onto my bike. Bid the nice staff at the guesthouse goodbye and continued my journey through the thick fog. At first, I was doing speeds of below 30kmh, taking extra precaution not to fall. I think my already injured patella will go if I impacted it the third time in 3 days. Thankfully, the roads started drying up, and the fog started lifting as I descended from the mountains towards Vang Vieng.
14 July 2016, Thursday. So I woke up at 4:30am this morning, determined to witness the morning alms giving ceremony I missed yesterday. Left my room around 5:15am and walked towards Sisavangvong Road in Luang Prabang.
13 Jul 2016, Wednesday. I decided to remain in Luang Prabang for one more night. So this gives me some time to explore the area. Woke up at 5am in the morning to witness the traditional daily alms giving ceremony, but I didn’t get to see too many monks. In fact, I was waiting in my room with my balcony door ajar, waiting to hear some commotion – my signal to dash out to watch the ceremony. I didn’t hear any. So I walked out to the balcony only to see the last remaining monks briskly, swiftly and very silently walking by. Ahhh… Maybe tomorrow.
12 July 2016, Tuesday. Since I was already quite far up north in Laos, and was only about an hour’s ride from the Yunnan Chinese border, I thought I’d just go check it out. I’ve always been curious about border towns – they typically buzz with human activity – trade, tourism – both cross border and international, shops, and sometimes other dodgy activities.
Honestly, the border was a little underwhelming. It’s used more by Laotian and Chinese trucks carrying construction sand and granite than passenger vehicles. After experiencing the expensive border crossing from Thailand to Laos yesterday, I wasn’t in the mood to explore another one. Also, my research has suggested that Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 22”
11 Jul 2016, Monday. If you’ve been following my adventure tracks so far, you might have guessed that I’m trying to head into Laos. So I woke up early this morning in anticipation of the typical border hassles, especially at these relatively remote borders.
10 July 2016, Sunday. I collected my repaired Pulsar 200NS yesterday, and I’m itching to go riding again. But since the engine was newly rebuilt, I had to run it in like how one would on a brand new engine – keeping RPM’s below 5,000 for the first 500km or so, and speeds below 80kmh.
The ride between Chiang Mai and Chiang Khong was one of contradiction. It was a dichotomy between the most agonising ride and the most pleasurable ride on my Bajaj Pulsar 200NS. The 300km ride was estimated to Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 20”
9 Jul 2016, Saturday. I woke up with excitement this morning. If all things go well, the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS should be fixed by today and ready to roll! It’s been 8 days since it went into the workshop for a top engine rebuild. And so I packed my stuff, left Chiang Rai, and headed back to Chiang Mai on the rented Honda PCX 150.
The route between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai runs through some amazing greenery and vast crop fields – something I didn’t get to enjoy when I rode up here due to the super heavy rain. With an amazingly nice weather, I Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 19”
08 July 2016, Friday. And since my bike is still being repaired (yes, it’s been a week now), I thought I’d head to the famous Golden Triangle – where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet at the Mekong river. The weather today looked great! At the same time, since I was in the area, and if the weather permits, take a ride to the border town of Mae Sai, where the Thai-Myanmar Friendship bridge was.
After several days getting stuck in Chiang Mai sorting out my bike repair, parts delivery, and visa matters, I was itching to go riding again. With the Pulsar 200NS still being worked on, I took my rented Honda PCX 150 and headed to Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 17. Chiang Rai.”
