Ramblings of a Singapore Biker Boy
Adventures and micro-adventures on a motorcycle
21 July 2016, Thursday. I head to Si Phan Don (literally means “four thousand islands” in Laos) today. That’t about the southern-most tip of Laos, where the Mekong river meets with an archipelago, creating a system of rapids. There are many islands in Si Phan Don, the biggest of which is Don Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 31”
20 July 2016, Wednesday. Decided to stay another day in Pakse, as the region around Champasak has loads to offer. Travellers on motorcycles typically do the loop in Bolaven Plateau. The area offers waterfalls, ethnic villages and coffee plantations. I left early in the day as the Bolaven Plateau loops (there’s a big loop and a smaller loop) are typically completed in 2-3days. I planned on completing it in 1 day.
19 July 2016, Tuesday. I left Thakhek at around 8am this morning, and had planned on arriving Pakse by 2pm – which should give me some time to get a room and perhaps explore the area.
But the roads in southern Loas are…. Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 29”
18 July 2016, Monday. I left Vientiane with a (finally) (hopefully) healthy motorcycle. No more technical troubles. I set off at around 7am in the morning, as I had planned for a long day today.
Konglor Cave (Tham Kong Lo) is a Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 28”
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.
