22.11.15
Luang Prabang to houay xai
Look's like i never got around to posting my last day's ride of my last Laos trip, so here is the details of what was to be a longer day than i had planned as it turned out to be a Forest Gump day, i just kept going.
Sorry about the pictures, all pictures from my waterproof phone thanks to the previous days ride.
463km, total time 13 hours 23 minutes.
Waiting on the slip for the ferry.
Two very cute Vietnamese girls loaded up heading for Hongsa.
Clouds hanging in the valley's as i climb higher.
Still a bit wet and misty in some places.
Gave these kids the last of the sweets from my bag.
One of three villages i saw almost was empty, presume they have been displaced as the road is being improved, this is where the albino kid lived.
Some sections are almost like a fire road now.
Bit slippy in these sections.
Once back in the sun the dry stuff.
Stopped here to answer the call of nature, a young deer skipped out 10 metres away looked and walked away amazing to see despite all the hunting.
The old basket bridge crossing, the last before Hongsa.
Another abandoned village, this one now occupied by the road construction crew.
Flags adorning the road site as part of the anniversary celebrations.
Arrived in Hongsa town late morning and stopped to have some lunch while chatting with Monica as to what to do, it was too early to stop and the next section would be hard to finish in daylight but decided to give it a go.
The section from Hongsa, you have two clear options i decided to take the slightly shorter route, the beginning is a real mixture of paved and gravel sections.
Some spectacular views of the paved section ahead.
Wierd how the paving stops for no apparent reason.
This is indeed a beautiful riding area.
Some very nice Wat's on route.
Some new guesthouses can be found.
Plenty of gas stations too.
More dirt then tarmac.
Bloody power poles..
After this junction you begin to hit road construction heading to the river.
Huge amount of work going on here.
Back on the paved stuff, reaching the village of Kon Tuen.
Mekong river coming into view i must be close to the boat crossing.
On the boat landing little has changed, although the little ferry has gone, now replaced with a canoe, pretty sure there is a larger crossing upstream now.
No problems with this canoe 5000 kip on my way.
Once across I was looking forward to the next section it used to be a nice mixture of single and double track, so far so good.
Nice.
Oh shit, looks like the good times have gone
Counted five of these bloody machines tearing up the trail, progress !!!
Part of the old track, likely gone now.
Last views of the river.
Then into the huge banana plantation area, not very beautiful, bad timing for me the workers heading home, the road through here is horrible and potholed by the farming trucks.
A final glimpse as the sun sets, a fitting end to my ride in Laos this time.
Reached the bridge around 6.30pm no fuss no escort no stupid fee's i rode across.
Arrived home after 463 km at around 8.30 pm to my lovely wife holding a nice cold beer, trip done, time to plan for the next one.
