Long Cheng to Phonsavan
After two nights in Long Cheng it was time to move on, i had the idea to show Steve a few interesting spots along the way so we had a lot to cram in on the way to Phonsavan.
Only 210 km but we squeezed a lot in.
The mist hangs heavily in Long Cheng until around 8.30 or so we we hang around so we can enjoy the views along the way.
First port of call was a quick meander up Skyline ridge.
You don't need to walk too far before you start to see ordnance laid around, we had been told MAG had been given permission to clear the ridgeline but no sign yet.
Lot's of foxholes still visible.
You could spend a day up here carefully poking around but we had to go.
Back on the road you soon arrive at the shop in Sam Thong for refreshment. Look's like he has a few more additions to his war scrap display.
Steve handing out some coloring books to the kid's in Sam Thong.
I wandered up a little ways to take some pictures of this lady weaving some beautiful fabric.
The guy to the left in the picture was allegedly a policeman, he keep waving a book at me asking me to go to the building opposite, as soon as Steve caught up we got the hell out, all looked a bit fishy to me.
Chimney of old school building or maybe Pop Buell's place.
Shot back down the hill of Sam Thong, lower centre is the building i was asked to go to.
This was a proper mess three of them stuck blocking the way.
Kid's munching on bamboo.
I had spotted an unusual what i thought structure on Google Earth so along the way we went to investigate, still not sure what it was it was square with a metre deep trench around it with a gate, inside people had been dumping trash,
my only thought was the trench was there to keep vermin out ?
Passed by a couple of teams of MAG people hard at work and popped into Naphia to see if they had any spoons for sale, looks like they have branched out into other knick knacks.
Obviously heavily bombed area, bomb craters all around.
Good use of bomb casings.
Back on the road next stop the P76 tank.
Moving on we rode over to Khuam to check out the main attractions.
The old French hospital, bombed during the war.
My poor eyesight, initially i thought these to be bunkers, i have later been told they are bird traps !!
We headed south to view the army personnel carrier which has now disappeared, got caught in a freak storm on the way back shot some more pictures of another hydro project south of Khuam.
Next stop the Mig fighters this time i counted 14 visible.
With no time to spare it was on to the secret tunnel at Phou Keng.
Now be warned don't be stupid like us and visit in your riding gear at the end of an already long day with no water, it's a bloody LONG way up those stairs trust me.
The young lad breaking out in front only to peak too soon.
When you finally get there you have two tunnels, note you need a lamp.
The main concrete tunnel is some 300 metres or so long through the mountain.
Exit the other side with blast screen.
View from the main tunnel exit.
The other tunnel is a natural one.
This was cute, Laos couple sharing shoes for the hike up.
This place must have been a big target lot's of marked bomb craters.
Some jars visible along the stairway.
So that was it a long day we arrived in Phonsavan in darkness, first priority was a beer while we decided on a place to stay. 💤
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