Lone Rider
Blokes Who Can
Early January, as I had to be in Vientiane for work, I decided to leave home a few days early so I could travel via Paklay and surroundings to update the Laos GPS map. This is a brief overview of the places I went to with a few pictures and the route taken.
Entered Laos at the Thali/Ban Nakkraseng-Nam Heung/Kenethao crossing. On the Thai side things went quickly but the Lao side was a bit slow. The guy who had to prepare the temporary import documents for my truck could not speak English and he asked me to spell my name in Lao language which was a bit difficult for me. After numerous phonecalls and running around to ask colleagues to help him he managed to complete the form in about 40 minutes.
On the Thai side the Immigration office (the small building with the Thai flag) is next to the Customs Office. The Customs people handle both outbound and inbound traffic.
The Lao immigration building with the traffic (left/right) cross-over.
Visa-on-arrival is on the left hand side while the Immigration and customs is on the right hand side
I stayed the night in Kenethao at the Sirivanh Gh (80000 Kip) and wandered around town early morning when the monks were on their alms round
From Kenethao I headed east along the Nam heung river to where it joins the Mekong river to have a look at the Buddha Statue of Phra Yai (Phra Phut Nawamin Tara Mongkhong Lila Winnakara Phirak) on the Thai side which I visited when I made my trip along the Mekong (see: http://rideasia.net/forum/thailand-...g-the-thai-side-of-the-mekong-river-t484.html
View of the Nam Heung river and the dew covered fields in Thaland on my way to the confluence of the Nam Heung and the Mekong
Looking from the Wat in Ban Houayla in Laos to the statue in Thailand and from the north side of the Mekong looking south
Very close by you can cross the Mekong to travel to Xanakham
From here it was off to Botene district to have a look at Nam Ham Waerfall. About 10 years ago there were plan to build a hydro power project here but this fell through as the economics did not look good enough at that time.
Looking down from the hills to Botene. On the way back there is a quarry which is producing gravel for the road contsruction going on (road 4 runs from the border up to Xayaboury and beyond and will be paved and is expected to be ready late this year or early next year.
From Kenethao to Paklay the road is already paved and is a joy to ride as it is a nice curvey road with small reservoirs left and right.
The Deuangchai Phet hotel was fully booked (there was big New Year Party going on along the Mekong) so I stayed at the Si Champha GH (100000 Kip) which is a new guest house about 500 meter south of the main junction in Paklay.
The next morning I poked around on the west side of Paklay before heading in the late afternoon to Xanakham where I stayed in the Sonesavanh Gh (100000 Kip). I do love these hotel regulations with Legal articles not allowed to be brought in the room
: .
The Xanakham District Administation Office has plenty of satellite dishes to keep up with what is going on in the world
Early next morning it was off to Vientiane along the Mekong with a quick visit to Sangthong to see how far they had come to upgrade the road.
It appears that they just started the road works (road no. 11) and the road along the Mekong as well as the road to Sangthong should be ready early 2014. It appears that the road will become considerable wider than it is now.
Entered Laos at the Thali/Ban Nakkraseng-Nam Heung/Kenethao crossing. On the Thai side things went quickly but the Lao side was a bit slow. The guy who had to prepare the temporary import documents for my truck could not speak English and he asked me to spell my name in Lao language which was a bit difficult for me. After numerous phonecalls and running around to ask colleagues to help him he managed to complete the form in about 40 minutes.
On the Thai side the Immigration office (the small building with the Thai flag) is next to the Customs Office. The Customs people handle both outbound and inbound traffic.
The Lao immigration building with the traffic (left/right) cross-over.
Visa-on-arrival is on the left hand side while the Immigration and customs is on the right hand side
I stayed the night in Kenethao at the Sirivanh Gh (80000 Kip) and wandered around town early morning when the monks were on their alms round
From Kenethao I headed east along the Nam heung river to where it joins the Mekong river to have a look at the Buddha Statue of Phra Yai (Phra Phut Nawamin Tara Mongkhong Lila Winnakara Phirak) on the Thai side which I visited when I made my trip along the Mekong (see: http://rideasia.net/forum/thailand-...g-the-thai-side-of-the-mekong-river-t484.html
View of the Nam Heung river and the dew covered fields in Thaland on my way to the confluence of the Nam Heung and the Mekong
Looking from the Wat in Ban Houayla in Laos to the statue in Thailand and from the north side of the Mekong looking south
Very close by you can cross the Mekong to travel to Xanakham
From here it was off to Botene district to have a look at Nam Ham Waerfall. About 10 years ago there were plan to build a hydro power project here but this fell through as the economics did not look good enough at that time.
Looking down from the hills to Botene. On the way back there is a quarry which is producing gravel for the road contsruction going on (road 4 runs from the border up to Xayaboury and beyond and will be paved and is expected to be ready late this year or early next year.
From Kenethao to Paklay the road is already paved and is a joy to ride as it is a nice curvey road with small reservoirs left and right.
The Deuangchai Phet hotel was fully booked (there was big New Year Party going on along the Mekong) so I stayed at the Si Champha GH (100000 Kip) which is a new guest house about 500 meter south of the main junction in Paklay.
The next morning I poked around on the west side of Paklay before heading in the late afternoon to Xanakham where I stayed in the Sonesavanh Gh (100000 Kip). I do love these hotel regulations with Legal articles not allowed to be brought in the room
: .
The Xanakham District Administation Office has plenty of satellite dishes to keep up with what is going on in the world
Early next morning it was off to Vientiane along the Mekong with a quick visit to Sangthong to see how far they had come to upgrade the road.
It appears that they just started the road works (road no. 11) and the road along the Mekong as well as the road to Sangthong should be ready early 2014. It appears that the road will become considerable wider than it is now.
