Gnasher328
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2012
- Location
- Chiang Mai / New Forest, England
- Bikes
- Ducati 851 & Mille S2, HD FXR, Trumpet R3, BMW R100RS, CRF 250
Jan 2014
Warning - not much biking here, more of a Luang Prabang travelogue. (My excuse for taking so long to get around to it!)
There was no hurry the next day so I wandered around the market next door to the guest house. As Pakxeng is central to a large area between the 13N and the 1C the canopied stalls and surrounding shops catered for everything from flip-flops to tractors and the parking area was busy with busses, trucks and lorries, some which had overnighted there.
As well as 'al-fresco' Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
I also had a chance for a closer look at the roadside weaving I saw last night, fascinating to see one of the colourful tribal costumes in it's first stages in such basic conditions and try to figure out how they get the pattern in.
I set off and the road became wider and busier the further I went. Unfortunately this also meant more dust clouds to deal with although the ride alond the river valley was nice. I was making fairly good progress when I came round a corner to this:-
I thought there was going to be a long delay and settled down to wait, Asian style. As I watched the digger clearing the landslide I pondered the pros and cons of thedrivers lot - cushier and more fun than working in the fields but one slip and a long drop. The wait turned out to be only around half an hour though, and as I saw the digger trundle back down toward the waiting vehicles I slowly kitted up again timing it to just be in front of the trucks when it pulled off the narrow track. That wasn't soon enough for the scooter beside me though, he was of like a long dog, slaloming between the caterpillar tracks and the bank. So much for Asian patience.
The rest of the way was uneventful, turning to tarmac a few Km before the 13N, and even that was much better than the Northern section I'd used. As I neared town it became busier and more chaotic but luck and instinct found me in the tourist section which was a pleasant surprise. It was quieter and less cluttered with French style buildings and some leafy avenues. I had plenty of time so I rode around to get an overview then locked all the gear on the bike in what semed to be grockle central and had lunch before wandering around looking for a guest house. After some Googling it seemed there wasn't a lot in it apart from one where you were likely to leave with a lot fewer possesions and cash than you arrived with, and after some walking arrived at the 'Namsok 3' guest house on Khounxoa Rd, just off Sisavangvatthana Rd, which was a resaonable compromise between cost and comfort, on a quiet side street with good bike parking. Only negative might be some building work next door but it was quiet then and they didn't work all night like the Nepalese did they?
After the tourist trap hell of Pakbeng and the austerity everywhere else LPB was a real relief, touristy but attractive and with plenty of competition. Even the Tuk-Tuk's were less obnoxious than the ones in CM.
Quite idyllic really.
There were plenty of restaurants to choose from and after a few experiments I settled on one with a good compronise between price/quality and service on Sisavangvong Rd oposite an ice cream parlour. The pic's a bit fuzzy but you can guess why I took it! Another nice thing about the place was that the traffic was so light I could happily sit in an onstreet bar and watch the world go by without being asphixiated. It did pong a bit though!
There didn't seem to be much in the way of bars and nightlife but I found an interesting one with a sultry Hungarian owner Lisa , the 'Ikon Klub', with it's Bohemian 30's style, just off the corner down Soukkhaseum Rd which suited me so I couldn't be bothered to trapse around any further. Popular with all sorts, I met a bloke called Terry who said he was there with a team scouting locations for the next 'Bond' movie - so if it's set in Laos you saw it here first. Icon Klub - Home
I was getting used to the clandestine approaches on the way back to lodgings when anyone with any sense was in bed, but the ladies of LPB seemed to be unusually caring for their feline companions as there were a number of them in what seemed to be their nightwear standing on street corners calling them in with a variety of 'meoowing' and hissing noises. One stepped in my direction but I said 'sorry M'aam, I haven't seen any cat's around, goodnight' and she wandered off, still in search of her pussy.
The touristy bit - as there was plenty to do and I liked the laid back atmosphere, a two day break turned into a five day holiday.
The bear sanctuary and waterfalls made a nice day out.
And I got chatting to some intersting people - I had passed this French couple on the rough, hilly, mainly unmade 1C. Travelling around the world on pedal power only!!!
Then I took in some local culture
Not sure what it was all about but I don't think it had a happy ending!
After all the agro of the 'no motorcycles' on bridges saga it was nice to see this:-
Mind you, the things some people do on bikes perhaps it's understandable - I saw someone ride a freshly rented chicken-chaser up a tree right outside the rental place, and in the ensuing altercatoin heard '1,000,000 Kip' from the owner!
Next stop - Phonsavan
Warning - not much biking here, more of a Luang Prabang travelogue. (My excuse for taking so long to get around to it!)
There was no hurry the next day so I wandered around the market next door to the guest house. As Pakxeng is central to a large area between the 13N and the 1C the canopied stalls and surrounding shops catered for everything from flip-flops to tractors and the parking area was busy with busses, trucks and lorries, some which had overnighted there.
As well as 'al-fresco' Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
I also had a chance for a closer look at the roadside weaving I saw last night, fascinating to see one of the colourful tribal costumes in it's first stages in such basic conditions and try to figure out how they get the pattern in.
I set off and the road became wider and busier the further I went. Unfortunately this also meant more dust clouds to deal with although the ride alond the river valley was nice. I was making fairly good progress when I came round a corner to this:-
I thought there was going to be a long delay and settled down to wait, Asian style. As I watched the digger clearing the landslide I pondered the pros and cons of thedrivers lot - cushier and more fun than working in the fields but one slip and a long drop. The wait turned out to be only around half an hour though, and as I saw the digger trundle back down toward the waiting vehicles I slowly kitted up again timing it to just be in front of the trucks when it pulled off the narrow track. That wasn't soon enough for the scooter beside me though, he was of like a long dog, slaloming between the caterpillar tracks and the bank. So much for Asian patience.
The rest of the way was uneventful, turning to tarmac a few Km before the 13N, and even that was much better than the Northern section I'd used. As I neared town it became busier and more chaotic but luck and instinct found me in the tourist section which was a pleasant surprise. It was quieter and less cluttered with French style buildings and some leafy avenues. I had plenty of time so I rode around to get an overview then locked all the gear on the bike in what semed to be grockle central and had lunch before wandering around looking for a guest house. After some Googling it seemed there wasn't a lot in it apart from one where you were likely to leave with a lot fewer possesions and cash than you arrived with, and after some walking arrived at the 'Namsok 3' guest house on Khounxoa Rd, just off Sisavangvatthana Rd, which was a resaonable compromise between cost and comfort, on a quiet side street with good bike parking. Only negative might be some building work next door but it was quiet then and they didn't work all night like the Nepalese did they?
After the tourist trap hell of Pakbeng and the austerity everywhere else LPB was a real relief, touristy but attractive and with plenty of competition. Even the Tuk-Tuk's were less obnoxious than the ones in CM.
Quite idyllic really.
There were plenty of restaurants to choose from and after a few experiments I settled on one with a good compronise between price/quality and service on Sisavangvong Rd oposite an ice cream parlour. The pic's a bit fuzzy but you can guess why I took it! Another nice thing about the place was that the traffic was so light I could happily sit in an onstreet bar and watch the world go by without being asphixiated. It did pong a bit though!
There didn't seem to be much in the way of bars and nightlife but I found an interesting one with a sultry Hungarian owner Lisa , the 'Ikon Klub', with it's Bohemian 30's style, just off the corner down Soukkhaseum Rd which suited me so I couldn't be bothered to trapse around any further. Popular with all sorts, I met a bloke called Terry who said he was there with a team scouting locations for the next 'Bond' movie - so if it's set in Laos you saw it here first. Icon Klub - Home
I was getting used to the clandestine approaches on the way back to lodgings when anyone with any sense was in bed, but the ladies of LPB seemed to be unusually caring for their feline companions as there were a number of them in what seemed to be their nightwear standing on street corners calling them in with a variety of 'meoowing' and hissing noises. One stepped in my direction but I said 'sorry M'aam, I haven't seen any cat's around, goodnight' and she wandered off, still in search of her pussy.
The touristy bit - as there was plenty to do and I liked the laid back atmosphere, a two day break turned into a five day holiday.
The bear sanctuary and waterfalls made a nice day out.
And I got chatting to some intersting people - I had passed this French couple on the rough, hilly, mainly unmade 1C. Travelling around the world on pedal power only!!!
Then I took in some local culture
Not sure what it was all about but I don't think it had a happy ending!
After all the agro of the 'no motorcycles' on bridges saga it was nice to see this:-
Mind you, the things some people do on bikes perhaps it's understandable - I saw someone ride a freshly rented chicken-chaser up a tree right outside the rental place, and in the ensuing altercatoin heard '1,000,000 Kip' from the owner!
Next stop - Phonsavan
