Lone Rider
Blokes Who Can
Trip to Western Laos
As the title say, this was a trip to the western part of Laos or rather the west of Xayaboury province but the trip started with a visit to the east to help celebrate a wedding aniversary and 2 birthdays and what a party it was. The first guests from the village showed up around 9 in the morning and they showed off their Ramwong skills and from then on the party went on till late night.
The happy couple celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary while Mom and her daughter (on the left) celebrated their birthdays
After the party it was "back to work" again for me as the Laos GPS map needed updating while also adding new data.
A rock formation which looked from afar as a Buddha Statue
Not sure what this was all about
Abandoned temples in villages which were resettled for hydropower projects
Construction has started of one of the many hydropower projects planned in Laos - this one is being built in a National Biodiversity Conservation Area
Road 11 along the Mekong river from Vientiane to Ban Thanasa is being upgraded and they have started paving it - not sure how long the racetrack quality will last though as this stretch of the road often resembled one big mud puddle in the rainy season
The Mekong is still quite high
The Paklay bridge (Nasak - Khokhaodo) is taking shape but I am not sure if the bridge will be ready by the end of this year as is planned.
Wanted to have a look at the new International Border Crossing between Thailand (Pudoo-Utaaradit) and Laos (Paklay) but I was stopped at Ban Phakeo were at this moment the Customs and Immigration is located. I was following one of the big trucks transporting cement from Thailand to the Xayaboury Hydropower Project as they are using already the new border crossing.
When the Laos Immigration people came running to stop me I realized that I was already past the existing border crossing in Ban Phakeo so I had to beat a hasty retreat to behind their barrier. Still not sure when the new crossing will be fully operational but I guess that, once the new road is ready in about 4 months or so, the border crossing will open as an International Border Crossing.
The Phakeo Border Facilities and part of the new paved road from Highway 4 to the new international border crossing
To be continued
As the title say, this was a trip to the western part of Laos or rather the west of Xayaboury province but the trip started with a visit to the east to help celebrate a wedding aniversary and 2 birthdays and what a party it was. The first guests from the village showed up around 9 in the morning and they showed off their Ramwong skills and from then on the party went on till late night.
The happy couple celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary while Mom and her daughter (on the left) celebrated their birthdays
After the party it was "back to work" again for me as the Laos GPS map needed updating while also adding new data.
A rock formation which looked from afar as a Buddha Statue
Not sure what this was all about
Abandoned temples in villages which were resettled for hydropower projects
Construction has started of one of the many hydropower projects planned in Laos - this one is being built in a National Biodiversity Conservation Area
Road 11 along the Mekong river from Vientiane to Ban Thanasa is being upgraded and they have started paving it - not sure how long the racetrack quality will last though as this stretch of the road often resembled one big mud puddle in the rainy season
The Mekong is still quite high
The Paklay bridge (Nasak - Khokhaodo) is taking shape but I am not sure if the bridge will be ready by the end of this year as is planned.
Wanted to have a look at the new International Border Crossing between Thailand (Pudoo-Utaaradit) and Laos (Paklay) but I was stopped at Ban Phakeo were at this moment the Customs and Immigration is located. I was following one of the big trucks transporting cement from Thailand to the Xayaboury Hydropower Project as they are using already the new border crossing.
When the Laos Immigration people came running to stop me I realized that I was already past the existing border crossing in Ban Phakeo so I had to beat a hasty retreat to behind their barrier. Still not sure when the new crossing will be fully operational but I guess that, once the new road is ready in about 4 months or so, the border crossing will open as an International Border Crossing.
The Phakeo Border Facilities and part of the new paved road from Highway 4 to the new international border crossing
To be continued