More climbs, more descents, more beauty

At 1500m, even with the first rays of sunlight, KKC was chilly. We exhaled "smoke" while having breakfast and managed an early start at 0830 - with our 2 new friends joining us. It was misty and cold as we started our descent.

Slicing through the mountain fresh air in complete silence, save for the sound of the rumble of fast spinning tires, was pure bike heaven. The steep mountains and valleys made for the most spectacular scenery ever and I was in holy awe. One of the great joys in riding Laos must be the ever friendly children who will run out to the road screaming "Sabai-di" with outstretched hands. Their warm smiles never fail to melt my heart.

The 20km descent ended too soon into a lush valley with a quiet small village by a bubbling stream. We stopped for some refreshments and recharging for the 8km climb ahead. It felt so unfair to be crawling when I was flying a moment ago but that is the brutal honesty of cycling. There is no free ride!
It was back to granny crawling until we reached Muang Phu Khon and we reached there with wobbling legs. A hot bowl of Pho noodle soup never tasted so good and we simply sat down speechless for a while in the restaurant, catching our breath. MPK is a junction town where 2 highways meet (to the famous Jars of Clay) and it was bustling with traffic and numerous stores filled with made in China products. Some people stay here for the night but we knew better...

Another 27km of largely downhill would bring us to a lovely simple resort by a hot spring. Thanks to the helpful sharing of previous cyclists online, that was our destination for the day. The scenery now switched to limestone mountains and with the setting sun, throwing beautiful shadows and lighting, it was a field day for the camera.


Flying down the mountains is one thing, but one's eye must be peeled on the road. There was a stretch where half of the road collapsed due to soil erosion, and it would be treacherous to be encountering that at night!


Arriving at Bor Nam Oon, I jumped straight into the hot spring only to discover it was a warm spring. But that was still very nice especially for aching muscles and I just sat there soaking in the surroundings until a Lao mom and her 2 young naked children joined me. With laundry and toothbrush in hand, they decided to carry on their daily routine and this was when I decided to leave. The Belgians rolled in about an hour later and we were glad they made it. Dinner was surprisingly delicious too. My only complain about this stop is that many truckers decide to make this their stop too and somehow, their heavy engines and the serene surroundings did not gel.

However, my rustic, wooden chalet provided the perfect toasty place to just lay down for the cool evening. With the quiet sound of a nearby gurgling stream, I was at absolute peace. I have seen God's creation today in all its finest splendor and I have been richly blessed.

The ride begins!

Another 2 days in Luang Prabang made it all the more harder to leave this beautiful french provincial town but today, it had to be done. After a hearty breakfast at the Chang Cafe along Kingkitsalat Road just by the Nam Khan River (look out for an old 1960 white Mercedes), we made our way south along Route 13 to Vientiane.

The cool 15c ride for the first 25km was easy enough, passing through quite small villages. Traffic became increasingly lighter though a few huge trailers and coaches, particularly the "King of the Bus" ones, zoomed passed us a bit unnervingly on some narrow sections. Their exhausts spewing black poisonous diesel smoke can truly induce vomit.

Then, the torture started. 15km of continuous climbing. We started at 300m and ended up 1100m. It was a bitter taste of what laid ahead and getting stuck on granny gear on the LHT most times was not fun. I quickly learned that climbing is a mind game, spinning at a leisurely 8 - 10kmh, the temptation to push the bike was great. But the shame of it was too unbearable and provided the perfect motivation to plod on. My strategy was to stop every 2km to enjoy the view and catch my breath. That worked very well. It helped immensely too that there were plenty of drink stalls every 10km for a recharged if necessary.

What goes up must come down and our reward for the hard climbing was flying 15km downhill. Zooming at 30-40kmh will give any adrenaline junkie a satisfying fix. Add in the spectacular mountain views, I knew this was going to be one heck of a ride. One concern was overheated brakes but that sure was better than having over-tired legs.

We arrived 53km at Nam Ming, a village at the foot of the hill with a beautiful bridge around 1pm, hungry but happy.

Unfortunately, the only food available was instant noodles and the heavily made up shopkeeper took pity on us and made some spicy ones with eggs. Beggars can't be choosers and we wolved it down, pondering our next move - a steep 22km to Kiou Ka Cham.

As there were only 2 guesthouses at KKC and we estimated the 1500m climb to take 3-4 hours, there was a chance we could be up there stranded with no room. It so happened that Ms Make Up had a spacious pick-up and her brother was willing to bring us up for 150,000kips (US$18). So feeling slightly embarassed, we loaded our 3 LHTs behind and enjoyed the ride. That move happened to be a smart one as we found out later that a Belgium couple started the climb at 9am, and reached the peak at 3pm!

Chris asked the driver to drop us 1km before town so we could experience some "climbing" and maintained what precious dignity we had left. A prudent move as only one guesthouse was opened and we managed to get the last "big" room at the back of the restaurant. The Dung Rabbit guesthouse was reputed to be the dingier one with non-flushing squat toilet in a "Oh my gosh" common bathroom.

You won't want to stay in this toilet for too long - Pic CW

DR was described by a CGOAB cyclist to be a trucker's brothel stop but we found it "acceptable". The owners tried to make us comfortable and got hot water in a pail for our evening bath. I enjoyed that very much.

Our pre-dinner walkabout of KKC was pleasant enough with us busy snapping pictures of village children playing and having lots of fun in an abandoned truck.

Dinner was a simple affair of rice and dishes and we met Meerteen and Katherin, the Belgium couple with brand new mountain bikes. They soon became our riding buddies to Vientiane.

We retired early into our pink beds as the evening was getting colder, surrounded by too many posters of various Lao ladies on the wall.

Temp raising posters ... good for cold weather - Pic CW

Nam Ou cruising...

Getting the boat back to Luang Prabang was a dicey affair. The boat ticketing office resembled a cowboy trading post filled with backpackers at the mercy of the Sheriff of Nong Kiau, the stern looking controller.

Pic by CW

Chaos mixed with Laotian order was the order of the morning and by His grace, we managed to get ourselves a seat with 8 other tourists. Our transport was a wooden 5 ft narrow but 35 ft long boat just barely inches from the water line. It did not help that the boat driver had only one good hand, and he was accompanied by a weather beaten old lady who acted as Chief Stewardess.

With our 3 Surlys tied precariously at the rear of the boat, we set off nervously at 11am. Getting comfy on kindy sized wooden seats was a challenged for me and pity the much bigger Caucasian passengers. Amid the loud din of the salvaged Toyota twincam engine from a Corolla, the ride proved to be a surprisingly pleasant one.

The Nam Ou meanders through even more beautiful limestone hills and cliffs. Crusing down the river with ever changing scenery with the cool breeze in the face is magic. We passed by villagers happily fishing and planting crops, and I felt a tinge of envy at their simple Shangrila existence. A Belgium lady seated in front of me, kept her long lens Nikon SLR continously busy trying in vain to capture the amazing views unfolding before our eyes.


The river soon joined the mighty Mekong and this was obvious at the huge width of the river. No wonder huge ships can make their way nearly 4000km inland into China from Vietnam. Our one arm driver obliged a request to stop at the Tham Ting caves where a beautiful temple with many Buddas awaited beady eye tourists.

We arrived at Luang Prabang at 4pm sharp and checked in backed into our usual guesthouse. This was followed by a lovely dinner at Tom Tom Cheng. I can still feel the boat rocking as I write this, but somehow, I do not mind.

Luxuriating by the river @ Nong Kiau

In the shadows with the LHT

Flying on land as usual...

The colour of the coffee and the river was the same!

The Nong Kiau bridge - a 1975 gift from China when Laos become communist

Mom & child on the family MPV

One of the many beautiful scenes along the river in NK

140km north of Luang Prabang is the dusty and ramshackle town of Nong Kiau. Its a stopover for many on their way to Muang Ngoi by boat but Nong Kiau itself has its own charm. Located at the base of a red-faced cliff and towering hills, it makes for delightful place to just chill out. The famous landmark of a bridge - a gift from the China in 1975 when Lao became communist, stands as its main landmark and this is the place to absorb the remarkable scenery. Trekking is also popular here as many traditional, unspoilt Lao villages with carefree and remarkably cute children play while women wash their laundry in the stream.

3 young wood-cutters - radiating warmth and friendliness!

Of course, we preferred to do our exploring by bicycle and our adventure had already started since Luang Prabuang. The ride up to NK was absolutely brilliant with rolling hills and towering limestone cliffs. The cool weather was also just starting to kick in and it was like cycling in aircon. Chris was smart enough to hijack a pickup truck for the steepest section and it was a smart thing to do if we wanted to arrive before sunset.

A long way to go but who's complaining?

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Two nights at the Nong Kiau Riverside Resort spoilt us rotten. A generous 45sq m villa, 4 poster beds with thick, firm Marriot-style mattress, quaint mosquito nets and most importantly, a huge balcony that could park 3 dirty and tired Surlys impressed us thoroughly. Add the best views of majestic & misty limestone cliffs with unobstructed river views, this was a slice of heaven.

Our beautiful villa!

The service too was very satisfactory thanks to Japanese owner Naomi San who looked into the minute details that kept her guests happy. We were dining yesterday and it was getting chilly. Suddenly, a hot charcoal stove appeared beside our table to keep us warm. Is that service or what?

I can't say enough of this great place especially after a hard day's ride. Do check them out if you are ever in this area of Laos.

http://www.nongkiau.com/