Day: 75.65km
Cume: 874.1km
Avg: 13.7km
Max: 49.0km
Time: 5h31m
Highs: Best day of cycling yet with most beautiful scenary, a small village called Hoay Sa Tep, mountain extending forever, many villages, seeing the karst range through the haze, Phu Phra, met two Lao cycle tourers and had dinner and breakfast with them (thanks, guys!), finding out how right the Dutch cyclist was and glad I didn't end up having to stay in Muang Phu Khun
Highs: Best day of cycling yet with most beautiful scenary, a small village called Hoay Sa Tep, mountain extending forever, many villages, seeing the karst range through the haze, Phu Phra, met two Lao cycle tourers and had dinner and breakfast with them (thanks, guys!), finding out how right the Dutch cyclist was and glad I didn't end up having to stay in Muang Phu Khun
Lows: Muang Phu Khun, a busy crossroads, with terrible food and too much noise, tired by the end of the day, last climb very tough, sadly too much haze to really capture this most incredible landscape on digital film, fever returned, again.
THE KING'S ROAD
So aptly named. Truly, this was one of two of the best days of cycling in my entire life up to this time (the second day being the following day).
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high mountain hillside
wind rustled banana leaves
The King's Road, Laos
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The snapshot can not speak for the grandeur that shook me off my saddle again and again for a break just to look out, shake my head in disbelief and then giggle (because I was there on my bike). I don't even know what to say.
This day was up and down all day. 5km down, 5km up, 10km down, 15km up. At one point, I dropped into this very long descent which I knew, from looking at my map, led to a small village.
The air changed. It grew moist, very agreeable to my dry, hot skin which had been baking in the full sun. Suddenly, as I lost elevation rapidly, water began to pour from the hillside all around me and into the valley in small creeklets which passed under the road. The jungle came up, broad leafed vegetation filled in all the creek valley and towered over me. I slowed because my skin couldn't believe what it was feeling, a sort of indescribable joy in the quality of the air and a joy in the sounds a tones of light and shades of green all around. DayParent may disagree with this label, but I felt like I was entering the fabled Shangrala. I was actually entering the quite large and thriving village of Hoay Sa Tep. This is a place I could return to to arrange to stay a week or a month, as there was so much to see, to do, to experience in this valley, I could just feel it in my skin. Again, I felt that sort of discomfort I do when I pass through other villages, the village people live so much of their lives in public, I just didn't feel it appropriate to shoot photos when passing through. I can just say that they live at the confluence of two major creeks in the center of a bowled mountainous regious with small creeks falling from the steep hillsides on all side and in many locations throughout the village. WoW WoW Wow, what a place these people live.
This day was up and down all day. 5km down, 5km up, 10km down, 15km up. At one point, I dropped into this very long descent which I knew, from looking at my map, led to a small village.
The air changed. It grew moist, very agreeable to my dry, hot skin which had been baking in the full sun. Suddenly, as I lost elevation rapidly, water began to pour from the hillside all around me and into the valley in small creeklets which passed under the road. The jungle came up, broad leafed vegetation filled in all the creek valley and towered over me. I slowed because my skin couldn't believe what it was feeling, a sort of indescribable joy in the quality of the air and a joy in the sounds a tones of light and shades of green all around. DayParent may disagree with this label, but I felt like I was entering the fabled Shangrala. I was actually entering the quite large and thriving village of Hoay Sa Tep. This is a place I could return to to arrange to stay a week or a month, as there was so much to see, to do, to experience in this valley, I could just feel it in my skin. Again, I felt that sort of discomfort I do when I pass through other villages, the village people live so much of their lives in public, I just didn't feel it appropriate to shoot photos when passing through. I can just say that they live at the confluence of two major creeks in the center of a bowled mountainous regious with small creeks falling from the steep hillsides on all side and in many locations throughout the village. WoW WoW Wow, what a place these people live. I received a tip off a few days earlier from a few cyclists who were rid
ing through the country with a truck full of gear following them that there was a hot spring about 15km before Kasi. I knew from my map it was mostly downhill to get there, so I decided to bypass Muang Phu Khun to stay at the hot spring. This was lucky, because I wouldn't want to stay in Muang Phu Khun for any reason, unless I was riding the other direction and it was the resting point prior to riding the King's Road. It was loud, dirty, with poor services, bad food and lots of noise. I shouldn't complain, it was certainly better stocked than any village could hope to be, but it was not what I expected of an intersection of two major high mountain roads. I gladly and quickly slurped down my bowl of noodle soup and pedaled out of town and began a very rapid descent. I would be riding down the hellacious climb northbounders cringe at the thought of. It's one in which the road and the grade are visible for up to 5 or 10km at a time, so you know exactly where you're going and exactly how much climbing (or falling, in my case:) you'd have to do. Meanwhile, the scenary was breathtaking: a jagged, craggy limestone karst saw of a horizon to the south. I cried when my camera failed to catch even 50% of the view!
ing through the country with a truck full of gear following them that there was a hot spring about 15km before Kasi. I knew from my map it was mostly downhill to get there, so I decided to bypass Muang Phu Khun to stay at the hot spring. This was lucky, because I wouldn't want to stay in Muang Phu Khun for any reason, unless I was riding the other direction and it was the resting point prior to riding the King's Road. It was loud, dirty, with poor services, bad food and lots of noise. I shouldn't complain, it was certainly better stocked than any village could hope to be, but it was not what I expected of an intersection of two major high mountain roads. I gladly and quickly slurped down my bowl of noodle soup and pedaled out of town and began a very rapid descent. I would be riding down the hellacious climb northbounders cringe at the thought of. It's one in which the road and the grade are visible for up to 5 or 10km at a time, so you know exactly where you're going and exactly how much climbing (or falling, in my case:) you'd have to do. Meanwhile, the scenary was breathtaking: a jagged, craggy limestone karst saw of a horizon to the south. I cried when my camera failed to catch even 50% of the view!
I pedaled on with a last few ascents (barely!) to the hot springs. I was welcomed by a very friendly Lao man who asked me if I was riding and said he and his friend were riding, too. It was so inspiring to me to meet Lao natives riding through their country and especially this, the most challenging and majestic King's Road. I shared dinner and breakfast with them and talked everything from Lao culture to bike parts and gear. Such a sweet meeting!!! After such a long day, I was thankful for the hot spring right outside my bungalow door!
3 comments:
awesome fog and cloud pictures Jamie!
it must have been a pleasure riding in, after all the hot sunny days you've had up until now!!
can't wait to hear about the next leg of your journey...
all my love,
s
oh man, i can't believe we missed this hot spring! the riding from LPB to Vientienne was some of my favorite riding anywhere in the world!!!
keep pedaling!
mat from berkeley
Wowo awesome photos Jamie
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