Thursday, December 4, 2008
Getting Lazy!
Yet again I have left it so long I have had to post TWO blogs so enjoy your bedtime reading! If anyone is struggling to sleep, this should be just the ticket!!!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Cambodia-Been There, Done That!!
Well our cambodia stay was short and sweet but we are very behind schedule due to a trip to Germany for Nick and a certain trip into the front of a minibus for me! So we decided on the main sights of Phnohm Pehn and Saim Reap and Battenbang (which didnt happen in the end as we met some bikers in SR who said not to bother!)
So we crossed into Cambodia and got to a place called Krachie. Nnow this place was an absolute dump! What was probably once a nice city with a town plaza and market square had been completely wrecked by the Khmer Rouge regime and with the country being left as one of the poorest in SE Asia, and after having any intellectuals murdered about 30 years ago under this regime, its not likely to get much nicer in the forseable future!
Anyway, if this was Cambodia, it probably wasnt going to be the best part of the trip! Anyway, the next day we upped and left pretty early as we were taking the 'scenic' route which meant slow progress through mud! but with a lovely view of the Mekong River for most of it! Anyway about 50km through the 80km off road section and the inevitable happened...my bike started over heating! this meant even slower progress and its not as if we had much time to spare anyway!!! Anyway, as luck would have it my bike over heated (again) outside an old lady's hut so we stopped to let it cool down. Then the lady of the house came out and in her best charades told us not to go any further as the road became impassable and we should go back about 1Km and find a boat to take us across the river to the road the other side which was much better. Anyway, taking her advice we back tracked and found a bridge that crossed onto an island and then a 'boat!' to take us across the river for a bargain $5 for the both of us! This was a lovely river crossing and the road on the other side was 100% better so we actually made it to PP just before dark! I'd hate to think what would have happened if we hadn't met this lady...We'd probably still be on the road!
Anyway, PP was more gloom as the history of the Khmer Rouge regime is the grounding of most of the tourist attractions. These are namely S21 (the detention and torture camp for prisoners) and the killing fields (unsurprisingly called that due to the fact they are fields where they killed people! Like I said, the intellectual people of Cambodia were all slaughtered in the 70's so they havent got any marketing guru's to come up with catchy names!) The highlight however was going to an army artillery range and loosing of a clip from an AK47 and MP5 machine gun!
We then travelled onto Saim Reap and saw the wonder of Ankor Wat. Now this place was built somewhere between the 9th and 12th century and would probably be considered an impressive feat now so its a pretty damned impressive place. However, 4 hours was enough temple touring and my stomach was in need of feeding as we had got up at 5 to watch the sun rise over the temple as this was supposed to be an impressive sight. Ive got to say though...my vote goes for a lay-in and a good breakfast!
From SR we headed out of Camdodia and towards BKK. However luckily we stopped in Pattaya for a few days which meant we found out about the trouble just before riding unknowingly straight into it as we were thinking about missin gout S.Thailand and Malaysia due to the monsoons and so would have gone straight to the airport!
Anyway, Pattaya is the armpit of Thailand as its the sex tourist centre! this means a lot of sex bars and fat westeners with little Thai girlfriends! I know, why did I want to leave?! Anyway we decided to drag ourselves away from heaven and went to a place called Ko Chang about 200Km East of BKK. And now we have found heaven! We've been here about a week and are still waiting for the trouble to clear at BKK but I have to say if I had to pick anywhere Ive visited to stop for a while...it would be here! What a spot of luck again!
Hope everyone is enjoying the rain, cold and financial crisis! Much love from Sunny Thailand where accommodation and food totals about 10 pounds a day!
So we crossed into Cambodia and got to a place called Krachie. Nnow this place was an absolute dump! What was probably once a nice city with a town plaza and market square had been completely wrecked by the Khmer Rouge regime and with the country being left as one of the poorest in SE Asia, and after having any intellectuals murdered about 30 years ago under this regime, its not likely to get much nicer in the forseable future!
Anyway, if this was Cambodia, it probably wasnt going to be the best part of the trip! Anyway, the next day we upped and left pretty early as we were taking the 'scenic' route which meant slow progress through mud! but with a lovely view of the Mekong River for most of it! Anyway about 50km through the 80km off road section and the inevitable happened...my bike started over heating! this meant even slower progress and its not as if we had much time to spare anyway!!! Anyway, as luck would have it my bike over heated (again) outside an old lady's hut so we stopped to let it cool down. Then the lady of the house came out and in her best charades told us not to go any further as the road became impassable and we should go back about 1Km and find a boat to take us across the river to the road the other side which was much better. Anyway, taking her advice we back tracked and found a bridge that crossed onto an island and then a 'boat!' to take us across the river for a bargain $5 for the both of us! This was a lovely river crossing and the road on the other side was 100% better so we actually made it to PP just before dark! I'd hate to think what would have happened if we hadn't met this lady...We'd probably still be on the road!
Anyway, PP was more gloom as the history of the Khmer Rouge regime is the grounding of most of the tourist attractions. These are namely S21 (the detention and torture camp for prisoners) and the killing fields (unsurprisingly called that due to the fact they are fields where they killed people! Like I said, the intellectual people of Cambodia were all slaughtered in the 70's so they havent got any marketing guru's to come up with catchy names!) The highlight however was going to an army artillery range and loosing of a clip from an AK47 and MP5 machine gun!
We then travelled onto Saim Reap and saw the wonder of Ankor Wat. Now this place was built somewhere between the 9th and 12th century and would probably be considered an impressive feat now so its a pretty damned impressive place. However, 4 hours was enough temple touring and my stomach was in need of feeding as we had got up at 5 to watch the sun rise over the temple as this was supposed to be an impressive sight. Ive got to say though...my vote goes for a lay-in and a good breakfast!
From SR we headed out of Camdodia and towards BKK. However luckily we stopped in Pattaya for a few days which meant we found out about the trouble just before riding unknowingly straight into it as we were thinking about missin gout S.Thailand and Malaysia due to the monsoons and so would have gone straight to the airport!
Anyway, Pattaya is the armpit of Thailand as its the sex tourist centre! this means a lot of sex bars and fat westeners with little Thai girlfriends! I know, why did I want to leave?! Anyway we decided to drag ourselves away from heaven and went to a place called Ko Chang about 200Km East of BKK. And now we have found heaven! We've been here about a week and are still waiting for the trouble to clear at BKK but I have to say if I had to pick anywhere Ive visited to stop for a while...it would be here! What a spot of luck again!
Hope everyone is enjoying the rain, cold and financial crisis! Much love from Sunny Thailand where accommodation and food totals about 10 pounds a day!
The End of Laos!
I didnt realise it had been so long!
Well from Paskan to the border crossing with Laos and Cambodia, it was all fairly unadventurous...normal roads and nothing out of the ordinary...except my bike actually behaved itself so that was a turn up for the books! We didnt have to stop to fill the radiator once in about 3 days! But then obviously the inevitable happened and my radiator sprung another leak! This meant the last 30km into town was interspersed with roadside stops to fill it up with water and having to knock on peoples doors to get them to open their restaurant to sell me some water!
anyway, we made it and spent two days in Savannahket while I took my radiator to a fridge mechanic (as they dont use water cooled systems for bikes here!) and got him to patch up the holes. However, they arent exactly delicate when fixing problems so with every hole he filled, he created two more!! After a day of welding and cutting sections out of my radiator (so it now only runs at 70% efficiency) I decided to tak it away from him and fix it myself! Now everyone who knows my mechanical skills will know that they guys would have to be pretty bad for me to think I can do a better job! Anyway,I did fix it and it lasted another 10 days!
The plus side of all this was meeting the guy who lived next to the mechanics who insisted on taking me for a guided tour of the city in his pick up. The highlights to him were the bridge that the Japanese built for the Laos people and the bridge that the Russians built for the Laos people! As you can imagine...this was a really interesting city!!! we also visited a temple under construction just to top off one of the most exciting days of the trip so far! (This is when I am hoping I didnt give this guy my blog site address!). I did however get chatting to a monk who was tiling part of the temple so managed to get to lay a tile in Savannahkets largest temple! WOW I hear you all scream!
The next two days were spent heading for the border as my visa was due to expire in 3 days! When we eventually got there, it was about as professional as you would imagine from a Laos-Cambodia border...three tin sheds down different roads for visas, customs and the actual border crossing! And as you would also imagine crossing the border varies in price according to your negotiating skills. We got away with a fairly standard $23 per person and $20 for the bikes! I think the bikes were a bit pricey but we did here stories of people actually fighting with the custom officials while negotiating prices! We decided to take the peaceful approach!
Anyway, we were in Cambodia and were waiting to see if all the rumors of having to be careful were true! The apprehension was unbearable!
Well from Paskan to the border crossing with Laos and Cambodia, it was all fairly unadventurous...normal roads and nothing out of the ordinary...except my bike actually behaved itself so that was a turn up for the books! We didnt have to stop to fill the radiator once in about 3 days! But then obviously the inevitable happened and my radiator sprung another leak! This meant the last 30km into town was interspersed with roadside stops to fill it up with water and having to knock on peoples doors to get them to open their restaurant to sell me some water!
anyway, we made it and spent two days in Savannahket while I took my radiator to a fridge mechanic (as they dont use water cooled systems for bikes here!) and got him to patch up the holes. However, they arent exactly delicate when fixing problems so with every hole he filled, he created two more!! After a day of welding and cutting sections out of my radiator (so it now only runs at 70% efficiency) I decided to tak it away from him and fix it myself! Now everyone who knows my mechanical skills will know that they guys would have to be pretty bad for me to think I can do a better job! Anyway,I did fix it and it lasted another 10 days!
The plus side of all this was meeting the guy who lived next to the mechanics who insisted on taking me for a guided tour of the city in his pick up. The highlights to him were the bridge that the Japanese built for the Laos people and the bridge that the Russians built for the Laos people! As you can imagine...this was a really interesting city!!! we also visited a temple under construction just to top off one of the most exciting days of the trip so far! (This is when I am hoping I didnt give this guy my blog site address!). I did however get chatting to a monk who was tiling part of the temple so managed to get to lay a tile in Savannahkets largest temple! WOW I hear you all scream!
The next two days were spent heading for the border as my visa was due to expire in 3 days! When we eventually got there, it was about as professional as you would imagine from a Laos-Cambodia border...three tin sheds down different roads for visas, customs and the actual border crossing! And as you would also imagine crossing the border varies in price according to your negotiating skills. We got away with a fairly standard $23 per person and $20 for the bikes! I think the bikes were a bit pricey but we did here stories of people actually fighting with the custom officials while negotiating prices! We decided to take the peaceful approach!
Anyway, we were in Cambodia and were waiting to see if all the rumors of having to be careful were true! The apprehension was unbearable!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
There's more!
For all you who take the time to read about my antics I have posted two (well three including this one!) blogs today so be sure to scroll down and read 'Not been washed away' before 'South to Paksan'! Happy reading!
South to Paksan!
So, we head South and do about 40km on nice roads until its time....we turn left and immediately it turns to dirt tracks and the classic mud bath awaits us! after about another 40km we get to our first river crossing. Now, nobody told me we were crossing rivers. In fact nobody told anyone! Now this river was definitely that, it wasnt a stream! It was about 20m wide and got to about 2' deep! Needless to say I was a little nervous about this so not wanting to risk the hefty amount of electrical goods I was carrying, stripped down to my boxers and carried my tank bag over with all my goodies in! then it was time to give it a go! Well we started nice and slowly and then as it got a little deeper, gave it a bit more gas, and then a bit more and then basically gunned it and blasted out the other side alot drier than I thought I was going to be!
So back in the saddle and back on the road we come across another crossing. And then another crossing and yes another crossing too! Anyway, my confidence was bubbling away nicely by now so I was happily blasting my way through these obstacles with the kind of confidence that ONE river crossing should not have given me!!! Anyway, we both made it through all 4 as dry as can be expected and stopped for lunch in an actually very nice little town about 3-4 hours away from our destination (according to a local!). Now, it was 2pm and its best to be where you want to be by 5 as it starts getting a little dark from then on. So we were kind of hoping for the 3 side of his estimation! So after some tasty beef noddle soup (this was the first of 4 straight meals of beef noddle soup!) we cracked on with the vigor of the duracell bunny (there were obviously a lot more similes available to me but with the possibility of the grandparents reading this I thought I should keep it clean!) Unfortunately it was only about half an hour in when we reached our first of river crossings and this on was far and away the toughest; it was wider, deeper and had a softer river bed than any of the others! this meant we were stripping the bikes of everything we could and wading through the river to deposit it on the other side and then riding the bikes through with one in the saddle and the other walking behind to help keep things upright! Well nick went first with me supporting him and made it through whilst giving me a decent river bed shower. unfortunately with Nick going through and with us walking the shallowest line we had softened up the bed even more so when I went through the bike sank good and deep until probably two thirds of it was underwater. Luckily the sir intake and exhaust are both high level and so with a good few revs and some sturdy support, I made it through without dropping the bike and we had a good old american style whooping session on the other side!
About 30m after that crossing was our last crossing and with the help of an elderly Laos lady from a nearby village pointing out the best route for us, we both madeit through that one unscathed too! So we were loaded up, back in the plate and back on the move again and again (not for the first time this trip) we were chasing daylight! All we didnt need now was a puncture and we could possibly still make it. And if the worst was to happen and we did get a puncture, what we didnt want was for it to be a rear tyre because they take twice as long to fix. So you'd never guess what...yep, Nick got a rear puncture! So, soaking wet and with the bikes again covered in mud we set to strippingthe rear tyre to fix the puncture. So we got that fixed in record time and then because nicks rear swing arm is bent it then took about half an hour to get the rear wheel back on. By this time we knew we werent making it in daylight but we thought we might me able to make it to a decent road which was rideable in the dark, so we cracked on again. Well we cracked on for 4 more Km until nicks rear tyre blew again! Now it was all over. 45 minutes of daylight wasnt even enough time to fix the puncture let alone get to any sort of road worthy of the name! Fortunately, a farmer and his wife were trundling along this track in their Laos tractor and trailer. Now there is a good few differences between a Laos tractor and a uk tractor but I think the key one to mention now is the fact that Laos tractors have a top speed of about 8mph! Anyway, we loaded Nick and his bike into the trailer and the fine farmer fellow carried the load on to the nearest town. The luck continued as I decided that as we were in the middle of nowhere and the likelihood of finding a guest house and restaurant was pretty slim, I was on the look out for a shop of somesorts to buy some food. Anyway I passed 2 possibilities and settled on one. It was in this shop that the shopkeepers son came out to serve me and could actually speak a little english and informed me that about 1Km further on was indeed a guest house with restaurant! Well thats what they called it. But for us it really was any port in a storm so we got shipped up there and fed more beef noodle soup and slept like babies on our hardboard bed!
Following that little episode we have learned our lesson and promise to stick to highways all the way to the South of Laos and we are half way there already! Its amazing the distance you can travel on a good surface! So right now I am sat in an internet cafe in Laos' biggest town, Svannakhet. We've had a rest day today and some tinkering on the bikes so its time to move again tomorrow. No doubt they'll be stories to come, its when I get around to posting them thats not so certain!!!
So back in the saddle and back on the road we come across another crossing. And then another crossing and yes another crossing too! Anyway, my confidence was bubbling away nicely by now so I was happily blasting my way through these obstacles with the kind of confidence that ONE river crossing should not have given me!!! Anyway, we both made it through all 4 as dry as can be expected and stopped for lunch in an actually very nice little town about 3-4 hours away from our destination (according to a local!). Now, it was 2pm and its best to be where you want to be by 5 as it starts getting a little dark from then on. So we were kind of hoping for the 3 side of his estimation! So after some tasty beef noddle soup (this was the first of 4 straight meals of beef noddle soup!) we cracked on with the vigor of the duracell bunny (there were obviously a lot more similes available to me but with the possibility of the grandparents reading this I thought I should keep it clean!) Unfortunately it was only about half an hour in when we reached our first of river crossings and this on was far and away the toughest; it was wider, deeper and had a softer river bed than any of the others! this meant we were stripping the bikes of everything we could and wading through the river to deposit it on the other side and then riding the bikes through with one in the saddle and the other walking behind to help keep things upright! Well nick went first with me supporting him and made it through whilst giving me a decent river bed shower. unfortunately with Nick going through and with us walking the shallowest line we had softened up the bed even more so when I went through the bike sank good and deep until probably two thirds of it was underwater. Luckily the sir intake and exhaust are both high level and so with a good few revs and some sturdy support, I made it through without dropping the bike and we had a good old american style whooping session on the other side!
About 30m after that crossing was our last crossing and with the help of an elderly Laos lady from a nearby village pointing out the best route for us, we both madeit through that one unscathed too! So we were loaded up, back in the plate and back on the move again and again (not for the first time this trip) we were chasing daylight! All we didnt need now was a puncture and we could possibly still make it. And if the worst was to happen and we did get a puncture, what we didnt want was for it to be a rear tyre because they take twice as long to fix. So you'd never guess what...yep, Nick got a rear puncture! So, soaking wet and with the bikes again covered in mud we set to strippingthe rear tyre to fix the puncture. So we got that fixed in record time and then because nicks rear swing arm is bent it then took about half an hour to get the rear wheel back on. By this time we knew we werent making it in daylight but we thought we might me able to make it to a decent road which was rideable in the dark, so we cracked on again. Well we cracked on for 4 more Km until nicks rear tyre blew again! Now it was all over. 45 minutes of daylight wasnt even enough time to fix the puncture let alone get to any sort of road worthy of the name! Fortunately, a farmer and his wife were trundling along this track in their Laos tractor and trailer. Now there is a good few differences between a Laos tractor and a uk tractor but I think the key one to mention now is the fact that Laos tractors have a top speed of about 8mph! Anyway, we loaded Nick and his bike into the trailer and the fine farmer fellow carried the load on to the nearest town. The luck continued as I decided that as we were in the middle of nowhere and the likelihood of finding a guest house and restaurant was pretty slim, I was on the look out for a shop of somesorts to buy some food. Anyway I passed 2 possibilities and settled on one. It was in this shop that the shopkeepers son came out to serve me and could actually speak a little english and informed me that about 1Km further on was indeed a guest house with restaurant! Well thats what they called it. But for us it really was any port in a storm so we got shipped up there and fed more beef noodle soup and slept like babies on our hardboard bed!
Following that little episode we have learned our lesson and promise to stick to highways all the way to the South of Laos and we are half way there already! Its amazing the distance you can travel on a good surface! So right now I am sat in an internet cafe in Laos' biggest town, Svannakhet. We've had a rest day today and some tinkering on the bikes so its time to move again tomorrow. No doubt they'll be stories to come, its when I get around to posting them thats not so certain!!!
Not been washed away!
I cant believe the last update was the police station. Well obviously a lot has happened since then as I am back on the road. This means my bike is fixed (well kind of!) and my injuries are healed (well, again, kind of!).
I got back to LP and got some welding and reshaping done on the machine (as yet unnamed so any suggestions are welcome!) and it was up and running again alot sooner than I was. Anyway, spent about 5 days in LP recovering as walking was a bit of a problem in the following couple of days and so kneeling by the bike and fabricating repairs was well out of the question! luckily I had mechanic Graveley to hand so the repairs got underway as soon as he felt he wasnt doing ALL the work. I have to admit LP is a nice place to get stuck in for a few days but next time I'll do it with my lady and it hopefully wont be forced!
So a few days later and we're heading North. Now, there are better ideas than to head North in Laos when the rainy season has been the worst and longest people can remember and you've got one bike not exactly at full strength and a jockey who cant walk up stairs! However, we didnt have any other ideas so went anyway! The first day was easy as the roads were paved and we made it past 'the scene' and onto Oudomsay. As we arrived the heavens opened and if it wasnt for the kind guest house owners clearing room in the garage, the bikes would have got an unscheduled wash! The next day (undeterred by the rain) we headed north again. Thios time we werent so lucky as when we got to our turning off the 'highway', it started to lash it down again. luckily there was a lovely little cafe right on the river banks so we stopped for a coffee and biscuits. As sarcasm is difficult to get across in text I shall point out that the term 'lovely' is ladled with sarcasm - this place had squirrels in a cage tied to the ceiling ready to be slaughtered for the right customer!
Following our refreshment we headed on but unfortunately the road was no longer so well paved. Dont get me wrong, there were bits of tarmac, but then there were also bits of 18" deep mud and bits of road that had had the mountain collapse on it so we had to wait while the diggers cleared what they could. Oh, and there was also one bit that actually didnt exist any more! A stretch about 30m long had been completely washed into the river which ran alongside the road. This meant we had to take a mud detour!
Needless to say, our progress wasnt as fast as we'd planned especially as when tackling one particularly deep section of mud I managed to drop the bike (yep, the tally is still rising!) and crack the 'bodge it and scarper' excuse for a repair we had fabricated in LP. Anyway, my bike was now leaking coolant and you wouldnt believe home remote we were. The only habitation we saw were the wooden and reed huts that made up the villages and these were about 10km apart. And trust me, you wouldnt want to stop the night in any of these! So, with coolant at a good pace and tackling mud upto the foot pegs, whats the worst thing that could happen......yep, the fuel light comes on! luckily I have a spare bottle of coolant so mixing it up with our drinking water we get a few more Kms until Ive finished the spare coolant and filled the radiator with the last of the water. so now I resort to turning the bike off when going down hills so it doesnt pump coolant around and so leaks lower (it also helps conserve the fuel!). Anyway, as you have probably guessed we made it! We stopped in a little place called Boun-Tai and manufactured a better bodge repair and found a particularly lavish guest house which ahd the cleanest river water for washing in and had electricity right up until 8pm!
And then it rained, and rained and was still raining in the morning. So that was the final straw. We did have a better idea than going north in the rain...GO SOUTH! So we turned back and took on the fun of the mud tracks again! This time I tackled it with a full fuel tank and just as we thought a working bike as well...it starts over heating and bubbling all my new coolant out of the overflow. Well the decisions were whether to go on or go back. Go back wasnt exactly to a town with many options for fixing the bike and going on wasnt the best thing to do either but it got our vote for the simple fact we didnt want to spend another night in Boun-Tai! Anyway, after stopping another few times and refilling the radiator again an again getting to the end of my spare coolant reserves we end up draining and refilling the system at the side of the track to see if there's an air lock. Turns out...no! Then Mechanic Graveley has a brainstorm of hard wiring the fan on. Anyway, as I am getting sore fingers and you are no doubt getting sore eyes, the story gets cut short again...we made it back! We still dont know exactly what is up with the bike but it seems to be operating ok with the fan on solidly. Lets just hope that doesnt pack up or I'll be right up the swanny!!!
So back in Oudomsay then onto Phonesavan, and back on good roads; you would have thought we'd have learnt our lesson but no, we decide on the 'fun' route to Paksan. So even though what is marked on my map as a main road had sections missing and mud upto the pegs, we decide to take 200km of tertiary roads south to Paksan. Well, I now know that primary roads run along side rivers and tertiary roads run through them!
I got back to LP and got some welding and reshaping done on the machine (as yet unnamed so any suggestions are welcome!) and it was up and running again alot sooner than I was. Anyway, spent about 5 days in LP recovering as walking was a bit of a problem in the following couple of days and so kneeling by the bike and fabricating repairs was well out of the question! luckily I had mechanic Graveley to hand so the repairs got underway as soon as he felt he wasnt doing ALL the work. I have to admit LP is a nice place to get stuck in for a few days but next time I'll do it with my lady and it hopefully wont be forced!
So a few days later and we're heading North. Now, there are better ideas than to head North in Laos when the rainy season has been the worst and longest people can remember and you've got one bike not exactly at full strength and a jockey who cant walk up stairs! However, we didnt have any other ideas so went anyway! The first day was easy as the roads were paved and we made it past 'the scene' and onto Oudomsay. As we arrived the heavens opened and if it wasnt for the kind guest house owners clearing room in the garage, the bikes would have got an unscheduled wash! The next day (undeterred by the rain) we headed north again. Thios time we werent so lucky as when we got to our turning off the 'highway', it started to lash it down again. luckily there was a lovely little cafe right on the river banks so we stopped for a coffee and biscuits. As sarcasm is difficult to get across in text I shall point out that the term 'lovely' is ladled with sarcasm - this place had squirrels in a cage tied to the ceiling ready to be slaughtered for the right customer!
Following our refreshment we headed on but unfortunately the road was no longer so well paved. Dont get me wrong, there were bits of tarmac, but then there were also bits of 18" deep mud and bits of road that had had the mountain collapse on it so we had to wait while the diggers cleared what they could. Oh, and there was also one bit that actually didnt exist any more! A stretch about 30m long had been completely washed into the river which ran alongside the road. This meant we had to take a mud detour!
Needless to say, our progress wasnt as fast as we'd planned especially as when tackling one particularly deep section of mud I managed to drop the bike (yep, the tally is still rising!) and crack the 'bodge it and scarper' excuse for a repair we had fabricated in LP. Anyway, my bike was now leaking coolant and you wouldnt believe home remote we were. The only habitation we saw were the wooden and reed huts that made up the villages and these were about 10km apart. And trust me, you wouldnt want to stop the night in any of these! So, with coolant at a good pace and tackling mud upto the foot pegs, whats the worst thing that could happen......yep, the fuel light comes on! luckily I have a spare bottle of coolant so mixing it up with our drinking water we get a few more Kms until Ive finished the spare coolant and filled the radiator with the last of the water. so now I resort to turning the bike off when going down hills so it doesnt pump coolant around and so leaks lower (it also helps conserve the fuel!). Anyway, as you have probably guessed we made it! We stopped in a little place called Boun-Tai and manufactured a better bodge repair and found a particularly lavish guest house which ahd the cleanest river water for washing in and had electricity right up until 8pm!
And then it rained, and rained and was still raining in the morning. So that was the final straw. We did have a better idea than going north in the rain...GO SOUTH! So we turned back and took on the fun of the mud tracks again! This time I tackled it with a full fuel tank and just as we thought a working bike as well...it starts over heating and bubbling all my new coolant out of the overflow. Well the decisions were whether to go on or go back. Go back wasnt exactly to a town with many options for fixing the bike and going on wasnt the best thing to do either but it got our vote for the simple fact we didnt want to spend another night in Boun-Tai! Anyway, after stopping another few times and refilling the radiator again an again getting to the end of my spare coolant reserves we end up draining and refilling the system at the side of the track to see if there's an air lock. Turns out...no! Then Mechanic Graveley has a brainstorm of hard wiring the fan on. Anyway, as I am getting sore fingers and you are no doubt getting sore eyes, the story gets cut short again...we made it back! We still dont know exactly what is up with the bike but it seems to be operating ok with the fan on solidly. Lets just hope that doesnt pack up or I'll be right up the swanny!!!
So back in Oudomsay then onto Phonesavan, and back on good roads; you would have thought we'd have learnt our lesson but no, we decide on the 'fun' route to Paksan. So even though what is marked on my map as a main road had sections missing and mud upto the pegs, we decide to take 200km of tertiary roads south to Paksan. Well, I now know that primary roads run along side rivers and tertiary roads run through them!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Police Station!
Well after my contra ton with the minibus, and being patched up by the kind folk who were travelling in the minibus (who's first aid kit was far more accessible then mine! Mental note - make first aid kit more accessible as having to remove everything from the pannier to get to it might not be possible if there is a next time!!!), needless to say the police were called and my bike and I were loaded into a police pick up for am hour and a half long journey that resulted in some brick and tin shack that they considered a police station! Anyway, I began to be less alarmed at this point as I thought even if I was banged up in this sorry excuse for a building, I would be able to sneeze my way out of it after dark and make for the hills!!! Then I realised we were in the hills and they had guns so I changed my attitude and went for the apologetic approach!
Fortunately for me, I had for once obeyed driving regulations and actually bought myself some Laos insurance in Vientiene so I was going to avoid jail! Then next issue, was how were we going to carry out an interview when I didnt speak Laos and they didnt speak English! Well they was no worries there...they decided to go and fetch the part time doctor who was now studying again in BKK but was back on his holidays! So in rocked this doctor who smelt like he worked ina brewery and couldnt stop putting his arm around me and occasionally touching my knee!!! Luckily the representative for the other side also spoke english pretty well so between to two of them they told me that my insuranc ewould pay for the other vehicle but I was to sort myself out! The next issue was how much the police were going to fine me and charge me for their time! I didnt want to point out that surely they already received a wage for their duties as they were armed and out numbered me and at present I still hadnt felt the cold hard feeling of steel around my wrists and wanted to keep it that way! Anyway, they decided on a total fine of 255,000Kip - about 18 pounds. So when I went for my wallet a bit too quickly, they then put another piece of paper infront of me with another bill of 275,000Kip! I then realised the game had to be played and in true Laos style I was actually allowed to present to the officers an arguement against the fine and make an offer! Anyway, it was a feeble arguement at which the end I said I could pay 400,000kip and they agreed! I still think I was had but I was pleased to be out of the clink for the total sum of about 40 pounds!
Anyway, as I thought I was in the clear, my drunk touchy feely translator decided to offer me a place to stay for the night with him!!! Not wanting to accept but believe me, this town consisted of a few mud huts and a few more proper buildings, I realised my chances of a guest house with ensuite and double bed were fairly slim. I therefore accepted. Anyway, he rode away from the police station after telling everyone he was drunk and nobody seemed to bat an eyelid! He came back for me an hour later once I had collected my stuff and been beckoned over the road to have a beer with the locals sat outside a shop! Once we got back to his I was a little relieved to be introduce to his wife and 18 month old son and was pointed to a room that I was to sleep in. Anyway, he doctor skills came out to play as he force fed me pill after pill and squirted droplets and cream (dont be sick!) over my wounds. got knows what I have taken but one of them was amoxycilin so i know that was good. Anyway, Im bored with typing now so I am fairly sure you are bored with reading! The rest will be brief...
had v. traditional Laos Dinner, then went back to bed. about 30 minutes later his son in law (13) came in to the room and proceeded to bed down too! this is when I realised that the place to stay he had offered was in fact half of his sons bed rather than the spare room I had envisaged! Anyway, I was shattered so cared very little and promptly slept! Woke up , he cooked, I left...there pretty well abbreviated!
I am now back in Luang Prabang hoping that there may be somewhere that can fabricate the bits of my bike that need replacing! I will keep you all informed as to how she fairs up as Im sure you're dying to know!
Fortunately for me, I had for once obeyed driving regulations and actually bought myself some Laos insurance in Vientiene so I was going to avoid jail! Then next issue, was how were we going to carry out an interview when I didnt speak Laos and they didnt speak English! Well they was no worries there...they decided to go and fetch the part time doctor who was now studying again in BKK but was back on his holidays! So in rocked this doctor who smelt like he worked ina brewery and couldnt stop putting his arm around me and occasionally touching my knee!!! Luckily the representative for the other side also spoke english pretty well so between to two of them they told me that my insuranc ewould pay for the other vehicle but I was to sort myself out! The next issue was how much the police were going to fine me and charge me for their time! I didnt want to point out that surely they already received a wage for their duties as they were armed and out numbered me and at present I still hadnt felt the cold hard feeling of steel around my wrists and wanted to keep it that way! Anyway, they decided on a total fine of 255,000Kip - about 18 pounds. So when I went for my wallet a bit too quickly, they then put another piece of paper infront of me with another bill of 275,000Kip! I then realised the game had to be played and in true Laos style I was actually allowed to present to the officers an arguement against the fine and make an offer! Anyway, it was a feeble arguement at which the end I said I could pay 400,000kip and they agreed! I still think I was had but I was pleased to be out of the clink for the total sum of about 40 pounds!
Anyway, as I thought I was in the clear, my drunk touchy feely translator decided to offer me a place to stay for the night with him!!! Not wanting to accept but believe me, this town consisted of a few mud huts and a few more proper buildings, I realised my chances of a guest house with ensuite and double bed were fairly slim. I therefore accepted. Anyway, he rode away from the police station after telling everyone he was drunk and nobody seemed to bat an eyelid! He came back for me an hour later once I had collected my stuff and been beckoned over the road to have a beer with the locals sat outside a shop! Once we got back to his I was a little relieved to be introduce to his wife and 18 month old son and was pointed to a room that I was to sleep in. Anyway, he doctor skills came out to play as he force fed me pill after pill and squirted droplets and cream (dont be sick!) over my wounds. got knows what I have taken but one of them was amoxycilin so i know that was good. Anyway, Im bored with typing now so I am fairly sure you are bored with reading! The rest will be brief...
had v. traditional Laos Dinner, then went back to bed. about 30 minutes later his son in law (13) came in to the room and proceeded to bed down too! this is when I realised that the place to stay he had offered was in fact half of his sons bed rather than the spare room I had envisaged! Anyway, I was shattered so cared very little and promptly slept! Woke up , he cooked, I left...there pretty well abbreviated!
I am now back in Luang Prabang hoping that there may be somewhere that can fabricate the bits of my bike that need replacing! I will keep you all informed as to how she fairs up as Im sure you're dying to know!
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