The second leg of Nan Ride will ultimately bring us to Huaykon Border Post between Thailand & Laos via some POI. We are still in the Nan Mountains. We checked-out early and basically, just headed in a north-easterly direction. We stopped at the Salt Well in Bo Kleua but to get there, we have to get on the 1081 to see and ride the marvellous ‘3-shape Curves’. 1081 is a well-maintain mountain road. The builder of this road must really love motoring. The cambers are all in the right places and the numerous curves on this route are a joy to lean into. Best to ride at your own pace & ability, and allow the sceneries and the atmosphere to stimulate your senses. At the famous ‘3-shape Curves’, we stopped to take in the sight. Many vehicles also stop at this particular spot, which is on a rise and has a wide and open area beside the road. The shape of the figure ‘3’ can be clearly seen ahead.
Somewhere along the route, we also went past Phu Kha 1715 Viewpoint but didn’t stop because the blanket of cloud for which it is reputed for has dissipated. And also this is where chain of KM7’s CB500X came off. Insane rider somehow managed to get it back on to continue with the ride. Well done Insane Rider!
We moved on. Next; the Salt Well at Bo Kleua. To be honest, I am not into salt wells at all. But it’s more interesting to take a break here then at a petrol station. So, time to play tourist.
From the Salt Well, we head to Pua, where we check-in and get lunch. We still have enough daylight to make a trip to the Laos Border and back. The Huaykon Border Post is slightly less then a hundred km from where we were staying. Traffic was sparse and we made good time. It is interesting that within such short distance, the pace of life is dramatically different. I suppose life at all northern border towns or settlements are quite similarly simple. Not particularly busy in this case. People from both sides mingle and trade and perhaps intermarried. It’s actually difficult to tell whether a person is Thai or Laotian. Very similar in looks and stature. Some say I fit in perfectly 🙂
Barriers, and Border Patrol manned the boundary checkpoint. No access beyond the demarcated line. KM7 fake ignorance and rode right up to the line, and the uniforms jumped on him. But they allowed him to move forward to make a U-turn. So, technically, he visited Laos. I’ll challenge him to do the same at the 38th Parallel.
Well, still pretty early. Slow cruise back to Pua for a bath and dinner. Our hotel is in the fields. It is like a kampong, with little huts on stilts situated on the edge of a field. I think it’s a flower field which has just been harvested. I am not sure but it is clean, dry and tidy. Each individual hut has a verandah, a bedroom and a bathroom, fully fitted with air-con, hot water and a retro-style bath tub next to low wooden window. So you look out over the field and the distant mountains through the open windows while soaking in the bath tub, as a brood of chicken scurried about in the open field below. Simple. Chill. The hut is made of mostly organic materials. Wood and bamboo skins and the bamboo itself. Wait till you see the simple covered-parking lots.
Tomorrow, 27Nov. 2022, to Chiang Saen.
Jaywalker, 22/12/22
2 wheels and an engine 