Our last day of motorbiking the Khammouane Loop in Laos was filled with dust, sweat and a tear or two marking the end to an incredible journey. It was also our longest day of riding, in which we covered 112 miles on our faithful little fake Honda motorbike.
Long gone are the glory days of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), better known as the “Toy Train.” Yet, the little steam engine that could survives, albeit in a very limited capacity, plying the 4 mile (7km) stretch of narrow gauge track between Darjeeling and Ghum (Ghoom). For just $4 USD, you can take the venerable UNESCO icon two hour roundtrip through some of India’s most amazing Himalayan scenery. It’s a bargain by any Western standard and an unmissable experience.
As the temps hover around freezing here in the mid-Atlantic, I thought I’d take a break from Laos and head back to the warm, tropical beaches of Thailand. This article is devoted to trekking, kayaking, monkeying around and hangin’ out, Rai Leh style.
We take a suped-up motorboat 4.5 miles (7.5km) down an underground river through incredible Konglor Cave — on the third day of our motorbiking adventure in rural Laos.
Beneath a concrete span crossing the Nam Theun, passersby are likely to find something they won’t find many other places: Bomb Boats. These boats, which resemble oversized canoes are repurposed remnants of an ugly chapter in Laos’ (and the U.S.’s) past. The Bomb Boats are used throughout Laos for river travel and are a continuing reminder of the 2 million tons of ordnance dropped by American planes on Laos from 1964 to 1973.
Back on the road, we leave the safety, comfort and hospitality of Tha Lang for the unknown on Day Two of our Khammouane Loop motorbiking adventure in Laos. We ride from Tha Lang to Nahin via Laksao, covering some of the most remote, rugged and unforgiving roads Laos has to offer.
So, how crazy do you have to be to attempt the Khammouane Loop in central Laos? I suppose that depends on your definition of crazy.
About a month into our time traveling through India, we found ourselves in the western state of Rajasthan in the tiny desert village of Khuri about 40 miles from the Pakistan border. We arranged a camel safari with some local guides through Badal Singh (proprietor of Badal House in Khuri). We had been looking forward to the camel trek for as long as we had been traveling in Asia and can say in retrospect that it surpassed our expectations.
The Chiang Kong to Luang Prabang portion of the trip was a unique experience passing by beautiful scenery with relative comfort. Though I was a bit disappointed to learn that the boats would be so comfortable and touristic (deep down I was hoping for a repeat of our overnight cargo freighter to Koh Tao experience) it still ended up being one of the transport highlights of our entire trip in Asia. I mean, how often to you get to spend two days floating down one of the world’s great rivers?
This unusual temple was quite the surprise during one of our stops on the way from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos. Wat Rong Khun was by far one of the most unique temples we visited in Thailand — it is also one of Thailand’s newest. The temple was designed by famed Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and construction began in 1996 and is due to be completed in 2070.
