Camouflage

S7, f1.7, 1/14, ISO 200, JPG

Road Trip to Tam Ky

I can never say no to a motorbike trip, so I ended up n a spontaneous trip to Tam Ky today.

Unlike the last days the weather wasn't as good and there was some rain but nothing to stop the road trip.

Starting in Da nang, we headed to Hoi An and then to Tam Thanh, the mural village, for some photography and to just enjoy the ride.

After Tam Thanh, it was time for a visit to Tam Ky's "Mt. Rushmore", a monument dedicated to the Vietnamese women who fought in the war.

It's quite a nice sight and worth it if you're in the area.
After some coffee and a Com Ga dinner in Tam Ky, it was just heading back to Da nang through some rain.

Bali Views

Another try to take some nice landscape photos during a 260km road trip around the eastern part of Bali got spoiled a bit by clouds.

Not just clouds but also some rain and fog but it still made for a nice experience and provided slightly different views most people expect from Bali.

The trip itself was nice and some of the roads along the mountains were great and very scenic.

Especially the area around Amed is very nice and would be worth staying at for a few days should I head back to Bali.

Chasing the Volcano

Some of you might have read the news about Mt. Agung, the volcano on Bali, starting to smoke and being close to an eruption.

While the news made it sound very bad, the situation in Bali was pretty much relaxed and I didn't hear or see anything from the volcano.

I decided to change that and take a road trip to photograph the volcano, it seemed exciting and fun.

Unfortunately, the weather got in the way. Clouds blocked the views of Mt. Agung from the area I figured would provide the best views.

Still, it was a great trip overall, some nice and very steep roads and great scenery around. I even got a few glimpses of the smoking Mt. Agung.

Straight Ahead

TG-4, f2.0, 1/320, ISO 200, RAW, 25mm

Rain, Wind and Fog

Driving from Hue to Da Nang in the rain is not much fun, driving it at night and during a typhoon is not fun but challenging and exciting.

After almost being blown off the road a few times, I ended up not being able to see much of anything of the road while going up the Hai Van Pass. In Da Nang it was just very windy and a bit flooded but otherwise ok to drive.

Over the Lines

X Play, f2.0, 1/33, ISO 500, JPG

The Wave and the Rock

TG-4, f3.5, 1/500, ISO 200, RAW, 38mm

Accidents on the Hai Van Pass

Driving on the Hai Van Pass is never the same, no matter how often you do it.

There's always something new, whether it's the view, always different weather, a double rainbow, a fire or accidents.

Despite the tunnel being built, some trucks aren't allowed through the tunnel or just don't fit through so they take the long road up and down the Hai Van Pass.

Most of the time they just spill some oil on the road but at times, they spill their cargo, too.
This time there were two almost identical accidents on two of he hairpin corners on either side of the pass.

Back to Da Nang

It was supposed to be a relatively quick and uneventful drive back to Da Nang. The reason or staying overnight inn Xepon was after all to shorted the distance of the return journey.

Well, after topping up the air in my rear tire (again), it was supposed to last for the 40 km back to Vietnam, where I wanted to check it further.
Well, it almost made it but fell short just a few km before the border so I had to resort of pushing it a few km to the next mechanic.

Back in Vietnam it never felt like the new tube was working that well and as it had to come I had another flat before reaching Lang Co. So one more repair was in order before I could make it back a few hours later than planned.

Thakek to Xepon

The day started unsurprisingly with an exact damage check from last evening's pothole incident and unfortunately with me having to get a replacement wheel.
.

After getting the rear tire fixed and some breakfast it was time to head back towards Vietnam. To split the drive back to Da Nang in smaller chunks, I decided to stay in Xepon for the night.

The drive back to Xepon was pretty boring, aside from yet more visits to put air in my rear tire but I did make it to Xepon before the evening.

The Thakek Loop in a Day

Warning, this post contains plenty (too many?) photos of my Honda Wave so be warned.

The day started, as so many other days when I'm on a road trip, with a flat rear tire which needed fixing before I could set out to do the Thakek Loop.

The Thakek Loop, or simply 'The Loop', is one of the more famous roads and main things to do in Laos. It's a 330-420km circular loop (depending if you do the back and forth to the famous Konglor cave).

Most people do it in 3-4 days and get to visit plenty of caves, some waterfalls and swimming spots along the way.

Not really having 3 days at my disposal but still wanting to do the loop, I figured I'll just do it in one day and skip some of the caves and waterfalls. After all, I've seen plenty of caves and waterfalls before so after a while I don't feel the need to stop at all of them anymore. I rather enjoy the ride on my bike and scenery.

The route is in one word breathtaking, the scenery is great, the road makes for a fun ride with the ups and downs and nice corners. So I can fully recommend you do it but maybe taken 2-3 days instead of 1 days for it.

While the distance wasn't that long, plenty of stops for photography and some to top up the air in my tire, meant the drive took quite a bit longer than expected.

Now, you might have heard or read about terrible road conditions on the Loop but the road is in pretty good condition and is mostly new so don't worry about any mud filed paths you might have heard about.

There are places with some massive potholes though, which can swallow you and your bike up if you're not careful (more on that later) but for the most part it's a smooth ride.

I've been to Laos a few times now and have done a few different loops, took some scenic and some challenging roads but none were as much fun as the Thakek Loop and I wish I would have had 2 days for it to do it in a more laid back way.

Still, if you're in Laos you have to do the Loop on a motorbike, it's worth it.

The initial plan was to either get back to Thakek before it got dark or stay somewhere overnight. Things changed when I kept stopping for photos and had to drive slow to find an open petrol station before running out of gas.

Things took a turn for the worse though when I hit a big pothole at about 65km/h and it managed to break some spokes off my rear wheel and bend the rim, too.

This meant the 40km drive back to Thakek ended up taking quite a bit longer and was more difficult than planned.

It will also mean I will have to replace the rear wheel in the morning (photos of the damage in the next post).