Sam Soun Mountain Area > Ban Nam Poung (74km)

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I started the day in the mist. During the first hour I could not see very far. The first part of the day was easy compared to the second part that was much steeper. I had to push my bike few times. I finished cycling at night today and experienced another storm later on. The weather in the northern part of Laos is very different compared to Northern Thailand. It’s raining almost every night. Well, rain only would be okay if strong wind, strikes and thunder would not join it each time.

Map.

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Elevation.

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That’s my camp from last night. I did not realised first I was that low but that’s maybe why the tarp resisted to the strong winds yesterday. Some of my clothes was on the ground this morning and a part of my gas system unscrewed itself and laid on the ground. Really I don’t know how this happened.

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Very early this morning, maybe around 2am, I heard some noise around me. From inside, I could not really see something but when I used my torch and lit towards the open area above my head I saw a big cow watching me, ruminating. Roh, bloody cows! move! I clapped my hands and the whole group ran away fortunately. I could continue my night again.

Now, let’s pack all my wet gear and go. I will have to dry everything as soon as I can today.

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The positive thing about today is that it’s not hot anymore.

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Finally I was not too far from the top yesterday night. Downhill is coming.

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Nobody is outside this morning. Too cold!

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Some goat having so fun here.

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Mainly, animals don’t bother with bicycles, except when it pulls a trailer… Come on! Run faster! Ahah :-)

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Still very misty for now. No way I can see the view.

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Ah? Is it becoming better. I can see the village where I’m heading now.

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A closer look.


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That’s it! That’s the river, logically the bottom of the hill. The next step is going up hill again.

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The river seems to be clean around here.

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I’ve got roughly 30 kilometres before I will start the next big hill.

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Hooo, that landslide could be the result of the last night storm.

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Time for brunch. That restaurant seems good enough.

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For the first time I’ve got something else than noodle soup. The owner even told me the price BEFORE I decided anything. It’s a bit more expensive than usual (35.000 kip) but I don’t know if I will find something else anytime soon. Today’s menu is a soup with sticky rice and “al dente” chicken. In fact in Laos (like Thailand) people don’t bother cutting the chicken regard its shape. They just chop it through the bones. Some parts do not have even meat, just bones.

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The owner and her son are watching an old american movie (Mission Impossible 1). The voices are in Thai and subtitles in Laos. Fortunately, I know the story already :-)


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Now I’m full, let’s find a place where to rest. It’s super hot again here. Once more, there is another loom again. Of course I don’t take a picture of each one because it see maybe 50 per day minimum.

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Look at this nice work. People must be so patient to create these patterns.

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I think I’ve found my spot for the following hot hours. This house is apparently empty. There is water running next to it. I’ve dried all me camping gear already and then washed my clothes. I’m just having lunch now.

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Just a closer look.


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Changing district. Can I expect a better road? It looks like it.

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When I see the sign of the district I came from the next part should be better :-)

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Again, I can observe there is lots of burnt areas around.

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People are working hard over there. It looks like they are collecting the last good piece of wood that remain after the fire. First, you hear the guys and then you must watch carefully to see where they are working. They must feel so hot!

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I’m happy I don’t have to go on this path :-)

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Something just happened here. See that blue bicycle crashed in the bush? I was very slowly pedalling up hill when I saw hundreds metres away 3 or 4 kids walking and cycling towards me. As soon as they identified me (I think) they shouted, ran, threw their bicycles in the bush and disappeared. First I thought they expected to scare me. They would hide and once I would reach their position they would jumped out… but nothing. They just vanished! Very strange…

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The road is now hilly but I feel I’m climbing more than I’m going downhill.

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It’s quite nice around here. I like this kind of nice country road.

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This small shelter seems left alone or lost.

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The road is getting muddy around here. The previous storm must have create some trouble here.

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I’ve reached the last village before the next climb.

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Second view.

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Definitely, storms happen quite often here. I will have to be ready every night. Looks like when something happen, people only do the minimum. That’s enough for one truck or bus to go, that’s ok :-) They might clean properly everything once the “storm season” is gone. Or maybe not…

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The sun is quite low already but this time I want to avoid sleeping at too high altitude. I’m still far from the summit now and I’m sure I will end that day with some night cycling. This is not a bad thing. I like doing that sometimes. First, it changes a bit. Second, it’s very easy to see the car coming. Third, the traffic is low. The only negative point is that I could be caught by a storm while I’m cycling which would be not super funny. Anyway, that’s the plan for the end of this day.


And that’s what I’ve done :-) I had to walk many times as I became quite tired at the end of the day. I reached the top at night time. Then I’ve done 90% of the following downhill and found a spot at the entrance of a village called “Ban Nam Poung” (“Ban” means village). On a side of the road I’ve seen a land situated in the hollow of the mountain. Only the beginning of a construction was sitting there, not even concrete, just wood poles attached together. Well, I thought it was a good spot for the night.

While I was preparing my camp, some neighbours were attracted by my agitation and certainly the brightness of my torch. They did not even bother to come to see me, they just put their bloody light in my face. I waved to them to show them I was not a bad guy but they kept enlighten me from time to time. That was a bit annoying but well, I presume I’m wired for them.

This time, I didn’t have to battle with the rain durin I was setting up my campsite. The sky was so clear, I could see the stars. It was wonderful. I thought for an instant: “Is the tarp necessary tonight”?. Well, yes, I think it is. The tarp always takes some time to set up and I don’t want to hurry at 3am.

All is good. I set up all my campsite properly, had a one litre shower, some dinner and went to sleep. I had a peaceful night until… until a bloody big storm came back again! I was sure! It was quite strong again but not as last night. The tarp was pushed very close to the hammock by the wind but nothing went really wrong this time. I stayed alerted for the time being just in case. The storm last something like 20 minutes and disappeared somewhere else.

Few! another agitated night. See ya!

3 thoughts on “Sam Soun Mountain Area > Ban Nam Poung (74km)

  1. Um… your camp site looks like a kite on the ground. lucky you wake up in the same place !
    It is convenient that day time is so hot to dry all your wet gear in short time.

    Do they have a scary white people folk tale in the district ?

  2. Ben une histoire qu’on raconte aux enfants avant qu’ils dorment, et qui mettrais en scène un personnage blanc et méchant, un ogre peut-être. Du coup, les mômes t’ont peut-être pris pour cet ogre ! Lol.
    C’est quoi cette histoire de vaches qui te guettent la nuit ! Non mais, quelles curieuses ! Ce sont elles qui t’auraient jeté tes affaires par terre ? De quoi j’me mêle ?
    Quant aux gars avec leurs lampes, ils voulaient peut-être te donner un coup de main pour éclairer ton campement, à moins que ce soient les enfants qui les aient envoyé voir le monstre blanc !!

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