MY LITTLE ADVENTURE: Laos CNY ride Day 4-5

Day 4 23 Jan 2012 CHIANG KHONG--HUE XAI--LUANG NAMTHA

Beautiful, cold and calm morning, it was the best breakfast ever ... It's not the food, but the scenery

Epic sunrise over Mekong river on the east horizon.. All the fatigue and incident in past 3 day journey disappeared like dust in the wind.

After the oohs, Ahhh beautiful and gracious, we said sawatdee-Karp to Thailand and headed to Hue Xai, Laos. On the other side of Mekong river via ferry and for today we planned to ride up to China Border and overnight in Qudom Xai.

Tedious red tape and forms to complete the border just because we didn't use any agents to facilitate the process of immigration and custom on both sides

Paparazzi

Hue Xai

Crossing the Mekong River by ferry

Pétanque game played at Hue Xai

Clear afternoon sky, after 4-5hrs struggling at the border, we're back on the road and we had to tune our riding in the opposite lane.... From right to left.

Somewhere N 20 24.364 E 100 51.112

As we left from here, the group split into two.. A few of us are in front and just about 60-70 km from Luang Namtha, we stopped to regroup with the others.. Not long after that we had bad news that one of the riders riding Kawasaki Versys 1000 involved in an accident, head on collision with a Laos pickup truck.

The chance event happens about 40km before Vienphauka.. The whole scenario caused by loose gravel and unfamiliar riding lane position

When I got to the scene, the rider was taken to a nearby hospital. We're fortunate to have the Loa insurance that all of us purchased earlier today at Hue Xai , even though it did not give full protection.

The bike on the pickup truck back to Hue Xai Police Station

What options do we have now? There was no option according to the Laos Surgeon the patient need to be admitted and on closer observation.

Lao District Hospital with very friendly staff.... First, you have to pay your prescription, lab investigation, x-ray and etc. Separately at a different counter before anything being done for you here.

Nothing much we could do for today... As night fall and the temperature drop in Luang Namtha, we settled for a night here and a decision to make in the coming dawn.

Day 5 24 Jan 2012 Luang Namtha--Boten--Oudom Xai

Early in the morning I and another close pal went to visit the injured riders at the hospital and the rest of the group have begun riding to Boten.

At the hospital... We have been told that the patient was not allowed to travel and his condition was stable.