{"id":415,"date":"2025-02-15T13:36:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/?p=415"},"modified":"2025-02-15T13:36:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:36:13","slug":"day-27-further-success-and-a-sunset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/15\/day-27-further-success-and-a-sunset\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 27: Further Success and a Sunset"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Success II: The Succession (\ud83e\udd14)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My journey back from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang was without incident or mistake. Anyone would think I\u2019m getting the hang of follow this road, turn left, follow that road, stop<\/em> which is great for the last day of biking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Route 1C west of Nong Khiaw is probably the best quality I\u2019ve experienced in Laos, outside of the main towns and cities. The asphalt-to-pothole ratio is remarkably high. A shame that it only runs for 28km before that turn left onto route 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Route 13 is (apparently) then most important road in Laos. It runs almost the entire length of the country north to south. Wherever there are built-up areas, there is road decay. Wherever trucks turn or corner, there is road decay. It\u2019s great when it\u2019s good, awful when it\u2019s bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way: I have a whole section of my RAM currently dedicated to just how bad Google Maps is. I\u2019ll save it for now because this is a <\/em>nice<\/strong> post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d love to tell you that I got some nice pictures on the way, but I didn\u2019t. I took two, in a 30-second pitstop because once you\u2019ve passed three trucks in convoy, you don\u2019t want to have them catch up again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, OK, it\u2019s the Mekong. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Honestly I was so over it and going probably a little too fast in places, but in any case, I made it to LP in just over three hours, in time to get a fresh cut and shave from Mr 50,000kip barber, and deliver the bike back to Harry. We had a nice chat, him again offering praise and some astonishment at my choice of route. But he\u2019s right: it would be rubbish to have nothing to say about a journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunsets <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On a slight whim, I power-walked down to the river bank to catch the sunset. It\u2019s always slightly surprising how fast the sun sets, and I thought I might miss it. I found a wall to sit on, far from the shoreline but then I spotted some steps leading down to the edge of the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there I crouched as the sun descended from behind some clouds, dipping then behind the treeline on the opposite bank. It was all extremely lovely, and I think a beautiful end to my (let\u2019s not forget) spontaneous leap into Laos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boats on the Mekong at sunset. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Sunlight reflecting off clouds. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Sun almost receded beyond the treeline. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A tourist boat returning to harbour. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Success II: The Succession (\ud83e\udd14) My journey back from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang was without incident or mistake. Anyone would think I\u2019m getting the hang of follow this road, turn left, follow that road, stop which is great for the last day of biking. Route 1C west of Nong Khiaw is probably the best […]<\/p>\n

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