| Day 3 Dongkilo to Muang Phin, Laos Kilometers 90 Miles 56 |
Road/Ride - Highway 9 East - Sealed road, newly paved the
entire way with a nice size shoulder. Undulating parts, but no
hills. Traffic is very light, but consistent. Very few places to
stop and eat or get a drink. Very few facilities, but plenty of
bushes for privacy.
Weather - Headwind the entire time, pretty hard.
Accommodations on the road - No accommodations in
Muang Phalan. We pedaled by a guesthouse 14 kilometers
west of Muang Phin that looked okay. The guesthouse is in a
town that doesn't have much.
Broken back rack - Rich's braze-on that connects the bike
rack to the frame broke just as we entered Muang Phalan.
Rich was dragging his packs and we had to unload the
panniers at the tuk-tuk/tour bus stop area. Luckily, just
across the street was a welder that welded the bolt back in
place and charged us (.50) for the job. It took all of 40
minutes and we were back on the road and out of town
toward Muang Phin.
Muang Phalan is famous for having a huge footprint of a
dinosaur just below the bridge where all the vendors, tour
buses and tuk-tuks park.
NO sleeping accommodations in Muang Phalan but a good
stop for food and drink and plenty of small shops with stuff.
Muang Phin, is a very small town that is built on the
intersection of Hwy 9 and Hwy 23. Hwy 23 heads toward the
national park. Muang Phin does have a central market at the
intersection across from the Friendship Memorial near the
rusty shell of an American plane from the Vietnam era.
The market was pretty much closed by the time we arrived in
town around 3:30 p.m. and we found very little to buy only
tomatoes and cucumbers.
Note - We heard from a Japanese traveler that as of this
writing (18 January 2007) the bridge to the National Park on
Hwy 23 is broken.
Slept - Sikram Guesthouse, Muang Phin
Location - West of town just at you enter on the left side.
Cost - 70,000 kip ($7.00)
Amenities - Motel-style guesthouse with concrete block
room. Very clean with impeccable sheets. Double bed with
en suite bathroom, western toilet (bucket flush), hot shower.
No sink in the bathroom. Choice of fan or a/c rooms.
Bikes fit inside the room, a bit snug, but okay for the night.
Other accommodations in town - Two other options. There
is the MuangPhin Hotel directly in front of the Friendship
Memorial and there is another guesthouse before the
MuangPhin Hotel on the west end of town. Both options
looked fine.
entire way with a nice size shoulder. Undulating parts, but no
hills. Traffic is very light, but consistent. Very few places to
stop and eat or get a drink. Very few facilities, but plenty of
bushes for privacy.
Weather - Headwind the entire time, pretty hard.
Accommodations on the road - No accommodations in
Muang Phalan. We pedaled by a guesthouse 14 kilometers
west of Muang Phin that looked okay. The guesthouse is in a
town that doesn't have much.
Broken back rack - Rich's braze-on that connects the bike
rack to the frame broke just as we entered Muang Phalan.
Rich was dragging his packs and we had to unload the
panniers at the tuk-tuk/tour bus stop area. Luckily, just
across the street was a welder that welded the bolt back in
place and charged us (.50) for the job. It took all of 40
minutes and we were back on the road and out of town
toward Muang Phin.
Muang Phalan is famous for having a huge footprint of a
dinosaur just below the bridge where all the vendors, tour
buses and tuk-tuks park.
NO sleeping accommodations in Muang Phalan but a good
stop for food and drink and plenty of small shops with stuff.
Muang Phin, is a very small town that is built on the
intersection of Hwy 9 and Hwy 23. Hwy 23 heads toward the
national park. Muang Phin does have a central market at the
intersection across from the Friendship Memorial near the
rusty shell of an American plane from the Vietnam era.
The market was pretty much closed by the time we arrived in
town around 3:30 p.m. and we found very little to buy only
tomatoes and cucumbers.
Note - We heard from a Japanese traveler that as of this
writing (18 January 2007) the bridge to the National Park on
Hwy 23 is broken.
Slept - Sikram Guesthouse, Muang Phin
Location - West of town just at you enter on the left side.
Cost - 70,000 kip ($7.00)
Amenities - Motel-style guesthouse with concrete block
room. Very clean with impeccable sheets. Double bed with
en suite bathroom, western toilet (bucket flush), hot shower.
No sink in the bathroom. Choice of fan or a/c rooms.
Bikes fit inside the room, a bit snug, but okay for the night.
Other accommodations in town - Two other options. There
is the MuangPhin Hotel directly in front of the Friendship
Memorial and there is another guesthouse before the
MuangPhin Hotel on the west end of town. Both options
looked fine.