I thought of sharing a friend's brilliant write up on HCMT.
A FOR ADVENTURE:
The Ho Chi Minh trail. The stuff of legends. Veteran American soldiers still talk about this unimaginable maze that they were tasked to bomb during the Vietnam war. Some of their stories became international best sellers. In all their stories, they describe the the Ho Chi Minh trail as a perfectly engineered route that enable soldiers to move quickly and silently under the canopy of the dense jungle. These network of paths have a life of its own, ever growing and expanding, faster than any Americans can map them out and destroy them. 6000km of backwater paths through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Four decades later, the war has ended and these trails has grown silent, but it was never once forgotten. The surroundings have recovered with time but bombs continue to lay hidden and has over time become part of the jungle. American and Russian tanks and planes lay scattered, down but not defeated, waiting eagerly to relive their missions. Bridges have been destroyed and reclaimed by the rivers, only part of their structure remains, a testament to the chaos at that time.
In Dec 2012, 4 bikes set off for an adventure down these trails. But first, Chiangmai.
The 2 beemers set off a week earlier for Northern Thailand.
Charlie's guesthouse, right in the middle of Pai Walking street, 200 baht with free Wifi and common hot shower.
Pai memorial bridge
We spent the cool night walking around Pai Walking street.
Next, off to Chiangmai via Samoeng via 1265
Haris and Mahdi finally arrived Chiangmai for the day's ride to Chaloem Prakiat of Nan province.
The fantastice curves of 1148
Chaloem Prakiat is a small border town of Huay Khon - Muang Nguen to Laos.
The 800 baht guesthouse we found. It was dark when we arrived here.
A FOR ADVENTURE:
The Ho Chi Minh trail. The stuff of legends. Veteran American soldiers still talk about this unimaginable maze that they were tasked to bomb during the Vietnam war. Some of their stories became international best sellers. In all their stories, they describe the the Ho Chi Minh trail as a perfectly engineered route that enable soldiers to move quickly and silently under the canopy of the dense jungle. These network of paths have a life of its own, ever growing and expanding, faster than any Americans can map them out and destroy them. 6000km of backwater paths through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Four decades later, the war has ended and these trails has grown silent, but it was never once forgotten. The surroundings have recovered with time but bombs continue to lay hidden and has over time become part of the jungle. American and Russian tanks and planes lay scattered, down but not defeated, waiting eagerly to relive their missions. Bridges have been destroyed and reclaimed by the rivers, only part of their structure remains, a testament to the chaos at that time.
In Dec 2012, 4 bikes set off for an adventure down these trails. But first, Chiangmai.
The 2 beemers set off a week earlier for Northern Thailand.
Charlie's guesthouse, right in the middle of Pai Walking street, 200 baht with free Wifi and common hot shower.
Pai memorial bridge
We spent the cool night walking around Pai Walking street.
Next, off to Chiangmai via Samoeng via 1265
Haris and Mahdi finally arrived Chiangmai for the day's ride to Chaloem Prakiat of Nan province.
The fantastice curves of 1148
Chaloem Prakiat is a small border town of Huay Khon - Muang Nguen to Laos.
The 800 baht guesthouse we found. It was dark when we arrived here.
