Huay Xai to Xieng Kok - Laos May 2019
There's a great ride heading north from the Golden Triangle on the Lao side.
I had been to the Golden Triangle a few times on the Thai side and have read about some of its stories. This is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet along the banks of the Mekong. It is a region which is steeped in a dubious history. These days the Thai side is a fairly well trodden tourist attraction, but I had often wondered what's on the Lao side...
Commencing at the Thai/Lao border town of Huay Xai I followed the Mekong river north. The river forms the Lao/Myanmar border and the trail finishes at the border town of Xieng Kok. This route doesn't get much traffic at all and reckon I could count on one hand the amount of other vehicles I passed on the trail after the “special economic zone”.
Initially the ride commences on a pleasant paved road until the town of Kampok. The road turns into a dirt road after that. Then, tracing the banks of the Mekong, the trail offers great riding and epic views.
The drive to the Kings Roman complex was pretty chilled with some decent scenery along the way.
There is a huge amount of construction going on at Kings Roman Casino and the surrounding Kampok city.
After a quick stop for a tiger burger and a few photos I pressed on.
This is a view of the Golden Triangle from the Lao side. The pic below was taken at Lao immigration for those wishing to take the boat trip from Thailand visit the casino on the Lao side.
View from a temple on a hilltop just outside Kampok city.
The building on the far side of the river is the dilapidated Paradise casino on the Myanmar side of the Golden Triangle.
The road is decently graded for a good few kilometers and it offers stunning views as it traces the banks of the Mekong.
A few water crossings just to keep it interesting.
A slow boat heading up the river filled with pigs.
Quite a lot of banana plantations along the way.
As well as the usual slow boats there were some other more upscale vessels too...
Some lovely rolling tracks with fantastic views.
The last water crossing before getting back on a paved road leading to the town of Xieng Kok.
After arriving at Xieng Kok I decided to check out the Lao Myanmar friendship bridge. Nice ride down there but not much going on by way of traffic. The bridge looks pretty cool tho.
This sign has certainly lost some of its shine.... and letters..
The bridge itself was a pretty impressive structure. Connecting the middle of nowhere in Myanmar to the middle of nowhere in Laos. I didn't see any traffic or much activity at all for that matter.
A very large petrol station near the friendship bridge. It wasn't open for business though.
Xieng Kok is the last stop on the river before China. It is nicely situated along the banks of the Mekong with views of the Myanmar mountains.
Xieng Kok certainly isn't the most endearing of towns. Its a small rough and tumble border town and being the only falang in the village I initially got a bit of a weird vibe. It isn't like your usual friendly Lao rural towns. However I did manage to make a few boozing buddies for the night. I stayed at a Chinese trucker motel and after a few initial surprised looks on their face to see a foreigner there, they were quick to invite me over for a drinking session.
The main guesthouse that was recommended called the Xieng Kok Resort seems to have decided to pack it in for good.
I had my dinner at this fine establishment.
Beautiful Mekong sunsets.
Overall this route was more about the ride than the destination. It was a nice chilled out ride of about 150k dirt along the banks of the river. Beautiful tracks with epic scenery the whole way. I would definitely recommend this for anyone wanting to get off the beaten track on their way to northern Lao.
There's a great ride heading north from the Golden Triangle on the Lao side.
I had been to the Golden Triangle a few times on the Thai side and have read about some of its stories. This is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet along the banks of the Mekong. It is a region which is steeped in a dubious history. These days the Thai side is a fairly well trodden tourist attraction, but I had often wondered what's on the Lao side...
Commencing at the Thai/Lao border town of Huay Xai I followed the Mekong river north. The river forms the Lao/Myanmar border and the trail finishes at the border town of Xieng Kok. This route doesn't get much traffic at all and reckon I could count on one hand the amount of other vehicles I passed on the trail after the “special economic zone”.
Initially the ride commences on a pleasant paved road until the town of Kampok. The road turns into a dirt road after that. Then, tracing the banks of the Mekong, the trail offers great riding and epic views.
The drive to the Kings Roman complex was pretty chilled with some decent scenery along the way.
There is a huge amount of construction going on at Kings Roman Casino and the surrounding Kampok city.
After a quick stop for a tiger burger and a few photos I pressed on.
This is a view of the Golden Triangle from the Lao side. The pic below was taken at Lao immigration for those wishing to take the boat trip from Thailand visit the casino on the Lao side.
View from a temple on a hilltop just outside Kampok city.
The building on the far side of the river is the dilapidated Paradise casino on the Myanmar side of the Golden Triangle.
The road is decently graded for a good few kilometers and it offers stunning views as it traces the banks of the Mekong.
A few water crossings just to keep it interesting.
A slow boat heading up the river filled with pigs.
Quite a lot of banana plantations along the way.
As well as the usual slow boats there were some other more upscale vessels too...
Some lovely rolling tracks with fantastic views.
The last water crossing before getting back on a paved road leading to the town of Xieng Kok.
After arriving at Xieng Kok I decided to check out the Lao Myanmar friendship bridge. Nice ride down there but not much going on by way of traffic. The bridge looks pretty cool tho.
This sign has certainly lost some of its shine.... and letters..
The bridge itself was a pretty impressive structure. Connecting the middle of nowhere in Myanmar to the middle of nowhere in Laos. I didn't see any traffic or much activity at all for that matter.
A very large petrol station near the friendship bridge. It wasn't open for business though.
Xieng Kok is the last stop on the river before China. It is nicely situated along the banks of the Mekong with views of the Myanmar mountains.
Xieng Kok certainly isn't the most endearing of towns. Its a small rough and tumble border town and being the only falang in the village I initially got a bit of a weird vibe. It isn't like your usual friendly Lao rural towns. However I did manage to make a few boozing buddies for the night. I stayed at a Chinese trucker motel and after a few initial surprised looks on their face to see a foreigner there, they were quick to invite me over for a drinking session.
The main guesthouse that was recommended called the Xieng Kok Resort seems to have decided to pack it in for good.
I had my dinner at this fine establishment.
Beautiful Mekong sunsets.
Overall this route was more about the ride than the destination. It was a nice chilled out ride of about 150k dirt along the banks of the river. Beautiful tracks with epic scenery the whole way. I would definitely recommend this for anyone wanting to get off the beaten track on their way to northern Lao.