Sisaket - 226 - Ubon –2050 – 2134 – 2197 – 2232 – 2034 - Chanuman – Mukdahan. 251km 3.5 hrs.
We finally got away at 9am Sat am, an hour behind schedule and then of course there’s the mandatory fuel stop in hot riding gear, before clearing town. Why they always do that I don’t know. Everybody knows they are going on a long ride and would fill up beforehand one would think.
Anyway over to Ubon 65km on the excellent just completed 4 lane, around the ring road and onto hwy 2050 north of the city. We then wound through some interesting farm countryside before reaching Chanumon and following the Mekong to Mukdahan, although you don’t actually see the river until you get there. The road surface is pretty good but a bit rough in the 2197 section with some re sealing going on.
We had 16 bikes and Alpha 1 rode his other bike this w/e, it is a Kawasaki 2000cc cruiser. He left the BMW 1200 at home – tough choice !
There are quite a number of big bikers in Mukdahan and when we arrived we went to their Clubhouse for drinks and welcome. We then went to our hotel and booked in. Some visited the Indochina market but I headed out to the Friendship Bridge for a look. Good looking bridge and impressive Immigration buildings. At night it is lit up and if you stand on the waterfront at Mukdahan there is a continuous ring of lights over the river from Savanaket across the bridge. In the evening we did the big bike convoy thing around town and then to a Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant evening without the usual conversation killing eardrum bashing loudspeakers. There was the colour exchange and group photos which I will try to get copies of.
We stayed in the Submukda Grand (042-633444) which is quite new and very nice at B400 a room. Good undercover parking with security. No breakfast.
A1 invited me to share a room with him and one other to which I agreed to keep the cost down but was a bit alarmed when I found there was only one bed ! Any way the other fellow got a sweeter offer? And there were just the two of us until about 11pm when another joined in and eventually went to sleep on the tiles. At about 5am A1 started moaning and turned the lights on. He was in a lot of pain from gout in his leg and he couldn’t stand on it. So some phone calls and one of the guys who came late by car called around and took him to the hospital for an injection. They came back about 45 mins later and we all went to sleep again – 5 of us now, 2 on the bed and 3 on the tiles.
We rose at about 9 and had some Joke soup for breakfast (delicious)over the road and headed off at 1030
Return Journey. Mukdahan – 212 – Ubon – 226 – Sisaket. 229 km. 4hrs including a long stopover for lunch at Big C Ubon.
The return journey was at a leisurely pace around 110kph with a couple of stops, one at the Brit Airstrip at Loeng Nok Tha which is now used by the locals for motorcycle racing. Ticket entry and Tents and stalls, the whole works.
The 212 from Ubon to Mukdahan is being upgraded to 4 lanes in several locations and the roadworks start about 15km north of Ubon. There is a lot of laterite on the road and many detours for new culverts and bridges. Would be treacherous in the wet.
While it was hot we had cloud cover both days and no rain so quite pleasant really so long as we kept moving.
I still don’t know what the real purpose of the trip was - just an outing I suppose – who needs a reason? All in all a very pleasant weekend.
I still don’t have a camera yet but will post some if promised emails come through!!
Again the Phantom performed creditably and kept pace with the big boys. I used 95 fuel on the way up and 91 on the way back. Didn’t notice any difference apart from the price.
Cheers,
Peter
We finally got away at 9am Sat am, an hour behind schedule and then of course there’s the mandatory fuel stop in hot riding gear, before clearing town. Why they always do that I don’t know. Everybody knows they are going on a long ride and would fill up beforehand one would think.
Anyway over to Ubon 65km on the excellent just completed 4 lane, around the ring road and onto hwy 2050 north of the city. We then wound through some interesting farm countryside before reaching Chanumon and following the Mekong to Mukdahan, although you don’t actually see the river until you get there. The road surface is pretty good but a bit rough in the 2197 section with some re sealing going on.
We had 16 bikes and Alpha 1 rode his other bike this w/e, it is a Kawasaki 2000cc cruiser. He left the BMW 1200 at home – tough choice !
There are quite a number of big bikers in Mukdahan and when we arrived we went to their Clubhouse for drinks and welcome. We then went to our hotel and booked in. Some visited the Indochina market but I headed out to the Friendship Bridge for a look. Good looking bridge and impressive Immigration buildings. At night it is lit up and if you stand on the waterfront at Mukdahan there is a continuous ring of lights over the river from Savanaket across the bridge. In the evening we did the big bike convoy thing around town and then to a Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant evening without the usual conversation killing eardrum bashing loudspeakers. There was the colour exchange and group photos which I will try to get copies of.
We stayed in the Submukda Grand (042-633444) which is quite new and very nice at B400 a room. Good undercover parking with security. No breakfast.
A1 invited me to share a room with him and one other to which I agreed to keep the cost down but was a bit alarmed when I found there was only one bed ! Any way the other fellow got a sweeter offer? And there were just the two of us until about 11pm when another joined in and eventually went to sleep on the tiles. At about 5am A1 started moaning and turned the lights on. He was in a lot of pain from gout in his leg and he couldn’t stand on it. So some phone calls and one of the guys who came late by car called around and took him to the hospital for an injection. They came back about 45 mins later and we all went to sleep again – 5 of us now, 2 on the bed and 3 on the tiles.
We rose at about 9 and had some Joke soup for breakfast (delicious)over the road and headed off at 1030
Return Journey. Mukdahan – 212 – Ubon – 226 – Sisaket. 229 km. 4hrs including a long stopover for lunch at Big C Ubon.
The return journey was at a leisurely pace around 110kph with a couple of stops, one at the Brit Airstrip at Loeng Nok Tha which is now used by the locals for motorcycle racing. Ticket entry and Tents and stalls, the whole works.
The 212 from Ubon to Mukdahan is being upgraded to 4 lanes in several locations and the roadworks start about 15km north of Ubon. There is a lot of laterite on the road and many detours for new culverts and bridges. Would be treacherous in the wet.
While it was hot we had cloud cover both days and no rain so quite pleasant really so long as we kept moving.
I still don’t know what the real purpose of the trip was - just an outing I suppose – who needs a reason? All in all a very pleasant weekend.
I still don’t have a camera yet but will post some if promised emails come through!!
Again the Phantom performed creditably and kept pace with the big boys. I used 95 fuel on the way up and 91 on the way back. Didn’t notice any difference apart from the price.
Cheers,
Peter