North Thailand & Northeast Thailand are motorbike riding heaven and it was long overdue to ride my little mountain goat for a few days. But where to go? Living in Pua it makes it easy to go to Phrae, Phayao, Chiang Rai en Chiang Mai. So this time I did choose to go Loei province, once one of Thailands most remote provinces. As it was about 8 years ago that I was there the last time, it was a kind of riding in memory lane.
DAY 1 from Pua to Na Heao
While the sun was still hiding behind the mountains of Doi Phu Kha and the rice-fields were filled with fog I started my little mountain goat and headed to Nan town. I took the scenic route via mountains full of fog and passing Santisuk and Ban Kiw Muang. In the early morning no tourists to bee seen at Ban Kiw Muang, only a sunrise trying to get over the sea of fog.
I skipped Nan town, took boring route 101 to Wiang Sa and then again a foggy and mountainous route 1026 to Na Noi. The latter is home to Khun Sathan National Park and Si Nan National Park (with Doi Sammer Dao). In Na Noi I had a famous Biker Breakfast at Amazon with some snacks from the 7-11. And I did give my mountain goat also something to eat, as in the coming more as 100km there would be no eating for my mountain goat.
While riding up to the mountains of Doi Sammer Dao finally the fog was gone and I enjoyed the view over the mountains, Nan River and Laos in a far distance. From there it is down , crossing the Nan River and into nomansland via route 1268 to Ban Khok. This little village used to consists of 30 houses and a few karaoke bars for the truck-driver. Now it is almost a town and there even is a 7-11 for snacks and drinks. I kept following the route 1268 that crawls into the mountains of Phu Soi Dao, where I I made a pit-stop at Nam Tok Phu Soi Dao. The waterfall is of course is part of Phu Soi Dao National Park and to visit it you have to pay National Park entrance fee. And as foreigner we are privileged to pay 10 times more as the Thai guy from Bangkok driving his BMW. Mind you I once asked if I could walk 30m inside to make a better photo of the waterfall, but no way!
From the waterfall it was a smooth curvy road to Na Heao, bypassing Rom Klao Botanical Garden. This is located on a viewpoint about a 500m steep road from the main road. A few km further is the village Ban Rom Klao, famous in Thailand as the Battle of Rom Klao. What started as a border dispute in 1984 this cumulated into a real battle in 1988, where both sides were probably supported by the USA on the Thai side and Lao by Russia and Vietnam on the other side. Of course this battle was not about a village, but it did cost between 600 and 1000 of people their life. War what is it good for?
Na Heao? Well actually a small sleeping village on the Thai-Lao border. On the Thai side called Ban Mueng Phrae and in Laos called Ban Muang Phier. Divided by the border in the form of the (very) small and shallow Hueang River. And there even is a local border-crossing with border-control police and immigration (not that any non-Thai or Non-Lao is allowed to cross the border). This little village is located between the mountains and a perfect place for a stop-over, so you will find there some small hotels, restaurants and nowadays even a 7-11. I love this little village, just sit along the river and see village life passing by. Lao kids go to school in Thailand, the temple is in Thailand. Vegetables come from Laos. Although the border is actually closed Lao people walk thru the river to buy or sell things in Thailand.
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| Crossing the Nan River |
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| Crossing the Nan River |
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| Crossing the Nan River |
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| Thai-Lao border at Na Heao |
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| Route from Pua to Na Heao |
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