Need Info on Udom Xai to Vietnam Border at Tay Trang

[DJKNOX]

First - my border crossing into Laos went very smoothly AND I had blue skies with big fluffy clouds on my ride to Muang Khua - what luck! The road from the border to Muang Mai had landslides every 200m or so... but none were very large and so passing was no problem. Then from Muang Mai to Muang Khua, no landslides. This is because the 2nd segment uses proper road construction... where the road escarpments are terraced and there are stone drainage ditches between the escarpment and the road. All of road 4E is a very good road with only the occasional pothole or broken surface. Photographically it's not the greatest, but it's a pleasant ride with little traffic. The road employs gravel shoulders where the gravel gets spread into the road.... so one must be careful cornering. Otherwise, it's a piece of cake!

As for road construction, it's a basic case that is so so common in Asia. Rather than adding 5% to the original capital cost of the road by terracing the escarpments and inserting proper drainage ditches, the roads are cut directly out of the mountains and surprise surprise, high maintenance cost are incurred year after year after year. This is the normal OM of Asia engineering: rather than spend a million dollars to build something properly, spend a half million dollars annually on maintenance. This is a matter I am very well versed in. The Vietnamese border to Muang Mai is an accident waiting to happen, while the next segment to Muang Khua is built properly and experiences very little road disruption from the rain.

I will update more on Northern Laos roads as I go.

 

[DJKNOX]

OK here's an update on Rte 3 and 13. Rte 3 from Udom Xai to Nateuy is a great road. There are zero pot holes and only some broken surface for a short distance at 3 or 4 points along the 120 km route. The roads twists and turns and is really not very busy. I probably only say a dozen trucks during the 120 km run. Speed varied between 30 to 40 around turns to 60 to 80 on straighter sections. Really a great motorbike touring road...

Turning onto Rte 13, the road is a little older but still good all the way to Luang Namtha. There are frequent pot holes and broken sections... but nothing that would slow anyone down. From Luang Namtha the highway spends a consider distance going thru Nam Ha National Park. This is a very good road that is generally more straight than Rte 3... thus one finds passenger vehicles going quite fast. However, the number of cars is quite low and really not much of a distraction. There are sections with fairly steep, twisting climbs and descends, making it quite scenic... as it climbs to some very high elevations. The surface is fantastic (no potholes, gravel or sandy sections), except for one steep incline section where it is very rutted... likely caused by heavy trucks on some very hot days. Rte 13 does have its share of truck traffic (Chinese, Thai and Laos), but as the traffic is so light otherwise, these trucks really don't pose much of an inconvenience. They move along quite fast on the level sections and then grind to a slow creep on the many steep inclines, where one can pass them effortlessly. Most trucks I saw behaved reasonably ok... although there was one in particular who insisted on going 100 km/hr thru the dozens of small villages where the speed posted is 40. I would pass him on each incline and then he would come storming back on the flats. Not a problem for me, but if I were the residents, I'd be up in arms with that kind of behavior.

Although I suppose a landslide could occur somewhere along these two routes, I can't see it being very likely, as I travelled during the heavy rains of early August and there were no blockages. Of course, per my previous posting, routes 2E and 1A are a different breed... with many landslides that could block one's way during the rainy season.

So, in summary, Prince666 thanks for your heads up, but for the most part these routes are very good roads... better than anything found in Vietnam and much on par with the good roads of N. Thailand.

Bob, if you want to post a warning for rte 13, the rutted section is in Bokeo province on a steep decline (when heading from Huay Xai to Luang Namtha). I didn't make note of the specific km marker, but it's probably 1 to 1.5 hrs NE of Huay Xai before reaching the national park boundary. If one is driving a bike at night, the deep grooves could surprise the heck out of someone... definitely a dangerous situation at higher speeds. The only other caution worth mentioning is to beware of fast cars and big trucks around blind curves... but that pretty much applies to most of my entire trip thru Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam.

cheers

 

[bsacbob]

Thanks a lot for detailed report, not quite the nightmare road some would have us believe.

BTW many people would be interested where you entered Vietnam and how the crossing procedures went as so many people avoid entering due to entry difficulties.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[DJKNOX]

You're very welcome Bob... thanks for all the help this forum provided me. I will start a separate post about border crossings and permits, including Vietnam. Give me a day or two... I'm still on the road...