Ben Swanepoel 1/22/16 Ben Swanepoel 1/22/16

Low Tech?

Some thoughts on low tech travelling

Some thoughts and feedback on the "low tech" aspects of my 2015 Year end cycle - Paksan to Oudomxay.

CAMERA V PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT

I only took my Olympus OM-EM1 mirrorless camera and a single fixed focus 34mm (full frame equivalent) lens. I really struggled with this decision, and was expecting to be often frustrated at not having a wider range. Normally, I would take a 24 – 90 zoom, as well as a 35mm, 50mm and maybe the 90mm primes.

I was so wrong.

I can only think of three occasions during the trip (video and stills) when I wished that I had a longer lens, that’s 8 days of traveling and shooting landscape, street, portrait, video, all the time. The freedom I discovered at NOT having a choice was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and my entire attitude towards filming and shooting along the route was light and uncomplicated. I never realised just how much pressure “choice” can actually exert on creativity, for me anyway.

I’ll still lug around all my cameras and lens with me when weight and space is not an issue, but in certain circumstances, where the journey or the moment is the most important focus, less is certainly a LOT more fun.

I shot 6 hours of awesome GOPRO action video at a useless 12fps because I didn’t check the settings before I left.

Smack!

SMART PHONE V STUPID PHONE

Before this trip, I bought the cheapest phone I could find and a new sim card to go with it, no camera, internet, Facebook, WhatsApp ….. oh it had a game loaded but I couldn’t figure out how it worked.

For the first day, I kept unlocking the screen to check for…..mm…..for…..well, that’s the thing, there was nothing to check? It felt quite quaint to use the “phone” function, something that had got lost and buried under whatsApp, WeChat, skype, facebook messenger, etc, etc, …….and SMS! Remember that?

Did I miss it at all?

Actually yes, I missed a lot of things, I missed having my music to listen to during the difficult times on the road, I missed having my photos to show and share with local people I met who were interested in my family and work, I missed checking my route on google maps A LOT, I missed the little bits of contact or sharing a trip photo with friends and family, I missed been able to ask people I know or Google for advice about the area, guest houses, best restaurants, symptoms of chest pain directly related to massive cardiac failure.

Was it a bad thing?

I don’t actually think so. I found out again that I have the same iTunes playlist of songs inside my head, but with superior earphones and that it’s also set to random, playing songs that I love one moment, and songs that I really am totally going to delete when I get the time, on the other. I had to describe people and places more than show, which made me think a bit more about the people I care about and focus more on the people doing the asking. I actually looked at my paper map and wrote down the names of the towns I would be passing through. I had to take my chances on whether or not the towns I passed through would have food, accommodation or shops and got surprised by some and disappointed by others.

But the major difference was that I wrote, actual real pen and paper writing. I wrote during coffee at breakfast and during a beer in the evening and before I went to sleep and once in the middle of the night. I wrote slowly and thoughtfully and at times and wildly and passionately sometimes near the end of a beer or two. I wrote on a plane, in a bus, on a tuk tuk, on a chair in a bed with a really sore head. You get the point.

After 8 days, without charging, the cell phone had only lost 25% of its charge……. now that is hilarious!

Facebook V Inside my own head?

Concerning Facebook, and here’s the thing, I realised again during the trip that only one half of the joy and fun and challenge that these trips or experiences bring me are for my own personal benefit, the other 50% is in sharing that experience with all of you. In some ways, it’s as if I have an obligation to scrounge through the garbage of reality to find the small precious or semi-precious stones that are always lurking there somewhere within every situation, usually under the wet fish, which is my attitude and then share them with you. So I probably will continue to share photos on Facebook and make out as if I am a hero, but maybe I need to add more whotos (word photos), wordscapes and pentraits along with the images…..but would anyone even bother to read beyond line 3? I usually stop reading after I see “click for more”

E-READER V BOOK

This is the one bit of technology I don’t mind defending. As many books as you like, crammed into a space the same size as an old square “Archie” comic, but lighter, with the ability to crank up the font size to granny mode without anyone even been aware of it and to top it all, a battery life that will outlast “The cruel sea”.

Win, win and win again.

Ben Swanepoel 1/20/16 Ben Swanepoel 1/20/16

2015 Year end cycle. - Paksan to Oudomxai (Laos)

My cycle trip up to the North of Laos from Paksan to Oudomxai during 2015 new year.

The Idea

So its December 26 2015 and I have decided to go on a nice week long end of year cycle trip up North. Never really seen these areas, so looking forward to some surprises along the way.
Also going to keep it "relatively" low teck on this trip for a change, no internet access phone, one single fixed focus lens, one battery, one memory card, ok...and an e reader.....and a GPS.

Not exactly NO tech, but definitely LOW tech by comparison.

Day 1 - 27 December 2015

Paksan to Namphaeng - 115 km, 650m accumulated elevation.

Pleasant relatively easy day along friendly roads, hot. The last time I travelled this section on my motorbike about 4 years ago, the tar sections were all dirt and the dirt sections all tar which points somewhat to the level of maintenance in relation to the construction of new roads.

I made an absolute rookie mistake of fitting the bike with a new saddle at the start of a long trip and struggled during the day to find the right settings. This mistake would cause me immense pain and suffering during the trip, almost causing me to pack it in altogether in the days to come.

Irrigated rice planting during the dry season on the way to Ban Thasi

Wooden suspension bridge provides access to a small village on the way to Namphaeng

Day 2 - 28 December 2015

Namphaeng to Phonsavan, 119 km distance, 1380m total accent

Poor saddle and wrong position wrecked my knee and gave me open blisters on the part of my body in contact with the saddle!. Not fun I can tell you. Both pairs of cycle shorts, vaseline and Nivia could not even prevent this. The day was a bit of a nightmare really, don't know how I managed to to get in, but I did. Grave concerns about continuing the next day, mainly due to my knee.

The route was ok, if a little dull with long hot climbs on wide tar road, not the best, but still great to be outside. Coming into Phonsavang I could see the mountains rising above the road in the direction i would be going the following day. Good diner at "Craters" the restaurant opposite the UXO (unexploded ordinance) headquarters in a town routed in the history of "the secret war"

Hmong girls dressed in traditional clothes for a local ceremony in their town.

Road side villages cling to ever eroding river banks.

Day 3 - 29 December 2015

Phonsavan to Ghot Lieng, Distance: 97.8 km, Total ascent: 1,714 m

Finally found the sweet spot with the saddle, and immediately felt the relief on my knee. As long i kept it in riding position it was fine, anything out of that arc was not. Sitting is still Agony.
Riding was good, loads of climbing and quite cold, with a low mist settling in towards the afternoon.

There was no guest house in the villages I passed, but a young guy offered for me to stay with him and his family for the night. They had just lost their father a month earlier and were still struggling to pick up the slack left by him. They did try to get me drunk on "Lao Hi" but only half succeeded.

Always a humbling experience to be saturated by the generosity and hospitality of people who can barley afford to care for their own needs. My personal motto in these situations:
"Rely on the kindness of strangers, but quietly leave double the normal guest house rate on the counter on your way out"

This guy insisted on showing me his "secret war" battles scars, and his papers of commendation for bravery.

Day 4 - 30 December 2015

Grot Lieng to Nam Nern, Distance: 42 km, Accent: 409 m

I know, I wimped out, but really, i just could not sit down without ccursing and i was worried about the sores getting septic. I decided to rest out the day after a short ride, mostly uphill, but with a welcome standup 18km downhill into the town of Nam Neum with its one brand new guest house.

The ride itself was really quite beautiful, wet and silently misty in the morning, men huddling around wood fires watching the woman work, the mist clearing as i dropped down towards the river. Small Hmong settlements, houses strung out like wooden beads clinging to the side of the road, life lived as much on the road as off.

After a breakfast that was not noodle soup, I slept for three hours solid before doing some washing and servicing the bike. Visited the chemist and stocked up on more plasters and vaseline.

Exhale.

early morning mist and rain high up in the mountains, just before the long downhill.

Day 5 - 31 December 2015

Nam Nern to Meung hein Distance: 67 km, Accent: 1,550 m

Fantastic ride today,hard work with lots of climbs but well managed, narrow winding roads and big vistas, ample reward for the climbing.

I left without breakfast to make an early start, and then struggled to find a village with someone prepared to make me something to eat. Ba-na-na! and crackers came to the rescue.
Thick mist forcing me to pack away the camera and haul out the rain jacket at times in the morning, but better than the searing heat and humidity of summer in these areas.

Arrived in Viengthong, the town of our (WCS) field office for the nam Et Paloy NPA. Its new years eve so most of the better restaurants are closed, but still found some good food at the bus station.

Quote of the day "Damn, this bum thing is a real pain in the ass"

Day 6 - 01 January 2016

Viengthong to Nong Khiaw

With only a limited number of days remaining I was forced to make up some distance by busing through from Maung hein to Nong Khiaw. This would give me a day to make it through to Oudomsay in time for my flight back to Vientiane.

Woke to a slightly slower Viengthong after their new years celebrations but did manage to find a decent breakfast spot. The bus only left at 12, so I rode around the town a bit and went to visit the NEPL PA office. The bus journey was a welcome change and hardly hurt at all.

We arrived in Nong Khiaw about 30 mins before sunset and was completely blown away by the dramatic beauty of the place, I just didn't expect it. I literally thew my gear into the first guest house I saw and raced around taking photos before the sun went down.

With so many restaurants to choose from I ended up having two dinners, steak at one, hamburger at the next. Damn! that felt better.

Day 7 - 02 January 2016

Nong Khiaw to Oudomsay, Distance: 114 km, Accent: 1,869 m

Got off to an early start in cool misty conditions. The first 30 km went quite fast, the dramatic scenery of the days before subsiding as we dropped down into the valley.

After the turnoff at Pak Moung, the road became wide, new, guttered and edged and ominously empty. A number of road construction stops later revealed the reason. I always managed to work my way past the string of cars, trucks and motorbikes to carry my bike over wet tar, duck under a swinging excavator arms or scramble through the bush at the side of the road.

The weather flipped from streamy to cold to rain throughout the day, the road climbing all the way till the last short blast into the city of Oudomxay. In actual fact, the trip really finished on the top of the mountain and it was with a vague sadness that I descended into the untidy, noisy outskirts of Oudomsay.

Day 8 - 03 January 2016

Oudomxay to Paksan

I had to run around looking for something I could use to make a box for my bike and eventually found a damp piece of cardboard. Was more tape than box, but it worked and got onto the flight back to Vientiane and survived the bus to Paksan.

All said, it was an amazing trip into areas of Lao I have never seen before. I loved the climbing again and the mountains and hill people. Definitely heading up that way again in the future

Probably the ugliest bike box I've made so far.

Short video of this trip