Frenchman Traveling Across Asia on a Russian Motorcycle

On the July 25, I received one email from Gautier that he is traveling on a motorcycle across Asia. His point of entry was at Chiangkhong (a Thai/Laos border town) into Chiangrai city, North Thailand. He will home stay with the family for a couple of days before proceeding to Chiangmai because our home is conveniently located along the road leading to the city.

I mean this is AWESOME, traveling on a rugged RUSSIAN motorcycle from Vietnam, through Huay Xai (Laos), Chiangkhong and finally France, his home country by the end of this year.

While passing through Laos, his journey was a very tough one because he was bogged down with mud and landslides as the roads are mostly laterite and unpopulated.

Brought-up in a non-communist country, we rarely get to see this more-than-10-years-old motorcycle originating from Soviet Union (former), except the popular Japanese and European made motorcycles. Check out the picture below.

Before he embark on his epic voyage - he bought the bike in Vietnam, did a complete overhaul and equipped it with made-to-order saddle bags to hold his spare-parts, toolkits, clothing, sleeping bag and a hammock. Mind you, he is facing the daunting challenge of not obtaining such spare parts because there is not a single model in this region.

The flow of traffic in Thailand is on the left-hand side of the road. Gautier has to relocate his rear-view mirror from the left to the right as he has only one mirror.

During the three days he home-stayed with the family, he gets to tastes the home cooked Thai dishes, learn first-hand about each other’s culture and customs, and the rice farming village lifestyle.

Our home is equipped with high-speed WiFi Internet, satellite tv, furnished guest room, instant hot-water shower and seating toilet.

When he arrived to our village, it was the rice planting season that coincides with the raining season.

Since I need to buy some fresh fruits and vegetable, took the opportunity to show Gautier the local market scene in the city which is 20 km from our home.

This was Gautier’s personal experience
I had a very pleasant and relaxing time in Eric's house. That was my first day in Thailand and I could not have expected a more welcoming place to start. Eric and Som know how to make you feel comfortable and have great sense of hospitality. I had very interesting talks with Eric on many subjects. Also, as I'm a food lover, I really appreciated Som's cuisine (everyone seems to agree on that so you can believe it!). Thanks again for your hospitality, best wishes to all the family.

This was our experience as the host
Receiving Gautier who traveled all the way from Vietnam/Laos/ Chiangrai,Thailand with his rugged Russian made motorcycle was our first time. It was very convenient for our tired motorcyclist traveler to stop at our home because we are situated along the road leading to the city.

True to Gautier's testimony, we had a wonderful time getting to know about his stay and travels in Vietnam and Laos. We talked about his family, food, French wine and most things under-the-sun.

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