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Vientiane: Almost there
Thursday January 19, 2006

My camera is broken. The shutter won’t close properly. No biggee though as it still works. I bought an overly expensive bike today, then twice took it back to fix the tires and rims. I almost bought a mountain bike for much less but the pedals almost fell off and the gears wouldn’t work properly. In any case, bikes in Taiwan are much cheaper than Laos or Thailand. And of better quality too. I had to buy a rear rack separately and when I showed Ken he immediately bent it back, braking it.

Whilst looking at one of the wats in town a monk invites us to come inside as they pray. A German girl goes inside too and immediately starts taking photos. I leave.

Well, my visa extension is sorted and our bikes are ready. Tomorrow we leave. 100 km. I’m psyched.

My new One hundred and fifty dollar bike.

Vientiane to Thapabat: Away at last
Friday January 20, 2006, 93 km (58 miles) – Total so far: 93 km (58 miles)

After an evening drinking beer and playing pool against a transvestite we are finally on our way. 93 km to Thapabat. But first I need to go back to the bike shop and get them to change around my tires. Somebody put them on backwards.

Coming out of Vientiane Ken stops to take some photos of one of the various mansions while I keep riding. I stop in some shade for Ken to catch up. Ken catches up and keeps going. Fair enough. I take off after him but struggle to keep up. His bike is much better and faster than mine. Soon he disappears from view. Eventually I did find Ken, stopped and waiting for me. He hadn’t seen me earlier beside the road and had spent the last half hour trying to catch up to me. New rule. Make sure that the other person can see you when you stop. Later I miss Ken when he had stopped. I thought he was far, far ahead only to find him riding directly behind me. Cheeky bastard.

I am already sick of the noodle soup on offer. We had some at lunch time but for dinner that was all the restaurant would serve. There are about six restaurants in town but it seems that together they only know how to cook only one type of meal. So for dinner I have noodle soup. Ken doesn’t seem to mind though. He loves the stuff.

Mansion

Thapabat to somewhere: Riding in the dark
Saturday January 21, 2006, 131 km (81 miles) – Total so far: 224 km (139 miles)

We did 131 km today. We decided that the 54 km to Paksan wasn’t enough for us. Then we had trouble finding another guesthouse. We spent the last hour riding in the dark, which, if we weren’t so tired would have made for a pleasant change. The cool evening temperature was certainly welcomed after such a hot day.

The only choice for breakfast was noodle soup. I decide that I would rather buy some custard cakes and find something more substantial for lunch. A head wind slows us down to about 15 km/h all morning. Much less than the 20—25 km/h we did yesterday. I pass some goats crossing the highway and later some geese waddling over the road.

We make it to Paksan for lunch but the only thing on offer is noodle soup. I go to buy some sliced bread leaving Ken to have the soup. Jam on bread makes an okay lunch. We find a restaurant at 4:00 PM which serves greasy omelets and fried rice. The latter appearing more like steamed rice than fried but is still good. However apparently not good enough for the beggar, who had wondered over. I offer him some but I guess he just wants money.

We only have an hour or so of daylight left but decide to press on, probably due to the lack of guesthouses in town. We do find a guesthouse half an hour later but neither Ken nor myself feel desperate enough to share a double bed. We push on.

It got dark. It got very dark. Pretty stars though. Even Vientiane has a pleasant night sky. A good change to the Taipei nightline. We stop and put on our lights. One of those Laos style tractors catch up with us and we first tag along behind and later go in front, using its light to guide our way. This works for a while until we slow down on a hill and it overtakes us.

Laos tractors.

We do find a guesthouse. There aren’t any signs for it and we aren’t even sure which town we’re in. Again they only have rooms with a double bed so we decide to spring for two rooms. It works out to about US $3 each. Ken goes for a wash (no actual shower attachment) and I go for a beer (priorities). I find some kind of place and see a fire going. I ask what is cooking (in English and bad sign language) and am soon enjoying a plate of barbequed beef. At last. No more noodle soup!

To Thakhek: Strong coffee and rat on a sticks
Sunday January 22, 2006, 113 km (70 miles) – Total so far: 337 km (209 miles)

Another big day. 113 km. It starts out hot but cools right down around 4:00 pm. Cucumbers and bread buns for breakfast, not to mention the strongest coffee I have ever had in my life. It is thick like mud. I’m not up for trying the rat-on-a-sticks we see roasting though.

Some very strong coffee.

A pleasant, though hot, enough morning sees us getting lunch at a small town around noon. I order an omelet and Ken some noodle soup. It was made clear that we only wanted one of each dish and yet I am still given my own bowl of noodle soup. I still get my greasy omelet too. Apparently everyone, without exception, orders noodle soup around here.

The next hour sees a distinct lack of places to buy water. We are able to get pepsi no problems but not water. At last we manage to find some shops selling water so stock up, (lest there aren’t any more). Perhaps half an hour later I stretch down to get a drink (I have a small bottle hanging next to my front tire) when the bottle gets caught in the spokes. A loud bang, some crunching, and rapid deceleration sees me standing beside the road drenched wet with a crunched water bottle. The bike still seems to work okay though. No broken spokes.

It is a long ride to Thakhek but we make it on dusk. We find a guesthouse and choose a room with twin beds and a TV. Later we find out that the “Shower of happiness’ only has cold water and the TV, though offering a wide selection of static, isn’t that interesting. We also seem to be situated right next door to what looks like the most happening disco in town. But my belly is full (of grilled chicken and pork chops) and we have another 100 km tomorrow so I’m going to drink my beer and hit the hay. Apparently I have a 6:30 wake up call tomorrow.