11. Head down, southward bound

 From Vientiane, I knew I needed to get a move on. While not quite in a state of denial about it, I’d let my visa’s expiry date creep up on me a little. With the benefit of hindsight, getting a few days visa extension might have been a good idea but, instead, I committed to getting my head down to steam southwards at pace. I need to cross to Cambodia 🇰🇭 on 1st February at the latest. Eminently doable!

Honestly, these weren’t my favourite days of the trip. Grinding out miles on highways, sharing the road with lots of trucks, riding through the midday heat. The south is much flatter than the north so the riding was easier but lacked the stimulation and challenge of riding the north holds.  🛻 

Nevertheless, I had some nice camp spots, this one next to the Mekong. I absolutely trust the safety and security in Laos. For example, if I nip to the loo in a restaurant or cafe I never worry about leaving my phone/wallet on the table, I 100% guarantee to myself that they’ll be there when I come back (wouldn’t do this in the UK). Still, just for peace of mind, I often pitch my tent pole secured through my bike wheel. 🛞 Just in case…

Riding all day eventually brings the reward of cooler evening climes. From the main road I diverted into a hilly region that is visited as part of something called ‘The Loop’. Lots of tourists race around it on scooters/motorbikes, taking in caves and viewpoints along the way. 

I was the sole cyclist I saw doing it in three days! Different strokes for different folks…

Second night’s camp on the push south from Vientiane. These farm workers’ shelters are littered across the countryside right throughout Laos (and Thailand) and I knew I’d eventually end up camping on one. An old guy walked past as I was setting up so I did the ‘right thing’ and checked for permission. The language barrier felt high but I think he gave me the green light! 🚦 

It was a nice spot, surrounded by limestone peaks. The early morning crowing of roosters echoed up and down the valley. No restful lie in for me!

This next day was a bit tough, I woke up dehydrated (I had covered 90 miles the previous hot, hot day 🥵, so maybe no surprise!). While I soon fixed the water supply shortage I did have a lingering headache for a while. 

With broken roads and a couple of low passes to traverse it was a bit of a challenge but, by the afternoon, I felt pretty good again….

….especially as I passed some cracking forest scenery. 🌴 

And entered an eerie ‘drowned forest’ landscape where a dammed river had flooded an extensive area. 💦 

A hovering kestrel was a lovely sight, briefly taking me back to my beloved English natural history. 🦅 

A boat passed in the distance. I’m not certain but it may have been manned by Colonel Kurtz. “The horror, the horror.” ! I slept a little less comfortably in the tent that night. 😱  He may just have been lurking… 👀 

My third and final day on ‘The Loop’ would see me end in Thakhek. A town. With luxuries. Like hostels. With beds. And showers. And cafes and WiFi. Wow!

Dehydration cleared but this day’s challenge was to be a dodgy stomach. There’s always something! 

Nevertheless, as you can see from the picture, I got going at dawn, before 7am and had covered the 67 miles to Thakhek by 1pm. On two bananas 🍌 and a peanut butter 🥪! And plenty of water! 💧 Tunnel vision, head down, all I could think about was a shower 🚿 and coffee ☕️!

Despite the hurry, I did manage to get a couple of snaps along the way. 📸 

And reflected on how best to conduct this trip. I questioned how four days of hard riding and three successive wild camps had made me so desperate to get back to civilisation. And whether I should avoid ‘roughing it’ so much and reach for comfort. But, of course, inserting these masochistic stretches, with long rides, camping, hill climbs (choose your own pain!), builds texture into the trip. If it was all smooth going - 50km days, cosy guesthouses, restaurant food - I’d soon take these things for granted. Self-induced suffering keeps me grounded and appreciative of the little things. 

Or as some (failing) footballers would say ‘stay humble’. ⚽️ 

Not a huge amount to do in Thakhek but it has a cracking setting on the Mekong.  🖼️ 

In the evening, some kind of small swift 🪶roosts in palm trees along the river. Their twittering is delightful! A quick Google search suggests to me that this species may be appropriately named the Asian Palm Swift. 

Wandering the backstreets of Thakhek I came across this temple that wasn’t in Laotian style but not quite Chinese (I think). So, I’m saying this is a Vietnamese temple. 🛕 

A lot of Vietnamese script so wasn’t hard to work this out. 

It’s less than 100 miles to the Vietnamese border 🇻🇳 from Thakhek. I’m guessing that a lot of the town’s trade is with Vietnamese partners. 

And my cosy hostel, Naga Hostel is Vietnamese-run. 

I had wonderful insight into contemporary backpacking in the dorm, indeed, I could have done a deep anthropological study! Terrible dorm etiquette - people taking calls late at night, alarms and alerts bleeping through the night, loud conversations after 11pm ‘curfew’, disputes over whose bed is whose, one person switching on the (noisy) overhead fan, another promptly switching it off, and repeat! Power struggle!

I drew my curtain and kept out of it. Eventually, someone more proactive than me suggested we’d reached ‘quiet time’. 🕰️  And it did go quiet. 

In the end, I slept well but it wasn’t a great advert for contemporary backpackers (nor representative of my dorm experiences so far). 

Next town, I’m getting a private room!

I’m exactly halfway through the tour now and one week from Cambodia. See you next time!