9. Dustbowls, potholes and cold starts: the road to Vientiane

Following on from the last post, I spent four very restful days in Luang Prabang before returning to the saddle.

Atmospheric scenes at the temple. In the background, you can just make out the stupa at the peak of Mount Phousi where….

….hoards of tourists descend, sorry, ascend each evening for sunset views. 🌅

This was a real sign of the times moment for me. I know our memories are not always reliable things, often telling us the story we want to hear rather than reality. However, back in 2001, when I came up here for sunset, I’m sure there was no entrance fee, no jostling for the best viewpoint and, of course, no smartphones to capture the moment! Now the daily sunset is something of a circus 🤡 or riot!

Lots of Chinese tourists on this visit, which I’m glad about. Backpacking around China on that 2001 trip, talking with young Chinese staff, they often spoke to me with envy about my opportunity to travel that, for them, seemed an unachievable dream. I really hope that, since then, foreign travel has become within their reach. 🙋‍♂️

The terrible legacy of unexploded ordinance lives on in Laos though, thankfully, through careful surveying and detonations, the risk is being successfully managed. As always, it is the poorest in society, largely farming communities that remain at greatest risk from UXO. 💣

I read compulsively during my stay in Luang Prabang, hours a day and, yes, still on Trollope! I think I was in this cafe for three hours! I started and finished book 5 (of 6) - ‘The Prime Minister’ while in Luang Prabang. It was a cracker, the best yet (despite the dry title)! I thoroughly recommend the Palliser novels. If you have four months of your life free! 🗓️

Ahh, La Casa, my beloved hostel in Luang Prabang - I loved staying there! ♥️

And it’s so interesting to me that even a 47 year old introverted fogey like me can fit in very comfortably in a hostel dormitory. You don’t need to be young, hyper-social and outgoing to use this kind of accommodation. Indeed, more useful attributes are being adaptable, open minded, tolerant and respectful of others.

Big shout out to the Filipino staff 🇵🇭 who looked after me so well during my stay. I loved our conversations, the wonderful breakfasts, good humour and, on my day of departure, being sent away with a packed lunch for the road ahead. 🥪

Small gesture, big impact, it fuelled my ride in ways beyond providing simple calories.

The next stage was over the mountains towards Vang Vieng. I knew it would be something of a slog but, wow, well rested, I loved that first stage in the journey! Man and machine were in perfect unison! 🚲

The higher the climb, the more magnificent the vistas.

This photo was hard-won! These kids rushed across the road to greet me but when I suggested I take photo of them holding the bike, they became very shy and stand-offish, they nearly did a runner! 🏃‍♀️

But we got there in the end and they had a good laugh when I showed them the photo. I have to admit that my enthusiasm for waving at and greeting every single child in every single village is waning! Though I try to remember that, a small interaction for me, might be something that lifts their day. Keep going with it Dan! 👋

My packed lunch from La Casa became my evening meal. This was a lovely moment. A hugely satisfying tiredness, married with a sense of accomplishment at the end of a big day’s ride. I sat down to watch the sunset, put some music on (a bit of Bjork - Hyper Ballad was fitting as she talks of throwing things off mountains) and, everything just felt complete, I wanted and needed nothing else. 🌍

I’m travelling without data at the moment, it’s good to be unshackled from the web. My offline map tells me I covered a modest 91 km = 57 miles and a mega 4576m in climbing. 🧗‍♂️ I almost don’t quite trust it. But I’ll take it!

Camp time again. I rested pretty well here though, in the middle of the night, I thought dawn had broken, my tent was filled with light. Confusing, my watch said 1:30am. I poked my head out of the tent and, overhead, the moon was beaming down on me powerfully, like a floodlight. 🌙

Strong enough to cast a powerful shadow and, despite it being the middle of the night, colours were clearly discernible.

The next day, on paper, was not quite as tough but, inevitably, I’d lost some of the vim and vigour of the previous day, creeping fatigue. The grades were a bit tougher but, my goodness, what was happening to the road? The surface was just getting worse and worse, often little better than a dirt farm track. 🛣️

And the dust. Endless dust. Everywhere. Cloaking my clothes and body. I thought I’d entered a Steinbeck novel. And I began to feel filthy, cursing each passing truck as it filled the air with plumes of dust. Buff mask was deployed at times. 😷

Some shops/houses hose down the roads next to them to reduce the problem, it does help. I fear that you’d need to divert the Mekong to douse down all the dust. 💨

Scenery, dusty or not, remained spectacular, indeed getting more and more stunning as I approached Vang Vieng.

Can this really be the main highway between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng? Two of Laos’ major tourist towns?

It’s kind of a shame that a big ‘prestige’ project like the Lao-China railway can be constructed but, the more used infrastructure of a road, is neglected. I have hazy memories of taking the bus from LP to VV back in 2001. I was one of the last on the bus, sat on a non-seat more or less on the bus’ gearbox. The 140 mile journey was mighty uncomfortable! And probably little better today! 🚎

I’m sure that sign was there in 2001… 🚧

As a cyclist, I actually quite enjoyed the rough patches. It adds some stimulation and focus to the ride, and Bertha is built for these conditions. Back in 2016, I crossed the States on the Great Divide Trail (humble-brag) and most of the route was like this. Happy memories. On the whole (there were some ‘character-building’ days).

Vang Vieng is known for, among other things, its towering karst peaks. Lots to appeal to the eye as I closed in on the town. ⛰️

This was a really nice half hour or so. I stopped for some noodles and a local teacher approached me and asked for a few minutes to chat to him and some of his students. In truth, I had wanted to wolf down my noodles 🍜 and crack on for the day, reducing the mileage for the next day. But then I thought, what the hell are you here for, what’s your priority? To just grind out miles or to connect with people and give something back?

So I rode on. Only kidding! Of course, I gave them my time and we had a nice chat using simple English, talking about their lives and aspirations. They were 15-16 years old and had never spoken to a foreigner before. I hope it was a nice moment for them, they were lovely human beings. Credit to their teacher for making this opportunity. 💬

This will go down as the worst camp of the trip so far! But it was still passable. As I was pitching I saw an old guy watching over me in the distance. I thought I should do the right thing and check with him for permission. It very quickly became clear that he had no jurisdiction over the land, couldn’t care less about my camping but was very interested in my money and food! He was completely non-threatening but somewhat persistent. In the end I gave him a few bananas and 5000 kip and made it clear that we were done! ‘You can go now!’ 👨‍🦳

Maybe it was simply the meeting of two chancers, me looking for a free pitch, him for, well, whatever he could get! I wasn’t too affronted by him.

Deceived by the lovely balmy evening, I foolishly decided to pitch without the fly sheet. Even though I know that each and every evening here gets pretty chilly. I was warm enough in the tent but it was soon dripping with condensation and I lay rigid in my sleeping bag, trying to protect it from touching the wet tent walls. ⛺️

And it was a noisy night, lots of trucks clattering by. Broken sleep. This was the scene as I woke up. My campsite had become a truck yard! Had not expected that! I hope I didn’t take anyone’s parking space… 🛻

As I broke camp, my beggar friend reappeared to say Good Morning. Hastening my departure!

Within minutes, I’d put the less than successful camp behind me and was enjoying the wonderful dawn atmosphere.

Gentle light, soft hues, villages ‘waking up’…

….animals on the move.

(Mind the potholes). 🕳️

A lovely part of the world. 🏞️

Vang Vieng’s notoriety as a debauched backpacker party town has only been heightened and/or damaged by the recent terrible tragedy of the methanol-related deaths. Very distressing.

My own quiet protest was to stay just one night and not linger in a place that stands for a kind of tourism I don’t really agree with. I appreciate that it’s complex though. Laos can make some good money from providing what tourists demand and lots of what is on offer - outdoor activities - is more wholesome than providing alcohol (and whatever else) fuelled nights. 🍺 I also don’t begrudge people, youngsters, having a good time and letting their hair down. It’s just that people need to be kept safe and Laos’ culture needs to be respected. 🇱🇦

There were quite a few bare-chested guys and bikini-topped girls in town. Just, ‘No’. This is Laos, not Copacabana.

And I might sound a bit haughty and condescending saying all this but, before I started this trip, I did have a look through my journal from 2001 even then I mentioned that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the town’s party capital atmosphere. Of course, I was a complete hypocrite, going on to enjoy Full Moon Parties 🌕 in Thailand and ‘all-nighters’ in various Chinese cities. But the seed of a conscience about these things was there with me in 2001!

Good night Vang Vieng. I was tucked up in bed by 9pm! Though with a cold so sleep didn’t come easily! 💤 Grrr!!!

So, just one night in Vang Vieng and then a midday start on the road south to Vientiane. I decided to split the journey in two, rather than one big push. I bumped into a Chinese cyclist, ‘Wan’ (?) who was also heading south. And was incredibly eager to ride together. At times, almost alarmingly so!

Wan is a pretty fast rider, good for me, I’m don’t like to dilly-dally. I lost him for a while as I picked up my first puncture of the trip. A tiny shard of metal, like paper stable, had gone through my tyre an d pierced the tube. So small that I nearly missed it as I checked around the tyre. Instead of fixing the puncture there and then, I just whacked in my spare tube. 🛞 An old one, which resembled a patchwork quilt with past repairs. I cursed myself for not bringing better spares but the new/old tube held up and I was soon on the way again and caught up with Wan.

This smiley, laughing legend of a guy had walked from Malaysia 🇲🇾 , was on his way to China then planned to go back south via Vietnam. Inspirational!

What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

No one has to conform to work/family/settling down (but I don’t deny it’s hard to resist doing so).

Looking for a campspot in the dying embers of the day. Which is a great time to be riding, cool temperatures and, like dawn, atmospheric light. 💡

Home for the night was on this sheltered platform. It wasn’t that restful! Trucks through the night and nearby crowing roosters 🐓 preceded the dawn chorus with a rousing pre-dawn chorus!

We sought permission from this friendly guy. He came over and swept the platform for us! I rewarded him with a spare steamed bun, I’d bought a few for dinner. 🍲 I hope he enjoyed it. It may just have been the tiredness from the ride (when anything tastes good), but I thought they were absolutely delicious!

The next morning I got going very early, around 6:30am, leaving ahead of Wan. To speak candidly, I was a little worried about a possible mismatch between our expectations of riding together. I was happy to do a day and a camp together but, 99.9% of the time, I want (need?) to ride alone. To me, cycling is a form of meditation, time to think and process all manner of things (a kind of therapy?), a time of learning through listening to podcasts or just by taking in and observing passing scenes. Riding with someone else throws that dynamic out of kilter and Wan had made keen noises about riding on together through Southern Laos and Cambodia. 🇰🇭 I feared my precious solo Odyssey was in danger of being co-opted! I know that if I ‘paired up’ my social battery would quickly be drained through co-planning, negotiating and compromising (the exception to this rule is, of course, Bertha. Btw, Bertha is my bike. She fully understands my needs and is welcome to co-opt all my trips 😂). So, signalling my intentions, I politely told Wan that I wanted to do the next stretch alone and that I’d see him in Vientiane. Call me anti-social but self-knowledge is valuable knowledge that can save a lot of heartache! I need to maintain the independence, spontaneity and flexibility of this trip by forging ahead, just me and Bertha. Solitude is often the best companion!

47 miles to Vientiane, I was there by 11am. Too early to check in so, surprise, surprise, I made a beeline for a café ☕️ and this is a very nice one. A good place to gather my thoughts and update the blog. You’re welcome!

Last time round I only spent one night in Vientiane. I’d only been granted a 15-day visa and was in a hurry on the way south. This time I have a 30-day visa and will spend three nights here. Looking forward to exploring the capital further. Will update you soon!

Some quick additional photos from Vientiane: