Sabaidee has been the chorus that we've heard from friendly folks along the road as we've ridden from village to village. That's hello in Laos which is about the extent of our command of the Lao language. Since my last post a week ago, the road conditions have dramatically improved. I'm told it's because Power China is investing heavily on numerous hydropower projects so they've also spent money improving the roads. While the road conditions have been decent, the riding has still been quite challenging at times, particularly on Days 12 and 13 when we hit some seriously steep terrain on SH13 south of Luang Prabang. There isn't a huge amount of traffic on the roads that we've been riding but there are a ton of trucks which I think is a function of there not being other freight options and the many construction projects that are happening. The truck drivers are very courteous though and always give us plenty of space as they pass. Lao drivers don't use their horns incessantly like the Vietnamese which has been a nice reprieve on our eardrums!
On Day 9 and 10, we had fairly mellow riding days (I.e., not much climbing, good weather, good road conditions. Etc) as we rode to Luang Prabang. On Day 11, we took a rest day in Luang Prabang which is a beautiful little city with very strong French influence at the confluence of the Nam Khan and the Mekong rivers. We rented a scooter and rode to the Kuang Si waterfalls which had tons of these turquoise pools being fed by cascading waterfalls. We went swimming in the pools and checked out these black bears (in cages) who were local residents in the park. I was also able to get a new tire in Luang Prabang which was great because my rear tire was on its last legs.
On Days 12 to 14, we rode between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, a distance of approximately 230 km. On Day 12, we had two monster climbs of more than 1,000 meters each which nearly destroyed us. Ginny had a great attitude though and just kept plugging away up the seemingly endless hills. Since leaving Hanoi, we've primarily been riding through mostly rural areas with high concentrations of ethnic minorities who live such a different life to us. They live a subsistence life so we'll see them farming (sometimes with the help of a buffalo), carrying wood, building a house, etc. Due to heavy flooding during the monsoon season, most of the houses are built on stilts and amazingly require very little hardware to build. They anticipate where they want to join two boards together and cut a hole in one of the boards that the other board then goes through! The roofs were traditionally thatch roofs but the more modern structures have either metal or asbestos roofs. Another interesting characteristic of many of these houses is that there is little or no setback so the houses are built right up to the edge of the road. Due to the steep terrain, most of the houses don't have backyards so the street basically functions as an extension of everyone's living area. So the street is the place to be!
On Day 13, the hilly conditions persisted and the rain set in after we stopped for a Pho breakfast. We quickly got soaked as our cycling jackets are far from waterproof. It was also very misty and cold such that we considered stopping early in the small town of Phoukoum. I was so cold that I was shaking after we stopped for lunch! We decided to press on so that we could spend the night next to these hot springs, which were sure to be just what our aching muscles needed. While not as hot as advertised (40 degees C), the hot springs were indeed worth riding through the mist and the rain and aside from a broken spoke, we arrived unscathed. On Day 14 (yesterday), we had a glorious day of riding - good weather, minimal climbing, good roads, etc. We made good time and got into Vang Vieng in the early afternoon with plenty of time to find a place to stay. Today we are taking another rest day, although we did ride our bikes out of town to check out the blue lagoon and these cool caves in the Karst mountainside. Tomorrow we hit the road again and we will take two days to get to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
On Day 9 and 10, we had fairly mellow riding days (I.e., not much climbing, good weather, good road conditions. Etc) as we rode to Luang Prabang. On Day 11, we took a rest day in Luang Prabang which is a beautiful little city with very strong French influence at the confluence of the Nam Khan and the Mekong rivers. We rented a scooter and rode to the Kuang Si waterfalls which had tons of these turquoise pools being fed by cascading waterfalls. We went swimming in the pools and checked out these black bears (in cages) who were local residents in the park. I was also able to get a new tire in Luang Prabang which was great because my rear tire was on its last legs.
On Days 12 to 14, we rode between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, a distance of approximately 230 km. On Day 12, we had two monster climbs of more than 1,000 meters each which nearly destroyed us. Ginny had a great attitude though and just kept plugging away up the seemingly endless hills. Since leaving Hanoi, we've primarily been riding through mostly rural areas with high concentrations of ethnic minorities who live such a different life to us. They live a subsistence life so we'll see them farming (sometimes with the help of a buffalo), carrying wood, building a house, etc. Due to heavy flooding during the monsoon season, most of the houses are built on stilts and amazingly require very little hardware to build. They anticipate where they want to join two boards together and cut a hole in one of the boards that the other board then goes through! The roofs were traditionally thatch roofs but the more modern structures have either metal or asbestos roofs. Another interesting characteristic of many of these houses is that there is little or no setback so the houses are built right up to the edge of the road. Due to the steep terrain, most of the houses don't have backyards so the street basically functions as an extension of everyone's living area. So the street is the place to be!
On Day 13, the hilly conditions persisted and the rain set in after we stopped for a Pho breakfast. We quickly got soaked as our cycling jackets are far from waterproof. It was also very misty and cold such that we considered stopping early in the small town of Phoukoum. I was so cold that I was shaking after we stopped for lunch! We decided to press on so that we could spend the night next to these hot springs, which were sure to be just what our aching muscles needed. While not as hot as advertised (40 degees C), the hot springs were indeed worth riding through the mist and the rain and aside from a broken spoke, we arrived unscathed. On Day 14 (yesterday), we had a glorious day of riding - good weather, minimal climbing, good roads, etc. We made good time and got into Vang Vieng in the early afternoon with plenty of time to find a place to stay. Today we are taking another rest day, although we did ride our bikes out of town to check out the blue lagoon and these cool caves in the Karst mountainside. Tomorrow we hit the road again and we will take two days to get to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
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