Wow, the temperature is rising and we are scrambling to find ways to beat the heat. It's getting into the 90s on a daily basis and being in the saddle in that midday heat is no fun. Ginny suggested getting water guns today which seems like a good way of cooling down. We've been getting up early so that we can get most of our riding in before the day gets too hot. We're also looking forward to getting back into Vietnam as there will presumably be more swimming options as we ride down the coast.
Since leaving Vang Vieng, we've been riding along relatively flat terrain and the roads have all been pretty good. The riding was really hot and dusty with lots of truck traffic between Vang Vieng and Vientiane. We have dust masks and have worn them sporadically but it's mostly too hot to wear them on a regular basis (and they look ridiculous!). We have been enjoying the relative calm of roads in Laos as we know that it's going to be mental when we get back into Vietnam.
We took a rest day in Vientiane so that we could explore the capital city. We really liked the street life, food options and were blown away by the COPE visitor center, which documents the impact of US bombing of Laos between 1964 and 1973. More bombs were dropped on Laos during these 9 years than all of the bombs dropped during WWII! Amazingly, 30 percent of these bombs did not explode and have been a serious risk to the Lao people ever since. Sadly, many have died from the bombs blowing up and others have lost limbs as these bombs have been disturbed by farmers. Unfortunately, many children have died too as they have scavenged for scrap metal to help feed their families. There is an education campaign to inform people of the risks of the unexploded ordnance and there are many efforts underway to try to remove the unexploded ordnance. It will take decades to complete though. If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend an Australian documentary called Bomb Harvest.
We hit the road yesterday to begin our ride back towards Vietnam. The riding has continued to be nice and flat on good quality roads, although tomorrow we will return to the hills as we begin our climb to Kaew Neua pass near the border. We had a brief chat with an Austrian guy on the road yesterday who was cycling with a friend from Hong Kong to Bangkok. It was nice to see some other people doing a similar trip to us as we haven't really run into many other cycle tourists so far. As we prepare to leave Laos, we are really grateful for the opportunity to cycle through this beautiful country, to experience the friendliness of the people and to come to know what they mean by laid back Laos - even the gas station attendants have day beds that they spend lots of time lounging in! We are also excited to get back to Vietnam, hit some beaches and have more variety in the food options - no more vegetable fried rice!
Since leaving Vang Vieng, we've been riding along relatively flat terrain and the roads have all been pretty good. The riding was really hot and dusty with lots of truck traffic between Vang Vieng and Vientiane. We have dust masks and have worn them sporadically but it's mostly too hot to wear them on a regular basis (and they look ridiculous!). We have been enjoying the relative calm of roads in Laos as we know that it's going to be mental when we get back into Vietnam.
We took a rest day in Vientiane so that we could explore the capital city. We really liked the street life, food options and were blown away by the COPE visitor center, which documents the impact of US bombing of Laos between 1964 and 1973. More bombs were dropped on Laos during these 9 years than all of the bombs dropped during WWII! Amazingly, 30 percent of these bombs did not explode and have been a serious risk to the Lao people ever since. Sadly, many have died from the bombs blowing up and others have lost limbs as these bombs have been disturbed by farmers. Unfortunately, many children have died too as they have scavenged for scrap metal to help feed their families. There is an education campaign to inform people of the risks of the unexploded ordnance and there are many efforts underway to try to remove the unexploded ordnance. It will take decades to complete though. If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend an Australian documentary called Bomb Harvest.
We hit the road yesterday to begin our ride back towards Vietnam. The riding has continued to be nice and flat on good quality roads, although tomorrow we will return to the hills as we begin our climb to Kaew Neua pass near the border. We had a brief chat with an Austrian guy on the road yesterday who was cycling with a friend from Hong Kong to Bangkok. It was nice to see some other people doing a similar trip to us as we haven't really run into many other cycle tourists so far. As we prepare to leave Laos, we are really grateful for the opportunity to cycle through this beautiful country, to experience the friendliness of the people and to come to know what they mean by laid back Laos - even the gas station attendants have day beds that they spend lots of time lounging in! We are also excited to get back to Vietnam, hit some beaches and have more variety in the food options - no more vegetable fried rice!
My good friend Chuck Searcy from Georgia has been in Vietnam for decades running project renew which educates on the buried ordinances and provides prosthetics for all ages. I met him when he was the press secretary for a senator on Capitol Hill that I interned with after college. He was also the editor of the city paper type rag in Athens called the flagpole period and then one day after reflecting on the Vietnam War he just moved there and started project renew and never came back. Google his work as well and if you happen to randomly run into him. You'll love him. One of my favorite people.
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