Dedicated to a wonderful Mother Jean Noble 31/5/1929 - 20/8/2007 - may we never take our mothers for granted. - Goodbye Mum

LAOS PAGE 6 - JANUARY 2009

Thursday 1st January Pakse to Just outside Pathounphone.
Approx. 51.28 k's Average Speed 14.00 kph Cycling time 3 Hr(s) 39 Min. Max speed. 48 kph Max temp 27°C
Terrain: Hilly Road Conditions: Fair Overnight Accom: (Lao Kip 40,000) $7.50 Standard, Poor

WELCOME TO 2009

It was a good ride mostly uneventful, with some good long downhills.. Nothing really steep up but a bit of climbing out of Pakse. We are a little over 100 kilometres from the Cambodian Border.... About 4 days left on our visa and all being well about a two day ride to the border.... The crossing is quite notorious for being “difficult”, some reports are quite concerning, but we, of course, have no choice. We will give our experience on these pages :-)

One thing frustrating in Laos, (and to some extent Thailand/Malaysia) is that ALL the doors are narrow, we need to lift and twist the bikes to get them in and out of our room(s). Of course we must remove some of the “luggage” before we can do this... Malaysia's doors tend to be high enough for most Caucasians...

Also, many of the doors are only around 5'6 high, or better, I have banged my head on so many I have lost count.. :-(

A glimpse of our room for the night.....

Concrete floor, plywood walls, resident white ants, black ants, red ants........ Looks much nicer in the pic than it really is.... But its cheap, clean sheets and can fit the bikes... This door is a frustrating, quarter inch short of wheeling them in.... Duh!!!

Catchya Later....

Friday 2nd January Pathounphone to 9 k's south of “Khong Island” ferry point.
Approx. 92.25 k's Average Speed 13.92 kph Cycling time 6 Hr(s) 38 Min. Max speed. 35 kph Max temp 28°C
Terrain: Flat Road Conditions: Fair Overnight Accom: (Lao Kip 50,000) $9.00 Standard, Good

We arrived at the small town, which is a ferry terminal to the tourist resort of Khong Island. We had hoped there would be accommodation on the mainland, however, this was not to be. Rather than go to war with the ferry operators – who have a poor reputation – we decided to press on in the dark. Locals told us there was a guesthouse a further 8 k's down the road... Turns out to be 9.5 k's, close enough. The ride today was rather boring, almost flat with just a couple of small hills, we are now 27 k's (or so) from the Cambodian Border.

About 25 k's into our ride we met a nice Dutch couple, that have recently cycled in Cambodia and Vietnam. We gained some valuable insight into the two countries.

They are “pragmatic” cyclists, choosing to forgo known boring sections and using public transport. We would do the same, but, our bikes are not that easy to get on and off public transport.

Our bikes attract literally thousands of kids.....

They have lined the road all the way down and always offer a smile and a wave....

Saturday 3rd January 9 k's south of “Khong Island” ferry point – Rest Day.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp °C
Terrain: Flat Road Conditions: Fair Overnight Accom: (Lao Kip 50,000) $9.00 Standard, Good

We have decided on a rest day today. We will do some maintenance on our bikes, washing and other bits and pieces, before we cross into Cambodia. Having cycled between 1,200-1,300 kilometres, since leaving Buayai Thailand, there are a few squeaks and rattles on the bikes.

Sunday 4th January 9 k's south of “Khong Island” ferry point to CAMBODIA and 25 k's from the border itself.
We left the guesthouse first thing, with a view to getting to the border early..... We had been told there were no more guesthouse's after the one we stayed at.

This is a common ploy to get one to stay. There are in fact two more guesthouse's – one 12 k's from Veunkam and one 10 k's from Veunkam (last Lao town). The ride to the border was very quiet and we could ride two abreast a lot of the time

Go to the Cambodia pages for our “Statistics” and our new Lao's information pages for details of the border crossing itself – includes pictures.

BACK | On to Cambodia

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