Laos
(5)
123
Kilometres – 4 Days
16
August – 21 August 2017
16
August– Nong Khai, Thailand – Vientiane, Laos – 35 km
During
the previous day, Tania contacted me to say she changed her mind and was indeed
coming to Thailand, and we arranged to meet in Bangkok in two weeks. So I guess
I wasn’t going to China after all. Marguerite Marais confirmed she’d bought her
ticket and would arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 4 December. I’d work to do,
and thus long past 3h00 before turning in. I was relatively slow in packing but
eventually cycled the short distance to the Thai/Lao border, bought my visa,
and cycled into the most relaxed capital in the world.
The
first stop was at the money changer and the phone shop. Then, with a wallet
full of Lao Kip ($1 – 8300 LAK) and a new SIM card in my phone, I proceeded
into town. Starving, the familiar sight of the Laos Baguette (Khao Jee) vendor
was a welcome sight. The baguette is filled with lettuce, sliced tomatoes,
carrot, onion, moo (pork), chopped ham, and topped with a chilli sauce. Next up
was the Thai consulate, but as expected, they were already closed, and my visa
application had to wait until the morning.
My
late nights were catching up to me, and albeit having work to do, I first had a
wink as I’d a few days to get to Bangkok.
17–20 August - Vientiane, Laos – 88
km
It was a pleasure walking the streets
of Vientiane, passing ancient temples, silk shops and baguette vendors. The
following morning, I handed in my visa application to Thailand. Vientiane was a
popular destination for Thai visa runs as not many questions were asked, and no
bank statements or flight tickets were required. The only thing needed was an
application form and two photos, and one could collect it the next day. The 1000THB
fee was less expensive than nearly all other places. The queue was thus a long
one, and I was number 366 in the collection row. I’d no patience and instead opted
for the restaurant across the road only to return an hour and a half later. By
then, the line was considerably shorter, and I slotted in and collected my
visa.
That evening I met up with Christian,
a Warmshowers host in Vientiane, with whom I’ve stayed on two previous
occasions, and decided to move to his place. Christian hails from Germany but
has been living and working in Laos for the past six years. I love staying at
his home, a relaxing place and most of all, he knew all the best restaurants
and pubs in town.
I used my comfortable surroundings to
finish all the ESCAPE tour stuff, for Tania, who was arriving in September,
Marguerite, who was coming in December, and Amanda, who was planning to come
over next year in April.
21
August - Vientiane, Laos – Udon Tani, Thailand - 87 km
I
left Christian’s place, dropped the key at his work and cycled to the
immigration. Seeing I already had a Thai visa, a simple stamp allowed me into
the country and I could be on my way. No sooner was I across the border and
rain came pelting down. It rained hard enough for me to seek shelter, luckily
it soon cleared, and it became a comfortable ride to Udon Tani.
There
wasn’t a great deal of venturing off-road as the heavy rains from the past few
weeks left most rural roads muddy or washed away. However, the few times I did,
was a pleasure as I enjoy few things as much as cycling down a country lane in
the company of villagers on their fixies. The rain further left the ponds and
dams full to the brim, and farmers were fishing and harvesting lotus flowers.
The
Kings Hotel was a no brainer as the place was inexpensive and offered air-con
and hot water.
