Lounging in Laos

The Thai side of the border was very easy considering how long it had taken us to get our bikes in. They just stamped us out and waved us across 'Friendship Bridge 2' across the Mekong. In Laos we had to buy visas for $35US then figure out how to get our bikes in. We had none of the paperwork they were expecting, so had to speak to the chief of customs who agreed that we should use our Carnet de Passages. His minions didn't seem to fully comprehend his instructions and had no idea what to do. We got pretty frustrated with them until one of them walked past with a huge bag of donuts. We quickly bought them all and sat scoffing whilst the customs guys looked confused. Once we were full of sugar and feeling better we managed to get them to do what they had to do and could ride off into Laos.

We set off to the capital, Vientiene, about 20km away, to decide whether we should stay there or keep going. The city was pretty relaxed and felt like a communist version of Paris spread out along the Mekong. We had a coffee in a quaint cafe and decided to push on. The road was calling.

The main highway through Laos is in reasonably good condition, although chickens, goats, cows and dogs make it pretty interesting sometimes. We stopped at a small shop in a village for a drink. About 30 kids suddenly appeared and sat watching and giggling. If they had sung it would have been like the Sound of Music. An old drunk man kept pestering us about the bikes and giggling then taking photos with his cameraphone. A man with no hands turned up and I got Carlos to roll him a cigarette. The message was clear though, with all the unexploded bombs thanks to the American secret war of the 70's there would be no offroading, berry picking or sneaky wees in the bush here or in Cambodia. Thankyou America for ruining yet another country.

We stopped in a gueshouse a little further down the road and tried to get to the Mekong to take a photo of the beautiful sunset over the river. We failed and I ended up with a rather nice photo of the sunset down the road. We found an ATM where Carlos gave me some money back in repayment of what I had leant him. He gave me 150,000 Kip. I thought this was equivalent to about 180 Euros. It turned out to be about 18 Euros. Sneaky Spanish! 

The next day we rode 561km, crossing half of Laos. The road followed the Mekong, but from a distance so it was not always visible. The scenery was very reminiscent of when I was last in Northern Australia, I guess theyre at the same Lattitude. We stopped that night in Pakse, a small town next to the Thai border, and went out for some food. Laos is so laid back and relaxed compared to Thailand that we had to go and find the waiter, I think he was sleeping. I orderred a burger, when it came I ate it in 3 bites. It was tiny. Stupid French influence, although I quite like the baguettes everywhere and amazing pastries!

Since we had crossed Laos in 2 days straight, I decided to go to the 4000 Islands, essentially a cluster of islands in the middle of the Mekong on the Laos / Cambodian border. We went to the largest island, Don Khong (Donkey Kong) aboard a small ferry that we had to haggle for a decent price. The ferry was about 50 years old and powered by a smaller boat strapped to the side. It sat at a funny angle in the water.

Carlos is not impressed with the ferry.

The island was about 18km long and 5km wide. We found a guesthouse and a Fairy girl from Brighton who plays the Eucalaylie. We all rode across the island to watch the sunset on the opposite shore. Curious young kind surrounded our bikes. The next day I wanted to visit the next islands along which were smaller and more touristy with the view of possibly spending Christmas there. We got the ferry back to the mainland and set off to first find an ATM. That took several hours. My GPS claimed there was an ATM in the middle of a field. I need to stop following the bloody thing.

Eventually, after getting enough money, we tried to get across to the island, Don Det. There was no big ferry this time, and we had to ride up and down the shore trying to find a small boat suitable for our bikes. What we found was essentially two canoes strapped together with decking across the top and an outboard motor on a stick. Perfect. Again we haggled the price down a bit to about 10 Euros for 2 bikes and rode up a plank where we could perch on the deck.

Onboard, eventually.

The landing beach.

On the other side of the waterway we were deposited on a beach. It felt a bit like Saving Private Ryan, only confused tourist looked down from the overlooking cafes and wondered who the idiots were.  The sidestand on my bike almost gave way when we were getting Carlos' bike off. Luckily none of us ended up in the Mekong.

I'm currently staying in a small hut occupied by a bed, a mosquito net and a light bulb together with numerous insects, frogs and lizards. There is a hammock on the front porch and i'm paying about 2 Euros a night. I've decided to spend Christmas here rather than race across Cambodia. I'll try my hand at this relaxing lark, I'm not very good at it. There are a lot of gap year guys here looking to 'find themselves'. They spend the day drinking beer and lazing in tubes in the Mekong. I woke up early to see Carlos off as he races South then spent my day repairing a puncture.

After Christmas I want to ride through Cambodia to Siem Riep, or Angkor Wat, the massive abandoned ancient city. I've been told of a dirt track that goes practically all the way there through the jungle. It took 2 guys on a moto taxi 10 hours. Should be easy for a KTM.

Oh, and Merry Christmas.