Truckn'

Made it to Udon Thani. The road to the friendship bridge was a )long and b) seriously messed up. They were doing construction. I got to Nogkai early still, and found a very very very nice guest house right on the river. I also found a good used bookstore, one cool lady who was doing a yoga retreat, and an older retired man who told me my journey was quote "epic" unquote. I felt pretty good. Overall a very cool vibe. The road to Udon Thani was good, and I made good time, and finally found a hotel. Actually I found a few. One didn't have toilet paper. (It really wasn't that cheap) The other was nice, but expensive. I finally found one that was nice enough, and cheap enough.
Thailand is way noisier, dirtier and busier than Laos. I think I might have some culture shock today. (Nogkai was kinda Laos-ish)
Tomorrow is a big day, the next big town is 100 km again. I'm starting to get used to it. I thought about getting the Lonely Planet, but really it doesn't have much that I need. For example, where are the places to sleep that aren't in the big towns and cities, and are on the road? That is the question I want the guide books to answer. (So far, neither Rough Guide, Lonely Planet or Let's Go have this crucial information.-- I decided to save the money and have a very very nice dinner instead.)
Oh and lest I forget again, in Laos I met a guy who was cycling around the world for charity. He was very nice, and so was his girlfriend who was joining him for part of the trip.
His blog, and info on the charity is

www.cyclingroundtheworld.co.uk

Till I post again, be good, be happy and have fun.

Can't think of anything cute

Well, tomorrow I head to Thailand. It will take about 3 hours total. I had some chocolate chip cookies and one of the best lattes ever. Life is good, but ....Laos is such a jewel. I'm sorry to leave it so soon. However, I have mixed feelings about Thailand. On the one hand, I won't have to worry about 100 km days if I don't want them, as Thailand is much more developed. On the other hand, Thailnad is much more developed and therefore doesn't have the endless empty roads. Sigh.
Till I post again, be good, be happy and have fun.

Hurts so good

I was told that the road from Pakxan to Vientiane was boring. It was long, but not boring.
I stayed one extra day in Pakxan, because when I woke up, I felt every single kilometer of the 300 I did to get there.
The road was gorgeous. Mostly hugging the river, and when it cut into the jungle you could see the tops of temples and once a giant golden Buddha set into a cliff carved from the mountain. Bridges cross rivers that snake through the jungle. It is a different green than Vietnam, darker, richer.
I stayed in Thabok, about 50km from Paxan, and it was a charming little village. My guesthouse landlady spoke English well, and her daughter went to the market for me and got meat balls and veggies. Laos is often so quiet you remember just how noisy nature can be. Geckos laughing for a sweetheart, crickets singing, a symphony of various insects and lizards, and other unidentified thingies. I still slept good. It was cloudy when I woke up, a good sign (although I prefer sunny in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon-- the heat here weighs )
I set off in good time - Vientiane is only90 km. Despite the day of rest, and a "short" day, it seemed as if the kilometers were stretched out. Then it rained. Hard. The water felt bruising, and there was nowhere for me to stop. I could barely see the road. Oh when I finally find a little drinks stand, you want to know what happens. Of course the rain stops. After I got soaked.
Well, I finally made it to Vientiane, tired & hungry. I found a nice enough hotel, and took a shower, got dinner, had a banana shake, and found the Internet. Tomorrow I will get laundry done, look for a bookstore, and hang out a bit.
The next day, I go to Thailand.
Till I post again, be good, be happy and have fun.

Spring is in the Air

I will be in Vientien in 2 days. Wow. The last three days I've been cycling 100 km. That's right.
I left Savahnaket and went to Xeno. It was not very exciting, but I did get to catch up on my reading. (ha) Then from Xeno to Thakek. 100 km. On the way I stopped at a market, and found the most interesting thing to date. Bats in a basket. Yes that is right, here you can eat some grilled bats for lunch. I declined. (I also declined the grilled weasel, and the crickets on a stick)
In Thakek I did treat myself to a very nice room at Traveler's Lodge, a place that was built up by a guy from Denmark (I think). The room was beautiful, and they had a garden restaurant. I guess I could have gone out and explored some, but it was sooooooooooo nice. So I drank lots of banana and orange shakes, and talked to some ex-pats who live here and didn't leave.
From Thakek I went to a small town called Namthone, and if you would blink you would miss it. The guest house was pretty nice anyway, even though it was the only one. The next morning, I was on my way to Pakxan, where I found an Internet place (finally).
The reason for the title, is because every one has babies all over the place. It is cute overload Laos style. Baby people, dogs, cats, goats, cows, pigs, ducks, chickens. Even that ugly bird I still don't know the name of (and even the chicks aren't that cute) Every time I stop for a break there is always a cute overload somewhere close by.
(ok I break a bit too often, but.....I did 100 km in one day! so sue me)
Till I post again, be good, be happy, and have fun.

four is the magic number

Four flat tires in one day. Can you believe it?
Ok let's start from the beginning. I woke up in Pakse raring to go, but for one small itty bitty problem. It was raining. Hard. I decided that if it didn't let up by 7:00 am I would stay in Pakse for one more day. By 6:30 it had quit. By 7:30 it started again. I kept stopping for coffee and letting the rain ease up, but by 10 I had enough and got the cutest little guesthouse near the airport. (I paid an extra dollar for T.V. because it was rainy and I thought I'd be bored. Unfortunately it had CNN in English, and Discovery and Animal Planet dubbed in Lao. Sigh.)
The next day was cloudy, but no rain until I got to Kongshedone (where I planed to stop anyway) My guesthouse was not the cutest. But it was ok, and as it started to rain the rest of the day.....
I went on to Paksong. The next town with a guesthouse. The road was nice and it was overcast for most of the day. A bonus because it meant that it wasn't too hot. Paksong was 100 km from Kongshedone. Whew. I was so tired when I got there. My guest house however had a mouse. It was in my bathroom, and I really had to pee. I looked at the mouse. The mouse looked at me. I really had to pee so I threw a soap at the mouse. The mouse left. I woke up and noticed that my front tire was flat. Again. I was very lucky because there was a repair shop right next door to my guesthouse, and the guy was open, and he was cute. I had him change my inter tube. I now don't have any spares left, and I don't know if I can find one in my size. Then, about 20 km away, I had another flat on my front tire. I am upset to say the least. Plus it is only open road. I don't see any villages on my map, and I kinda lost a bit of hope. Fortunately there was a tire repair shop ( in the middle of nowhere). I got my tire fixed and was feeling good, plus I thought I've been very lucky, as my back tire has been good. Then my back tire gets a flat. I get it fixed by a cute kid who spoke a bit of English. I'm only 20km away from Savanahket, so I think if all else fails I can walk there. As soon as I got into town, guess what happened. If you guessed that my back tire had a flat, you would win the prize. Sheese. Lao, land of mellow, land of smiles, land of relaxation, land of hidden charm, land of flat tires.
Till I post again, be good, be happy, and have fun

Off to see the wizard

I am glad I decided to stay in Pakse one more day. I found a good map of Laos, and got some very good information on where to stay on the way, including how to do a home stay at one of the villages if I can't find a guest house by evening. Apparently it is not a problem and all I have to do is ask the headman of the village. I still would rather either arrange a home stay in advance, so that I know I'm not intruding, or stay at a guesthouse. I also walked around a bunch, read my book by the river and generally goofed off and drank lots and lots of banana shakes. I also found a ....sugarcane juice stand.... There is hope that as I travel further north I will find more.
Till I post again, be good, be happy, and have fun

slow hand

After writing my blog entry, I went back to the little riverside cafe to watch the sun set. I sat and watched a cloud shaped like a laughing whale slowly sculpted by the wind to resemble a Chinese dragon. A ginger cat jumped up on the table and watched with me. The next morning I woke bright and early and caught a boat to the mainland. The sunrise was as spectacular as the sunset.
I couldn't make it to Pakse, so I stopped at a guesthouse by the road in Phaifay. And no, I'm not really sure how to pronounce it either. The guest house seemed very charming at first. It was set off from the road, but you could still see it between the trees. It was also very very quiet. (I think the whole country is an island of silence in the general chaos of the rest of S.E.Asia)
It seemed clean enough until I went into take a shower. Upon the ledge were three things that I think were mouse poo. At least I hoped they were mouse poo, and not the poo of the mouse's larger cousin. I took my shower and rinsed off the poos, because really I had no choice. There was no way I could make it to Pakse, and I wasn't sure there would be another guest house before it got dark. I put the rabies and bubonic plauge out of my mind. As I steped on to the porch it began to rain. I was like three drops then someone in the sky turned on a faucet. Sheets of rain. I got the chair from my room and decided to sit and watch the rain, and as I did I saw a small black bug dying. It looked just like a mouse poo. I decided then and there that on the ledge of my shower were dead bugs. The rain stoped after only 5 minutes. I went to the little resturant at the cross roads and then went back to my room where I sat and watched the world go by. There were ants passing messages upside down on the eves of my portch, and two butterflies dancing in circles on the breeze. There were some ugly birds doing a strut, and children taking turns pushing each other on a wagon. The cows wandered home, and some goats chased a dog. Oh yeah and two cars, a bus, a monk on a motorcycles, and a stretched out tractor thingy went by on the road. It is not exactly exciting, but kinda nice none the less. I slept well despite thoughts of plague before turning in.
The next morn I went into Pakse, and found a decent enough hotel ( I could have gotten the fancy dancy one for 20.00 us, but ....it always disappoints me when I treat myself with the hotels)
I found a book exchange and drank some watermelon juice. ( there wasn't any sugar cane juice on the road, and it breaks my heart.) But maybe there is some as I go more northerly. I'm going to have to decide if I want to stay one more day. I like Pakse, but I haven't really been on my bike much. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Till I post again, be good, be happy and have fun.