Introduction to Laos: Mountains and Mishaps

Well, I came to this internet place with full intentions of unloading some glorious pictures on you but apparently their connection craps out everytime I go to upload. So instead I present to you a verbal assemblage of the last 3 days.

Wednesday, March 25 (? okay, Ill be honest, I dont even know for sure what today is)- I awoke in Houxyai and despite my best efforts to have an early start, my comfortable hotel bed and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button distracted me until the late hour of 10am. Feeling that I was getting such a pathetically late beginning to a long day of riding I opted to get food down the road. Incredibly stupid decision. I was assuming that Laos was like Thailand (some kind of restaurant, food stand or at the least convenience store every 50m). Laos is NOT like Thailand. I didnt find food until about 30km of the hardest riding Ive done in SE Asia yet. And even then all I could find was some peanuts and some sort of chocolate-powder covered corn snack. Imagine a cheeto but more disgusting. At this point (probably about 2 or 3 pm) I was completely drained of all energy, not to mention every bit of salt in my body. I finally found a town where somebody could prepare me some real food and sat down to some fried rice. I could barely hold the fork properly because my body had been pushed so hard. I've never had hand cramps until now! This being the situation and my destination being over 50km through more unknown terrain (should have bought a map...mistake #2) I asked if I could stay there. Luckily there was a rudimentary (I mean RUDIMENTARY folks) guesthouse there because an ecopreserve was nearby. Spent a wonderful sleepless night in Don Chai due to the generator fumes drifting through the slats of my wall and roosters deciding they crow whenever they want, not at dawn.

Thursday (Okay, okay...we'll just call it Day 2)- I wake up, actually manage to get an early start this time and enjoy some cool mountain riding. That is, until I hit THE CLIMB. Probably the most brutal climb I've had since Montenegro's climb to Lovcen. One of these long, steep, neverending, demoralizing climbs. Through a construction zone. Man, I must have heard 20,000 excited cries of "Farang!" (foreigner) from construction workers that day. Finally drop into the town of Vieng Phokot and sit down for lunch around 1pm. This is where I had intended to be the night before. Oh well....find a restaurant packed to the gills with Laos businessmen from the nearby coal company (always a good sign). Had some fabulous chicken pho (noodles, broth, veggies) and a lovely lap (buffalo mixed with mint, cilantro, lime juice, chilies and toasted rice). As I was sitting there another "FARANG!!" came up and sat at a nearby table. We eventually fall into conversation and somehow end up deciding to go about 10 or 15km down the road and campout for the night. He had been hoping to camp in a bamboo farmer's crashpad he had found, but didn't quite have the nerve alone. Bolstered by strength in numbers we went down a crazy dirt footpath, he on motorscooter, me on bicycle. Beautiful riverside campsite for me while he hiked just a bit further and spent the night in the hut he had found.

Day 3- Woke up this morning, got a wonderful early start and enjoyed some of the most pleasurable riding weather in SE Asia. Cool, overcast, clearer than usually. The one drawback was the "pleasant breeze" from the morning had turned into a "soul-rending headwind". Regardless I pushed on and after one brutal 10% climb had a great downhill cruise all the way to Luang Namthon. Had a bargain lunch of fried noodles for 10000 kip(that's right, 10000 kip is a bargain) and then in a noodle, bike and beer induced buzz made the mistake of checking into the first guesthouse I saw. Mistake only in the sense that it cost me 6 dollars when I could have gone 2 streets back and found something slightly grungier for 3 dollars. That's right...at the point I am in my budget, a 3 dollar mistake is worth kicking yourself over for days.

Anyways, Im happy to be here in town...rounding up supplies and trying to figure out a few things wrong with the bicycle. I had a chain break on me the day I left Thailand (due to a hasty install way back in Ranong most likely) and due to some clunky shifting and some strange noises I'm suspecting something was a bit too hasty about the second installation. I've also got a mystery noise coming from the front wheel. It's one of those things where as soon as you pay attention to it and try to solve it, the noise disappears. Scoundrel! And then the last thing, the most important thing for the mountains to come, is that I cannot consistantly drop into my highest gear. This is THE most frustrating thing in the world as you lose all momentum attacking the hills. Many Laotian hills have suffered a string of expletives about my bicycle due to this. I hope I've at least got it temporarily working.

Okay, this has gone on long enough. If you've read this far, congratulations....your boss should probably be looking over your shoulder more! As for me, I'm off to hunt down some supplies for the mountains ahead, meet up with some newfound friends for dinner and perhaps treat myself (at the ghastly sum of 3 dollars per hour) to a massage. On second thought...I already wasted 3 dollars today....