Total distance: 6357 km
Vang Vieng - Thinkeo - Vientiane - Pakse
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| The ugly factory |
Two days were enough in Vang Vieng. It was time to leave this party town. On the way out of Vang Vieng we passed something that we had never expected in Laos: a giant factory! We did see factories like that in China, but this one did not want to fit into the Lao landscape at all. Obviously the owner of this factory was well aware of that and didn't want to destroy the image that tourists have of Laos. So he simply imposed a photography ban and put a sign that read "No photographs - 1 km!".
Some minutes later we met two German long-distance cyclists,
Eva and Mike, who had cycled India, Nepal and Thailand. Going from north to south in Laos we surprisingly didn't meet many other cyclists. We felt alone in this beautiful country that is supposed to be a popular cyclist country. All cyclists, however, that we did meet reported many other cyclists going from north to south too.
Some 70 km after Vang Vieng the landscape became boring. We had left the Southeast-Asian mountains for good and the terrain was flat now. Instead of cycling highway 13 all the way down to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, we squeezed in a little detour via highway 10. Still the landscape wasn't interesting and we almost regretted our decision to pedal from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. If you think about cycling in Laos, choose the most stunning part that is from the Chinese border to Vang Vieng.
We arrived in Vientiane after two days but did not plan to stay long. Vientiane was yet another capital without much to do and see. Famous Wat Si Saket and its thousands of Buddhas was our main sight. Food-wise we took advantage of the international cuisine in the capital and had good Turkish food. Well, nothing compares to the food we once had in Istanbul though.
Only 24 hours after our arrival we were out of the city again at the bus station. Due to time restrictions and the long and boring part of highway 13 between Vientiane and Pakse we hopped on the bus again. It's always nerve-wracking at a bus or train station. We were asked to be earlier at the bus station so that there would be enough time to put the bicycles into the trunk ... so did we think. Of course the trunk was already full and neither of our bicycles fit into the small compartment. The bus driver came up with the great idea to attach the bicycles to the back of the bus. The problem was that there was no rack or something but the engine's radiator grill. Like in China they used this thin plastic band to attach the bicycle to the grill. And like in China we didn't trust the plastic band. Our clothesline helped out again. Sarah's bicycle was placed in the trunk of a second bus going to Pakse that had a huge, empty compartment, safe place for at least four bicycles. Why didn't they do with my bicycle? Anyway, one hour later both bicycles and all our panniers were stored. You can't imagine what effort it cost. Our T-shirts were full of sweat. The hot and humid weather did the rest.
A night later in the sleeper bus and we were in Pakse, some 140 km or so from the Cambodian border. Both bicycles and ourselves survived this bus ride. The sleeper bus was an experience. Two people share one narrow bed. Good for couples but two strangers can feel uncomfortable.
