Kate's Cycling Curiosity

Writing a blog in laid back Laos seems quite incongruous to daily life where science and technology is as important to the locals as a hot shower. The locals accept my “business card” with details of my blog and email address with the same courteousness and joyful respect that I am always on the receiving end of here, but sadly the business card serves as souveneoir of meeting a foreigner rather than as a means of future correspondence. I’m endlessly enjoying being in my first country with no McDonalds or other similarly themed businesses….sadly that lack of capitalisation or prosperity to some means there is also not a hospital… but I’ll get back to that later.

Crossing the border into Laos I immediately had a taste of the Laos relaxed attitude and have adopted the “ko pangan” no problem attitude very swiftly….just as well seeing as I have had 2 broekn chains and 5 flat tyres in this country! I knew those damn €6 Chinese tyres would meet their day! I actually entered Laos unknowingly bypassing immigration as my more presssing task was how to push my fully laden bike up the very steep hill from the river boat. The local police men sat a little more upright in their hammocks and gave me a “fair play to ya you nutter” smile as I schlepped my 50kg up the hill to Huay Xai main street. It was only then that I realised I had passed no mans land and was illegally in Laos. With absolutely no intention of repeating the uphill push again, I locked my bike outside a guesthouse, took my valuables with me and headed back to find the “visa on arrival” point. A swift process ensued… as in it ran smoothly but there was certainly no hastening in their movement as a fresh glut of travellers arrived. Things take as long as they take and “Lao time” was a phrase and an attitude I was to willingly or unwillingly adopt. Contrary to the “Lao time” attitude they do grow and consume a fair amount of coffee which is very much to my pleasing and I am all to quickly balancing out my lack of coffee in Tibet, Nepal and India! Goodbye Nescafe!

The missile in motion!

My out of date map (the newest one I could buy in Bangkok) showed no road along the Mekong so I figured my best course of action would be to negotiate a place for myself and the “missile” on a slow boat to Pakbeng and from there I could start my Laos cycling adventure along the Mekong and into the mountains….rather steep I might add! Numerous knocks on my hotel door gave me an opportunity to meet the locals but sadly it was just the local marijuana and opium dealers who I don’t want to judge but it wasn’t the company I was looking for that evening. Although not locals I did meet up with an energetic Swiss and Austrain duo Lena and Oli who were also by bike and headed in the same direction. We quickly became the 3 musketeers, riding at our own pace, meeting and dining along the way and making great endeavours to make some nightlife or at least find a noodle stall in sleepy villages en route. It was one of their first trips by bike but I’m sure not their last. After a few days they headed further north and I headed south but hopefully someday in the future our tyres will cross again!

After spending a most enjoyable few days in Chiang Rai with Christina an old friend from my time in Krakow, my legs had sufficiently recovered from the mountains of Burma and North Lao. I feared if I enjoyed Pedro’s, Elisha’s and Christina’s great company, fantastic food and relaxed atmosphere anymore there was a strong danger I would soon be asking could I rent their spare room! It was about 135km to the Laos border and I decided to take the cross country route so that I wouldn’t be backtracking on my route from Chiang Saen. The road I was looking for wasn’t signposted from Chiang Rai but after a few conversations with the locals I was assured I was headed the right way. Great weather, little traffic and friendly locals encouraging me as I road, what could ruin this perfect day….then I came to the all too common fork in the road which wasn’t marked on my map and had no road signs. I was about to go with pot luck (100% failure rate on that method so far) when along came a friendly police man who obviously had nothing to do that day in this sleepy stretch of rural Thailand. He couldn’t believe his luck to meet a real live foreigner on these roads and after a lot of consternation and grimaces at the map he concluded I needed to cycle 15 km then turn right at the large rock with a teak tree before it and then continue 8km down that dirt track before there was a turn off at a pineapple farm and then the roads would probably have signposts after that. He seemed sure about the exact ‘s but I looked in despair at my broken bike computer. How big is a “big rock”?...and the roads were littered with teak trees and pineapple plantations, they are hardly a rarity here! The directions were not unlike saying turn left at the pothole back home!

White temple, Gaudi meets gothic in Chiang Rai.

Police escort No 1.

Well I need not have fretted as Sougong decided the best way to while away his afternoon would be to escort me the 15km on his police scooter bike and then after successfully arriving at “the rock” he radioed another police colleague to be waiting at the 8km mark for a further police escort. The overwhelming Thai hospitality (curiosity) knows no bounds and it was a beautiful memory to leave the country with!

Respect for the bike!...my own little lane for the bike. Irish transportation system take note!

On arriving in Chaing Khong a little worse for wear after the obligatory trek through red earth under construction roads, that sadly I have become all too accustomed to. Looking like a pack of blusher exploded on me I checked into a beautiful guesthouse overlooking a lake …..will I ever learn from my mistakes? lakes = mosquitoes! But I can just never resist their aesthetic qualities and left the next day like I had a case of the chicken pox. What made this guesthouse special was that I met my first cyclist in Thailand! I had seen a few bikes with front racks but never managed to actually see one in the flesh. As all cyclists do when they meet, we spent the even recalling funny incidents throughout our journeys. I was however slightly concerned at how often he mention Ak47’s in his description of Laos! Ah sure I’m a harmless, humble Irish cyclist, I’m not likely to rouse much concern among the police! Only time will tell how that transpires……

Chewing red earth...