Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang

Day 1: 61km, climb 617m, Vang Ving - Kasi
Day 2: 45km, climb 1338m, Kasi - Phoukhoun
Day 3: 104km, climb 1788m, Phoukhoun - Xiang Ngeun
Day 4: 28km, Xiang Ngeun - Louang Prabang

As soon as we cycled out of Vang Vieng we did not see an inch of flat road for the next four days and we found ourselves in a landscape where you can imagine meeting fairies, hobbits and wizards around the corner. We did not see any but there were lots of grubby children and villagers drying ferns by the side of the road everywhere. We were not sure what they do with these, do they supply the whole of Lao with brooms?

The first day cycling was pretty short so we set off late and stopped for a relaxed second breakfast at the organic mulberry farm. Had we known only 20km past Kasi (our destination for that day) was a hot spring with some bungalows we would have hurried on up there but unfortunately we did not know about it. In Kasi we ate in a chinese restaurant where the owners were very pleased to see us even though they did not speak a word of english and had to drag us into the kitchen by our elbows to get us to point at what we would like to eat. The food was great.

Day two was as short as it was tiring, but the mountain landscape was breathtaking. We stopped at the restaurant by the hot springs to get some energy for the 1000m climb to Phoukhoun at 1400m altitude. We made it up by around lunch time and checked into the guesthouse. Unfortunately there was only one (dirty damp smelly) because the other one was playing music at deafening volume as they were hosting a dancing wedding crowd. In the afternoon we walked up a wee hill in the village to escape the noise of the wedding where we were entertained by a troupe of young breakdancers/acrobats/clowns/children. We managed to spend the rest of the evening not bumping into a german couple who were staying at the same guesthouse and had cycled from the opposite direction.

The next morning when we left the guesthouse we came out into a very foggy mountain morning, it felt like being back in Edinburgh. We set off planning to reach Luang Prabang, but with the option of stopping somewhere half way if we had not made it that far. It was a very hilly road with lots of fast downhill and lots of very steep slow uphill. We made it to Kiewacacham (the place we were considering stopping at) by lunchtime so we decided to continue the 80km on to Luang Prabang even though we knew we would probably not get there in daylight. From there we dropped 1000m over the next 20 or 30km but unfortunatly the road went up again and we had to climb another 600m. Near the top of that climb it was already 4pm and it had just started raining. It continued to rain and we had to get our jackets out for the second time on our trip! The drizzle turned to buckets and our shoes soon started to fill up and we were getting pretty cold. At 6 o'clock just as it was getting dark we cycled passed a sign for a guesthouse which we could not resist. We were only 28km from our destination but we were defeated, it had been a long day and we were frozen to the bone. The next day still soggy we continued on to Luang Prabang and got there in time for our second breakfast.

drying ferns

the way we came

more chubby pigs

little troupe of acrobats, known to like satsumas

waking up to a bright new day

having curious company at a snack stop

28km from Luang Prabang our saviour guesthouse

Vang Vieng

We found a beautiful friendly guest house on the opposite side of town across the river. Then we were lucky again that out of 15 bungalows we got the nicest one, situated under a huge pomelo tree, with the best view to the cliffs. Every night we would go to bed praying for the great wise pomelo to hear our calls and sometimes, if we had been good, we would wake up in the middle of the night from a great big crash as a pomelo the size of a watermelon landed on our roof.

One day we cycled a loop near the mountains on dirt roads where we saw the most beautiful scenery as well as many chubby pigs at the small villages. We stopped at one of the caves which was huge inside and the dark room seemed even bigger with our tiny inadequate torchs. Back outside we enjoyed a splash in the turquoise lagoon and a Beerlao on the riverbank before having to do the rest of the loop in a bit of a hurry to get back before dark.

We managed to rent a rope and go climbing for a day too, which almost justifies having carried our climbing shoes and harnassed around with us for the last 3000km. Not really long enough to get back into it but there was not much else that we could climb in the area anyway so a day was enough.

We also spent a day tubing, which is floating down a river at 2km an hour in a tractor tire innertube getting a cold bum. It was very exciting, but there seemed to be lots of shit floating down too (backpackers). Bea went on a very high swing and after not wanting to let go for a while, managed to fall in very gracefully.

We spent the last day at our bungalow cleaning our bikes as they had gotten extremely dusty on the dirt roads. And we got impatient with the big wise pomelo too, so Kiki climbed the tree and we set off the next morning with heavier panniers than usual.


view from our bungalow

Tham Phu Kham cave

one of many bars along the river

view from the top of a climbing route

ready for some fast and furious tubing action

Bea launching her swing

... and falling into the river with much style

Vientiane to Vang Vieng

Day 1: 109km, Vientiane - Phon Hong
Day 2: 90km, climb 67m, Phon Hong - Vang Vieng

It was hard to leave the comfort of Vientiane, but we did eventually set off. On the outskirts of the city we passed a French Swiss-Spanish cyclist. He had stopped to buy some water, we would not have passed him had he been moving. We cycled the next two days together and it was nice to have some new company for a short time. He kept us at a decent speed and we slowed him down.
On the first day we were caught out by a nasty little steep hill near the end which gave us a wee taste of things to come. It was mostly flat, pleasant cycling and the scenery was pretty. The first night we stayed in a bit of a dump (again a taste of things to come), stealing the last room from an australian cyclist who had a shit day, but there was a nice restaurant so we ate dinner together before he went off to sleep in the brothel.
The second day cycling was nice too and the scenery started getting even more dramatic towards the end of the day. The setting of Vang Vieng is beautiful and had it not been for the town it would be perfect.

elegant umbrellycling

arrival at Vang Vieng pancake stall

Vientiane

We arrived bright and early in Vientiane and had the fortune to observe the 6am aerobics lesson by the Mekong. Not feeling quite up to it after our overnight bus journey we quickly ran away to look for a bed (without even taking a picture).
The next few days were spent not sight seeing. Vientiane was very nice and relaxing, apart from Kiki getting ill and having to spend a few days in The most uncomfortable bed in the world ©, after we ate our first home cooked meal in 3 months (although the two things are not related). While Kiki was bedridden Bea went out to eat a Wiener Schnitzel by herself, which Kiki will never forget and always think of as the best missed meal in the whole wide world (it was not even that great, but how do you explain that to someone who has the perfect Schnitzel fantasy in his head?)
All we can really say about Vientiane is that the food was great and that the hotel we stayed in might either soon fall down or be renovated.

dining by the Mekong

breakfast at the cheerful riceporridge stall, where is wally?