Monsoon Season

I push out of Vientiane with fresh legs well aware of the gradient of the road ahead it's all mountains from here on through into Vietnam. The road north climbs steadily through rolling hills and we put in some big days I have a time line on my Visa and must exit by the 27. It takes it toll but I rest up hang out with the backpackers drink away some good night in the bars.
It’s a lovely road through some epic scenery hard fought through burning climbs only to be released over the ridge on the 20k rolling decent. A good ride through the clouds, often white out raining and wet, chafing my balls and I still cant wipe the smile from my face some of the best roads yet.
A little concerned when you see the guy with the Ak walking up the road not uncommon all over but I spoke to a guy who was on a bus pulled up by masked rebels on this road in 2003, two hostages taken and executed along with a couple of Dutch cyclists that happened upon the scene a scary tail that seems so out of place for such lovely ride, reminds you to keep your wits about you although it's a safe road today.

Lung Prabung a world Heritage listed city with it's old school French style and tropical feel. Set on the river and my last view of the mighty Mekong. I also part with Jukka here and I wish him all the best for his trail, It's not legal to ride through Tibet but if the mountains don’t stop him hears hoping the authorities don't either. I myself am making a b-line for Vietnam taking a short cut that's inevitably going to bite me in the ass but that’s all part of the fun, Ill tell you how it goes.

Southern Lao

Highway 13 the main artery stretching the full length of the country but it still doesn’t carry much traffic and is quite a relaxed road following the low lands along the Mekong and connecting the small towns of southern Laos with the rice fields and their inhabitance. The towns Paisa and Savernake are pleasant places with nothing above two stories you can wonder down by the river and appreciate the French colonial influence crumbling architecture and old men playing botchy. Get accosted by students with questions like “what is your favorite color” and “how many people in your family” straight out of the text book but their keen to talk to a native English speaker and I’m glad to help, their cool and good for a laugh besides I appreciate the rest of the world learning my language, it makes life so much easier for me. I learnt hello (Saba dii) and thank you (kwap ji (li li-very much) but struggle to counting to ten doesn’t seem to be a problem just act it up point and smile mime it out you always get something good to eat and sometimes its just funny how do you ask for diarrhea medication?

I am still travelling with Jukka we keep different schedules we are both solo cyclists but I’m a self confessed traveler with a bicycle where he is a committed man with a long road ahead of him he takes his time to rest his legs. We travel at different paces I do the tourist rout whilst he’s in training, it works kind of well and we meet up at the next town share the stories.
I break from the highway and do a three day loop up into the Bolluvan Plateau a nice reprieve form the heat it’s been in the 30’s but as you climb a 1000m it cools and the rice fields are replaced by lush greenery, fertile soils bananas and cabbage and another legacy of the French, coffee plantations make a welcome addition to my diet.

Highway 13 rolls north and although the mighty Mekong is always close you get very few glimpses of it from the road and it makes for boring riding. Another diversion looms and I fork off through some epic limestone scenery wall up as the hills roll by. I’ve done pretty well but you can’t escape them all and I hit a few rainy days through the stage. The track turns muddy and the pot holes become puddles it make slow going but it’s all part of the adventure if you were to fear the hard days you miss out on the good ones and in the end its only the hard days you remember.
I push on to meet highway eight a section of road that truncates the country a trade route between the Thai and Vietnams boarder and the start of some serious ups and some wicked downs. The rain slows me down as I climb and the undulating terrain wears on you. The mist sets in giving that mystical air to the mountains as you can’t see where one start and another ends. Its getting late the hills had really slowed me down. It’s raining and I’m still climbing with no end in sight when I get my second flat for the day. I’m now walking my bike up the hill with no more spare tubes and the idea of sitting down in the rain and repairing a puncture doesn’t appeal but this place is always good to me and I wave down a buss heading up the hill well a Ute with bench seats in the back the local equivalent and in a flash I’m travelling at 80k all be it over the range and about 50k decent back down to the river you get that. But I do make the guest house for the night wet and exhausted which does beat my tent on a rainy night which was the alternate plan.

Roll into Vientiane the capital of Lao 300k’s up the road Buddist Wats and Burricratic ministeries the hammer and sickelflies strong. A chance to relax and sample some of the best beer in South East Asia and the only beer in Lao, Beer Lao funny enough, got’a love the communists state run brewery keep’n it cheep at about 80c a tally, bring on the revolution. Lao is good and cheep my kind'a place, my rooms $3 and a good meal of something spicy and some sticky rice from a street stall wont push over the U.S dollar mark or 10 000 Kip. Cant stay for ever though got the visa on a time line and the bike don’t travel so fast so I keep pushing on two weeks to make up through the northern hills historic city of Laung Praubang and into Vietnam. It's never the end.