January 2nd: Udon Thani to Nong Bua – 49 km

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Day 81

Maybe it’s the cold nights and comfortable beds, we get up and out later and later. Today we planned on a 76 km day but only made 49km.

We were unpleasantly surprised in several ways today. First, it was hot and humid. Second, we had a long uphill climb. Third, a group of police officers stopped us in the middle of 1 and 2, neither of which put us in an entertaining mood. We may have lost a bit of endurance during our long rock climbing stay and our legs were lumps of clay. So in the middle of our misery, a truck full of police officers pulled over on the shoulder in front of us and jumped out. My first thought was that we did something wrong, or they wanted to check our documents. Then we saw the camera. One officer kept motioning to my trike and saying “picture picture”. I wiped the sweat from my face, and told him no. I started to ride off but Cher was still trapped on the other side. A few minutes later she appeared and told me that she was busy giving them a lecture on how rude it was to stop us for pictures in the middle of an uphill climb under the blazing sun. We afterwards both admitted it wasn’t really a big deal, but when you’re hot tired and mashing up a hill in the afternoon sun, the last thing you want is being stopped for pictures.

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We arrived in town without further incident and both agreed that we would get up early tomorrow. Weather calls for 32 C. or 90 F. and sunny. However it will be 35 C. / 95 F. in two days. What happened to our sweet autumnal Cantaloupes and Honeydew Melon days? I guess there’s a reasons why we’re surrounded by coconut palms, banana trees, and tamarind trees.

December 31st – January 1st: Nong Mek to Udon Thani and a Rest Day – 46 km

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Day 79-80

We made it to the big city. Udon Thani is Thailand’s 4th largest city and in the spirit of the holiday and big cities, we have procured another tablet. We did not foresee this but we need 2 tablets. Typing, updating the blog, uploading photos, navigating, reading, language studying and keeping in touch with only one tablet has been frustrating for 2 people. We’ve done our best for the past 2.5 months, but we caved in today and bought a Samsung Note 8. I do feel a bit guilty that we have so many comforts, but so did Fridjtof Nansen when he made his expedition to the North Pole in his well stocked ship, the Fram which was equipped with a library, musical instruments games and enough varied food to provide multiple course meals. And if arctic explorers can have comforts, why shouldn’t we? The new addition to our possession made Cher’s day, and possibly the whole year. On the down side, I no longer have any excuse to procrastinate on updating the blog.

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Perhaps it’s the convenience, the copious amounts of calories on display, or our own laziness, but we found that we had to pull ourselves out of the mall to get food from street stalls. Even if street stalls overcharge you, they are still cheaper. On our way to Udon Thani we stopped for lunch and ordered some noodles and were charged almost twice what they were worth, but since we have a guidebook with food translations I made the owner’s husband point to the items printed on the menu with prices shown while I double checked. He realized he was caught and to avoid losing further face he tried to waive the bill. Thanking him for his “kindness”, we paid the correct amount and didn’t give him the satisfaction. However, on the whole people have been honest and generous. While stopping to check the price at a “resort” (small cheap bungalows), the owner gave us two ice-cold Cokes and two bottles of water. She wished us a happy new year and good luck, even knowing that we wouldn’t stay at her place.

Taking a day to rest on the new year we wandered around the city and picked up some odds and ends. My discount pants from Hong Kong need constant sewing, so I picked up a roll of thread and some needles. If you were a sailor in the 1900’s this was a regular Sunday routine, which makes this a manly, adventurous activity. I have a feeling that our clothes will give me many opportunities to prove my manliness in the coming year.

December 30th: Phang Khon to Nong Mek – 64.75 km

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Day 78

Although the scenery along Route 22 isn’t that spectacular, we were quite happy to have more cool weather, flat roads and very little stress.

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Having done a little research before we left, we found a little “resort”off the road to stay at. For 350 Bhat we got our own private bungalow, with a covered parking spot, wi-fi, hot-water and air-conditioning.

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Once again we found food just around the corner from our lodging. We were able to purchase blood tofu, (congealed pig’s blood) with lemon grass in coconut sauce, 4 sausages, 5 eggs, pickled green onions, brazed pork with vegetables and a bag of mung bean noodles for 127 Baht or 4 US dollars. Most of it, with the exception of the fresh sausages, was precooked. Everything that we bought was delectable. We saved the sausages and eggs for breakfast. If this keeps up, we might actually gain weight traveling through Thailand.

December 29th: Sakon Nakhon to Phang Khon – 57.24 km

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Day 77

Oh smooth roads, how sweet you are! It’s amazing how much faster and efficient we can pedal on smooth roads. No more vibration from the road till your hands are numb and your vision blurred. This coupled with winter weather in Thailand, which feels like a warm autumn day in North America, makes cycling a joy. As if to support my autumn theory we came to a market selling pumpkins, cantaloupe and honeydew melons. There we had some of the most perfectly ripe cantaloupes we’ve ever tasted. Compared to what we came through in Laos, Thailand is a cornucopia of convenience.

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Learning from our previous mistake, we did a little map research the night before and found a nice clean room without much effort. In Thailand, hotels tend to be located on the less traveled side streets, and with very little advertisement and no English signs they are very easy to miss.

Strolling out to get dinner, we found a Sunday market selling all types of Thai delights just 100 meters away from the hotel. We went crazy for dinner sausages, spicy fish with coconut cream steamed in banana leaves, fried spring rolls in salad, grilled sticky rice, pad thai and sticky rice with mango and coconut for desert. The market food here rivals that of any expensive restaurant.

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December 28th: Nakhon Phanom to Sakon Nakhon – 98.17 km

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Day 76

So far wherever we have traveled, hotels are everywhere so we have done little planning as to where we will lay our heads each night. Today Thailand taught us a new lesson. We were a bit slow getting back into the routines of cycling, and after changing our rear view mirrors to the right hand side (as the traffic goes on the opposite side in Thailand), we didn’t get on the road until 10am. Shortly after arriving at what we thought would be our destination we were alarmed to find no hotels and the next town Sakon Nakhon was another 50kms away. With the afternoon sun already casting long shadows, we rushed off to get to Sakon Nakhon before sunset.

Luckily for us, Route 22 was smooth and level with a generous shoulder. After being on high alert over the last 2 months keeping a vigilant lookout both ahead and behind on narrow or zero shoulders, a long day of nearly 100km without stress wasn’t nearly as tiring. However, it did burn up calories.

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We rolled into Sakon Nakhon just as the sun was setting and couldn’t find a cheap hotel. Finally we came across the Majestic Hotel, which would cost us 1000 Baht per night. Out of exhaustion and hunger, we almost took it on the spot after learning that the room includes a free buffet breakfast. I rationalized that since I could break even at the buffet breakfast table by eating 700 Baht worth of food, the Majestic Hotel would be within our budget. After Cher put the amount in terms I could comprehend, I agreed it was too much and we were directed to a cheaper option.

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The cheaper option was 560 Baht at another majestic looking hotel, which also included breakfast. With fantasies of ravaging the buffet, we both greedily accepted, disregarding that we could have had a cheaper rate without the breakfast. We went to bed with high expectations for the breakfast and we woke up with higher expectations in the morning. We rushed to the lobby like kids on Christmas and quickly found that Santa had only left an “American breakfast” with 2 sad eggs and some toast. And of course, in reality, no one had promised us a buffet breakfast from the beginning.

December 27th: Green Climbers Home, Thakhek to Nakhon Phanom, Thailand – 48.6 km

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Day 75

After 22 days of climbing and over 60 different routes, the urge to get back on the road grew strong. Plus our visas were going to expire, so we really had to move on.

Leaving Green Climber’s Home we rode into Thakhek town to exchange our Kip for Baht, as there aren’t any banks on the way to the border and you can’t exchange Kip outside of Laos. After exchanging money, we stopped at Travel Lodge to get some lunch and internet. Luckily we stopped, because soon we realized that neither of us had any information on the Thakhek/Nakhon Phanom border crossing. According to the Google Maps, there is a ferry crossing Mekong River, which offers town center to town center delivery. There is also the Third Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge 16km away from Thakhek. The ferry appeared to be the easier option. However, we quickly learned from the English-speaking staff that the ferry over the border only serves locals, and foreigners would have to take the newly constructed Friendship Bridge by bus. Weather or not our human-powered vehicles are allowed on the bridge, the staff could offer no insight. We found a cyclist’s blog and learned that they made him take a bus over the bridge. Dreading the hassle of fully disassembling our trikes and luggage to squeeze onto a bus, we began our 16 km detour towards the bridge.

We arrived at the Friendship Bridge and noticed that they only have lanes for buses and cars. Ignoring the signs, we pulled into the Laos immigration checkpoint. Our trikes again succeeded in breaking the ice for us, as the officials were amazed by them. I didn’t complain as an immigration official and a priest took turns sitting on my trike, hoping that the blessing either higher power might aid our trip. Not sure what to do with our trikes or what classification they fall under, we were waved through after they stamped our passports. We hurried off like giddy students who just realized their teacher mis-marked their exam papers and passed where they should have failed. Soon we crossed the bridge and made it to the Thai border without incident and once again our passports were stamped and we were waved through. There were no searches, x-rays or questions. This was our easiest border crossing yet.

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Arriving in Thailand, the prosperity had a shocking effect on us. 7-11’s and modern conveniences are now around every corner. Pedaling along the Mekong on the west bank into Nakhon Phanom, we passed mansions and expensive cars that reminded us of wealthy western suburbs. People out jogging waved at us. The contrast was mind-boggling, as we just left a small dusty slightly ramshackle town on the other side of the river. We will certainly not complain about having more modern conveniences once again.

December 7 to December 27: Adult Climbing Camp in Thakhek

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Day 55 to 75

Wake up – breakfast – climb – lunch – climb – shower – dinner – sleep. The new daily climbing ritual was a nice break from the constant moving momentum of riding. Surrounded by all climbers and some 160 routes, it was hard not to only thinking about climbing and the present moment. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary (and hopefully many more to come!) and Christmas by finishing our projects.

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December 6: Climbing Day in Thakhek

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Day 54

Thakhek is truly the best climbing place we have seen. Other than the convenience of access and accommodation, the quality of the rock is superb – diverse features and unpolished holds. The winter weather in Laos can’t be better for climbing – super dry and cool. We spent a whole day thoroughly enjoying the routes. Looks like  we will be here longer than we thought.

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December 5: Thakhek to Green Climber’s Home – 16 km

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Day 53

Green Climber’s Home is every climber’s wet dream – affordable accommodations right next to the crags – 147 routes all within 20 minutes (at the most) of walking, but many at under a minute. Though in the middle of no where (at least 13km from town and 7km from the nearest guesthouse), Home has all your needs met as long as your wallet can afford it. Home offers the choices of private bungalows, beds in dorm rooms, rent-a-tent campsites (fixed location with extra tarp) or bring-your-own-tent campsites (wherever you choose to pitch). Compared to the majority of local restaurants, the food served in the big open lofty canteen is second to none with generous portions filled with plenty of veggies and protein.

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After we pitched our tent in the woods, Chopper swept the leaves away to create a parking space for our trikes, made a path to our doors, and put up a nice taut laundry line. With our household settled, we are ready for another climbing session.

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December 4: Nhong Song to Thakhek – 100 km

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Day 52

Freshly out of the mountains, we decided to push for a long day on the flat terrain ahead of us today. Both of us were eager to get to the climbing spot Thakhek and relax till Christmas.

The gentle curves of the hills followed us all the way through. The road, though paved, was still rough and coarse. The only inspiration for the hard work was watching the number on milestone getting smaller and smaller, km by km.

Finally we found a roadside restaurant to stop for lunch, just when I lowered my expectation for food to chips from little convenient stores. Compared to the millions of little restaurants and the variety of food in China and Vietnam, the lack of either in Laos was the hardest part so far. Both of us swear that we won’t eat another bowl of Laos rice noodle again, yet that was the only choice for lunch. Laos food is heavy on the starch with few vegetables, and even fewer protein, and the overall portion is not cyclist-friendly. We often found ourselves hungry and unsatisfied after a meal, till Chopper started to order 2 servings.

Just before dark we arrived in Thakhek, the biggest town we have seen since we entered Laos. We had big hopes for our hotel tonight – finding WiFi to let our family and friends know we were still alive. After circling the town for an hour and partially being blinded by exhaustion, we didn’t see any of the guesthouses. Just before dark we settled ourselves in the grand Mekong Hotel (with WiFi and only 100,000 Kip).

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Inspired by the large number of westerners we saw in town, we decided to indulge ourselves in some non-Laos food tonight, so we won’t be lying in bed hungry with images of food spinning in our head. We ended up having Laos/Thai food, serving portion as big as tapas. However, we were delighted by the fact that we didn’t have to force down another bowl of Laos rice noodles.

December 3: Ban Phonkho to Nhong Song – 42.69 km

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Day 51

No more chills and no more fever! With our chains well lubed and everything in order, once again, we were roaming on the road again ready to conquer whatever lie in front of us. I laughed at myself for almost considering taking a bus, as we steadily peddled up the zigzag road.

After one big climb, we eased into more gentle terrain. We met 2 cyclists going in the opposite direction, and stopped to exchange travel info for the road ahead. One of them started  from Bangkok, planning on going through China and eventually reaching Europe. I guessed that he would head north and cross into Yunnan, China. Growing up in Yunnan, I’m very much aware of the elevation awaiting him. Hopefully his lightweight luggage and diamond-frame bicycle will make the journey easier.

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Chopper’s trike started to make an clicking noise. It sounded like it was coming from his rear cassette, or possibly the hub. Either way, it would not be fun to end up with a broken trike in Laos. We stopped several times trying to find the problem, but even after Chopper tightened the lock ring on the cassette the clicking noise still persisted.

After lunched at the Route 8 and 13 intersection, we decided to call it a day. A nap is on my agenda, and Chopper has the clicking noise mystery to solve. Hopefully we won’t need ICE to ship any replacement parts.

December 2: Another Rest Day in Ban Phonkho

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Day 50

I have never been so relieved to find out that I have a sore throat – when it means I just had an infection, instead of malaria. Chopper didn’t want to give up on his noodle cooking yet, and started practicing at 7am. This time, we had noodles that cooked al dente with perfect sunny side up fried eggs for breakfast.

Since we entered into Laos, I couldn’t help noticing how much responsibilities the kids are taking on. We saw kids no more than 10 year old driving motorcycles; a 5-year-old taking care of her infant sibling, without adult supervision; a group of 8 or 9-year-old children helping out with slaughtering a calf. With 90% of the Laos population working in agriculture, the reality render Child Labor Laws out of place – either you have your children to help out, or you have nothing to feed them.

Feeling much better today, I ventured into the market late in the afternoon. Expecting a closing-down market at sunset, I was surprised to find the market in full swing. The empty lot in the morning was filled with more stalls and buyers. After a stroll, I had to run back to fetch Chopper and a camera. It was a different market now than earlier. “Bushmeat” is common grocery here. Dozens of rats were neatly arranged along side with a couple of squirrels. Some unknown (to us) wild furry animals were “sleeping” peacefully on the table. We were not sure if the pretty birds were sold for meat or for their feathers. Also, there were plenty of “protein buckets” filled with tiny shrimp and fish, crawling bugs (including cockroaches) and halves of little crabs.

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This new discovery cast a new light on our dinner later. Feeling adventurous early this morning, I had bought some mysterious items for lunch and dinner. We had consumed what we knew for sure were a bag of horse-radish greens, and barbecued liver for lunch. For dinner we were left with a bag of mysterious minced meat with vegetables, and 2 lumps of something wrapped tightly in banana leaves. Gingerly I unwrapped the banana leaves, bracing myself for some insect delight appearing at the end of the roll. It turned out to be pork (hopefully) skin gelatin. We never find out what was that minced meat was. With some questions that I chose not to dwell upon, we cooked up some rice noodles and stuffed our faces with mysteries before finding any answers. It was a delicious meal nevertheless.

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Both of us had troubled sleeping that night. Cuddled up with our stuffed rats that we brought all the way from home as our travel companions, I wonder who are the more absurd.

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