On the second day we had 2 mountains to pass. One climb lasted for 21km and that was really hard because of the heat in addition to our luggage and the steepness of the road, but w got some motivation along the way.
Also some Coke from last year...
Luckily there were hot springs on the way with a beautiful resort, so it was a great spot to stay after a day like this.
The following days we had again beautiful rice fields and karst mountain views. Simply breath taking!
After these quite exhausting days we decided to have a rest in a small town at a lake Houay Pamom in a place called "nirvana resort". What a nice place! We can definitely recommend it! Lovely bungalows, great people and the owner, known for his love for animals, made our stay a relaxing time we needed.
In addition we were lucky to be at the lake during the boats festival! This national sport in Lao is beloved by the people and being among the Laotian during such an event was great!
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| Nirvana |
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| In a cage with a bear! |
The next day we bumped into another 2 cyclists and decide to cycle together. Marco and Esther from the Netherlands we spent a few nice days and evenings together, brought us to a place on another end of the same lake we werde in Nirvana. Also an absolutely stunning view after the ride of 97km!
During our stay in Nirvana we met a French guy living in Laos. He invited us to stay with him and his family. That was a great time again, good talking and BeerLao:-)
We also went together on a boat restaurant and that was it!!
You can see, we are not only enjoying cycling, we are also enjoying luxury meals.
Finally we got to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is a city with a lot of westernized restaurants, so we were able again to get a baguette and a really good pizza:-)
Vat Sisaket with its hundreds of buddhas
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| Arc de triumph in Vientiane |
Vat Sisaket with its hundreds of buddhas
After two days of city it was already enough for us and we went towards the Thai border. Still in Laos there was a Buddha Park with quite interesting monuments. It looks old, but actually all the objects were crated after 1958 and sponsored by some families or wealthy people from Vientiane.
Then we entered Thailand to cycle for a few days along the Mekong on the Thai side! First because our visa in Laos was finished second because the roads in Thailand are better (we were told) and third of course because of the food.
Already after crossing the border we have seen some dragons:-) it was a dragon festival, nice "welcome" for us. In the evening good Thai food and lovely sunset.
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| New buddha is born |
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| Visiting a Thai public primary school |
Mekong on the Thai side was beautiful, but we already started missing the hills. No problem at all: go back to Laos:-)
The army at the Thai border even said hallo to us:-)
We continued on the " Thakhek loop". This road which is quite popular among the motorbikers was our next challenge. It starts in a small town Thakhek and goes through karst mountain landscapes and bamboo hut villages. There are also plenty of caves along the way. Quite special as well is the landscape at the dam lake: heaps of trees still standing in the water. By the way that is how it looks like on a map!
The army at the Thai border even said hallo to us:-)
We continued on the " Thakhek loop". This road which is quite popular among the motorbikers was our next challenge. It starts in a small town Thakhek and goes through karst mountain landscapes and bamboo hut villages. There are also plenty of caves along the way. Quite special as well is the landscape at the dam lake: heaps of trees still standing in the water. By the way that is how it looks like on a map!
The best part of the track was still awaiting us: after 80km from Thakek and some hills climbed of course;-) there is an 56km off road part on the left hand side that leads you to the Konglor Cave: 7km long cave that you can use like a tunnel to get to the other side of the cave!
The off road part was rough, hilly in the begging and our absolute favorite of the whole Laos trip! (okay Doro said maybe as good as the elephant trip:-))
Let the pictures speak!
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| Transporting bikes on the boat |
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| In the cave |
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| Our guide did great job:) |
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| After 7 km the other side of the "tunnel" |
On the other side of the cave the road is paved already, still the mornings flair in the village was very basic
Last two days of cycling in Laos were (of course) hilly. We also had a great camp spot, since we did not find a guest house for kilometers and it was getting late. Instead we found the best camp spot you can imagine and slept under the stars:-)
In Laksao we started our preparation for Vietnam... and set off the next day!
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| Our route in Laos and partilly in Thailand |
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| Bye Laos!! |
