1/19/08

A few days ago in Champasak we ran into a couple of New Zealanders turned Aussies. They had built their own sailboat, a 38’ sloop, and sail it with a group of boats to Southeast Asia. They introduced us to a new term they used to refer to themselves: “grotty yachters”.

The ferry landing to Champasak was a pleasant surprise: a car ferry so we could just roll Bici on loaded. We were tired since we started to encounter some long rolling hills and a good strong headwind. We found a newer nice guest house and restaurant: Anouxa with ac, fan and hot water ($15US). Again we were on the bank of the Mekong with a good breeze. It is fun to watch the children swimming and bathing, families tending their bank side gardens as we sat eating our meals.

On our second day. We shared a tuk tuk with the “grotty yachties for a trip out to visit Wat Phou, Angkorian ruins set at the base of a mountain range. These ruins range from the 5th to the 11th centuries. The stunning setting on a mountainside sets this site apart. The temples and associated buildings are known for their elaborately and deeply carved lintels over the doorways.

Champasak itself is a linear town strewn along the Mekong for many kilometers, only one paved street with dirt lanes leading into the fields. On our afternoon explorations we went to see if we could get a cash advance at the one bank in town. We encountered the three employees who had to wake up and start to move in slow motion. This bank could have been an out post in our early western days, only they weren’t wearing eye shades and sleeve garters. As we inquired they all conversed and agreed: No cash advance here. Paxke has an ATM. Guess what? The ATM in Pakxe would lot take our debit card, so we did finally get a cash advance, so now we are set for money. We have found in Laos our ATM pin number will not work. Hopefully, it is not an issue for the rest of our trip. There is a 3% surcharge from the bank! We also found a seamstress with a newer sewing machine who repaired Judee’s riding shorts in a jiffy for $.75.

Champasak 1. Ferry 2. Lintel at Wat Phou 3. Overview from Wat

 

Pakxe, our next stop, is a bustling river town, the largest so far in Laos with many choices of hotels and guest houses. We looked at newer ones but decided on an older guest house with A/c, cable TV and hot water for $13US (Sala Champa). One thing we have noticed as we check in and out of lodgings is if you ask for a room early in the morning it is likely that they will tell you they are full, no rooms, but if you came in at noon or after they will have a room! Now if we come in early we know to ask “Will you have a room later?” This lovely laid back guest house had a comfortable fan-cooled outdoor patio encouraging reading and card playing. A very decorative Wat, an old Palace converted to a hotel and a market provided a little diversion for a relaxing stay. We spent two days here mailing packages, catching up on the internet, and again giving Art’s sensitive bottom a day off the bike.

Paxke 1. Moving family 2. Rotti 3. Military presence

 

 

It has gotten cooler with strong breezes, actually blowing signs down. Lots of dust is in the air. Indian food is available here, so rotti with eggs or bananas with Laos coffee is served for breakfast. Other meals are a mixture of Lao, Thai, Western, Vietnamese and Indian with a little Chinese thrown in. On the whole good choices are available both on the road and in the towns and cities.

I need to correct one of my first impressions: that is the children not greeting us. Here they are shouting their greetings in Laos, but we don’t hear “What is your name? Where are you going?” Still lots of smiles and thumbs up as people pass us. Bici still gets the most attention!

The Bolaven Plateau was our next destination, where we routed a big loop for the next 5 – 7days. Our first stop was Tad Fane Waterfall and Resort only 38km from Pakxe, up a gentle but steady climb. Tad Fane is the longest waterfall on the Plateau some 100m high and set amidst a lush jungle near the edge of a conservation area. The rustic cabins are located in a semicircle amidst tall trees and lush under growth with the sound of the roaring falls ever present. At $32US p/n this was not a deal in a country of $12-15US rooms with lovely accommodation. Although these bungalow/cabins set into the mountainside were way over priced, we stayed two nights to luxuriate in the cool mountain temperatures and to walk to another waterfall/cascade a few kilometers up the road and through coffee plantations. We slept under blankets last night! Food is good and the view of the falls from the restaurant is a delight to behold.

 

Road to Bolaven Plateau 1. Blacksmith 2. Coffee Factory 3. Gathering broom materials

Readying for the next segment of our Plateau adventure, we began to inquire of other travelers and guides as to the conditions of our proposed route. We had been reading about the Plateau and how the Ho Chi Minh trail had traversed the northern edge, bringing with it the disruption of decades of war. The area is still laden with unexploded mines and it seems many of the roads were destroyed and not replaced as yet. We learned that a couple of the roads, one over 75km, was dirt and in nasty condition. Always flexible, we altered our itinerary and coasted the 38 kms back down to Pakxe (4+ hours up and 1.5 hours down).

Bolaven Plateau 1. Tad Fen waterfall 2. Cabin 3. Coffee pickers

 

 

1-21-08

Today we left Pakxe early and headed north using information we acquired from the internet by Mr. Pumpy and Bill Weir. Stopping only 62 kms, at the only guest house we know lies another 105 kms away, tonight’s guest house is off the highway, at the outskirts of the village. We settle in to endure the mid-afternoon heat, reading, writing and listening to our neighbors who love their music loud. To our surprise there is not a sink in the bathroom, a first! There is a shower and a bucket-fill western style toilet. Shaving, teeth brushing and washing up will take some creative thinking. Our room with fan and cold water and possibly dirty sheet was $4US. I say possibly dirty sheets because as we lounged on the porch a very young couple came in, took a room for a “quickie”, and after they left the owner checked the room but did not leave with bed clothes in hand. We immediately checked the sheet and pillow: clean! We put our Thermarests on the two inch bed pad. We will sleep well tonight. Our goal is to reach Savannakhet day after tomorrow.

We are back eating at roadside “peek in pots” where we usually get noodle soup with herbs, some meat and today glasses of ice water. What a treat! No restaurant at our guest house, so we will go back into town this evening to find dinner and maybe a beer or two.

1. Older school 2. New school 3. Peek in pot

 

A preliminary observation on the schools in Laos: they appear to be less important, less well cared for and poorly attended compared to those in Cambodia where there were many brightly painted, consistently in yellow with white trim and many, many children wearing uniforms riding bikes and motorbikes to and from. Laos is primarily an agricultural, farming society where education is not considered as important. We read that the literacy rate is the lowest of all Asian countries.

Laos has electricity. The sound of saws and planners is a constant as we pass through rural villages and towns. Laos is more prosperous with new buildings and homes popping up all over compared again to Cambodia.

1-22-08

Today we met five other cyclists. The first two were French, riding a tandem, pulling a Bob trailer and loaded with four large Vaud panniers. We are now encountering the Europeans that ride across their continent: Europe, Russia and China, then head into Southeast Asia. The second group of riders was three Chinese attempting the world! They have been on the road 1.5 months coming across the border in Laos. As we rode away after visiting with them, we recalled how tentative we were the first month or two or six about our world tour plans. We wished them wind at their back and invited them to stay with us in California in 3 - 4 years when they get there and hopefully, we will also be there!

Other cyclists 1. French 2. Chinese

 

Tonight in Pakxong, we found a great guesthouse with AC and hot water for $9US and a terrific restaurant along the road that whipped us up delicious pork fried rice as we gulped a few Lao beers! Today, we rode 106 kms, eating in several places along the way. Each village specialized in something and that is what was available. So breakfast was skinny but tasty chickens Barbequed on skewers with sticky rice; lunch was a beef and noodle soup, a standard we get often. It is ok, with green onions, rice noodles and chewy meat that we spice ourselves with vegetables, and fresh herbs (mint, basil, etc) and a variety of sauces (soy, chili, garlic) for a tasty meal. We are eating more often to keep up our energy and still using the R&D electrolyte replacement powder once or twice a day.

Art has two huge blisters on his bottom, each the size of a $.50 piece. As we continue to ride, the blisters grow deeper and the skin covering them is continually rubbed off. We are going to need to get off the bike seats for three weeks plus so he can heal! Hauling the bike around on buses and little sawangthaeu’s (local people movers) was not our plan, but we need to move and that provides the best option.

1-24-08

It has only been two days of not riding and both of us are finding it a bit wearing. But, here in Savannakhet, we applied for our Vietnam Visas which will take three days to process. We rode here in a sawangthaeau, a pickup outfitted with bench seats facing each other in back and one down the center for passengers, with Bici tied to the roof rack. It was a bit like our Cambodia van ride: all the humanity possible stuffed in on top of rice bags, etc, and several passengers hanging off the back. Good the ride was only 70km. The sawangthaeu made several stops to add people and one stop at a military check point. We had passed several of these on the bike and were always waved through. Our driver got out of the sawangtheau and took what I presumed to be a log book of some sort with him. He handed the book to the seated military man who reached in between the pages and slid his hand, palm down, shuffling something (bribe?) into his pocket - so obvious in his slight of hand it was comical! Laos is ruled by the communist party; the majority of the Lao population agrarian; merchants, shop owners and business people are Vietnamese and Chinese.

The guide book mentioned in glowing terms about the French colonial architecture here in Savannakhet. Most is so dilapidated as to be uninhabitable, but a few have been restored and are truly lovely. There are a couple of smart restaurants and several guesthouses so our wait here for visas makes a pleasant break. We moved rooms today, trying to find one with plumbing that worked. It seems the bathroom sinks are loosely hung on the walls so they rock up and down. Drain pipes are not adjustable so they just come apart and deposit the drain water onto one’s feet. It is bad enough to wash the entire bathroom every time one takes a shower, now toothpaste dribbles all over our toes. We are such spoiled Americans. It seems these inconveniences are only difficult to deal with when we are tired, sick or don’t seem to foresee a change for a week or two. After all, this is our life these days, and we like to live in some comfort at 60+ years old. Spoiled!

French Colonial Architecture of Savannakhet, Laos

 

Because we won’t be riding for a few weeks, our caloric intake will need to be reduced. My downfall is cheese and in touristy restaurants they serve it! In the evening we strolled the Mekong water front to watch the sunset lighting the sky over Thailand on the other bank a couple kilometers away. Locals were tending their vegetable gardens on the riverbanks, steep now in the dry season. In the wet monsoons, these gardens would be submerged by the river’s mighty flow. Umbrellas, tables and chairs, mats, cushions and low tables were set all along the walk, with food stalls serving up beer, soft drinks, and all sorts of food including hot pots of steaming broth kept hot over charcoal fires. To this broth diners added an assortment of offered vegetables, seafood, meats and condiments to create their own meal.

The weather is unusually breezy and cool, even during the day today: probably in the high 70’s/ low 80’s, making it very pleasant.