Vientiane, Laos – Bangkok, Thailand

Vientiane, Laos – Bangkok, Thailand

Roughly 1 week of cycling.

~ 750 KM

Crossing the Friendship Bridge was synonymous with being sent into some kind of Star Trek transport machine and ending up in the mid-western United States. My first stop:  7-11, ubiquitous in Thailand, and well known for putting a little extra sugar in their machine-vended Thai ice tea. I actually tried to self induce vomiting my first day in Thailand because I drank two of these consecutively followed by a cup of their iced coffee. 

This was northeastern Thailand and the terrain is flat, flat, flat. Camping was not too difficult to find in these parts as towns were at least 10 KM dispersed, leaving space for huge cow pastures. With 6 lane highways and a steady stream of traffic coupled with road side department stores, KFC’s and large gas stations, I really did feel as if I entered another continent.

The cycling is incredibly easy and I would average about 110 KM a day. The route followed highway 2 all the way into Bangkok. With more time it would probably have been a good idea to have gone through the Northwest, making a huge detour through Chang Mai and maybe even Pai – but this would take at least a month to complete.

There is nothing remarkable about this ride into Thailand. The largest cities, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen and Nakhon Racthasima were medium sized with somewhat modern architecture, and nothing to really attract a traveler. Each city and each small town, however, had a wonderful market. The absolute best part about cycling in Thailand is that you can be a glutton and not feel but a slight sense of guilt – I ate at least four meals a day. The food is absolutely amazing, cheap and easy to purchase. I am a big fan of breakfast so I would have two every day. The first consisted of hot coffee and milk with a plain fried pastry good for dipping; the second would consist of a more traditional local breakfast – either curry and rice, noodle soup, or fried rice with a glass of iced water.

Entering Bangkok was a bit of a rodeo. At about 25 KM from the city, you are immersed in a concrete jungle and there are no more road signs that point to “Bangkok”, only signs that point to different suburbs and districts within the city. The traffic was relatively insane compared even to Beijing and Ulan Bator, both notorious for traffic jams. I had to pretend I was a scooter, which there are plenty of, and ride slowly at the tail end of the pack. Bangkok is a wild urban metropolis, with good and evil existing side by side (it’s very common to see a Buddhist monastery and a “John” with his escort at the exact same time). 

I did not feel an overwhelming sense of completion upon entering Bangkok. The city immersed me within her and I had no choice but to embrace its chaos and to defer any effort at introspection. After two days in the backpacker’s Mecca of Khao San road, I travelled to an island on the eastern side of the Thai Gulf, Koh Samet, to relax and try and analyze the past five months of travelling and cycling. With a motorcycle and an ocean filled with bright green coral, no type of reflection ensued here either. 

So I here I sit in the streets of Kathmandu, after a 5 hour flight from BKK International, with no resolve, but a continual, seemingly endless adrenaline rush that will send me into the hills of the Himalayas. It is here, I think, that I will finally be able to quietly contemplate and fully complete this cycling journey, Baikal to Bangkok.  

Jinghong, China – Vientiane, Laos

After 7 days of being sick in Luang Prabang, 33 bowls of noodle soup, and learning that milking goats is a great hangover cure for New Year’s Day, I’ve arrived in Vientiane, the capitol city of Laos. I’ve had a blast in Laos. The people, the government and infrastructure, are much less flashy then China and I think it works well in the hot, muggy air that consumes this landlocked country.

The roads from Jinghong, China to the Laos border are wonderfully paved, though they undulate 100 M in elevation the entire route – in other words its very hilly. It cost 37 USD for a 30 day visa upon entering Laos and cost only smiles to exit China (I was sure glad to have paid the extra amount of money a month earlier to obtain a Chinese visa renewal).

The roads from Mohan, China to Luang Namtha, Laos were great – mostly flat and only about 60 KM apart from each other. Luang Namtha is small – but very touristy. The day I entered Laos I saw more tourists than I had in the two weeks prior in China. It was very apparent that the country is somewhat of a bottleneck for tourists and that I had entered SE Asia’s high tourist season. For breakfast – eggs, baguette, and “Café Laos” local coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Only this could rival China’s “Bowdza” (steamed buns) and hot soy milk breakfast.

From Luang Namtha I cycled to Uduomxay. Beautiful roads, and a nice town where I watched the last day of Luang Prabang’s roving film festival in an outdoor theater. The roads from here to Pak Mong were mixed gravel and pavement with a few 500 M climbs. From Pak Mong to Luang Prabang (110 KM) the road is almost flat. There was a leotard race taking place as I was cycling and I imagined myself to be a slow contender, a very, very slow contender.

In Luang Prabang I mistakenly stayed at Spicy Laos – the party hostel. And I mistakenly slept there for seven nights including Christmas Eve and Christmas! Oh well. I was feeling ill, and they let me camp, use their shower, bath and movie room for the equivalent of $1.90 / night. Luang Prabang is… relaxing, scenic, and very touristy. The night market is wonderful for the cheap and tasteless (the food really ain’t that good – but you can’t beat “all you can fill your plate” buffet for a buck).

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is an extremely hilly road – one 1,000 M climb and one 500 M climb within 100 KM of Luang Prabang. After two days of ascending and descending the road flattens into Vang Vieng – a big party town with more drunken Australians than a night out in Sydney. New Year’s Eve was a little too much here: Bad American Pop, Beer Laos, and bacteria infested rivers. I stayed at the wonderful “Vang Vieng Organic Farm” which serves delicious, homegrown food. The guests were served goat that was slaughtered the day of, vegetables that were in season, and mulberry mohitos (berries grown on site).

From Vang Vieng the road to Vientiane is flat, flat, flat and an easy 160 KM. Vientiane is a nice, small city, with beautiful temples.

Across the friendship bridge and on to Thailand! Only 700 KM to go until Bangkok! Until then!