Udomxay to Natuei - 78km

Diabolical road conditions leaving Udomxay. The once smooth tarmac has been washed away leaving just a hard rocky underlay. They have started fixing the road, but according to the billboard this wont be completed until late 2011. ATM in Udomxay out of order, so had to make a detour via songthaew to Luang Namtha for cash. There is also an exchange facility in Luang Namtha.

Approaching China

Had my final dose of vero-rab the other day. According to the French doctor in Vientiane I could now be seriously mauled in China and go without a vaccine. As it happens my first stop in China, Yunnan Province, might well be a dog free zone, following events last year when governing authorities introduced a policy of wholesale slaughter against all non-military dogs. Initially owners were offered a 5 Yuan ($0.83 AUS) reward to kill their dogs, but when this failed a special task force went about the extermination of 50,000 dogs. Entrepeneurs in Thailand have apparently devised a more lucrative scheme, whereby their legions of stray dogs are rounded up and shipped to Vietnam where they sold off to restaurants. In my experience this isn't working as I've never seen more stray dogs anywhere than in Thailand. As a final note,  I'm told blogging has been outlawed in China, so I might not update until Japan.

Pak Mong to Udomxai - 82km

I should have been in much better condition to be attempting a day like today. You leave Pak Mong and enter a 30km climb taking you to 1300m. This is followed by a 12km descent and then another 10km climb after which I was expecting some kind of reward for my efforts. There is a mixture of up and down, and the descent when you finally get it, is very unsatisfying. Although it persists for some 14km, is interspersed with huge sections of unfinished road, and small uphill sections. I had to dismount and walk some of it was that bad, and these rocky patches were found every 500m. I shouted a lot of profanties into the empty forest today, and finally rolled into Udomxai after about 6 hours of toil. Oh and I almost forgot to complain about the all night fireworks shouting extravaganza that is the lunar new year. I must be damn close to China now.

Luang Prabang to Pak Mong - 117km

Slightly disoriented leaving town, I think I added a good 10km to the day by missing the turnoff to the bridge. I was, under the directions of another blog expecting a flat day, and although there were no serious climbs I wouldn't call it flat. Road conditions took a turn for the worse after leaving LP, although it was mostly decent tarmac all the way. There are some nice views of the Nam Ou river for the first half of the day, and beyond that more villages where the pace of life is as slow as its ever been. I noticed an abundance of silk weaving going on in the villages, and I suspect they are supplying the busy markets of Luang Prabang where you can pick up a Lao silk scarf or table runner very cheaply.  The ride in total lasted just under six hours, and I was really, really exhausted when I arrived. So exhausted infact that when I emerged from my room after showering, I stumbled on the staircase and fell down the entire flight of stairs, my head crashing into the plaster at the bottom. It was a terrible way to end the day. I had taken the scab off my leg in the process, so I must have looked extremely sorry when the proprietors found me bleeding at the bottom of the stairwell. The accident meant I had to spend an extra 24 hours recuperating in the rather depressing town. I reclined in my room and read most of 'Mad About the Mekong', a recount of the French exploration of the Mekong in the 1860's. Purchased in V.V. of all places, I was glad to have it as entertainment, as Pak Mong has basically nothing to offer. I can't even describe to you how terrible some of the food offerings in the restaurants were. Most had trays of grey sludgy looking curries, full of wierd cuts of meat, sitting around all day getting fly blown and congealed. One place had a pile of bats tied together for sale, and the strange tinctures of animals parts soaking in liquids are beggining to make their appearance. Clearly I must be getting closer to China. I went for noodle soup 3 meals a day, and beyond that bananas and biscuits. 

Khou Ka Cham to Luang Prabang - 80km

Expect more climbing on the way to Luang Prabang. Following a 20km descent, there is a 15km climb, followed by another long descent, and then a long undulating section leads you back down to Mekong. Coming the other way would be much harder I expect. Along the way were more friendly villages, and no shortage of sai-ba-dees. Although it is nice, I wasn't particulary blown away by the beauty of the Mekong Riverfront in LP. I have heard it talked up quite a bit over the years, but maybe in the dry season its a bit lack lusture. In the surrounding streets you can find some nice spots to relax for a while.  Not wanting to part with much cash I focused most of my energies of finding out if rabies vaccine was available anywhere in town. I eventually tracked down a refrigerated packet of vero-rab at a local clinic. I will return for this on the 16th, and it will save me almost 40 hours of ardous bus transit back and forth to Vientiane.

Petanque remains the sport of choice, but probably due to a lack of internet and other electronic entertainment Lao kids seem particularly active. I have seen them playing hopscotch, badminton, pentanque, petanque with shoes (mainly in remote villages), cycling, chasing tyres with sticks, boating, climbing in trees, picking fruits, spear fishing, hunting with bow & arrow amongst other things. They always come running from all directions when a falang cyclist approaches, and the other day when I rode past a school they all lined up at the roadside to high-five me as I went past. I am assuming this evolved due to the large number of cyclists passing between LP & Vientiane.    

Phou Khoun to Khou Ka Cham - 51km

Phou Khoun is a small hill station, home to a friendly population of H'Mong who were resettled by the Lao Goverment some years ago. Rather a nice gesture (the H'Mong prefer to live at altitude) considering the beef between H'Mong and the Pathet Lao. There are only two guesthouses in town, and the one I chose was clean with nice views of bamboo forest and villages out back. There is a good downhill section following Phou Khoun, and I passed many cyclists, Dutch, Japanese, more Dutch, and later at the lodgings in Khou Ka Cham there were nine of us bikers crammed in together. Most were first or second timers on tour, but there was a Spainard who had just covered 9,000km through the 'stans and Mongolia, so he entertained us with some outakes from the road. 

Vang Vieng to Muang Phou Khoun - 103km

The less said about debaucherous V. V. the better. Set amongst the most stunning karst mountains, you enter along lima site 27, one of the many secret airstrips used by the US during the Vietnam War. From these covert jungle sites, the US launched a relentless air attack on communist positions in southern Laos, largely to no avail. Behind the airstrip, there are rows of half empty bars playing friends re-runs to groups of recuperating backpackers. For me it was Koh Pha Ngan all over again. I would have stayed out of town, but I had the task of finding a cobbler to fix my shoes. Miraculously amongst all the bars and guesthouses was a guy selling bags, with a small sign 'shoes fixing'. An amazing job given his equipment, I thought he would just glue it, but with his hand tools managed to puncture the thick plastic sole and stitch it back into the upper. Despite the best efforts of some Canadians, I did't go tubing, and while they tripped away on magic mushroom shakes and floated down the Nam Song river, I began the ascent to Phu Khoun. It's a pretty long day, I opted to bypass the hot-springs resort at 80km, only to descend a steep hill and then face an enormous 20km climb to reach Phou Khoun. It was a memorable day with stunning views, and I felt well pleased with my achievement when I finally reached the top.

Phong Hong to Vang Vieng - 90km

I had, through some enquires, discovered the real price for a songthaew to Phong Hong is just $3-4, and as though sensing my resolve not get ripped for the third time, the first driver I approached quoted the real price straight away. Upon my arrival at the guesthouse I was greeted by Bart and Maree, a Dutch couple beginning a six week cycling tour of Laos and Northern Thailand. They would be the first of many Dutch cycling duos I would meet over the next few days, although they were all terminating at Luang Prabang and heading west via the Mekong river into Thailand. Everything was looking good for a trouble free day ahead, until I discovered that my cycling shoes were both beginning to fall apart. The sole of the right shoe was almost compeltely detached, and without them riding my bike would be impossible. I blamed all my woes on a piece of fashioned quartz a motorbiker had bestowed on me, for 'good luck' as I rode through a village outside Vientiane. I had experienced the opposite since having it in my possesion, so before departure I hurled it into the street.

Ride to Vang Vieng is easy, there are two small climbs, neither of which are worthy of mention.

Vientiane to Phong Hong - 92km*

The other night I got into a conversation with a couple of aid workers who've been here ten years. They said I was right to be worried about the dog, even though it was young and not at all vicious, any dog here can carry the virus, even a puppy. So all exposures should be treated with the upmost caution. They had a colleague die of rabies after a similar episode. One of the ladies has taken to carrying an ice chest around with the vaccines in it, ready to go.

Decided rather than wait in Vientiane for two weeks I would ride north, and leave the bike somewhere, return to the capital for a few hours to get my vaccine, and then go back. So I rode to Phong Hong on highway 13, which was fairly boring compared to my backroads jaunt of the other day, and made it there without incident. Monumental fuck up the following morning however. I set out at 7:30 and 1km into the first climb my derailleur exploded and was clearly beyond repair. Closer inspection revealed the pin holding the pulley cage together had broken, and release of tension on the spring caused it to fly apart, snapping one of the jockey wheels in two. So I flagged down a songthaew (a ute with seats and canopy) and they drove me back to the capital for $20.00AUS. Im just waiting now for the Laotian mechanic at chong charoaen to fit and test the new derailleur and I will probably pay for another taxi back to Phong Hong later this afternoon.

Mechanics at Chong Charoen couldn't get my new derailleur working properly, so I took it to Top Cycle Zone in Dong Palan. The French mechanic there is very good, he had it going in five mintues, no charge, very happy.

Note, actual distance from Vientiane to Phong Hong is 70km, but I went via Chinese Embassy, adding 20km to the trip.

Vientiane to Ban Keun - 65km

 Left at nine, headed out of Vientiane along Lane Xang, the central boulevard that passes though the faux champs eleyses. According to my map this should have continued on as highway 13, but after crossing several roundabouts, checking my directions at every turn I was lost. The compass told me I was heading in the right direction, and indeed the locals assured me I was on the road to Vang Vieng, so I eventually worked out I was on route 10, a secondary road running more or less parralel to the highway. It started out as bitumen, but after 30km or so it became packed dirt and very narrow. Again I thought I must have taken a wrong turn somwhere. There were concrete markers for the bitumen part, indicating route 10, but these stopped in the transition to dirt. In the back of my mind I was worried I had taken another wrong turn, but since I was enjoying the ride and heading north I thought worst case scenario I ask someone to camp on their property. Several kilometres futher along the dirt road ended at a river with no bridge. On the other side was a crude barge consitsting of two longtail boats in parrarel joined by wooden planks creating a flat catamaran hulled transport. I waited for quite some time before it made the crossing to my side of the river, where a bicycling monk and a couple of motorbikers had assembled waiting for transit.

On the other side I passed through several neat looking farming communities, busily going about their daily chores. The few people I did pass were carrying farming implements on their motorbikes, and there were collections of beautifully woven tools and specially shaped collecting baskets on hand. The students were for some reason riding to school around midday, straight backed atop old fashioned bikes, shading themselves with parasols. The whole spectacle was very pretty, rural Lao looks like it will make for good touring. I had to keep reminding myself not to stray far off the roads when photographing as undetonated cluster bombs and land mines are very common.

Being quite absorbed in the events of the day, I had forgotten to eat, so I stopped and bought a bunch of bananas. I sat down at the table next to the store, and next thing I know this dog has woken up from underneath the table and is licking the back of my leg. I had somehow obtained a wound there during the day, I think I slipped and cut my leg on the chainrings. There was quite a bit of dried blood surrounding the wound, and running down the back of my leg. The dog had obviously taken a liking to it - so that was it, my day ended abruptly and I spent the next few hours trying to get a ride back to the capital for post exposure rabies shots. Don't bother with either the Mahosot Hospital or the International Clinic nearby, unless you have no other options. The doctor at the international clinic wasn't even aware rabies required a post exposure treatment. When I explained the way it works he said I would have to find the vaccine at a pharmacy and then he could administer it. The Australian clinic, which is part of the Australian embassy closes at four, so your best bet for after hours medical care is the French run Centre Medical in boulevard Khou Vieng. They close at seven, but you can call a mobile and they will open after hours. It is also extremely difficult to find. It does not face Khou Vieng, you have to get onto another sort of service road running parralel, and the clinic is in a small white building within a soccer field. Even once I had finally located the tiny round sign, I had a hard time finding which part of the buidling houses the clinic. Made it there by six pm, and got the shot, four hours after the exposure so I should be sweet. Unfortunately this is the only medical clinic with rabies vaccines between here and possibly Kunming so my only choice is to stay in Lao for 14 days when I have to take another post exposure shot.

Thought I would include this information in my post, as I have discovered effective medical treatment is not widely available in both Laos and Cambodia. Most people suggest travelling to Bangkok as soon as possible. The French run clinic is one of the most modern and professional establishments in Vientiane.  Details below.

CMAF Centre Medical de l’Ambassade de France

Accepts all foreigners, but is not allowed to treat Lao citizens.

Tel: (021) 214-150 Mobile: (020) 558-4617 cmaflao@gmail.com
Emergency - Try the Mobile Number Above or call 020-655 4794 (24 hrs)
Near Wat Simuang and Green Park Hotel on Bvd Kouvieng on the football field opposite Nong Chan Park (not easy to find and not yet well known). Dr Jean-Marie Hospied (years of experience with SOS in Asia) and a French dentist , has lab and USG, no X-ray. Physiotherapy, speech therapy. Pharmacy. Can check Troponin and get a lysis done. Has rabies vaccine and snake serum. 1 room for observation. Vacuum mattress for transports, can organize ambulance with doctor.

Nong Khai to Vientiane - 33km

I attempted to buy a new seven speed chain before leaving Nong Khai, but only managed to find a shimano nine speed, and some other really cheap ones with no english text. I eventually spent my last few baht on a flexi tripod from the market, that has made later attempts at self-photography much easier. Border crossing I experienced no hassles, I had pre-arranged the visa in Bangkok, so I headed over the friendship bridge within minutes of arriving at the checkpoint. The Australian Government actually put up the money for the friendship bridge under the banner of foriegn aid. This attracted the criticism of NGO's working in Lao, who suggest the alterior motive was to allow Australian construction companies to develop a presence in Asia. I believe it is now a trade route, so you could argue the Laotians have benefitted in that respect, but I guess the money could have been better spent on more basic needs. A few thousand thousand banana pancake stands and lorry tubes perhaps?

Vientiane shares the same mixture of French and east asian culture that made Vietnamese cities so appealing. Tight spiralling staircases, pork baguettes, cheap high quality pattiseries, I have really enjoyed the place. It's a slow capital, so if your not into temples and such there's not a great deal to do other than eat and drink. I had a haircut/shoulder massage/cut-throat-razor-shave combo for $2 at the master barber in Rue Dong Palane, and later went in search of top cycle zone for the chain. In the process  I became disoriented and stumbled upon Chong Charoen in Poensinuan Rd, which is a very modern bicycle store run by an enlgish speaking Laotian guy. Other resources said Top Cycle Zone is the only modern bike store, but I can confirm there are now two. The shop is larger than Top Cycle Zone with a good range of modern parts. I bought two seven speed chains, spare pins, and a spare tyre. Neither store had anything good for narrow touring so I ended up with a skinny 700x23 specialised all condition pro-2, not terribly puncture proof. They will order you anything from Bangkok but that involves a week long wait.