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.
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.
Man, it seems like you're destined to keep visiting Vientiane! You'll get out of the cycle eventually.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying the regular posts, keep em up.
Mike