A Big Out Breath 2

Headin' Fer The Hills

I could've stayed in Vientiane for ages longer, but decided to get moving, as I'm hatching a few plans, and they might involve fixed dates.

So I loaded up Bewdy, I've got even more gear to carry now than ever. My panniers are full, and I guess I'll just have to let things go on the way if those steep hills all become too much.

The dusty bumpy exit north out of the capital.

A beautiful wat in the middle of nowhere

I passed under the Lao-China railway line a number of times over the next couple of days, it's a massive infrastructure project. There's also a Lao-China Expressway, which eventually will connect Vientiane with southern China. So far they've completed the section from Vientiane to Vang Vieng.

Lunchtime feast. The daughter of the cook could speak a little English, and was very keen to practice it. I ordered som tham (green papaya salad), she asked me if I wanted it spicy, I said yes, because I'd just come from the city, where people in the tourist zones are used to foreigners, and if you ask for spicy it's never too spicy. They water it down for the falangs.

But I wasn't in the city was I, and so eating the som tham instantly caused my mouth to explode with fire, hair to suddenly sprout on my chest, and my butt cheeks to involuntarily wiggle dangerously.

But I survived.

Mama and the English speaker. The girl gave me the khao niaw (sticky rice) for free, she said she was giving me a discount, I must've looked poor. She was so nice.

I turned off the road up a dirt track looking for a nice shady spot to have a snack. See the guy at the back?

He had an old woven bag on a long pole, and I went over to look at what he was doing. It turns out he was getting some bush tucker.

He was collecting ants, and I made a signal to indicate eating, and he said yes. I didn't think that was too unusual, as you can eat some species of ants, I've tried them in Central Australia, they taste a little citrusy. They're quite good before a meal, sorta like a little anty-pasto.

Notice the white bits in there?

I went to my bike to get some food to share with my new friend, I gave him an orange, and he offered me some of these ...

It wasn't actually the ants he wanted to eat at all, but their eggs. He had so many of them, and showed me the tall tree he'd climbed to get them. Not wanting to be anty-social, I had a few handfuls. They were quite strange. They popped when you bit them, and were liquidy inside, but actually quite tasty. For ant eggs.

Eventually I left him to his antics and rode off, thinking about potential ant puns.

I'm such a deviant.

It was a long day's ride, and, although it was relatively flat, I was surprised at how good I felt, after not having ridden a loaded bike for nearly four months. After 70 clicks I found a room in Phonhong.

Downtown. People there were so friendly.

I actually had a couch in my room, it looked so good, but when I sat on it the middle of it just dropped away, it felt more like sitting on a commode. Well, what I imagine sitting on a commode would be like. Not there yet.

To Vang Vieng

The next day I left bright and late, heading north again. I planned to reach Vang Vieng, even though I knew it was 85 clicks up the road, and hilly most of the way. I wanted to test myself, because the hills I'm planning to ride through further up are gonna be tough - the toughest I've climbed for the whole trip so far.

It's so good to be back in the sticks. It's hot and dry at the moment. But not as hot as it was in summer.

Drying bark chips

The low hills

The beautiful river crossing at Hinheup

Riding through bamboo forests

There wasn't much to eat. Sharing my chips with some local lads

Beautiful locally made baskets

These containers are for sticky rice, they soak the rice in water for up to 24 hours, then put it in these baskets and steam it up. It's the most delicious rice ever.

The hills are getting taller

I passed by one end of the Nam Ngun Reservoir, a massive lake created by the damming of the Nan Ngun River, a large tributary of the Mekong, to make hydro power. It was the first dam in Laos, and was completed in 1984, and the hydro power generated serves all of Vientiane, and most of the rest of the country.

On top of that, 70-80% of the power generated there is exported to Thailand, and the revenue they get from it represents about a quarter of Laos' total foreign revenue.

That's a big deal.

Christian graveyard

Aaah, the hills have reappeared. I'm gonna be right in the thick of them soon. Yay.

Well ... yay, and ouch.

Roadside stalls on the cruise in to Vang Vieng.

They sold mainly dried freshwater fish from the massive lake nearby.

Vang Vieng's stunning backdrop

Vang Vieng

This place used to be a mecca for backpackers, who would go there to party, go 'tipsy tubing' (tubing down the river stopping at bars along the way), go zip lining, and party hard on cheap beer and spirits.

Well, surprise surprise, there were a few accidents in the river as a result of all that, unfortunately. In 2011 alone, 27 tourists were killed, either drowned in the river from being drunk whilst tubing, or from diving into rivers or lakes and hitting rocks or submerged logs.

So the government stepped in, many bars on the river were forced to shut down, and Vang Vieng became more of a family friendly place.

These days it's pretty much a place for everyone, albeit more regulated than it used to be. By the number of backpackers I saw coming back in pickups from their tubing trips, and strolling around the nightmarkets, it appears to be well and truly back on the traveller's circuit.

There were loads of Chinese tourists around, as it's Chinese New Year, and every year millions of Chinese go on holidays for a couple of weeks over that period. Also, The Lao-China railway project has changed the face of every town in Laos where it stops, in terms of Chinese tourism - Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Oudomxai and the border town of Boten.

Of course being new year the night was filled with an infinite array of fireworks, the most common being deafeningly loud bombs. I think that's just an Asia thing. Traditionally in China, loud fireworks are used to ward off evil spirits, so they don't settle in a place.

But, besides the bombing campaign, there weren't any organised celebrations around town, it was pretty ad hoc.

Go figure

The best Thai green curry I've had in ages. In fact, the only one I've had in ages.

Beautiful fabrics with Lao designs

Tham Chang (or Tham Jung)

One day, as I was riding my bike on a back road to this beautiful cave, I met Paul, a German cyclist who's riding down to Singapore. He's ridden from Leipzig in Germany across to Istanbul, and then flew to Hanoi, and has ridden down here.

He's a sports teacher, a raving Bayern Munich football fan, and a lovely guy. We spent the day together.

The cliffs that house the cave.

The view from way up the stairs, at the entrance.

Like many large caves in Laos, Tham Chang was used as a refuge during the Lao Civil War, and the whole village of Meuang Xong (just south of Vang Vieng) moved in there for the duration of the war. It's large, has a water supply, and affords good views of the plains below, so the inhabitants could stay safe in there.

The underground water is freezing cold, so some locals call it Tham Jung, which means "cave where you're unable to move," because their legs freeze when they take a dip. Tham Chang means elephant cave.

There's an extensive network of tracks and caverns heading all over the place inside. Some are blocked off.

A view of Vang Vieng from another opening

The river there's crystal clear and deliciously beautiful, although I didn't jump in, it was too cold (both the water and the weather), and neither Paul nor I had our swimmers.

More rickety bridges to ride over

Reminds me of home

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Go to Part 3