Laos wouldn’t let me go quietly. It had one last sting in the tail – a headwind.The wind was strong at 7:30am, so I knew it wasn’t going to be a simple ride.
I had breakfast at the restaurant over the road. The people here and at the hotel are just really helpful people. This country is full of them !
There was, of course, one last climb and it went every inch of the way to the border as you’d expect 😁 Nothing is easy when cycling through Laos ! As usual, there were positives too, and the countryside was beautiful, the roads not too bad, and the villagers friendly – it almost felt sad to be leaving but then the climb started and I just wanted to leave !
I rode up to the border post (Nam Phao / Cau Treo) and went through without a hitch on Laos side. They’re very good in that they meticulously check your Vietnam visa to ensure that you won’t be sent back for any reason.
The Vietnam side looked grand but was completely understaffed with nobody processing incoming visitors. That was left to the pair of guys processing the outgoings – I took a while to find them and got some really confusing directions along the way.
Finally out and looking forward to the downhill, but … there was roadwork nearly all the way. It stopped for a few nice kms but started again and it just felt like deja vu all over again.
The villages were quite small, but I was happy to roll into Tay Son which had plenty of restaurants, coffee shops and just shops in general. It was quite a change from rural Laos. I immediately noticed that things were cleaner, there was sometimes a footpath and gutters and kerbs !
The hotel here is great, but understaffed too. It’s most likely under-patronised these days as well. I had to leave my passport with reception because I had almost no money in VND. So it was off to the ATM then back to get the passport so I could get a Sim card. Trouble was that the reception guy had left for the day and there was nobody around. I couldn’t call them because I didn’t have a Sim, and needed a passport to get one (or so I thought). I finally found a cleaner and one of the guests could translate and it was all sorted soon after.
Here you don’t need a passport to get a Sim. I got one with plenty of data from Viettel for something close to 10AUD.
I still hadn’t done any reading on Vietnamese food but managed to order a scrumptious dipping plate of bits and pieces where you make your own spring rolls. A couple of customers helped me out and we all had a great laugh. Or rather, they all had a great laugh at my incompetence. I simply joined in 😁
When it was time to pay, I started taking notes out of my wallet and reading the numbers. I was pretty slow, so the lady who runs the place started giggling, grabbed my wallet, pulled out the right notes and gave the wallet back to me with my change. Love it !
I’m staying at the very nice Khach Sam Ngoc Long Chau for 350,000VND
I’m feeling really tired and lazy. Maybe I’m relieved to be out of Laos, maybe I’m fatigued from the tough riding. Regardless, I think I need a break and I’ll take a rest day at Phong Nha Caves in 3 days time.
