To say I was concerned about today’s ride is a massive understatement. I saw the hills from the boat, and could see the ride profile showing 3 very steep climbs. I’d found a hotel on maps.me so I knew there’d be a place to stay in Muang Ngeung, and I expected some guesthouses as well.
I didn’t expect much else along the way but I was surprised about everything today.To start with, there was a steep hill out of town then an undulating 10kms back to the bridge over the Mekong. I thought that was meant to be the easy part of the day but I guess it was a good warmup.
On the bridge, I stopped to take a photo and put on sunscreen. I was joined by three young guys and their grandfather for a photo session. I felt like I was on display in a zoo. One guy even donned my helmet and took the green machine for a spin. It was only when he was 100m away that I realised that everything I had was on the bike. Luckily everyone here is honest.
Then it was off, and straight into the climbing. Oh boy, it was steep. There was lots of slopes of 12-18% and three major climbs in the first thirty odd kms. In between, there were some exhilarating 70+km/hr downhills, but the roads couldn’t be completely trusted to be free of potholes, cracks, rocks or goats.
At the start of the last climb, my legs felt completely dead and I struggled, but then realised that the gradient there was 19% – and I felt pretty good about not walking that bit 😁
But… everything is transient and the pain stopped and the road flattened out and a coffee shop appeared. Whaaat ??? In rural Laos ?
I sat down and the 20 something’s there offered me beer, but that was the last thing I needed. If they’d offered a defibrillator and an oxygen tent, I may have accepted, but an iced coffee was next best.
The town of Muang Ngeun is spread out along the main north road in. The hotel I’d targetted was at the end of that road near a T junction. So I scoped out places to eat and places to get water along the way.
The Xangkham Hotel looked pretty good on the outside and the room was clean, but the aircon was hopeless, and the bed was horrendous. I ended up folding the quilt and sleeping on top of that, to avoid the springs sticking into my ribs. The usual, nice people and at 15k kip, I guess it was alright.
(My rule is not to negotiate on hotels especially when it’s clear that they haven’t had much business due to Covid lockdown. If I don’t like it, I’ll go somewhere else).
Dinner was up the road at a place I’d spotted previously. No english, lots of sign language, google translate, and giggles. The lady only served Fur – well, that’s how it’s pronounced. It’s a Pho, or noodle soup. This one came with vegies and herbs on the side, and was very nice.
When it was time to pay, I reached for my wallet and realised I’d left it at the hotel. More sign language… I left my phone with them, and rode the 2kms back to the hotel.
Of course, it started to rain on the way. I went back to the restaurant, and the rain stopped as I arrived … Of course it would. All sorted with more laughter. This time, there were others in the restaurant and they clearly knew the story, so they had a laugh as well. All very nice.
After all of that, I slept well 😁
