I was warned about the road surface today by other blogs, but nothing prepared me for the thick grey clouds of dust as I left Paksan.
The roadworks continued until the 15km mark where I literally emerged from the clouds. From there, the road was just generally bad, which was a welcome relief. Then more roadwork and finally a lovely road with only a few potholed sections every kilometre 😁.
I feel sorry for the locals and anyone who uses this road regularly. It must be so frustrating.
I have a theory that the bad road makes people impatient and that is when stupid things happen on the road. I saw plenty of that today and a few times things were too close to me for comfort.
On the last occasion, I immediately got upset but, two minutes later, a lady came past on her motorbike, smiling, waving and yelling Sabaidee. It’s hard to stay angry with these people for long 😁
I was completely unnerved however and when a nice looking eatery appeared on the left, I stopped for an early lunch and to calm down. Pad Kapao Moo Kai Dao did the trick ! It cures all ills and solves all problems. It’s powers are beyond those of earthly foods. It also had enough chilli to supercharge the rest of the days ride – about 50kms or so.
The road also went close to the Mekong and there were some nice views across the river to Thailand. Everytime I looked across though, I remembered the good Thai roads and lovely drivers, but hey, it’s too easy over that side – where’s the challenge !
Tomorrow may have less traffic, so I’ll continue with my plan to visit Kong Lor Caves then head to Vietnam.
As usual, I was very happy to roll into the Phetsamone hotel which came recommended (thanks again, Andrew) and it’s quite nice with some restaurants over the road. There’s also a nice balcony on the first floor with a view which forced me to find a BeerLao Dark and some nibblies. A great way to wind down, considering I was completely wound up earlier in the day.
There’s not much else to this town of interest to me, but as is usual in Laos, everyone is nice and friendly – er. that is, unless you are one of those crazy drivers ! (Note to self – let it go and relax)
I have to remember to turn left tomorrow, as I leave the hotel 😁