We’d spend today on the Thakek Loop which is a popular route for backpackers. The hotel also had dorms and motorbikes for hire, so the Loop is big business.
We left town in some morning truck traffic on typical Laos roads = potholes and rocky bits every few hundred metres. The cars and trucks zigzagged crazily through the broken sections of road, but as we left the clutches of Thakek, we began to see the beautiful karst scenery that makes this loop popular.
And the roads gradually improved as we passed a number of cement factories and the truck traffic thinned out. Everywhere was dusty. The poor restaurateurs must have had plenty of issues keeping dust out of their food. We found a place for second breakfast and sat and watched loads of sand and dirt being loaded just acroythe road. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great view. The fried rice, on the other hand, was great.
We continued on and reached Gnommalat where we met a Dutch couple. They were lovely so we tàlked for a while about where they’d been and where they were planning to go. We were the first cyclists they’d met on their trip.
Next was the lake for the hydro scheme followed by a steep long hill. All this talking meant that we were tackling the hill in the heat of the day. The good news was that the hotel was at the top of the hill.
Finally at the top, we stopped for icecreams before proceeding to the hotel. That’s where I realised that I’d left my main credit card I the ATM back in Thakek. Grrrrrr. Luckily, the machine hd probably eaten the card, so nobody had gone and had a good time at my expense.
Later, I also realised that my Vietnam visa hadn’t come through. Research showed that the delay was due to the Tet holiday period which would end on Feb 22. That meant my visa wouldn’t be approved for nearly a week.
Miles did some more research and discovered that I could pay a fee and expedite the process. Long story short – I did that and spent the next day messaging details and paying fees whenever I had mobile coverage.
The sleep I had that night was terrible. I had a room full of mozzies, a supremely uncomfortable bed and noisy people outside. The hotel seemed to be run by backpackers and was a bit of a shambles.
Not a great end to a day !