Leaving Vientiane took me past the Patuxay Monument. I really like it. It’s impressive, nicely decorated and dedicated to the fighters who fought or died in the struggle for independence from France. Ironic then, that to many of us, it resembles the Arc de Triomphe (as Kerry Burke pointed out).
My love and admiration for the Laos people evaporated today in the first 50kms of the ride. Pretty much right from the first turn of the pedals, the drivers in Vientiane were crazy. I guess it’s the capital and therefore busier than other places, but there isn’t a serious traffic issue that I’ve seen. However, there are a lot more flashy cars driven by entitled types who make it difficult for everyone.
Today was different. And I put it all down to impatience.
I was even lightly sideswiped by a tuk tuk at a set of lights. Here they are as big as a small car, so I was lucky. The driver was nuts. I won’t go on about it any more because after 50kms, the energy and impatience disappeared along with a lot of the traffic. After that, I only had the roads to complain about 😁 and don’t get me started on that topic again…
Lunch in Pak Ngum was an excellent fried rice. I’m going to have to perfect this when I get home because the fried rice here is something else. I enjoy going to these restaurants because we invariably lean on our few words of each other’s language, do sign language and smile and laugh a lot. It makes ordering food a fun thing to do.
Then I was off for the last 30kms to Thabok and oh boy it was dusty. There were many kilometres of incomplete road work. One town had a wide gravel road running through it, but everytime a car or truck went past, a cloud of dust would settle on everything around the place.
The result looked eerie and I felt really sorry for the people living through this mess. I’d leave, and probably every asthmatic already has. In the town, there was no machinery or workers, so I guess they’re stuck with it for some time.
So on a positive note, I had plenty of gravel riding and that’s always fun. Again the bike, my gear and I are covered in dust. It’s pointless washing anything until I clear the area.
The T & M Guesthouse here in Thabok is nice and run by a kind old lady who speaks no English. I’m yet to get the key to my room so it’s unlocked all the time. That’s fine with me, but everytime I ask her if she has found the key, she assumes I’m locked out and rushes to the room with a master key. We might need Google translate for this one 😁
I had a walk around the small town and could see that it’s a nice place. I walked up to the temple where there were a few monks around. Some kids practiced their English with me and I went to the local market. When the roadwork is done this will be a much nicer place.
Dinner was at a restaurant a couple of doors down the road. As always great people and the locals eating there were all friendly. It’s a constant job for them to keep the dust out of everything.
