In and Around Luang Prabang

Day: 168
Time: The a.m. hours

We set the alarm early this morning to see if it was light enough to ride at 6:00 am. We both concluded that it was and then slept in for another hour or so. We timed our breakfast right at the Jo Ma Café as we ran into a couple who are touring on their tandem. They are from the U.S. and have been in the road for 27 months. They describe themselves as being in their sixties, but certainly don’t act it. Our paths crossed here as they were heading north and we are going south. We did manage to get some good information on the road ahead though. She was sorry that she didn’t have the elevation data for us, but he thought it better that we didn’t know what to expect. I think that sounds hilly. Check out their website at http://www.wanderingwickershams.com/. We visited a wat again after breakfast and I think we are finally templed out for the time being. I think I mentioned that we hadn’t become templed out yet in an earlier blog, well you can scratch that.
After hitting an internet café and a couple of book stores looking for a map we ended up back at baguette sandwich corner for a little lunch. We brought them back to our guesthouse to eat while we watched the kids swim and play in the river below. Quite the relaxed life. It should change tomorrow with a pretty big day for us. It could have been 130 km, but with newly acquired information we can split the day up into two days. There is a ton of climbing so that should be beneficial to our legs.
Off to my last hot shower for a couple of days and then to dinner.
Talk to you in a few
CK

A World Heritage Town

Day 167
Luang Prabang
Time: Half Day
Distance: 5 or 6 km
Avg Speed: Cruising
Terrain: World Heritage City
Location: 19˚ 53” 9.4’ N, 102˚ 8’ 30.1” E

I think we finally found what we’ve pictured in our minds for so long. Long boats floating past lush green jungle along the banks of the Mekong River. French colonial buildings amongst ancient Buddhist temples. The fragrance of frangipanis mingling with the aroma of fresh coffee.

We slept in a little this morning. I’m always amazed at how tired I can get from just a little activity. I’m sure it’s due to the fact that we’ve haven’t ridden in almost a week. Once awake we made a plan to find a café. I had read in one of our guidebooks (we always carry a few) that there was good coffee to be had in Luang Prabang. We noted the location from the book and then pedaled our way to the main part of town. JoMa Café soon came into view and we quickly made a beeline for the sidewalk. Upon closer inspection, we found a tandem bicycle parked outside. As we walked to the door a guy sitting out front asked us if we were touring. We said yes and then asked him about the tandem. It wasn’t his, but he was also touring. After a short chat we found out that he has seen many people riding through Laos. Good news – maybe we can get some info from some fellow cyclists. We wished him luck and ventured in to find some breakfast.
It didn’t take long to order up some fine pastries with a cup of joe. We haven’t had great coffee since Australia so this was quite a treat. From our table on the veranda we watched the morning’s activities. To our surprise (and excitement), we saw a few more bicycle tourists cruising about.
After breakfast we hit the money changer. In Laos, we can use any combination of US dollars, Thai baht and Lao kip. Not complicated, right? We didn’t think so at first, but after buying one meal we realized that it would be wise to deal in the local currency. Chris changed over the equivalent of US $300 and we are now millionaires (about 2.8 million worth). Ha – it will be as close as we ever get!
The rest of the morning was spent coasting around town through a patchwork of old buildings and stone alleyways, tropical gardens and busy monks. There is no doubt, Luang Prabang is very charming. At one point we stopped to gaze across the Nam Khan River. The background was a collage of dark wooden houses, green jungle and towering mountains. Right below us, a fisherman tossed his net into the river and waded in. Right then we both agreed that this was the Southeast Asia of our dreams.
LK

Rat Race to Snails Pace

Day: 166
Chiang Mai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos
Time: 1 hour
Distance: far
Avg Speed: Turbo prop


We had our last morning in Thailand before heading off to the calmer pastures of Laos. Leslie ran out to check some emails, and download blogs and pictures while I caught up on my BBC and Aljazeera news and got the bikes taped up. We coasted through our check out and ran across the street for a little lunch at our favorite café. Leslie loved the place so much she got her picture taken with her boys, who kept her fed and caffeinated the day I was at cooking school.
We grabbed a red truck to the airport (a red truck is called a songthaew in Thai and is a truck with two benches in the back) and got our day’s goal underway. The flight was less than an hour, but they managed to squeeze in a meal service of a pork sandwich, an orange and a little cake dessert. It was much appreciated, even though I had to eat it with my chin resting on my knees (OK the seats weren’t that small, but it felt like it).
We sat up front on the flight and ended up getting off last and got in the back of the visa line. A photo and $72 later we had our visas and went for our luggage. The customs man tried to get us to declare our bikes, but Leslie told him that these were our bikes and we didn’t have to claim them. I smiled and nodded, and we got out of there without having to grease an extra palm. The taxi to the guesthouse was a Lao version of the red truck (smaller, slower and older) and it dropped us off in straight order. We had wanted to join up with an Australian couple whom we had met in Chiang Mai, but the taxi delivered us to a different ‘Merry Guesthouse’ and we found a cheaper rate so we stayed. I think that there are several ‘Merry Guesthouses’ in Luang Prabang and it just worked out that we got a nice clean and inexpensive one. If we miss the Aussie couple it will be ok, I think we may have been stalking them. We got our bags unpacked, our bikes put together and healthy dose of bug juice before heading out for dinner. We settled on a little pub down the road since it looked clean and we didn’t feel like anything too exciting. I managed to get excited and got a steak with mash potatoes and a salad. I will keep you posted on how that treats me. We also had our first taste of beerlao. It is the national beer and mighty fine one at that. We didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into when we ordered so we got a bomber with 5% alcohol. Dinner never tasted so good and we are now fighting to stay awake.
Luang Prabang is on the opposite end of the action spectrum to that of Bangkok. With a population of only 26,000 in a city deemed a Unesco World Heritage Sight, Luang Prabang is ‘tonic for the soul’. Now, if we can get used to riding on the right side of the road again, we should be ok.
CK