Run to the hills, run for your life!
Vientiane has to be one of the most relaxed capital cities I have ever been to. The waterfront along the Mekong hosts a number of somewhat overpriced restaurants but the sunset over the river is spectacular.
As well, That Luang is the jewel of the capital. The golden lotus inspired spire in the middle of the stupa surrounded by three levels looks like a monument taken from another lifetime. The magnificent effect of sun shinning of the top spire against a blue sky is something that will remain in my memory for a long time.
Patuxai (Laotian version of the Arc De Triumph) is quite a spectacular way of welcoming travelers into the city. I had to ride my bicycle through there, I couldn’t resist it.
Another very surreal place was the Buddha Park which contains almost all characters from Buddhism and Hinduism, including a 50m reclining Buddha and a giant pumpkin representing heaven, earth and hell. Amongst other figures there were very bizarre serpents and a warrior like creatures.
As well I visited Beer Lao brewery, couldn’t pass on a free beer and free tour. Cheers to the good folks at Beer Lao!
After spending two delightful days in Vientiane and doing the tourist thing it was time to take a deep breath and head for the mountains.
After discussing the terrain and climbs with cyclists along the way I knew that I’ll be in for some of the hardest climbing I have ever done. I have to admit that I have not had much experience in passing mountains on a bicycle other than suffering like a dog in Costa Rica Talamanca mountain range where I ignorantly assumed that “well, there are some elevations but I shouldn’t have a problem”. The truth was far from that, but after doing some climbs in Thailand with a light load I became a little bit more confident about this endeavor.
As well after meeting a 69 year old French cyclist who has done the same route in the opposite direction my confidence shot up. Hats off to this man, I wish I’ll be alive at that age, hopefully walking and maybe ride my bike to the local store around the corner.
The first 165Km up to a town named Kasi were reasonable with two hills of about 500m to speak of. Everybody was warning me about the road north of Kasi and they were absolutely right. The day started easy enough with a nice few kilometers ride from Kasi.
After that started a 20Km (actually my meter showed 28km, this included a small descent), I was glad that it was the beginning of the day as climbing at about 8-10 km\h can have physiological as well as physical effects. I switched my cycle-computer to show time in order not to view my progress, which can be rather annoying sometimes. Where you’re used to doing 1km every 3 minutes and now you’re crawling up the mountain at about 1km every 9 minutes, well it can get to you. I do have more patient and this takes time.
With brakes it took about 3.5 hours to do the climb, riding from 400m to 1400m. On the way I met two cyclists from Belgium, Maude and Dirk going the same direction. After reaching Phu Khun and stopping for lunch I decided to skip The Plain of Jars and continue riding with my fellow cyclists.
We were expecting two or more passes of about 400-500m each, but we had about 4 or 5, I can not really remember. The day seemed like it would never end but eventually we made our way to a small town of Kiuachan completing a 93km day. I swear about 70% must have been climbing and we were all glad to find a bed to crash in. Two climbs were 10% gradient, and quite a few I feel between 7%-9%.
Maude and Dirk are almost finished with their 10 month cycling trip across south America and Asia. They were good company and especially Maude who was a quiet woman but extremely tough and never complained (unlike me, haha; actually I love the mountains and the physical demand of it. It’s much more fun then the flats).
At the guest house we met three more cyclists who came from Luang Prabang and really got their asses kicked because they were expecting an easy day. Cheers boys! We spent the next few hours sitting around, drinking beers, discussing maps and routes. As well complaining about backpackers, as Paul from Dublin stated: “I don’t believe in what Pol Pot has done, but for once I would like to pull them out the air-con busses, make them put on the backpacks and say ‘Start walking or I’ll shoot’”. For people unfamiliar with touring cyclists there is a “hidden war” between the two parties. I tend to be on the cyclists side but not on the “far right (or left in case of the Khmer Rouge, ;-)”.
Next day we were treated with an adrenaline pumping 20km descent down the mountain. What a rush, cruising at 30-55km\h into constant switchbacks and morning mist. The scenery was stunning and after looking up once a while you see how hard you had to work for it. But as fate would have it we had to endure another 15km climb, but after the previous day it seemed manageable. After that it was a smooth ride to the ancient capital of Luang Prabang, a city which is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Quite a stunning city but a bit too touristy.
As well, along the way there were reports of rebel attacks but cyclists never had a problem. I saw a couple of guys walking with AK-47 over their shoulders, it gets your senses going again. Paul was stopped by two locals with AKs asking him to sit down for a chat. He got away without any problems.
The locals in the mountains were very friendly and welcoming. The kids would cheers me on and slap high-fives along the way. Sometimes they were very loud with cheerful encouragements. It helped.
Well, my visa and money is almost up in Lao. I’ll cycle for three more days and then relax for a couple before heading back home, I mean Thailand (just kidding, although Bangkok is the central base).
Then off to Burma for a month or so.
Cheers and all the best.
Robert
P.S. I managed to find a Polish book by Wojciech Jagielski, "Modlitwa o deszcz" about the recent war in Afganistan in Luang Prabang used bookstore.
What are the odds! Na Zdrowie!
As well, That Luang is the jewel of the capital. The golden lotus inspired spire in the middle of the stupa surrounded by three levels looks like a monument taken from another lifetime. The magnificent effect of sun shinning of the top spire against a blue sky is something that will remain in my memory for a long time.
Patuxai (Laotian version of the Arc De Triumph) is quite a spectacular way of welcoming travelers into the city. I had to ride my bicycle through there, I couldn’t resist it.
Another very surreal place was the Buddha Park which contains almost all characters from Buddhism and Hinduism, including a 50m reclining Buddha and a giant pumpkin representing heaven, earth and hell. Amongst other figures there were very bizarre serpents and a warrior like creatures.
As well I visited Beer Lao brewery, couldn’t pass on a free beer and free tour. Cheers to the good folks at Beer Lao!
After spending two delightful days in Vientiane and doing the tourist thing it was time to take a deep breath and head for the mountains.
After discussing the terrain and climbs with cyclists along the way I knew that I’ll be in for some of the hardest climbing I have ever done. I have to admit that I have not had much experience in passing mountains on a bicycle other than suffering like a dog in Costa Rica Talamanca mountain range where I ignorantly assumed that “well, there are some elevations but I shouldn’t have a problem”. The truth was far from that, but after doing some climbs in Thailand with a light load I became a little bit more confident about this endeavor.
As well after meeting a 69 year old French cyclist who has done the same route in the opposite direction my confidence shot up. Hats off to this man, I wish I’ll be alive at that age, hopefully walking and maybe ride my bike to the local store around the corner.
The first 165Km up to a town named Kasi were reasonable with two hills of about 500m to speak of. Everybody was warning me about the road north of Kasi and they were absolutely right. The day started easy enough with a nice few kilometers ride from Kasi.
After that started a 20Km (actually my meter showed 28km, this included a small descent), I was glad that it was the beginning of the day as climbing at about 8-10 km\h can have physiological as well as physical effects. I switched my cycle-computer to show time in order not to view my progress, which can be rather annoying sometimes. Where you’re used to doing 1km every 3 minutes and now you’re crawling up the mountain at about 1km every 9 minutes, well it can get to you. I do have more patient and this takes time.
With brakes it took about 3.5 hours to do the climb, riding from 400m to 1400m. On the way I met two cyclists from Belgium, Maude and Dirk going the same direction. After reaching Phu Khun and stopping for lunch I decided to skip The Plain of Jars and continue riding with my fellow cyclists.
We were expecting two or more passes of about 400-500m each, but we had about 4 or 5, I can not really remember. The day seemed like it would never end but eventually we made our way to a small town of Kiuachan completing a 93km day. I swear about 70% must have been climbing and we were all glad to find a bed to crash in. Two climbs were 10% gradient, and quite a few I feel between 7%-9%.
Maude and Dirk are almost finished with their 10 month cycling trip across south America and Asia. They were good company and especially Maude who was a quiet woman but extremely tough and never complained (unlike me, haha; actually I love the mountains and the physical demand of it. It’s much more fun then the flats).
At the guest house we met three more cyclists who came from Luang Prabang and really got their asses kicked because they were expecting an easy day. Cheers boys! We spent the next few hours sitting around, drinking beers, discussing maps and routes. As well complaining about backpackers, as Paul from Dublin stated: “I don’t believe in what Pol Pot has done, but for once I would like to pull them out the air-con busses, make them put on the backpacks and say ‘Start walking or I’ll shoot’”. For people unfamiliar with touring cyclists there is a “hidden war” between the two parties. I tend to be on the cyclists side but not on the “far right (or left in case of the Khmer Rouge, ;-)”.
Next day we were treated with an adrenaline pumping 20km descent down the mountain. What a rush, cruising at 30-55km\h into constant switchbacks and morning mist. The scenery was stunning and after looking up once a while you see how hard you had to work for it. But as fate would have it we had to endure another 15km climb, but after the previous day it seemed manageable. After that it was a smooth ride to the ancient capital of Luang Prabang, a city which is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Quite a stunning city but a bit too touristy.
As well, along the way there were reports of rebel attacks but cyclists never had a problem. I saw a couple of guys walking with AK-47 over their shoulders, it gets your senses going again. Paul was stopped by two locals with AKs asking him to sit down for a chat. He got away without any problems.
The locals in the mountains were very friendly and welcoming. The kids would cheers me on and slap high-fives along the way. Sometimes they were very loud with cheerful encouragements. It helped.
Well, my visa and money is almost up in Lao. I’ll cycle for three more days and then relax for a couple before heading back home, I mean Thailand (just kidding, although Bangkok is the central base).
Then off to Burma for a month or so.
Cheers and all the best.
Robert
P.S. I managed to find a Polish book by Wojciech Jagielski, "Modlitwa o deszcz" about the recent war in Afganistan in Luang Prabang used bookstore.
What are the odds! Na Zdrowie!
posted by Rob at 4:11 AM
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