30 DAYS IN LAOS

After spending two enjoyable months cycling around the Yunnan Province in southern China it was time to head further south and enjoy some of the laid back and relaxed lifestyle of northern Laos. With it's distinctive French influence (baguettes filled with port, pate and a variety of spicey additives - beeeautiful), its rugged scenic mountains, the friendly smiles with a welcoming wave and cheerful greeting of sabaai dii, to the casual approach to life, Laos makes you want to cllick down a few gears, slow the pace back a few kilometres per hour and just soad it all up.

After crossing the border from China my first destination was Muang Xai in Oudomxai Province - nestled in the beautiful Nam Ko basin. After speaking to the local mountain bike tour operator I shelved my plans of continuing south and headed north east to the village of Maung Khua (100km of easy cycling following a downstream river). From here I could catch the river boat downstream to Muang Khiaw and then cycle on to Luang Phrabang. A very prudent decision as my alternative was a 50km climb through more mountain ranges and my legs said that the former option should take precedant this time.



Cycling into Luang Phrabang - "The Sleeping Beauty" and then down the main street it reminded me of cycling down Chapel Street Prahan. Cafe after cafe with sun umbrellas lining the streets shielding tourists from the heat of the afternoon sun whilst drinking soy lattes, eating western food and talking on their mobile phones. Luang Phrabang is another UNESCO world heritage listed site - a beautiful old town with streets lined with sweet smelling frangipanis and the brilliant colour of bourinvillas.

A couple of days to soak up the atmosphere and it was time to mentally attune to a few days of serious hill climbing before the terrain started to plateau off on the approaches to Vang Vieng. It was here that I was glad that I was cycling south. From the highest point of the range - 1750 metres above sea level it was a 35km descent to the base. In places the gradient was 10 percent where some serious braking was required. Not a pedal stroke in almost 2 hours as the road snaked down following the mountain ridges - just cramped hands and over heated brake pads.



With the serious mountains behind me I had an enjoyable 60km ride into Vang Vieng. You can always tell when you are approaching Vang Vieng by the sweet smell in the air - not from the frangipanis but from the readily available joints that many of the backpacker come to enjoy. From almost any cafe and bar you can buy happy shakes, happy pizza - in fact happy anything - just don't get caught by the local police who generally turn a blind eye but occasionally enforce the law. Sets you back several hundreds of dollars - now that's a lot of happy shakes. Apart from that, Vang Vieng is beautifully located on the banks of the Nam Song and provides a range of leisure activities ranging from caving, rock climbing, mountain biking, tubing, hiking and rafting. I made this my base for a week and chose to relax and just read a few books.



Next it was further south to the capital of Laos - Vientiane. The countryside that was flat, flat, flat. After five months of mountains it was most appreciated. My journey through northern Laos completed and thoroughly enjoyed it was time to find the Thai Embassy and get a visa before crossing the Friendship Bridge in Thailand.

DALI TO KUNMING

It's been a long time between entries but big brother closed the blog site down in China. Maybe the didn't like some of the comments that were being posted.


The leg from Dali to Kunming was a bit of a mix between the sweet smell of lush pine forestted peaks and deep valleys with villagers planting rice and a variety of green leafed crops to the heavily industrialized with a constant thundering of thousands of blue trucks laden with black coal, boulders used for ther ever present road works and bricks from the numerous kilns.

It was on this leg of my journey that a came across my first other touring cyclist in China. He was a Chinese cyclist endeavouring to cycle across China from east to west. Quite a challenge because he was hoping to cycle in high alps in the north west of Yunnan Province. I gather that is why he was so heavily laden with packs on his bike. Wit broken communication we excanged tales, took a few photos, said Zaijian and pedalled off in opposite directions.

The closer I got to Kkunming the more I realized that it was just another big city (over 1 million) so to escape the blue monsters I decided to make a right hand turn about 30km west of Kunming and head south to the rolling hills of the Yuangang rice terraces. A wise decision because this route took me through the picturesque Fuxian Lakes tourist region with its hot springs, waterfalls and the national parks of the Xiushan region.



Being a foreigner and then a cycling tourist as well makes you a very novel attraction in most cities, towns and vilages. Old people just look and stare with a blank expression and probably think - What the xxxx!!! Children just want to say "Hello, what is your name? My name is ---- Where do you come from?" Their limited rote vocabulary of Englilsh. Groups of teenage girls just want to say hello and then give a little giggle. - don't know what the giggle is all about.

AH1N1

Cycled into the town of Tonghai at the southern end of the Fuxian Lakes District. Found some accommodation, settled into my room and had a much needed shower. Was just about to crack a Dali long neck ( tastes like dog's xxxx) when there was a knock on the door upon which I was greeted by four very official looking people dressed in white gowns. Somebody must have informed the local hospitlal that an alien had landed and feared that he may have a fever, cough and aching joints and was a likely carrier of swine flu. One official produced a thermometer (don't know where he wanted to stick that) and another produced a whole ream of paperwork wanting to know my every movement for the last 2 months. After a two hour ordeal it was established that my temp was normal (under the armpit) and my whereabouts were verified via my passport I was given the all clear to crack that beer and have a much needed beer.

Yuanyang Rice Terraces

Deep in the south eastern region of the Yunnan Province these rice fields come with a very high recommendation as a must see. These beautifully sculptured rice fields spring to life at sunrise and sunset as the sun's rays glisten from the water filled terraces. It was here that you wished you had one of those expensive cameras with a foot long lens.



Shiping

Well I was lucky to stumble across this gem of a town Listed with a heritage tag, the "Old Town" has all of its original sturctures and cobblestone street charm minus the hordes of mini buses full of tourists of Dali and Lijiang. In the evening you can walk the narrow dimly lit alleys and be invited into family homes to taste bbq bean curd and tofu whilst watching family members playing cards.


Dragon Boat Festival

This traditional festival commences on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month of the chinese calendar and runs for four days (28th - 31st May) Whilst cycling through the towns of Yuanjiang-Majiang and Shiping each town put on colourful street parades and evenings of traditional dance. It is also time where people savour sonjie which is a triangular shaped desert wrapped in bambo leaves and filled with glutonous rice and a variety of sweeteners such as dates, banana, raisins and mango - yummy !!!