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.