Mo’ on Pho

Following on from our previous post, after eating some pretty tasty Pho today, we wanted to highlight that although we have found it difficult to eat balanced meals here (enough veggies, fruit, protein, etc…), we know we are extremely lucky to be here and experience the Laos way of life. In our early days in Laos we met a few other cyclists who told us that they were having a rough time keeping up their energy while cycling through Laos. We initially thought that they were being critical until we had our own experiences so we know how it can come across.

We are now in Tat Lo staying next to a beautiful waterfall. The temperature is about 10 degrees cooler so we’re loving it and today was one of the very best we’ve had.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens….

…This was not our experience for the few days of cycling between Savannakhet and Pakse. On our last blog entry, we wrote about many of our favourite Laos experiences and sights but we feel it’s important to also highlight some of the challenges we’ve faced. We have found it difficult to maintain nutrition from food that’s available in rural Laos, particularly in remote villages along the Mekong. Although the pho (noodle soup) can be quite good, it’s difficult to take when it’s the only option for breakfast, lunch and dinner and when we’re cycling full days in extreme heat (35 degrees +). We’ve both had some GI issues, some longer lasting than others (although this is something we expected when we started out). Fortunately neither of us are too proud to admit when our bodies are weakened and need a rest. We ended up taking a local sangthaew so that we could get to some comfort and amenities in Pakse. The good news is that pharmacists in Laos, much like in Thailand offer good advice and prescribe numerous medications over the counter at a tiny fraction of western prices.

One positive that has come out of taking local transport has been to travel with locals. The locals that we shared a sangthaew with were not only fascinated by us farang and our bikes but they were also quirky in their own ways. Their curiosity, friendliness and enthusiasm to chat (attempt to chat with us) made the trip go relatively quickly. One downside, albeit an interesting downside, was when we travelled with some obvious wildlife smugglers (obvious = a bag of lizards and numerous juvenile birds stuffed into a handbag). Although against both of our conservation ideals, it was nonetheless fascinating to see this type of trade at its origin when we’ve seen it at its selling point in markets in Thailand.


Our last few days have been more in tune with the title of this post. Once we were feeling better we left Pakse and cycled to the very southern tip of Laos to the 4,000 Islands (Si Phan Don). Although we weren’t that excited when we arrived onto the “partypacker” (Kieran’s new term) island of Don Det (where you can make anything “happy” for about $1….not the kind of happiness we are seeking on this trip), the island of Don Khon was just what we are looking for. The community-based tourim feel of this island was fantastic, we were able to easily explore the island on foot, enjoy some incredible and cooling swims in the fresh water of the Mekong and eat some amazing and nourishing local food.

We’re now excited for the last part of our Laos trip into the Bolaven plateau. More photos and a post to come before we enter Vietnam in about a week.

Sabai deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

After a long period of down time in Vientiane (long story), we are now back on the road. While we had a little too much time on our hands in Vientiane and we missed riding, we enjoyed eating our way through Laos’ capital since it has an incredible variety of restaurants. We were also able to find a great bike shop for some minor repairs, we celebrated Kieran’s birthday in grand style, we received a very important package from Kieran’s mum (thanks Mum) and we also got our visas for Vietnam.

We feel like our knowledge of Thai has given us some basic Laos language survival skills since the two have many similarities. A very friendly waiter from a Laos restaurant in Vientiane gave us a mini-tutorial and was eager to provide us with language skills that we hadn’t yet learned. Our Thai, lessons from our restaurant tutorial, and sign language allow us to get by.

The highlight so far has definitely been the warm welcomes we receive in the countryside, from local villagers riding in their farm vehicles, to families in their front yards and in particular from school children. Sabai dee (“Hello”, yet also “feeling fine” in Laos) is possibly the friendliest way to say hello we’ve ever heard. The children have been so enthusiastic in their greetings whether in Laos or in English. We don’t just hear one but we hear them over and over and over again until we’re out of earshot unless they’re running beside us or trying to chase us on their bicycles. We were having so much fun entering each village because of the greetings so we decided to attach our little gorillapod and camera to Heather’s handlebars to make a video (posted).

Another definite highlight was a trip into Nam Kading National Park. We had planned to go there one afternoon after riding from Paxsan to the village of Phonsy. The World Conservation Society helped set up a research station on the Nam Kading river that we had read about so we planned on staying there for the night and traveling up the river by boat with all of our gear- bikes, bike bags and all. When we arrived and saw the size of the boats, we had a hilarious “discussion” with the boat driver. Through our sign language and poor Laos communication skills the boatman indicated that he could take us and our gear (including our bikes). We weren’t so sure and after we looked a little closer at the boat we started to doubt whether fully loading it would be a good idea. Kieran then gestured to the boatman that if we loaded it with all our gear it might sink or tip. The boatman then roared with laughter and nodded as if to say “yes, you’re right, it probably would…” We decided to stay at a local guesthouse and the next day when we took the boat we couldn’t imagine that we’d even thought about loading it with all of our gear. The trip up the river was absolutely stunning and we ended up at a beautiful swimming spot by a small waterfall that we had all to ourselves. Being able to cool down in the river was incredible.

Finally, two nights ago we had the most interesting and heartwarming experience in a very small town along the Mekong called Nong Bok that we reached by riding along small country roads from Thakhek. We weren’t sure that there was a guest house there but we had a hunch that there was (and since we have our camping gear we knew we had an alternative). We rode into town and didn’t see any accommodation. After doing a loop of the town, we asked some ladies (in broken Laos) if there was a guest house. Eventually after some back and forth they said yes and they coerced their neighbour to escort us there (she was on a motorbike). When we arrived it looked more like a storage unit with garage-type doors, although on the inside it did look like a one bedroom apartment with a basic bathroom (bucket shower/squat toilet). We started to unload our thermarests and we figured the accommodation would be fine for the night. Soon after we started unloading our gear, Dong, the young girl who managed the place showed up with her friends and a motorbike and car full of brand new bedding – still in its plastic wrap – 2 pillows, 2 soft mattresses and a duvet. We were astounded and it must have all cost far more than our rate. About an hour later, she came back with the local high school English teacher who was from the village, as well as a full Queen mattress (the other little mattresses were “picnic mattresses”). These were such friendly people who went completely out of their way to make us comfortable. We’re hoping that we will meet other cyclists on our trip and that we can recommend for them to stay in Nong Bok – a beautiful community on the river that does not see much tourism but is clearly worth a visit!

Yesterday we had one of our most beautiful rides yet. We travelled directly along the Mekong on bumpy and dusty roads, passing through rural villages and rice paddies. We’re now dirt-free but our bathroom and gear is caked with dust. We’re in the city of Savannakhet and are taking a rest day today before we get back on our bikes for about 3 days to Pakse where we’ll plan to enjoy another rest day before cycling to Si Phandon (the 4,000 islands) in the very south of Laos.

Hello! Where you go? Where you come from? I love you!

The above words are the most common expressions that we have heard from day to day on the Thailand leg of our bike trip so far. Our terrain has been mixed since we left Chiang Mai but we’ve been fortunate enough to spend a few of our days meandering on smaller roads through small villages where we have met and encountered some incredibly friendly people.

We left Chiang Mai on February 21^st and decided that our first week should serve as a training week since despite all of the running around we did getting ready to leave, we didn’t fit in as much bike training as we had hoped. Once we got on the road, we were pretty happy that we hadn’t set expectations too high. With the heat and haze (which both seemed to set in the week before we left), we felt pretty good about taking it relatively easy (or so we thought).

On Day 2 which we renamed “Grunting Granny Gear Day,” we encountered steeper hills than either of us have ever encountered on bicycle. It was a little disheartening when 10km took us about 4 hours (seriously) and much of it was spent pushing our bikes up hill. Despite the difficulties of this day, it was one of our best days with incredible scenery. Going down made the ups almost worth it and arriving in Jaeson National Park (which has hot springs and a waterfall) and sharing a campsite with a group of monks made for an excellent end of day.

In the days that have followed, highlights definitely included arriving in Chiang Khan (below), along the Mekong River, and following the Mekong through small towns to Nong Khai, where we are now. Due to time constraints (visa expirations and an annoying exam that Heather has to write), we had to take a bus from Phrae to Loei which, while disappointing (to miss out the ride), was necessary.

We've had some fun and interesting interactions with different characters along the way. In Long, after asking for simple directions, we ended up with a friendly police escort to the only accommodation in town. We've also had some interesting discussions with locals about effects on the Mekong River from Chinese Dams.


There have also been some challenges such as extreme heat, smoky air, and steep hills in the north of Thailand. Every year, around this time of year, it's common in Northern Thailand to use slash and burn agricultural practices. This, combined with burning dry forests creates a polluted haze. Along with the heat, this is always a difficult time for people in the north. As we've made our way south, we've found less of this and we hope that this continues. While we loved our life in Chiang Mai, at this time of year, it's nice to be away. We hate to sound negative but we think it's useful to point out since cycling in the North is incredible outside of the burning season.

Tomorrow we're crossing the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge and heading to Vientiane. We'll try to update this about once a week and we'll try to be more concise in future entries!

For more photos, click on the slideshow.