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.