ISAN TRANSIT

After a number of transits it is my opinion that the Laos/Thai land border at Chong Mek (40 km West of Pakse in Laos) is the "least hassle" of the borders between these 2 countries. With a bike you can enter Thai through the car gates quick and easy (avoid weekends and holidays, and if you have a visa then all you need to do is fill in the entry/departure card).

Once again, soon after the border I camped at the Marine Police on the Mekong River at the town of Khong Chiam. This was quite a spectacle as the river was at its highest in about 10 years (look carefully at pictures taken now, and on previous visits, from the same 2 view points). I am guessing, but possibly 15m to 20m higher water now (see the concrete paths and steps leading down, as well as the islands and exposed rocks).

The picture above shows the chief monk at a very nice temple off this road (Buri Ram district). He treated me very well, and I am thankful. He could possibly be a good guest house manager.

And then I stopped off at Pannee's house on the farm in Ubon, not far off my intended route. The tent which I had been using lately was becoming rather thin underneath, causing a wet sleep each time a floor was flooded by rain water (somewhat unpredictable). I had arranged with Pannee to swap this tent with the other tent I had left there last year when I also left her (she does not usually live on the farm, and was not there on this occasion). However, she did instruct her Mama to let me stay in the house for a night or 2, while I adapted the tent and did some maintenance to my bike.

Daily distances cycled from Laos through Eastern Thailand to Pattaya have been as follows (total for this stretch is 852 km):- Khong Chiam 38 km; Ban Trakan 82 km; Kantararam 89 km; Samrong Thap 73 km; Non Daeng 85 km; Nang Rong 86 km; Lam Nang Rong 59 km; Wattana Nakhon 84 km; Phanom Sarakham 89 km; Chonburi 96 km; and Pattaya (Jomtien) 71 km. My grand total distance since leaving Cape Town, South Africa, on 27 March 2007 is now 163 749 km.

The picture above shows the front entrance to Pannee's house on the farm (and I did tell her that I would paint the door the next time I went to the place). Tropical weather is harsh.

On the day which I arrived here in Pattaya, a car slowed down alongside, and the woman in the passenger seat handed me this pair of genuine RayBan sunglasses. I was going into a stiff breeze, in bright sunlight for a change. They simply drove away after that donation, so "thank you". ALSO NOTE:- Please excuse the unsightly ULCER on my nose. By the time I arrived here in Pattaya my whole body was full of these festering sores! It started from mosquito bites and heat rash, and when my defence was low due to weeks of diarrhoea while I was exerting myself by cycling, the bacteria nailed me. I have since been on a heavy antibiotic course, and things have drastically improved (so I end off with this good news).

THOSE LAOS MOUNTAINS AGAIN

It was no surprise to me that there were hills. I had been over this Northern Laos route a number of times, but only once before had I cycled the section over the biggest mountains, and that was a good 8 years ago! Lots of rain, sometimes rather cold at the high points. However, plenty of spectacular scenery.

This was the height of the rice-planting season, and I stopped to watch the workers on many occasions. By planting the previously sowed rice gleaned from the seed-beds, the eventual crop is multiplied many-fold. These people work hard in rain and hot humid conditions. But rice is their life.

And eventually, when I had reached the Laos Capital Vientiane, I managed to buy a 2-month Thailand visa without any hassle or fuss (so why did they give me so much trouble in Malaysia?). A sleep in a bed for 2 nights, proper laundry done, and hot showers - what luxury!

Rubber, freshly harvested from the bowls attached to the trees for trapping the rubber sap. This is an important lifeline for the mountain villages in Northern Laos. (Yes, there are tycoons raking in the money, but it provides a living for many of these isolated communities).

Then the well-known route through Laos to the South. Pakse city, and then West to the Thailand border. I crossed the border a day before my Laos visa expired. I was not in a healthy state. I had diarrhoea for a few weeks by this time, and I had festering sores all over myself. It felt as though I would rather hide myself instead of stopping at petrol station toilets where people could see me. I also felt somewhat embarrassed asking to stay at temples when it must have looked as though I was transmitting the "plague".

By the time I arrived in Pakse city, Southern Laos, the constant heavy rain had caused some serious flooding. By this time a dam further South had broken, causing disaster in that isolated region of Cambodia downstream along the Mekong river. The Watt in Pakse where I had stayed before (in the common area of this wooden stilted building) was now hardly clear of the water. Previously there had been a storage area with a paved walkway further down along the river. The big wooden river boat moored there was now at a level with the building, and the novice monks were rowing their boat around where people had previously been strolling around.

Daily distances cycled through Laos at this time are as follows:- Ban Don Chai 72 km; Vieng Phouka 58 km; Luang Namtha 58 km; Namo 66 km; Oudomxai 60 km; Pak Mong 82 km; Ban Pathung 75 km; Xieng Ngeun 55 km; Phoudam 54 km; Phachao 84 km; Vang Vieng 78 km; Phonhong 80 km; Houayang 59 km; Vientiane 35 km; Friendship Bridge 28 km; Somsavan 32 km; Ban Namlo 85 km; Pakxan 39 km; Vieng Kham 91 km; Hinboon 79 km; Ban Thung 65 km; Seno 65 km; Pakxong 63 km; Phounsavang 49 km; Don Muang 66 km; Pakse 70 km; Ban Dou 37 km; Chong Mek (Laos/Thai border) 20 km. (Total this leg in Laos is 1 705 km). Total cycled so far is 162 897 km.

So, there is some sort of legacy related to staying at Budhist Temples as often as I do. The strings tied to my wrists I received from monks praying for my safe travels (one in the South of Thailand, and one in Northern Laos).