17572 km Vientiane
Door: Erik en Tjeerd
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Erik en Tjeerd
01 Maart 2008 | Laos, Vientiane
Hi everyone!
It's been a while since you last heard of us, but no worries we are
still going strong :) As you can see by the little map we have reached
the more northern parts of Laos by now.
The start of this journey north was not exactly easy. Luckily we got
some good rest in Siem Reap and we also got a new addition to our
team. We met Carlos, a Flemish guy, at one of the temples in Angkor
and since he was heading for Laos as well, we decided to team up and
cycle together for a bit.
The first day was as tough as we expected. We cycled 130 km of which
100 was off road cycling with a heavy headwind and dust all around us
from the passing cars. We barely made it to Anlong Veng near the Thai
border. The picures give a good impression on what it was like. Next
day we started out with a little climb across the "mountain"range
(more of a hill really) and entered Thailand. No problems at the
border this time. A friendly Cambodian official gave us the exit stamp
and wished us a pleasant journey into Thailand. The Thai stamp in the
passport is a mere formality so no issues there either.
We have been cycling in Thailand for only a couple of days because our
goal was to see Laos. We'll be cycling through Thailand quite a bit
more in the near future when we are crossing Thailand all the way down
to Malaysia. After three days and some really pleasant riding on
relaxed roads near the Mekong river we came at yet another border near
Savanaket.
Apparently it's illegal to cross the Thai/Laos bridge on your bicycle
or walk across, so the officials forced us to wait for a pickup to
bring us those measly few hundred meters across the river. Hardly any
cars pass here and we could have easily cycled across a dozen times
already.... before a friendly Thai helped us getting across. When we
crossed we noticed there was even a pavement on that bridge!!! On the
other side we bought a Laotian Visa on arrival which was a fairly
painless process. The official tried to charge us with a 40 Baht
processing fee for the arrival card (how inventive) but he asked after
giving us the Visa already so tough luck for him :) Always trying to
make an extra buck out of ignorant tourists...
When we entered Laos we soon discovered why this place is referred to
as a cyclists heaven. There is hardly any traffic and the scenery is
nice. We slept in the, for Laotian standards, big town Savanaket. The
next day we headed of on highway 13 and we've been on that road ever
since. The scenery is nice, the villages idyllic and the food is good.
This definitely is the good life!!
After 5 days we reached Vientiane and did a nice 1000 km in 9 days. A
first for Carlos our travelling companion so all credits to him for
making it here with us. Most cyclist tend to go a little slower then
us but he kept up the pace really well.
Vientiane is very relaxed, but to be honest, also a little bit of a
dull place. We don't have the feeling that we are walking in the
Capital, it has the look and feel off a small provincial town in
France. We took a little break here and enjoyed the nice sunset at the
Mekong river. Recharging a bit for what is yet to come. The next few
days we will be heading into the Karstmountains and some serious
climbing needs to be done. Wish us luck!
Yours Erik, Tjeerd and Carlos
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/29%20Camb%202%20Laos/
It's been a while since you last heard of us, but no worries we are
still going strong :) As you can see by the little map we have reached
the more northern parts of Laos by now.
The start of this journey north was not exactly easy. Luckily we got
some good rest in Siem Reap and we also got a new addition to our
team. We met Carlos, a Flemish guy, at one of the temples in Angkor
and since he was heading for Laos as well, we decided to team up and
cycle together for a bit.
The first day was as tough as we expected. We cycled 130 km of which
100 was off road cycling with a heavy headwind and dust all around us
from the passing cars. We barely made it to Anlong Veng near the Thai
border. The picures give a good impression on what it was like. Next
day we started out with a little climb across the "mountain"range
(more of a hill really) and entered Thailand. No problems at the
border this time. A friendly Cambodian official gave us the exit stamp
and wished us a pleasant journey into Thailand. The Thai stamp in the
passport is a mere formality so no issues there either.
We have been cycling in Thailand for only a couple of days because our
goal was to see Laos. We'll be cycling through Thailand quite a bit
more in the near future when we are crossing Thailand all the way down
to Malaysia. After three days and some really pleasant riding on
relaxed roads near the Mekong river we came at yet another border near
Savanaket.
Apparently it's illegal to cross the Thai/Laos bridge on your bicycle
or walk across, so the officials forced us to wait for a pickup to
bring us those measly few hundred meters across the river. Hardly any
cars pass here and we could have easily cycled across a dozen times
already.... before a friendly Thai helped us getting across. When we
crossed we noticed there was even a pavement on that bridge!!! On the
other side we bought a Laotian Visa on arrival which was a fairly
painless process. The official tried to charge us with a 40 Baht
processing fee for the arrival card (how inventive) but he asked after
giving us the Visa already so tough luck for him :) Always trying to
make an extra buck out of ignorant tourists...
When we entered Laos we soon discovered why this place is referred to
as a cyclists heaven. There is hardly any traffic and the scenery is
nice. We slept in the, for Laotian standards, big town Savanaket. The
next day we headed of on highway 13 and we've been on that road ever
since. The scenery is nice, the villages idyllic and the food is good.
This definitely is the good life!!
After 5 days we reached Vientiane and did a nice 1000 km in 9 days. A
first for Carlos our travelling companion so all credits to him for
making it here with us. Most cyclist tend to go a little slower then
us but he kept up the pace really well.
Vientiane is very relaxed, but to be honest, also a little bit of a
dull place. We don't have the feeling that we are walking in the
Capital, it has the look and feel off a small provincial town in
France. We took a little break here and enjoyed the nice sunset at the
Mekong river. Recharging a bit for what is yet to come. The next few
days we will be heading into the Karstmountains and some serious
climbing needs to be done. Wish us luck!
Yours Erik, Tjeerd and Carlos
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/29%20Camb%202%20Laos/
-
01 Maart 2008 - 10:50
Gloria&Gerard:
Always nice to see the two of you on a picture, thanks to Carlos this time. You certainly needed a bath! Those animals in the zoo do not seem to have much space: in a Dutch zoo they have more room than the ones on your pictures. Were the dogs meant for consumption, or as pet, or perhaps both???
Good luck in the mountains: we will keep our fingers crossed for you.
-
01 Maart 2008 - 10:51
Gloria&Gerard:
Always nice to see the two of you on a picture, thanks to Carlos this time. You certainly needed a bath! Those animals in the zoo do not seem to have much space: in a Dutch zoo they have more room than the ones on your pictures. Were the dogs meant for consumption, or as pet, or perhaps both???
Good luck in the mountains: we will keep our fingers crossed for you.
-
01 Maart 2008 - 13:07
Smurf:
Jullie zijn op stap of liever aan het fietsen met mijn broer.
Heel veel plezier samen !
smurf -
01 Maart 2008 - 13:08
Mat:
Damn! I just did 930km in 10 days and thought I was pretty hot stuff! But you were just that little bit faster in cambodia... -
01 Maart 2008 - 18:21
Peter S.:
Ziet er maar stofferig uit dat Laos. By the way, lekker kontje Erik! -
01 Maart 2008 - 19:28
Truus:
Hi Guys,
Wat een leuke foto's weer, bedankt. Ik ben wel blij weer wat te horen, begon me al zorgen te maken. Wat een leuk hoofddeksel heb je op Tjeerd, zeker de laatste mode daar, staat je goed! De foto's van Thailand deden mijn hart weer sneller kloppen, is zo bekend voor ons. Leuk te horen dat jullie dus sneller fietsen dan Mat, want 1000km in 9 dagen is toch niet niks!!! En dan die wegen, echt een stofhapper. Krijgen jullie er nog geen genoeg van? Hoeveel maanden nog?
Hier alles goed, een hele flinke storm gehad de afgelopen nacht en vandaag de hele dag, maar wel met zonnenschijn erbij en dat was lekker. Jongens hou je haaks en veel sterkte in de kuiten toegewenst.
Groeten uit Holland. -
01 Maart 2008 - 19:36
Truus:
Ben ik weer, daar Henk een nieuwe Norton op de pc heeft gedaan, heb ik jullie vorige verhaal gemist, dat zal ik morgen lezen. Jullie zaten onder "ongewenste zender", nu niet meer, sorry.
Liefs
Truus -
01 Maart 2008 - 19:54
Jelle:
Hebben julie nog autentiek "wildlife" gezien behalve achter tralies? -
02 Maart 2008 - 13:58
Christian:
Hey Erik, mooie foto´s! Het lyondell shirt is blijkbaar van goede kwaliteit.. :-)
Ben benieuwd naar foto´s vanuit de bergen..
-
02 Maart 2008 - 19:08
Maaike:
hahahaha lachen zeg die grensverhalen. Overigens valt me op dat de fietsen het nog steeds doen of zijn ze, op het frame na, al een paar keer "vervangen". Volgens mij is dit een van de eerste fietsen die Erik "proof" is. Dat verdient het "Erik zegt dat het goed is" keurmerk ;-) -
09 Maart 2008 - 17:07
Daphne:
hi!
lekker stof aan het happen geweest zie ik, haha! Leuk dat jullie nu al in Loas zijn. Thailand is ook erg mooi! Ben echt een fan van dat land sinds ik er ben geweest met Ol in november.
Je kunt in Chiang Mai en in Bangkok ook nog leuke fietstochten door de stad doen, hebben wij ook gedaan. haha, kun je met je eigen fiets! erg leuk, in bangkok zie je dan niet alleen de hectiek, maar ook de sloppenwijken en veel bebossing. En natuurlijk zijn die fietstochten van een Nederlander!
Heel veel plezier nog, lees graag jullie verhaal, en kijk nog liever foto's!
kus, daf
ps. is na Singapore de reis afgelopen? Of wordt Australie nog aangedaan?
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