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5. Laos – Over the Hill

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After four nights in Luang Prabang (LB) it was time to move on. Doing so meant another two, maybe three, days of hill climbing . Getting decent beta on what lay ahead was a challenge. Highway 13, our route of the past few days, apparently degenerated into a potholed nightmare but an intriguing alternative route, seemed much less travelled, for reasons unfathomable. Both involved monster climbs! But first, a little about LB. By far our most comfortable stay. As I had mentioned in our last post, we were in the heart of the old quarter of LB, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, and deservedly so.

Riding in to the famous Luang Prabang. This old bridge, now closed to heavier traffic, led us into the Old Quarter. Claire, the videographer, is getting as good as the locals at riding onehanded with her phone in the other. Distracted driving just isn’t a thing here!
The Old Quarter has many temples, monasteries and the former King’s palace (now a museum , from the time when LP was the capital of Laos, that all add to the special flavour of the place. The quarter is a narrow peninsula bounded by the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. All the old housing, much of it restored, is only two stories and the road network is in good shape, well treed and pedestrian friendly. Every second building, it seems, is either a restaurant or some form of accommodation, from backpacker hostel to elegant, chic, boutique hotel. The food options are bewildering. I find roadside stalls very tempting but I’m often winging it, never quite sure of what I’m getting. The Night Market is the Mecca of stalls, a great place to experiment though a tad chaotic, packed with tourists from around the world. The other night, seeking more predictable fare, found us in a famous pizza place, jammed with westerners with me thinking, ‘Is this why we came to Laos?’ I’m frustratingly ambivalent about our spending time in a lovely tourist town such as LP filled with all the pleasures of life but so removed from the experiences we seek in the more ‘authentic’ Laos. It’s truly a ridiculous dilemma. A classic, first world problem!
The mighty Mekong. A steady stream of fish boats, day tripping tourist boats, overnight cruises, sunset party boats, etc., passing in front of our riverside dining spot. All sharing this, long, low-slung and efficient design.
A fortuitous encounter, a helpful Lao and a 2 km pedal led us to this super bike mechanic. He immediately got to work and had my noisy and loose bottom bracket running smoothly in no time. Service charge of 50,000 lak ($3.30) but priceless peace of mind as we set off for the next big climb.
The ferry across the Mekong. Simple, efficient and cheap (bike & rider $0.60). On a chance recommendation we took the ferry and had a beautiful, quiet ride through a series of wats (Buddhist monasteries). Lao Buddhism is both unique and intrinsically linked to the social, political and economic life of the country. Despite being a communist country, Buddhism is essential to the politics of the place and the Lao identity. Many poor families will send their sons off to a monastery, where they’ll receive a decent education but live an austere life far removed from modern Lao society. Most will bail and return to society as young men, only a few go on to be ordained monks. These remote wats were peaceful and lovely to visit despite our almost total ignorance of their practices, traditions or beliefs.
On the ferry we met these two, returning from a cock fighting event of the night before in LP. The proud young man on the left claimed he’d won 2,000,000 lak ($133, a princely sum for a poor country, maybe there was something lost in translation)and his young bird had come away, virtually unscathed, after a 15 minute match. He had recently sold the bird’s grandpa for good money to some Thai buyers for breeding purposes. We’ve subsequently seen, low level cock fights in villages. Clearly, it’s a popular sport and I get the feeling it takes little encouragement to get two roosters to fight.

A few of the temples on our ‘wat’ ride. Like the churches of Europe are for Claire, I suppose I’ll also grow tired of visiting these temples (that mean little to me) but for now, they are each unique, typically garishly ornate, but frequently beautiful and architecturally pleasing.

The bat lady. In a discrete corner, away from the markets and other commercial establishments, this lady was selling small bats. I think a bit small for bushmeat, so probably to be used as traditional medicine but she wasn’t forthcoming nor was Google. There were however on the Internet current ‘studies addressing coronavirus surveillance of bats in rural markets in Laos’, an apparent hotbed of such things. Covid-24 anyone?
The food stall portion of the Night Market in LP. Every night this place was packed with tourists from all over the globe. Finding a seat and a semi-clean table was a challenge. Adjacent, on the main drag for at least four blocks were two continuous rows of craft, art and clothing stalls with a thick crowd of foreigners cruising the narrow passage between them. The vendors would set up and breakdown each night and yet, from what I saw, only marginal business was done. Then again, I have an aversion to shopping so should not be the judge.
Sorry folks, we can’t get enough of these rice harvesting photos. We’re now back on the road after a four day break and ready, more or less, for the big hill climb ahead. Trying to get good route information pertinent to bike travel from the locals is always a challenge but when complicated by the language barrier that exists in Laos, it’s doubly hard.An expat Brit and owner of a bike rental outfit finally gave us the unequivocal directions that bolstered our confidence as we set off.
The first of many! A 12% grade is tough with a loaded bike and we dreaded the sight of these signs. It took us two days to do the climb. The second day was a beast. It took us 5.5 hours to climb 1750 m. Thankfully the road was smooth and traffic light, to the point we kept asking ourselves, why doesn’t everyone go this way. We were soon to find out.
Water buffaloes doing what buffaloes do.
The pass and the famous viewpoint. We couldn’t see a thing! We’ve had lunch, we’re smiling, we’ve sort of recovered, and looking forward to the infamous descent.
A relentlessly steep grade with sections of serious potholes, tight corners, drop offs with no guardrails and a legacy of accidents. Now we know why so many avoid this road. For us, it was an awesome ride, swerving around potholes and sucking up the bumps (like any good mountain biker should). Our brakes were smoking hot by the bottom.
The dramatic landscape on the road to the famous outdoor recreation community of Vangvieng. Once a hedonistic hangout for young, often loutish, foreigners the town has cleaned up its act. Still, to see young western girls walking the streets of town in bikinis is disturbing. Are they aware of how disrespectful of the local culture this is? Could they be so ignorant or they simply don’t give a shit. Either way, it bothered me! It reflects poorly on western society. (Not that I have any problem with young women in bikinis – just to be clear.)
A karst landscape. Limestone mountains shaped by water and a chemical process. The fluted tops to these ridges look as inhospitable as can be imagined. On the other hand, we saw endless climbing possibilities which piqued our interest for further south.

We stayed two nights in Vangvieng. We thought the ‘recreation’ was either too contrived or too tame (floating down a river in an innertube with a bunch of 20 somethings). Nonetheless, we decided to rent a scooter and do the std. loop and visit a few of the famous ‘blue lagoons’. They were pleasant swimming holes but couldn’t hold our attention for long. However, there were some caves……..

At Blue Lagoon #3 there was an old faded sign explaining the route into a nearby cave. Regrettably we’d left our headlamps at the guesthouse but iPhones should do, no? It was quite an adventure. A rough, slippery trail led to a nondescript hole in the ground. I whacked my head twice getting through the entry but things opened up and we headed in. The experience was somewhat disorienting but we figured we went in at least 100 m, up and down, various rickety, greasy ladders (with the broken evidence of previous ladders underneath), through narrow passages and tricky footing all apparently leading to some pools. The air was hot, humid and dense. We were all alone for the 30-40 minutes we were in the cave. The ‘pool’ was disconcertingly clear. I threw a rock to disturb the surface but instead it landed hard 10 m down. The pool had drained. The thought of not finding our way back or our batteries dying led to, I admit, the first inklings of claustrophobia, so we headed out. It was a cool experience but nothing compared to the next.

Back on our scooter we visited another lagoon (neglected like much of the local infrastructure) and then continued the loop. The steep, jagged mountains on either side of a cultivated valley made for scenic riding. We soon spotted an old faded sign indicating ‘Cave – 600 m’, so pulled onto the rough track heading in towards the mountains. We got 70 m and came to a creek, so parked the scooter, forded the creek and continued by foot on a deeply rutted tractor trail. We soon came upon the above 2-wheeled tractor, the must have conveyance for a small holding farmer. We’ve seen so many iterations of this, pulling all sorts of loads and performing various functions.

The track became progressively less travelled , eventually coming to a well tended clearing and a path leading up and under rocks into thick forest. Much to our surprise, Arne, a young German techie on holiday was sitting at the entrance to what looked like an African artisanal mine, complete with a crude rebar grate over the entry and a couple of rusty, banged up pieces of corrugated roofing over. Off to the side was a veritable hobbit of a man, maybe 4’-2” in height, a fringe of wild hair around a bald palette, barefoot, in shabby old clothes and a remarkable 80 years old. Nevertheless, he was a commanding presence and had ordered Arne to sit and wait while he finished a small concrete patch. Arne, who’d also arrived with cell phone as torch had, like us, not a clue as to what he was getting into. He was glad to see us as he was feeling a bit spooked by this point. The old man was soon bossing us around while he finished up his repair work. Finished, he pulled four, cheap, Chinese headlamps out of an old sack and then led us into what turned out to be a spectacular cave!

The old boy was an awesome guide. He spoke a mixture of Lao, French and English, most of which was unintelligible but it was always in no uncertain terms and we got the gist of it. As expected, he knew the cave intimately and was always pointing out features, animal shapes, broken stalactites (he always blamed ‘bad Lao people’), the glitter of gold and silver on the roof of one chamber, fluted formations that produced different tones when struck. At one point he pointed out something that vaguely resembled the map of Laos. He then started naming all the surrounding countries including the Soviet Union. One could easily imagine him stuck off here in the jungle, completely out of touch with the changing world.
Our photos barely do justice to the place nor convey the convoluted topography. Maintaining a sense of direction was almost impossible as we moved from one spectacular space to the next. Many ceilings were covered in udder like formations, another was covered in bats.
My notion of vertically aligned stalactites and stalagmites was thrown out the window by all the gravity defying shapes.
In the end, it can be an unsettling place to hang out. The dense, still and humid air. The complete absence of light. The otherworldly shapes, the uneven footing and our funny little guide. After what must have been an hour, we all agreed it was time to go. Our guide, fully in his element, could have carried on.

Our walk back to our respective scooters, in the afternoon light, as we all reflected on what had just transpired, was not long enough. When we got to the creek, a young girl with a heavy load on her beat up scooter, plowed through the creek without hesitation.

Leaving Vangvieng headed south for the capital. This bridge, though closed to cars and trucks, was the main link between the parts of the community separated by the Nam Song River. This was early morning and traffic was light.


Crickets
Larvae
Grasshoppers
Roaches

On the way to Vientiane we came upon a market with some interesting fare. I would have tried some but it was all far too expensive! 😉 We had heard such bad reports of the highway south of Vangvieng but other than the 3-4 kilometres of a dusty, bumpy and busy stretch on the outskirts of town, it was smooth sailing.

Vientiane, in desperate need of good electricians. This photo is unfair/unrepresentative. It’s a lovely town. A smaller, less hectic version of Hanoi and minus the incessant honking. We are taking care of business in the big city. Sorted our Cambodia visa and confirmed (???) that visas are available on arrival at multiple entry points into Thailand. We also just shipped our tent, sleeping stuff, extra back to Canada (hope it arrives!). The likelihood of camping is now behind us.
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Claire & Jim

Married couple, retired who love adventures. Lived and worked overseas and travelled extensively. Enjoy bike touring, mountain biking, hiking, ski touring, rock climbing, reading and music.

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13 thoughts on “5. Laos – Over the Hill”

  2. Bon, j’ai été trop vite sur le piton. What I want to say is that trip is overload of specials experimentals of everything. Peoples, landscapes, eatings. Beside the insects menu, the pictures of those plates are beautiful. Like you, I would only take the photo and no eating . Bon voyage et on attends d’autres belles aventures. Waiting for more adventures. Bisous xxxxx

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  3. It looks like you two are having a great adventure, did you try some off the insect proteins? Is that just for the tourists or do there locals eat it as part of their diet? Safe travels , I can’t wait for the next instalment.

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    1. Great to hear from you Greg. The photos were from a locals-only market in a non-tourist town. Doubt you could find these in a tourist restaurant. And no, I didn’t try them. After looking at all the strange fare in that market I had lost my appetite. Maybe they would be a big hit with GVan Catering! 😉

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  4. Very neat! You guys definitely took advantage of your days off your saddles.

    You are so harsh in your views of the quote “standard”, one might even say “popular”, ways of recreating though, dad. It is not everyone that can travel by bike, hike through rough dark caves, and set off into the virtual unknown — it takes all sorts.
    You guys keep doing you though.. posting great pictures and telling your fantastic tales! I’ll be here, reading them. 🙂
    xoxo

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  5. Thanks Nina. You’re right, I should be less judgmental. Regrettably, I call ‘em like I see ‘em. A character trait I’m not proud of but probably stuck with.
    Love you
    Your favourite Dad

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  6. Well, I might have been as equally aghast with the crowd at Pizza Night in LP. There were very few tourists in LP in 2007. Amazing how fast it has become a hot spot. The bat business looks a bit scary. Can’t imagine what medicinal properties bats might have, nor that they would be a food item. I”d much prefer the crunchy critters, like grasshoppers. No worse than slimy snails or oysters! I remember the scantily clad foreigners in GOA, women and men! I’ll be curious about your impressions of Cambodia. You seem to be making record time! Happy safe travels. I leave in 3 days for CDMX. I will send on your blog to Meaghan H!

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    1. Thanks Ella. I think the pace of change in Laos and Vietnam has been quite rapid. The Chinese ‘Road and Belt’ initiative has dramatically impacted Laos. The new high speed train from China to Vientiane, only recently opened, is transformative, and has left Laos in debt to China to the tune of $450 billion. We’ve seen so many Asian tourists in Laos (Japanese, Korean, Thai, Chinese, and now, of course, Indians are also travelling).
      Have a great time in Mexico.
      N.B. Our 75 km, 1700 m days, Meaghan H. can knock off before breakfast!

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  8. Hey Nico
    Yes, we sold our old Surlys (great bikes) thinking our next tour would be with bike packing rigs. We ended up getting a great deal on two second hand hybrid gravel/trail bikes. They are super light aluminum, maybe not the most durable, but they are performing well to date(except for my bottom bracket issue).
    BTW, what’s up with the progressive , liberal and intelligent Dutch? Electing Geert Wilders in a landslide!!

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  10. Great to hear from you guys. Took us awhile to respond until we realized your comment was from an older post. Anyway, glad to hear you’re enjoying it. It has been an interesting trip so far. We are currently in Cambodia and have spent the last 4 days visiting the many ruins of Angkor. It’s a blow-your-mind kind of place. Glad we gave it the time.
    All the very best

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