day 40 - Vieng Thong to Phoulao

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

We set off from Vieng Thong this morning a bit later than usual, knowing that we had a 60km ride ahead of us. We were aiming to get to Phoulao although we had been told that there was a guesthouse at a town called Nam Neun which was another 7km further on from Phoulao and we were unsure what we'd find in Phoulao itself. 

It was a pretty pleasant ride - the sun was out and after a long climb at the start, we were soon descending in beautiful surroundings. 

(One of the colourful houses in a small village)

(Spotted by some children as we approached their village)

(Looking back towards a village perched on a mountainside)

As we reached the peak of one climb, we came across a French family who were also travelling by bike. There was a mother, father and two children who appeared to be about 2 and 4 years of age. The father was towing the children in a little two-wheel chariot and the mother was carrying the camping gear and clothing. We stopped and had a good chat with them. They had spent 12 months working in Darwin before setting off on their cycling trip, beginning in Tasmania. They had now been on the road for a further 12 months and were unsure what they would do once their time in Laos was up, particularly as their son was rapidly outgrowing the chariot. Having the camping gear enabled them to stay in villages that they passed through along the way and gave their children a chance to mix and play with other children their age. Along the way, we've seen people getting by under such different circumstances to what we are accustomed to and this was just another example of how well people can manage with very simple means. 

(The French family we met who have been travelling by bike for 12 months)

After having travelled 60km, we came to a village. We've found that the name that is displayed on the sign on the way into a village doesn't always match what's on the map. We stopped to ask a woman sitting out the front of a building if we were in Phoulao. She nodded and made a little gesture to indicate sleeping and pointed to the building behind her. Knowing we would have to travel 7km in a different direction to reach the next guesthouse, we decided to stay in Phoulao for the night. The accommodation was very simple, but clean enough. The town itself seemed very poor, more so than many of the other villages we had passed through and so we felt lucky to have found a bed. 

(Our room for the night in Phoulao)

(The toilet. The bucket and tap served as the shower and sink)

As we were unloading our bikes, we met another cyclist who was staying at the house. His name was Eric and he had just arrived in Phoulao, having come the road that we would be going tomorrow. He had done the 92km journey in two days and told us about a place to stay and some restaurants along the way. 

The three of us sat and chatted in the ground floor area of the house, which was essentially the family's living room and kitchen. While there, two other cyclists passed by. One, a Norwegian, stopped to ask for directions which Paul was able to help with. In exchange, the Norwegian gave Paul some wire to make a temporary fix to Nicky's bicycle rack which had lost a bolt. Over the course of the evening, we talked with Eric about the places he had been to so far and gave him some recommendations for the road ahead. Back in France, he works as a professional bee keeper in the Alps. On the Gibbon Experience, we met a Swedish man called Tommy who ran a grocery store in a ski resort for 7 months of the year and then spent the other 5 months working on his farm or travelling. To us, these were another couple of great and inspiring examples of people making a living in an unconventional sort of way. 

Tomorrow we will aim to get to Sam Neua, which is 93km from here. Knowing that there is accommodation and some food at the 55km mark will be a good milestone and will give us a chance to determine if we go further or leave the remainder of the journey for the next day.