day 46 - Vieng Xai, Laos to Na Loc, Vietnam

Monday, 9 December 2013

Today we arrived in Vietnam! Our second border crossing and it all went smoothly. 

We set off from Vieng Xai after a big breakfast. We had met another Englishman at breakfast who had just arrived from Vietnam. He had bought a bike in Vietnam but it didn't last the distance to Laos and so was now planning to walk to his next destination. He had a few words of advice (warning) for us about what lay ahead and we set off feeling slightly apprehensive about what was in store for us over the border. 

It was a 56km ride to the border. The weather was mild and there was a haze which hung over the fields and mountains. We passed through small villages and many sights that had become familiar. Again we were greeted really warmly by all the children we passed and we shouted our last few 'sabaidees' as we went by. 

(Passing through a pretty village in Laos)

(A little difficult to film on the bike but hopefully you can see this excited little person)

(These small statues appeared more frequently over the past few days. 

We're unsure what they are but may be tombstones for the people who could not be cremated during the war)

(A guar grazes by the side of the road)

(Looking back over a hazy Laos)

We arrived shortly before the border office reopened after their lunch break. Nicky completed the Laos departure cards and once our passports were stamped, we left Laos and made our way 100m along the road to the Vietnamese border crossing. The two Vietnamese officials who took down our arrival details were polite and efficient and we were on to the next leg of our journey in no time.

(The Laos border crossing)

(The Vietnamese border crossing)

The Vietnamese town at the border is called Nameo and, similarly to Huay Xai where we arrived into in Laos from Thailand, it doesn't leave a great first impression. We were told there were a few hotels in the town but after only finding two, neither of which we were keen to stay in, we decided to press on to the next town. The scenery was similar to that of Laos but a lot greener and we passed many groups of people busily working by the side of the road. 

(We passed many small plants where they were processing wood into batches 

which you can see on the side of the road)

(Still hilly but dense green vegetation in Vietnam)

We quickly realised that the road markers did not align with the names of the towns on our map and that the distances on the map also seemed to be a bit inaccurate. We had hoped to find a place to stay within the first 20km but 30km later we were still looking. Thanks to the help of some local people, we were pointed to a recently built hotel situated behind a petrol station in a small town just outside of Na Loc. We had ridden 86km and were happy to just find a bed by that point. We were greeted by a Laotian man who spoke to us in German! It turned out he had spent 10 years living in Hanover and so Paul set about securing a room for us. 

One piece of information the Englishman at breakfast had given us was that the Vietnamese will try to overcharge us. He told us what we should expect to pay for a hotel, a bowl of noodle soup and some water. This was news to us and we didn't look forward to the prospect of having to haggle for everything. Paul managed to talk the man into a cheaper price on the room which we felt was fair compared with what we had paid in Laos. When we went for dinner, we insisted on paying before we had even eaten and then later we wondered why a shopkeeper was laughing when we bought some biscuits from him. We decided that tomorrow we would just pay the asking price and see how things turned out. Surely our breakfast companion was just making an unfair generalisation. 

During the day, we reflected on what we liked most about Laos. We agreed it would have to have been the scenery and how friendly the children were. It certainly was a very different experience to Thailand and we've loved both countries for different reasons. It will take us a few days to acclimatise to Vietnam but no doubt we will come to love this country too.