Day 16: Vientiane (Laos) - Nakam (73km) Distance travelled so far 780km "Laos Beauty"
After 2 days of Visa preparation (China and India) and rest in Laos Capital Vientiane, we are once again on our bikes. We found Vientiane expensive and with a currency change to boot. We found ourselves dealing in hundreds of thousands of Laos (Kip) which seemed to fly out of our pockets. As Laos is a backpackers haven we met a fair share of travellers including a remarkable Italian mechanic named Ennio. He was interested in our expedition and when we asked about his life, he modestly told us about his motorcycling adventures all around Africa, Europe, The Middle East. He had some pretty incredible tales. Hello Ennio if you are reading this...We will try not to piss off the Police in Pakistan!!!! Have a good trip in Thailand. Ciao Ciao!!!
Paul and Mike with Ennio
Today we hit the roads at about 8am and with our bodies well rested, we were ready to get in some decent mileage. Not long down the road we hear a "how are yo doing?" from a cyclist following behind us... His name Joe, a seasoned tourer....and he was planning to complete 150km for his day.....After a cycle/chat with Joe for about 20km, we take some pictures and part ways....
We then sit down to a meal of rice wrapped in banana leafs....which turned out to be worms wrapped in banana leafs!!!!! .hahah.......We put this poor lunch choice down to another communication breakdown and tuck into some fruit and bread instead. We then get on the bikes again for another 30km or so....Check out Brian's worms!!!
Laos is a really special place...its main road (N13) to China's border is pretty much bustling with tiny little villages selling anything and everything...It is very tropical (more so than Northern Thailand) and lush and the jungle surrounds us for most of our cycle which feels really leisurely today... About 20km from our finishing point we head into the jungle of Laos to see some Buddha caves...They are really impressive. We also pose for some pictures with some locals at the caves....
We reach our final destination after playing a game of Dako with the some locals... Camping wise....we find a place in off the road to camp...The nights are getting cooler up here...great for us in one way as mosquitos find it harder to live in cooler weather.....Our camp fire is ready in no time and we get some brews on....Coffee in Laos...very tasty!!! We set up our three man "cosy" tent and get some snacks to ruck into for the night.....We hear some crap karoke singing in the distance so we contemplate heading up later on to dazzle them with our Elton John and Ronan Keating classics.....Night night everyone from the tiny parish of Nakam in Laos......
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