Day 13: Udon Thani - Nong Khai, "The Friendship Bridge and Vientiane (Laos) (110km) Distance travelled so far 707km "Boys to Men"
Our night in Udon Thani was pretty good and relaxing . We had food at Steve's Bar (an English themed joint). The big bonus was that it had anl English food menu which was a welcomed release to the baffling Thai food menus and the culunary mish-mash that lurked within them...So burgers, chips, bacon and eggs it was....which were easily devoured....and with the a well overdue beer or two..
The morning came quickly for us. We knew that we would have a hefty cycle ahead of us so we were on the road for approx 8am. We took as many back roads as we could as to avoid the main road to Nong Khai (Thailands bordering side just before Laos) and soon we were greeted with our first clay road.
The roads to be honest were 3rd rate with many dirt tracks and craters strewn along them putting our biking skills firmly to the test. We spent the rest of the cycle enjoying the rest of Thailand, stopping for "meats on sticks" at one point....The weather today was great (Id say mid 20's) making the cycle fairly handy.
With Nong Khai and Laos pretty much in our sights at this point and our cycle to the famous "friendship bridge" connecting both countries looking more ominous, we head to sort our visa for Laos. On over the Meekong River we go so...stopping in the middle of it...that splits both countries.
We pay $35 dollars for a 30 day visa and head a further 22km (now cycling on the right-hand-side of the road!!!) to Laos's capital city Vientiane to bed our weary rear ends down for the night. At this point we have clocked up a distance of 100km (another milestone for us)....We reach Vientiane just before dusk passing some interesting monuments along the way....We are very proud of oursleves today for three reasons. 1) We have reached a new country, 2) We feel fit and injury free. 3) We are very confident in our cycling abilities)
We check into a reasonable hotel with three beds for once.....and decide to celebrate by having a good meal, some beers and a Premiership game (Chelsea vrs Manchester United...showing at 11pm tonight)....Our currency has also changed...We are now dealing in Laos Kip. Our next couple of days will be spent organising our next batch of Visa's namely; China, India, Nepal and Pakistan etc etc.....Talk tomorrow folks and thanks for reading. Please remember to keep spreading the message about us, our website and our charity. Thanks a million everyone.....
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