Experience North Laos and beyond
Torsdag d. 15. juni - Onsdag 21. juni 2017 (Update 06. september 2017)
Vieng Phou Kha - Luang Namtha 61 km
Luang Namtha Pausedag
Luang Namtha - Namxe 63 km
Namxe - Oudomxai 55 km
Oudomxai - Pak Nam Noy 66 km
Pak Nam Noy - Muang Mai 76 km
Muang Mai - Dien Bien Phu (Vietnam) 69 km
Heidi var stadig skidt tilpas, da vi sad og spiste morgenmad. Heldigvis viser damen fra stedet, at vejen er flad den vej vi skal, så det gav os et bedre håb for dagen.
Ganske rigtigt, de første mage kilometer går ned af og de bakker der er var små og lette at komme over.
Naturen er så smuk. Rismarker anlagt i flotte mønster, folk arbejder i marken og alt forgår med håndkraft. I vejkanten løber høns og grise frit omkring for at finde lidt at spise.
En dame plukker en høne en anden kommer gående alt imens hun syr eller strikker på et eller andet. Livet går sin gang også her i Laos.
På et tidspunkt blev vi overhalet af Josh og Nicole. Deres opsætning på cyklerne er meget let og derfor skyder de en helt anden fart end os. Vi hilser og så er de langt foran os.
Vi fandt ind til Laung Namtha, som er den største by i Luang Nam Tha provincen og det nordlige Laos. Byen er kendt for at være transit by for rygsæksrejsende på vej mod Kina eller Laos.
Byen er delt op i to, der er den "gamle" del som ligger tæt på lufthavnen, den del blev udbombet i krigen i 70èrne og så er der den nye del, hvor de fleste guesthuse og trekking selskaber ligger. For os var det et rart sted at komme til efter edderkoppe hytten. Vi blev to nætter på Tholaisith Guest house.
Fordi det er et sted mange turister kommer, siger det sig selv at her var et godt udvalg af alting. Så det nød vi godt af de næste to dage.
Imens vi var her, begyndte vi at snakke om at cykle til Vietnam. Hjemmefra var planen at cykle Laos og derefter Vietnam, men undervejs ændre planerne sig af og til, så egentlig havde vi afskrevet Vietnam. Marianne havde kigge på hvor langt det var vi skulle cykle, hvis vi tog Vietnam med og ikke mindst højdeprofilen på turen. Om vi ville cykle direkte til Kina eller om vi cyklede de flere kilometer i Laos for at komme til Vietnam, så ud til at være mere eller mindre det samme.
Heidi var med på ide´en, men ville have lov til at vente med at sige helt ja, indtil vi ville være i krydset, hvor vi kunne dreje mod grænsen til Kina (Boten) eller dreje videre ind i Laos. Så jeg måtte holde ud lidt endnu.
Efter to dage i Luang Namtha, var vi klar til at cykle igen. Morgenmaden blev continental breakfast på en lille cafe´. Inden vi kom afsted, faldt Heidi i snak med en engelsk mand og hans thailanske kone. På et tidspunkt sagde Heidi stille og roligt, som hun nu kan sige det: Vi er på vej på cykel tilbage til Danmark. Manden var målløs og han mente helt bestemt at hvis han hørte om os igen, var det på National Geografic.
Vi tog den vej maps.me foreslog ud af byen og derved endte vi på en grusvej, som førte os igennem den lokale landsby og over en lille træbro. Da vi kom ud til landvejen igen, kunne vi se unge såvel som gamle arbejde på lange rækker i rismarken, hvor risene blev sat. Her kommer man ikke sovende til noget som helst.
Det som mange ikke engang ved, er at markerne såes tre gange på et år. Disse ris er sump ris som sættes på marker med 15 cm vand, hvorefter de tørlægges når der skal høstes.
Vi cyklede op i en dal og for hvert tråd vi tog jo længere kom vi ind i dalen med grønne skråninger på begge sider og kæmpe bambus træer voksede langs med vejen, der var også træer med lilla og gule blomster altsammen så frodigt.
Til frokost nåede vi byen Nateuy, nu var vi kun 20 kilometer fra den Kinesiske grænse. Det var her Heidi skulle sige om vi cyklede den ene eller den anden vej. Valgte faldt på en tur til Vietnam. Vi var jo så tæt på og vi havde aldrig været i Vietnam. Så et lige et par dage mere i Laos.
Inden vi fortsatte fra Nateuy, spiste vi frokost på en af den mange kinesiske restauranter der var her. Vi fik en stor portion ris med tomat ommelet og the.
Efter Nateuy ville vi cykle godt 30 kilometer for at nå til Namxe. Vi havde set at der skulle være forskellige gusethuse og hvis vi cyklede dertil havde vi kun 51 kilometer at cykle næste dag.
Vi fandt et fint guesthus som lå 1 kilometer udenfor Namxe, det var bare ikke gennemtænkt af os, for vi skulle have noget at spise og de lavede ikke mad på stedet. Så efter vi havde taget bad gik vi afsted for at finde et sted at spise. Det var ikke let, det eneste vi kunne finde, var et sted de kunne servere hårdkogte æg og et eller andet pakket ind i bananblade. Det blev aftensmaden. Ikke meget ovenpå en cykeldag, men vi fik mad og vi døede ikke af sult, kunne vi blive eninge om.
Da vi rullede igennem Namxe næste dag, kunne vi se at vi bare skulle være gået noget længere end først, så havde der været masse af spisesteder og der var endda en del guesthuse inde i byen også.
Dagens rute skule føre os op af en 16 kilometer lang stigning, hvor vi skulle ende ud i 1100 meters højde. Ganske rigtigt fik vi en sådan stigning, heldigvis stiger den stille og roligt opad og føre os igennem det grønne landskab af snoede veje inden vi endte ud med den smukkeste udsigt på toppen.
Vi holdt en lang pause og tog massevis af billeder, der var nogle store beton klodser, som skulle virke som autoværn og det passe med at dem kan vi sidde og stå på for at tage forskellige billeder.
Derfra gik det mest nedaf inden vi nåede til Oudomxai. I Oudomxai havde vi booket værelse på et hotel. Her fik vi et værelse med den største seng vi endnu til dags har set. Selvom Heidi lå udstrakt på tværs af sengen kunne der let være en halv Heidi mere.....sengen var mindst 2,5 m bred.
Aftenen gik med skype samtale med Marianne´s mor og famile. Hun havde fødselsdag og skulle have en hyggelig hilsen fra os.
Da vi cykler imod Pak Nam Noy, bevæger vi os langt op i den nordlige del af Laos. Undervejs skulle vi følge Nam Phak floden, den snor sig langs med vejen. Nogen gange er den helt stille og andre gange bliver den en brusende flod. Et smukt syn sammen med de grønne farver på bjergskråningerne. Nogen steder er bjergskråningerne helt skallet bar for træer, så der kan dyrkes majs og andre afgrøder.
Når vi ser disse bare steder, er det let nok at forstå at der sker store jordskred. Der er ingenting der kan holde på jorden og med de store regn mængder der kommer, kan ulykken undgåes.
Bjergene op igennem dalen når en højde af 1600 m imens vi cykler afsted i den fugtuge varme og sveden hagler af os.
Vi oplevede hvordan børn leger lige ved siden af vejen, hvor lastbiler kommer susende igennem de små landsbyer uden at tage farten af. Vi betragtede det imens vi sad og holdt pause udenfor en kiosk, hvor kiosk mutter snakker til os og vi desværre ikke forstår hvad hun siger, men et smil kan alle forstå.
Vi befandt os i Phongsali provincen som er den nordligste i Laos og heroppe bor mere end 40 forskellige stammer, hvilket vi fik at se med det samme vi ankom til Pak Nam Noy.
Landsbyen er ganske lille, men ligger i et kryds som enter føre dybt ind i Phongsaly provinsen helt op nord vest eller mod Vietnam til Pang Hoc. Her kommer kvinderne fra de forskellige stammer ned for at sælge af deres afgrøder og hjemmelavet armbånd. Hver stamme har deres traditionelle dragter og hovedbeklædninger, nogen hvor mønter er syet ind i hoved beklædningen. Alt sammen meget farverigt.
Selvfølgelig kan de også blive lidt nærgående, når de vil forsøge at sælge noget til de turister der finder vej forbi denne lille by. Der er rift om kunderne.
Vi betragtede det hele lidt fra afstand, da vi kunne sidde på terassen på vores guesthus og se kvinderne løbe frem og tilbage hen over broen lige ved krydset.
Vi forlod vores dejlige overnatningssted - Phan Tha Mith, hvor vi havde nydt stilheden. Kursen blev sat mod Muang Khua i første omgang.
Terrænet gentog sig fra dagen før. Langs floden og lettere kuperet. Cyklede igennem mange små landsbyer, hvor børnene vinkede og råbte Hello. Dog fik vi ikke så meget opmærksomhed, som nogle børn der råbte og jublede fra en mark, ja faktisk råbte de så meget at man skulle tro vi var selveste Justin Bieber.
Alt imens vi cyklede, blafrede store og små sommerfugle omkring os i de smukkeste farver. Da vi nåede Muang Khua fandt vi en cafe lige i midten af byen og her bestilte vi sandwich med æg og to colaer. Vi skulle havde nogle kalorier i motoren, da der ventede os en hård stigning på den næste del af ruten.
Efter en længere pause fortsatte vi, nu mod en 10 kilometers stigning. Undervejs opad kom solen frem, hvilket vi ikke brød os om, da temperaturen hurtigt steg til 37 grader. Det blev en hård omgang, men vi kæmper og må holde et par pauser undervejs.
Vi nåede op i 1027 meters højde og holder pause i en lille landsby ved en lille butik. Imens vi hælder drikkevarene i os, blev vi observeret af en stor flok børen fra landsbyen og midt i det hele kommer en fed gris gående fuldstændingt uforstyrret af os og børnene.
Udsigten fra landsbyen var så smuk og hele vejen rundt kunne vi se bjerge i de smukkeste farver. Her fik vi en fornemmelse af at være langt væk fra alting.
Fra toppen kunne vi nu se frem til at køre ned de næste 10 kilometer mod byen Muang Mai. Vi må bremse for at kontrolllere farten, da vi skulle igennem mange sving og nogen gange lå der løse sten.
Pludselig så vi en turist på en Moutainbike, det var en dame og hun kom i høj fart i modsatte retning. Vi når faktisk ikke at reagere, men tænter: hvor kom hun fra??? Svaret fik vi lidt senere, da vi så en mand sammen med en guide komme cyklende på to andre cykler.
Vi nåede til Muang Mai sidst på eftermiddagen og skulle som det første have en is at køle ned på, hvorefter vi fandt et sted at overnatte.
Så blev der ellers fyldt op med mad, så vi var klar til sidste etape i Laos næste dag og klar til at krydse grænsen til Vietnam.
Den sidste dag i Laos blev en smuk og hård en af slagsen. Vi skulle bevæge os op fra 350 meters højde op til 1200 meters højde. Det gode var at det strakte sig over mange kilometer, så procent mæssigt skulle det ikke blive ulideligt stejlt.
Vores magiske tal blev 28, da vi kunne se ud fra højdeprofilen, at når vi havde cyklet 28 kilometer, skulle vi være på toppen.
Første par kilometer var stejlere end vi havde regnet med, men herefter blev det lettere og vi kunne cykle med 12 - 14 kilometer i timen.
Vi nåede Pang Hoc efter 22 kilometer og havde stadig 6 kilometer inden vi ville nå Laos grænseposten, klokken var 10:40 og vi kunne godt regne ud vi kunne ikke nå grænsen på 20 minutter.
Vi havde læst at der altid var middagspause mellem 11 - 13, så det nyttede ikke noget at komme frem før klokken 13. Så nu holdt vi en drikke pause.
Vi havde også en anden mission. Vi var få kilometer fra at have cyklet 10.000 kilometer siden start at rejsen, så da vi cyklede videre holdt vi øje med computeren. 3 kilometer før grænsen nåede vi 10.000 cyklet kilometer og her holdt vi en lille "fest". Vi tog billeder og lavede en video med lidt sjov og ballede.
Hele vejen op til grænsen havde vi set massevis af scooter, som var læsset til briste punktet. Det så ud til at folk fra Laos kørte til Vietnam og handlede stort ind, for derefter at køre tilbage og sælge det i Laos.
Det var alt fra øl, sodvand, ænder, gæs og store gasbeholdere som var læsset på scooterne. Nogen gange så vi de holdte ind til siden, for at hælde vand på de overophedet bremsere, inden turen gik videre.
De sidste 3 kilometer var rigtig stejle og her begyndte vi at tænke: hvor er den grænse bygning og hvad kan der lige være af bygning heroppe i 1200 meters højde. Det skulle vise sig at være en stor bygning, som var bygget på et platau og da vi kom hen til bygningen sad der flere og ventede på at grænsen skulle åbne.
Vi måtte vente 30 minutter inden posten blev åbnet og grænse betjenten stemplede os ud af Laos og ønskede os en - Safe journey.
Nu skulle vi cykle 4 kilometer i ingenmandsland. Da vi nåede det højeste punkt stod der en pæl som indikerede grænsen mellem Laos og Vietnam. Det var alt, udover en flok køer der stod og gummlede på noget græs.
Herfra blev vejen virkelig dårlig, så vi rullede stille og roligt ned til den vietnamesiske grænsepost, som igen var en kæmpe bygning.
Inde i bygningen blev vi stemplet ind i Vietnam og havde nu lov til at blive i 15 dage. Vi spurgte betjenten som hjalp os, om vi kunne veksle penge et sted. Det kunne han let klare for os. Så 90.000 Laos Kip blev til 2 milioner Viet Dong.
Allerede på den anden side af grænsen, kunne vi se at naturen var helt anderledes end det vi havde set indtil nu i Laos. Bjergene var nu meget mere takket og spidse, formet af limsten.
Vejen var virkelig dårlig og meget smal, så turen ned kom til at tage længere end vi havde regnet med.
Da vi endelig var nede i dalen, som skulle føre os ind til Dein Bien Phu, mødte os det smukkeste syn. Hele dalen var et kæmpe areal med rismarker og overalt var der fuld gang i såning at ris eller klargøring af rismarkerne.
Her var ingen maskiner, alt foregik med hånd kraft. Sådan som det er blevet gjort igennem flere menneske aldre. Markerne blev pløjet med vandbøfler og en plov bagefter. Her hjalp alle henanden, på lange rækker sad folk og såede risene. Vi så på alt imens solen stod lavt på himlen og der var et magisk skær ud over markerne.
Vi så mange mænd, som var klædt i grønt militær tøj og med den karaktaristiske militær hjelm fra Vietnam krigen, ikke fordi de var fra militæret, men fordi det var praktisk. Den karaktaristiske stråhat, var også at se alle vegne. Nu var vi i Vietnam og så frem til nogle spændende dage i et nyt land.
English
Thursday 15 June - Wednesday 21 June 2017 (Update 06 September 2017)
Vieng Phou Kha - Luang Namtha 61 km
Luang Namtha Restday
Luang Namtha - Namxe 63 km
Namxe - Oudomxai 55 km
Oudomxai - Pak Nam Noy 66 km
Pak Nam Noy - Muang Mai 76 km
Muang Mai - Dien Bien Phu (Vietnam) 69 km
Heidi was still not well when we sat and ate breakfast. Fortunately, the lady from the site showed that the road iwould be flat the way we had to go, so it gave us a better hope for the day.
Quite right, the first many kilometer descended and the hills where small and easy to get over.
Nature was so beautiful. Rice fields set in beautiful pattern, people work in the field and everything by hand power. On the roadside, chickens and pigs ran free to find a little to eat.
A lady picked a hen somebody else walked while she sits or knits on something. That is how life is lived here in Laos.
At one point we were overtaken by Josh and Nicole. Their setup on the bikes was very easy and therefore they shoot a whole different speed than us. We greet and then they were far ahead of us.
We found our way in to Laung Namtha, the largest city in Luang Nam Tha province and northern Laos. The city is known to be a transit city for backpackers heading for China or Laos.
The city is divided into two, the "old" part is close to the airport, that part was bombed during the 70's war and there is the new part where most guest houses and trekking companies are located. For us it was a nice place to come to after the spider cottage. We stayed two nights at the Tholaisith Guest house.
Because it is a place many tourists visit, there was a good selection of everything. So we enjoyed the next two days.
While we were here, we started talking about cycling to Vietnam. From home, the plan was to cycle Laos and then Vietnam, but on the way, the plans change from time to time, so we really had written off Vietnam. Marianne had a look at how far we would ride if we rode to Vietnam as well, and not least, the height profile of the trip. Whether we would cycle directly to China or if we rode several kilometers in Laos to get to Vietnam, it seemed to be more or less the same.
Heidi participated in the idea, but would be allowed to wait completely with a yes until we were at the junction where we could turn to the border with China (Boten) or turn for more of Laos. So I had to hold on a little bit yet.
After two days in Luang Namtha, we were ready to cycle again. The breakfast was continental breakfast at a small cafe'. Before we left Heidi talked to an English man and his Thai wife. At one point Heidi said quietly, as she can say: We are on our way back to Denmark on our bikes. The man was speechless and he definitely meant that if he heard about us again, it would be on National Geografic. 
We took the road maps.me suggested out of town and we ended up on a gravel road that led us through the local village and across a small wooden bridge. When we reached the country road again, we could see young as well as old people work on long rows in the rice fields where the rice was put into the fields. People really work hard here.
What many do not even know is that the fields are sat three times in a year. These rice was swamp rice that is put on fields with 15 cm of water, after which they are dried when harvested.
We rode up in a valley and for each thread we took the longer we entered the valley with green slopes on both sides and giant bamboo trees grew along the road, there were also trees with purple and yellow flowers all so lush.
At lunch we reached the town of Nateuy, now we were only 20 kilometers from the Chinese border. This was where Heidi had to say if we were cycling one way or the other. She said: lets go on a trip to Vietnam. We were so close and we had never been to Vietnam and it gave us some more days in Laos. Which was very nice.
Before we left from Nateuy, we ate lunch at one of the many Chinese restaurants that was here. We got a large portion of rice with tomato eggs and tea
After Nateuy we would ride 30 kilometers to reach Namxe. We had seen that there were different guest houses and if we cycled there we only had 51km to cycle the next day.
We found a nice guesthouse located 1 mile outside Namxe, it was just not well thought of us staying here, because we needed something to eat and they did not cook on the spot. So after we had bathed we went to find a place to eat. It was not easy, the only thing we could find was somewhere they could serve hard boiled eggs and something wrapped in banana leaves. That was our dinner this day. Not much on top of a bicycle day, but we got food and we did not die of hunger, we said.
As we rolled through Namxe the next day, we could see that we just had to go a little longer than first, so there had been plenty of places to eat and there were even some guesthouses in the city as well.
Today's route lead us up a 16 kilometer long climb, where we should end at 1100 meters. Quite right, we got such an climb, fortunately, it climbed easily and lead us through the green landscape of winding roads before we ended up with the most beautiful view on the top.
We took a long break and took lots of pictures, there where some big concrete blocks that was used as car protection not to fall down below, those we could sit and stand on to take different pictures.
From there it went down the road before reaching Oudomxai. In Oudomxai we had booked a room in a hotel. Here we got a room with the biggest bed we ever have seen. Even though Heidi was stretched across the bed, there could easily be half a Heidi more ..... the bed was at least 2.5m wide.
The evening went with Skype conversation with Marianne's mother and family. It was her birthday and she should have a nice greeting from us.
As we rode to Pak Nam Noy, we travel far up in the north of Laos. Along the way we should follow the Nam Phak River, it stretches along the road. Sometimes it was quite quiet and sometimes it became a rushing river. A beautiful sight along with the green colors on the hillsides. In some places, the mountain slopes were completely bald for trees, so corn and other crops could be grown.
When we see these bare places, it is easy enough to understand that major landslides happen. There is nothing that can hold on to the earth and with the big rain amounts they get here, the accident can not be avoided.
The mountains that rise through the valley reaches an altitude of 1600 m while we rode off in the moist heat and the sweat hailed off us.
We saw how children played right next to the road, where lorries are thundering through the little villages without slowing down. We watched it while we were sitting outside a kiosk where the kiosk mother talked to us and unfortunately we did not understand what she said, but a smile can all understand.
We found ourselves in the Phongsali province, which is the northernmost in Laos and here more than 40 different tribes live, as we got to see the moment we arrived in Pak Nam Noy.
The village is quite small but lies at a junction that lead deep into the Phongsaly province all the way up north west or towards Vietnam to Pang Hoc. Here the women from the different tribes come down to sell their crops and homemade bracelets. Each tribe has their traditional suits and headwear, someone whose coins are sewn into the main garment. Everything very colorful.
Of course, they can also get a little close when they will try to sell something to those tourists who find their way past this small town. There is a fight about the customers.
We saw it all a little apart as we could sit on the terrace at our guesthouse and watch the women run back and forth across the bridge just off the crossroads.
We left our lovely overnight stay - Phan Tha Mith, where we had enjoyed the silence. The course was set to reach Muang Khua in the first place.
The terrain reiterated from the day before. Along the river and small hills. We Cycled through many small villages where the children waved and shouted Hello. However, we did not get as much attention as some children shouted and yelled from a field, yes, they actually yelled so much that we would think we were Justin Bieber.
Whenever we rode, big and small butterflies flew around us in the most beautiful colors. When we reached Muang Khua we found a cafe right in the middle of town and we ordered sandwiches with eggs and two colas. We had to get some calories in the engine as we expected a hard climb on the next part of the route.
After a long break, we continued to reach a 10-mile increase. Along the way, the sun came out, which we did not like as the temperature rose rapidly to 37 degrees. It became a tough one, but we were struggling and had to take a couple of breaks along the way.
We reached 1027 meters above sea level and stopped in a small village at a small shop. While we poured our drinks, we were observed by a large bunch of children from the village and in the middle of it all, a fat pig walks completely undisturbed by us and the children.
The view from the village was so beautiful and all the way around we could see mountains in the most beautiful colors. Here we got a feeling of being far away from everything.
From the top we could now look forward to driving down the next 10 kilometers towards Muang Mai. We had to slow down from time to time to control moveing through many turns and sometimes there were loose stones.
Suddenly we saw a tourist on a Moutainbike, it was a lady and she passed us in high speed in the opposite direction. In fact, we did not react only thourght was: where did she come from ??? The answer we got a little later when we saw a man along with a guide cycling on two other bikes.
We reached Muang Mai in the late afternoon and as the first thing we had an ice cream to cool down, after which we found a place to stay overnight.
Then we filled up on food, so we were ready for the final stage in Laos the next day and ready to cross the border to Vietnam.
The last day in Laos became a beautiful and hard one of the kind. We had to move up from 350 meters to 1200 meters height. The good thing was that it stretched over many kilometers, so percentually it should not be crazy steep.
Our magic number was 28, as we could see from the height profile that when we had driven 28 kilometers, we should be on the top.
The first few kilometers were steeper than we had expected, but then it became easier and we could cycle at 12-14 kilometers per hour.
We reached Pang Hoc after 22 kilometers and still had 6 kilometers before reaching Laos border post, it was 10:40 and we could figure out we could not reach the border within 20-minutes.
We had read that there was always a lunch break between 11-13, so it did not matter to arrive before 13:00. So now we had a drink break.
We also had another mission. We were a few miles from cycling 10,000 kilometers since starting the journey, so as we cycled on, we kept an eye on the computer. 3 kilometers before the border we reached 10,000 kilometers and here we held a small "party". We took pictures and made a video with some funny stuff.
All the way up to the border we had seen lots of scooters that were loaded to the burst point. It appeared that people from Laos drove to Vietnam and shopped extensively, then to drive back and sell it in Laos.
It was everything from beer, soda, duck, geese and big gas containers loaded on the scooters. Sometimes we saw they stopped at the side of the road to pour water on the overheated brakes before the trip went on.
The last 3 kilometers were really steep and here we began to think: where is that border building and what can there be up here at 1200 meters altitude. It would turn out to be a big building built on a plateau and when we got to the building there were more waiting for the border to open.
We had to wait 30 minutes before the entry was opened and the frontier officer stamped us out of Laos and whised us a safe trip.
Now we should ride 4 kilometers in nobody's land. When we reached the highest point there was a pole indicating the border between Laos and Vietnam. That was all, besides a bunch of cows there stood and rubbed on some grass.
From here the road became really bad, so we rolled quietly down to the Vietnamese border post, which again was a huge building.
Inside the building we were stamped into Vietnam and were now allowed to stay for 15 days. We asked the officer who helped us if we could exchange money somewhere. He could easily do that for us. Then 90,000 Laos Kip became 2 million Viet Dong.
Already on the other side of the border, we could see that nature was completely different from what we had seen until now in Laos. The mountains were now much more stright up and pointed, shaped by limestone.
The road was really bad and very narrow so the trip down was going to take longer than we had expected.
When we were finally down the valley, which led us to Dein Bien Phu, we met the most beautiful sight. The whole valley was a huge area with rice fields, and everywhere people was working or doing preparation of rice fields.
Here were no machines, everything was done with hand power. Such as it has been done through more human ages. The fields were plowed with water buffalo and a plow. Here everybody helped, on long rows people sat and saw the rice. We watched all this while the sun was low in the sky and there was a magic color above the fields.
We saw many men dressed in green military clothing and with the characteristic military helmet from the Vietnam War, not because they were from the military but because it was convenient. The characteristic straw hat was also to be seen in every way. Now we were in Vietnam and looked forward to some exciting days in a new country.
Green Glory Days in Laos
10. juni 2017 - 14. juni 2017 (Update 5. september 2017)
Chiang Khong - Huay Xai 21 km
Pausedag i Huay Xai
Huay Xai - Don Chai 71 km
Don Chai - Vieng Phou Kha 51 km
Pausedag i Vieng Phou Kha
Krydsningen af grænsen til Laos gik ganske let. Først skulle vi cykle 10 kilometer fra Chiang Khong, tilbage af vejen vi var ankommet dagen før. Ved første tjek blev vi stemplet ud af Thailand og herefter købe en billet til bussen, som skulle køre os fire kilometer over Mekong floden via Friendship broen til Laos grænsen.
Vi skulle have alt bagage af cyklerne og ind i bagagerummet. Derefter løfte cyklene ind i bussen af en dør bag i bussen. Vi endte med at være Heidi og mig plus en passager mere inden bussen kørte afsted.
Efter 5 min var vi ved Laos grænsen og nu skulle vi hen til en luge for at få vores visum til Laos.
Det hele forløb ganske let og uden problemer. Bare udfylde indrejsekortet og så betale visa gebyret og 10 minutter senere havde vi et visum til 30 dages ophold i Laos.
Så var det tid til at tage de obligatoriske billeder, når vi nu var ankommet i Laos.
Heidi bemærkede med det samme at et eller andet var galt???? Hvad var det ??? Bilerne kørte i den anden side, altså i højre side, som vi var vandt til hjemmefra. Så nu skulle vi til at omstille os til vores "normale" køre stil. Heidi syntes det var let nok, jeg skulle lige have lidt tid inden jeg var dus med det igen. Vi havde jo cyklet i venstre side i 8 måneder.
Fra grænsen cyklede vi til Huay Xai, hvor vi havde bestilt to nætter på Little Hostel. Vi synes det var rart at have et par dage til at finde ud af hvilken vej vi ville cykle og starte stille og roligt op, på et land vi ikke havde været i før.
Little Hostel var et lille hyggeligt sted, de havde kun plads til 10 gæster. To værelser med 2 x 2 køjesenge og et værelse med en dobbelt seng. Sådan et sted snakker alle med alle og der er en god stemning. Her føler man sig velkommen og godt tilpas, i modsætning til nogle steder der er bleve så store, at man føler sig som et nummer i rækken.
Vi lavede ikke andet end at slappe af og gik en tur op af den lange trappe til templet der lå høj hævet over byen.
Inden vi forlod Huay Xai skulle vi hæve penge, så vi havde nok til de næste dage fremover. Vi kunne ikke regne med at der var hæveautomater de steder vi skulle hen. Faktisk er det at hæve penge og finde ud af en ny kurs i et nyt land altid noget vi skal vende os til. I Laos blev det ikke nogen undtagelse.
Hvis vi hævede det der svarede til 100 danske kroner fik vi 132.000 Lao Kip. Så I kan nok regne ud, at når vi hævedede 1000 danske kroner, blev vi milionær.
Nu skulle første cykel dag i Laos prøves. Amanda fra stedet gav os barguettes og bananer med til turen. Hvilket blev vores redning senere på dagen. Vi havde fået en god solid morgenmad bestående at havregrød og pandekage med banan og sort kaffe. Så depoterne var klar fra morgenstunden.
Vi var meget spændte på hvordan vejene og bakkerne/bjergene ville være. Vi havde hørt fra andre cyklister at stigningerne i Laos ikke var til at spøge med.
Vi fik vores første bakke efter 31 kilometer. Her skulle vi forcere en stigning på 5 - 6 kilometer med procenter på mere end 10.
Jeg troede at bakken var 3 kilometer, men den var dobbelt så lang og tog pippet totalt fra mig. Heidi havde mega overskud og kom med god opbakning. Da vi nåede toppen var vi kommet op i 650 m højde. Så kunne vi rulle ned til en lille landsby, hvor vi fandt en lille butik.
Her kunne vi se at der var stor forskel på Thailand og Laos butikker. Der var et meget spartansk udvalg af drikkevarer og kun få af dem var på køl. Snacks var typisk kinesiske kiks, hvis vi var heldige fandt vi et par snickers. Heldigvis var der Cocos juice med cocos tern de fleste steder og Coca Cola, som nok findes de mest øde steder i verden.
Det er en utrolig kontrast at komme fra et land, hvor man kan få alt og så cykle over grænsen til et land hvor menneskene er meget mere fattige og udvalget meget spartansk. Men selvom de ikke har meget, fik vi masse af smil og specielt børnene råbte Sabadee - Velkommen og Hello, bye bye og nogen gange - I love you.
Mange af husene er lavet af træ med strå tag eller helt af strå og jorden var de fleste steder rød lerjord.
Vejene var faktisk i god stand og der var næsten ingen trafik. Den trafik der var, var store kinesiske lastbiler enten på vej mod Kina eller fra Kina med diverse gods.
Lastbilerne måtte virkelig ned i de lave gear når de skulle op af bakkerne og ligså måtte vi.
Dagen endte i den lille bitte by Donchai efter vi havde klatret 1200 højdemeter. Vi var godt trætte og fandt frem til landsbyens eneste overnatning. Det hed Dormetry et eller andet og kostede 40,- kroner for et beskidt værelse med squat WC og intermistisk bad i et.
Vi skulle lige tunes ind på den type værelser igen, efter at have cyklet i Thailand, hvor standarden havde været noget helt andet.
Efter et bad, skulle vi finde et sted at spise. Vi måtte gå 1 kilometer inden vi fandt et sted, som blev passet af en pige på 12 -13 år. Vi måtte bruge google translate, for at spørge om vi kunne spise på dette sted.
Det kunne vi godt, men måtte vente to timer, inden at hendes forældre kom hjem fra en lang dag i marken for derefter at lave mad til os.
Når vi oplever sådan noget, kan vi kun blive enige om at vi har det alt for godt og skal værdsætte hvad vi har.
Da vi stod op næste dag, startede Marianne projekt morgenmad. Vi havde købt havregryn og rosiner i Thailand og havde brændstog til vores brænder. Nu ville vi lave havregrød, så vi var ladet godt op fra starten af dagen. Men brændstofspumpen lækkede benzin. Heldigvis havde vi en ny, som reserve. Men den kunne vi heller ikke få til at virke. Enden på det hele blev: havregryn med mælkepulver i vand. Hvilket var OK. Når dagen starter på denne måde er det ikke altid at vi snakker lige pænt til henanden.
Afsted kom vi og dagen bød på 6 gode stigninger, hvor vi endte med at nå op i over 1000 m højde. Her lå en lille landsby, hvor vi tog dagens første gode pause. Her oppe fra var der en smuk udsigt over de grønne frodige bjerge og lige meget hvor vi kiggede hen var der kun bjerge at se.
Vi holdt pause ved en lille butik, hvor vi sad i ly for en lille regnbyge. Butikken var lavet af træ og med stråtag. Når vi kiggede os omkring, kunne vi se at husene i byen var alle bambushytter bygget op på pæle. Det var typisk hvad vi så, når vi kom til de små landsbyer undervejs. Under husene kunne de lokale sidde i skyggen for solen eller der lå brænde og ande ting til opbevaring.
Da vi kom til landsbyen Vieng Phou Kha fandt vi et overnatningssted, hvor de havde små bambus hytter. De lå hyggeligt med et lille vandløb bagved, som vi kunne høre ridsle inde fra hytten.
Inde i hytten var der et lille bord, en stol. Vi havde bad og squat toilet. Sengen var en dobbeltseng med et grønt myggenet hen over. Udenfor var der en lille terrasse med et bord og en stol. Altsammen så hyggeligt.
Ihvertfald indtil vi skulle til at i seng. Nu begyndte alle husdyerne at komme frem. Først ser vi en edderkop i en størrelse af hvad vi ville kalde MEGA stor set med danske øjne. Den sidder oppe under loftet, selvom jeg nok har en fobi for edderkopper, overbeviser jeg mig selv om at det er helt OK at den sidder deroppe, vi har jo vores myggenet, som hule og nettet er pakket godt ned omkring sengen.
Inden vi lagde os til at sove, ville jeg tjekke om der måske skulle være andre husdyr. Herved kom jeg til at kigge bagved spejlet der hang på væggen. Nu fik udtrykket husdyr en helt anden dimention!!! Bag ved spejlet sad en edderkop på størrelse med min hånd.
Nu var det lige før vi gik i panik. Skulle vi hente dem der ejede stedet???? Hvad skulle vi gøre??? Men Heidi siger: Hvis vi begynder at jagte den, hvor løber den så hen og faktisk ser det ud somom den har siddet der bag ved spejlet længe.
Ja, det var egentlig rigtigt og hvad var oddsene for at den ville komme ud fra sit skjul???
Vi tog en dyb indåndning og kravlede ind under myggenettet, lod lyset være tændt og selvfølgelig tjekkede vi at nette var fuldstændingt tæt omkring sengen.
Vi fik ikke en dyb søvn og til vores rædsel kom der en mere edderkop frem over spejlet senere på natten.
Edderkopper eller ej, så skulle vi op og på WC i løbet af natten. En af os holdt øje med edderkopperne og guidede, skiftevis, så på den måde lykkedes mission toilet besøg.
Vi var meget trætte da vi blev vækket af musikken som brølede ud af højtalerne, der var i landsbyen. Først musik og derefter nyheder eller propaganda, som blev afsluttet med en alarm klokken 7.
Hvorfor det er sådan ved vi ikke, men vi oplevede det i de fleste små landsbyer i Laos.
Vores husdyr var kravlet i skjul igen og vi gjorde klar til at cykle. Vi havde bestilt morgenmad ved den lille søde dame som ejede stedet. Desværre var Heidi overhovedet ikke på toppen og hun havde spændinger i nakken og migræne. Så selvom vi havde pakket og var klar til at cykle, blev vi enige om at det var bedst vi blev en dag mere. Men hvad nu med alle de husdyr. Edderkoppen bag ved spejlet kunne altså ikke blive der en dag mere.
Marianne tog telefonen og skrev en besked via google translate: Vi vil gerne blive en nat mere, men der er en edderkop på værelset.
Damen læste beskeden og smilede samtidig med hun lavede edderkoppe tegnet med hendes ene hånd.
Nu gik hun sammen med Marianne over til hytten, hvor Marianne viste hende Dyret.
Den lille dame tog nu kosten som stod i hjørnet af hytten og så fik edderkoppen og spejlet et vildt Laos slag.
Edderkoppen faldt ned på gulvet, hvor det endelig døds slag kom fra damen. Nu tog hun lidt toiletpapir og samlede liget op og smed den ned i vandløbet, derefter blev der fejet et par gange så gulvet var "rent".
Så er alt OK og i kan flytte ind igen sagde damen med et stort smil på læben.
Marianne skulle lige have vished om edderkoppen var farlig. No no no sagde damen.
Efterfølgende har vi læst på nettet at verdens største edderkop (Giant Huntsman) blev fundet i en hule i Laos i 2001, den målte 30 cm. På billedet på nettet kunne vi se at det var en huntsman vi havde haft på værelset.
Heidi blev i sengen resten af dagen og jeg sad ude på terassen og hyggede mig med at skrive på vores blog.
Dyreoplevelserne var ikke slut endnu.
Sidst på dagen havde Heidi det meget bedre og vi ville gå lidt rundt i landsbyen for at se hvad der skete her.
Her mødte vi to andre tur cyklister fra Colorado/USA (Josh and Nicole), de var på en 2 måneders tur rundt i Thailand og Laos hvorefter de ville flyve til Manley Island i Australien, som afslutning på deres tur. Dem snakkede vi lidt med inden vi gik hen for at spise aftensmad.
Aftensmaden blev på den samme lille restaurant, vi havde spist på dagen før. Vi bestilte oksekød med grøntsager og ris. Imens vi sad og ventede på maden, kom damen som ejede restauranten med to poser med et eller andet i. Vi troede det var kartofler, men da vi så nærmere efter kunne vi se det var frøer.
Så vi kunne regne ud, at hun lige havde været ude i rismarkerne for at fange dem. Inden vi havde set os om, blev vi vidner til at det blev kogt levende. Hele posens indhold blev hældt ned i en stor gryde med kogende vand og nogen af frøerne forsøgte at stikke af, men blev fanget igen og kom ned i gryden igen.
Vi blev spurgt om vi ville smage, men der takkede nej.
Da vi kom tilbage til vores sted bestilte vi morgenmad til klokken 7 og gik tidligt i seng. Vi sov med lyset slukket, men med vores pandelamper lige ved hånden. Toilet besøg om natten var igen med selskab af en huntsman!!!
English
June 10, 2017 - June 14, 2017 (Update 5. september 2017)
Chiang Khong - Huay Xai 21 km
Pausag in Huay Xai
Huay Xai - Don Chai 71 km
Don Chai - Vieng Phou Kha 51 km
Day of rest in Vieng Phou Kha
The crossing of the border to Laos went quite easily. First we had to ride 10 kilometers from Chiang Khong, back on the road we arrived the day before. At the first check, we were stamped out of Thailand and then we bought a ticket for the bus, which had to drive us four kilometers across the Mekong River via the Friendship Bridge to the Laos border.
We had to take all luggage of the bikes and into the trunk of the bus. Then lift the bicycle into the bus by a door in the back of the bus. We ended up being Heidi and me plus a passenger more before the bus drove off.
After 5 minutes we were at the Laos border and now we went to a booth to get our visa to Laos.
It all proceeded quite easily and without problems. Just fill in the entry card and then pay the visa fee and 10 minutes later we had a visa for 30 days stay in Laos.
Then it was time to take the required pictures as always when we enter a new country.
Heidi immediately noticed that something was wrong ???? What was it ??? The cars drove on the other side, on the right side, as we were used to from home. So now we should turn to our "normal" driving style. Heidi thought it was easy, I should have some time before I was back on track. We had cycled on the left side for 8 months.
From the border we rode to Huay Xai, where we had booked two nights at Little Hostel. We thought it was nice to have a couple of days to find out which way we wanted to ride and start quietly in a country we had not been to before.
Little Hostel was a small cozy place, they only accommodated 10 guests. Two rooms with 2 x 2 bunk beds and a room with a double bed. In Such a place everyone speaks with everyone and there is a good wibe. Here you feel welcome and comfortable, unlike some places that are so big that you feel like a number in the row.
We did nothing the two days we stayed except to relax and walk up the long staircase to the temple that was high above the city.
Now the first bike day in Laos should be tested. Amanda from the place gave us barguettes and bananas for the trip. Which became our rescue later in the day. We had a good hearty breakfast consisting of oatmeal and pancake with banana and black coffee. So the depots were ready for a hard day.
We were very excited about how the roads and hills / mountains would be. We had heard from other cyclists that the Laos hills and mountains were not a joke.
We hit our first hill after the 31 kilometer. Here we should climb an increase of 5 to 6 kilometers with percentages of more than 10.
I thought the hill was 3 kilometers, but it was twice as long and took all the energy out of me. Heidi had a lot of energy and came with good support. When we reached the top we reached 650 m altitude. Then we rolled down to a small village where we found a small shop.
Here we could see that there was a huge difference between Thailand and Laos stores. There was a very sparse selection of drinks and only a few of them were kept cold. Snacks were typical chinese biscuits, if we were lucky we found a few snickers. Fortunately, Coco's Juice with Coconut flesh was to get most places and Coca Cola, which probably is to get in most desolate places in the world.
It is an incredible contrast to come from a country where you can get everything and then cycle over the border to a country where people are much poorer and the committee is very spartan. But even though they do not have much, we got a lot of smiles and especially the kids shouted Sabadee - Welcome and Hello, bye bye and sometimes - I love you.
Many of the houses are made of wood with a straw roof or entirely of straw and the ground was mostly the red clay soils.
The roads were actually in good condition and there was almost no traffic. The traffic there was was large Chinese lorries either on their way to China or from China with various goods.
The trucks really had to go down in the low gear when they had to go up the hills and we had to.
The day ended in the tiny town of Donchai after we had climbed 1200 altitude meters. We were so tired and found the village's only overnight stay. It was called Dormetry something and cost 40, - kroner for a dirty room with squat WC and intermittent bath in one.
We had to tune in to this type of rooms again after cycling in Thailand, where the standard had been something completely different.
After a bath, we should find a place to eat. We had to walk 1 mile before we found a place that was taken care of by a girl aged 12-13. We had to use google translate to ask if we could eat at this place.
We could, but had to wait two hours before her parents came home from a long day in the field to cook for us.
When we see stuff like that, we can only think that we are all lucky in the way we live and appreciate what we have.
When we got up the next day, Marianne started project breakfast. We had bought oatmeal and raisins in Thailand and had fuel for our burner. Now we wanted to make oatmeal porrigde so we were well filled from the start of the day. But the fuel pump leaked gasoline. Fortunately, we had a new one as a reserve. But we could not get it to work either. The end of it all: oatmeal with milk powder in water. Which was OK. When a day starts in this way, it is not always that we speak nicely to each other. 
We got on our way and the day offered 6 good climbs, where we ended up reaching more than 1000 m altitude. Here was a small village where we took today's first long break. From here there was a beautiful view of the green lush mountains and no matter where we looked there were mountains only to see.
We stopped at a small shop where we sat in the shelter of a little rain shower. The store was made of wood and with thatched roof. When we looked around, we could see that the houses in the town were all bamboo huts built on poles. It was typical what we saw when we got to the little villages along the way. Under the houses, the locals could sit in the shade of the sun or lay stuff for storage.
When we arrived at the village of Vieng Phou Kha we found a place where they had small bamboo cabins. They lay nicely with a small stream behind, as we could hear the water running from inside the cabin.
Inside the cabin there was a small table, a chair. We had a bath and squat toilet. The bed was a double bed with a green mosquito net over it. Outside there was a small terrace with a table and a chair. Everything so cozy.
At least until we were going to bed. Now all the house pets started to come out. First, we see a spider in a size of what we would call MEGA largely seen with Danish eyes. It was sitting under the ceiling, even though I have a spider phobia, I convince myself that it's perfectly OK that it's up there, we have our mosquito net as a cave and the net are wrapped well around the bed.
Before we went to sleep, I would check if there were other house pets. Hereby I came to look behind the mirror hanging on the wall. Now the term "house pets" got a completely different dimention !!! Behind the mirror was a spider the size of my hand.
We nearly panicked. Should we call those who owned the place ???? What should we do ??? But Heidi says: If we start chasing it, where will it go?? and it look like it actually has been sitting behind the mirror for a long time?
Yes, that was really true and what were the odds that it would come out from its shed ???
We took a deep breath and crawled under the mosquito net, let the light on and of course we checked that the net was completely closed around the bed.
We did not get a deep sleep and to our horror one more spider came out over the mirror later in the night.
Spiders, or not, we had to go to the WC during the night. One of us kept an eye on the spiders and guided, alternately, so that way, mission toilet visits succeeded.
We were very tired when we were woken by the music that roared out of the speakers that were in the village. First music and then news or propaganda, which ended with an alarm at 7 o'clock.
Why we do not know, but we saw it in most small villages in Laos.
Our pets were hiding again and we were ready to ride sort off. We had ordered breakfast by the little sweet lady who owned the place. Unfortunately Heidi was not at all well and she had tension in her neck and migraine. So even though we had packed and was ready to ride, we agreed that it was best we stayed one more day. But what about all those house pets? The spider behind the mirror could not stay there any more.
Marianne took the phone and wrote a message via google translate: We would like to stay one more night, but there is a spider in the room.
The lady read the message and smiled at the same time she made spiders signs with her one hand.
Now she went with Marianne to the cottage where Marianne showed her the animal.
The little lady now took the broom that was in the corner of the cabin and then got the spider and mirror a wild Laos stroke.
The spider fell down on the floor, where the final death hook came from the lady. Now she took some toilet paper and collected the body and threw it into the stream, then she swept the floor a couple of times so the floor was "clean".
Then everything is OK and you can move in again, the lady said with a big smile on her face.
Marianne would like to know if the spider was dangerous. No no no said the lady.
Afterwards, we have read online that the world's largest spider (Giant Huntsman) was found in a cave in Laos in 2001, it measured 30 cm. On the picture on the web we could see that it was a huntsman we had in the room.
Heidi stayed in bed for the rest of the day and I sat on the terrace and enjoyed writing on our blog.
The animal experiences were not over yet.
At the end of the day, Heidi felt a lot better and we wanted to go around the village to see what happened here.
Here we met two other tour cyclists from Colorado / USA (Josh and Nicole), they were on a 2 month trip around Thailand and Laos after which they would fly to Manley Island in Australia to finish their trip. We talked a little with them before we went for dinner.
The evening meal was at the same little restaurant we had eaten the day before. We ordered beef with vegetables and rice. While we were waiting for the food, the lady who owned the restaurant came with two bags with something in. We thought it was potatoes, but when we looked closer we could see it was frogs.
So we could figure out she'd just been out in the rice fields to catch them. Before we knew, we witnessed that they was boiled alive. The whole bag's contents were poured into a large pot of boiling water and some of the frogs tried to get away, but were caught again and came back into the pot again.
We were asked if we wanted to taste but thanked no!!!
When we got back to our place we ordered breakfast for 7 o'clock and went to bed early. We slept with the light switched off, but with our lightbulbs close at hand. Toilet visit at night was again with the company of a huntsman !!!
