we left vang vien a few days ago. we spent a week lying around getting over the noodlesoupwithchunkofmeat sickness. Vang Vieng was a pretty touristy town with many an ingenious way of doing nothing. tubing down the river is definately a highlight, there are a huge amount of riverside bars that you pull into in order to consume a few beerlao and swing off a gigantic wooden contraption that would never pass western safety tests (but who really cares anyway). the tallest one would have been about 3 storeys high, and only those with balls of steel are able to jump off it on the first swing. we had to ride the river 2 days in a row cause its so good. i tried to sneak up on a heard of wallowing water buffalo. i wanted to ride one in the water but they saw me coming and moved lazily out of my way.
the lao coffee is surprisingly good. there are also about 5 cafes with soft things to lie on which all play friends, the simpsons, and occasionally a good movie or 3 in a row. so its a pretty western place, basically a tourism boomtown, they even have pizza with cheese. not such a bad place to take it easy for a week or 2. so, we left finally and rode the longest distance yet attempted in one day. it was a 94ish km ride south in the direction of vientiane, staying in a nondescript town the name of which i can no longer remember. the most interesting thing about that town was the 'fried bacon' on the menu. sounded good for breakfast so i ordered it with fried tomato... normal enough, should have known by the funny look that the cook gave me that i had the wrong idea. i recieved a bacon and fried tomato curry where the bacon was fried chunks of pig. pretty good tucker though.
we saddled up that day and hit the road for an easy 50 km ride across flat land where lissa managed to pick up 3 punctures. best to get that out of the way on an easy day though i guess... so we cruised into a dusty and hot vientiane at around 4.30 and rolled through the streets to find a cheap hostel. one of the best thing about having bikes is hostelhunting. i wouldnt even attempt it with a huge pack and no wheels, but after checking out about 12 places we scored a good one with a hot shower and a toilet that flushes. this is a pretty laid back town, definitely the sleepiest capital city that ive ever seen. the bars all close at 11.30 and there is no entertainment of any sort besides a multitude of cafes and eating places, which suits me just fine. have to fatten up a little cause for the next few towns edible food may be a little scarce. i came up with the perfect solution to bad lunch in small towns though, just carry a few tins of tuna, and mix that into the rice and shit that they give you. problem solved. sweet. there is a food market on the banks of the mekong looking out over thailand that sells the best fried fish imaginable. and if you go later on in the night they pretty much accept any price. i reckon ill be eating that again tonight.
so one more day here then we is cycling across the friendship bridge, one of the only bridges across the river, built with australian aid money. back into thailand for a visa run then back to laos so we can stay here for another month and take a leisurely ride south. looking forward to the thousand islands, where the mekong becomes braided, creating many many small tropical islands, lots of them with guesthouses on them... oh yeah... more fried fish and slowpaced water sports i think.
Aux
