Driving was mostly a piece of cake. So much so that I had to add my own hazards like leaving the kick stand down, which I felt inclined to do often. Sometimes there were sufficient natural hazards to keep me occupied, including running over a live snake. It was a pretty big one. This big to be precise >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (where > equals roughly 5 cm). The circuit involved a bit of distance, plenty of kilometres on amazing roads with amazing views, and plenty also on shoddy dirt roads passing quaint dust-filled villages.
The first two nights were spent in a guest house (shack) next to a waterfall. To get there we initially crossed a bridge on our motos which is clearly not even safe for walking, with many gaps ready to dispense a person to the waiting rocks below. I was staggered to see cars crossing this overdue time bomb. The accommodation was okay, comprising a hammock next to the river, and a shack that clearly facilitates mice, mosquitoes and rat-sized-cockroaches frequently. For $3.75 USD per night, and access to my first decent sleep in all too long, I really shouldn’t complain. Here was my first bucket shower, which is actually a better get-you-up than coffee in the early morning. We were fortunate enough to enjoy some decent food whilst here, including some perfectly cooked banana pancakes with chocolate which we ate for most meals.
Attapeu, the next town we stayed at, seemed to have a bit of money as everything looked pretty nice for Laos. The food however left a lot to be desired. We fortunately found an excellent place to eat, but I have a hunch it was the only one. We scored a superb hotel where service was outstanding and I enjoyed a night of luxury and recuperation in preparation for another day on the bike.
My overall highlight has been the drive in along ‘the plateau’ [I shall have to find out and add town names at some point], which was a challenging run in through 40+ km of dirt tracks of varying quality. I managed a flat tyre 15 km in so had to double back. Going in the second time we clearly had insufficient gas, a situation that carries a sense of impending unpleasantness. After negotiating the dirt tracks we reached decent roads and many villages. The villages were utterly amazing, consisting of the most beautiful small houses on stilts perched in the most remarkable setting. If you remain stationary too long local kids come out to stare at you from a few meters away. The brave ones wave passionately while the shy ones prefer to just observe. I managed to teach one kid the word ‘choice’. Craig managed to scare them off by pulling out a camera. Driving further along, the villages transform from being surrounded by bush and toitois to being encroached on by coffee trees, then entire plantations. There are miles and miles and miles of coffee trees, from small yards of the stuff to the massive estates. The beans can be seen drying outside most houses during the day. For a coffee enthusiast this was an enjoyable sight. I took great pleasure in stopping by a couple of local farmers and attempting a brief charade-dialog on what I could sample – I tasted the beans from the tree and those which had fallen and dried black. Due to time pressures we couldn’t stay to enjoy this area for long and we had to motor on, now racing the sunset.
Finally arrived in Pakson (not to be confused with Pakse) and enjoyed one of life’s greatest pleasures, a good coffee. Tune in for my next post, ‘COFFEE!’.
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