Dec. 19th - Pak Beng to Luang Prabang - Kim and Glory - Cycling beyond

December 19, 2023

Dec. 19th - Pak Beng to Luang Prabang

Day 2 on the river

The hotel assured me this morning it would be no problem to take my bike in the tuk tuk this morning down to the pier. I joked that I had to ride it up all the hills, certainly I could make it back as it was all downhill. Then I realized I didn't want to get all sweaty and plus they would help me load my bags on the boat. A downside of traveling alone is when you have to do stuff like this, I can't keep an eye on my gear and get it where to needs to be at the same time so I was grateful for the help. There was supposed to be two guys, but there ended up being three so then I had to tip three guys instead of two. Slightly annoyed, but I also know my dollar helps them out a lot so happy to do it.

Fishing lines and nets along the rocks. Saw this frequently.

The second day on the boat is a free for all for seats or so I had heard. Even the hotel said to be ready to go at 8:00am (even though the boat doesn't leave until 9:30) so that I could get a good seat. Saved one for my NZ friend as well. Oh and people, are boat is just a wee bit fancier than the last one! They even made us take off our shoes! They sold cold drinks and an assortment of food and the toilets were more civilized. It's the little things in life that matter. 😂

Not even "standing room only" at the front of the boat

I did meet a couple of other cyclists on the boat, but in the end didn't talk to either of them very much. The young gal did have a link for a What'sApp group for cyclists in SE Asia, so that might come in handy!

I had to work on enjoying the trip today. Yes, there were some really poor jokes made with Finn, the only other guy on the boat who had seen what I had seen. Inappropriate humor can be a coping skill. The river is beautiful, but I noticed I was hyper vigilant about everything I was seeing in the water. What's that? What's that? I hated it, but quite honestly, neither of us were convinced someone had actually fished the body out and joked we may see it again today. Eventually, I threw on some Corey Hart music to distract me and give me something else to focus on while I also took in the scenery. I love the guy and his music, and it was really helpful and comforting.

Kids waiting for the boat to arrive to sell the tourists bracelets. They didn't get back to where I was sitting, but it was funny watch them all jump off the boat as it was leaving

Panning for gold. Really. Saw quite a bit of what appeared to be gold mining along the shore

I loved this stand of trees on the hillside

Zoomed in -- in case I need any confirmation of why I should not bike from Vientiane to Vang Vieng. Mountains. BIG mountains!

Pulled into the pier at Luang Prabang and knew once again, I'd be racing against the dark even though the ride to town was only 5 miles. I'd also like to say, I over aggerate when I use the word "pier." 😂

It was more like climb off the boat, walk across a floating platform only to be greeted by about four flights of stairs up to street level. Joy. I had some guys offer to help carry my bags up, but again, I had to wait for my bike so couldn't just leave them up there with no one watching them. I shuttled all my bags up the first flight of stairs. One of the other cyclists had done the same so I agreed to keep an eye on all our bags while she went back down. That worked out well for me as my bike was at the bottom of the heap. The guy ended up carrying my bike clear to the top of the stairs for me. I carried all, but two bags to the top and sent him back down for the other two. I tipped him well!

Three bikes stacked on the roof and how about that dock?

There's my bike. But I'm up here and it's down there....

Briefly chatted with the other cyclists, but we were all racing to get into the town center. I was thankful I had already booked a hostel so just had to follow directions to get there. Made it. Although the hostel had great reviews, the layout was terrible!! I was in a female dorm, but there was no room for our bags. They were suppose to stay in lockers out in the reception area. Most of mine did, but the bad news was I was definitely catching a cold and had a sore throat. Guess where my cold medicine was? Couldn't be bothered to get dressed properly to go get it.

The other deal breaker for me was my bike had to stay outside overnight along the side of the hostel with their motorcycles/mopeds. I locked it to a fence and was told they lock the gate at night. I was also told there was security. When I clarified the security was there all night, they told me he probably goes to sleep about 2:00am. Ummm, that's NOT security! I'll be looking for something else for the next few days.

I will say I met a lovely French gal who had just spent a month in Laos. She loved it and the people. More than Thailand. She was really kind and thoughtful and even went as far as to genuinely ask how I was doing now, a couple days after the dead body incident. Was I coping okay? I thought that was really nice.

Today's ride: 5 miles (8 km)
Total: 322 miles (518 km)

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