Jan. 7th - Tha Heua to Ban Keun (Vansana Nam Ngum Resort)
Yes, I took another boat
Today's boat ride down Nam Ngum Reservoir was the right choice even though it cost me $60 plus I gave the guy a tip of $5 at the end. The views of the mountains were beautiful! My driver didn't speak a word of English, but he was pleasant enough. Not that we could have talked over the noise of the engine anyways! It was very loud. Comfort was also lacking. The did lay a board for me and a cushion, but lack of back support for two hours was not great. My back really hurt although I kept trying to stretch without rocking the boat too much. I swear, it didn't take much to throw the balance off. No worries though, they threw in a life jacket for me before we departed. Never mind I'm over the weight limit of it.
My steed has arrived. Hotel manager, who speaks fluent English and my captain, who speaks none.
It was only about 15 miles to where I planned to stay and it wasn't very hot out, there was cloud cover and it was earlyish. Besides, I'm still anxious to actually ride my bike and get somewhere.
I was following some of RideWithGPS and sometimes just sticking to the main road. I decide to go to the route by the river and let's just say it quickly became clear the road was ending. Someone yelled at me I needed to go back. Ya, the way I just came.
Oh, this looks like fun. Very rough chip sealed road with some extra rough sections thrown in
I ended up staying at Vasant Nam Ngum Resort. A place I thought I wasn't going to stay, but had eyed it. The reviews lately aren't the best. However, I stopped to just confirm where the other hotel was that I had picked out as I was getting close to town. What do you know, the resort is right across the street. Feel like I should at least go check it out. The grounds are full of flowers, there are kittens, a beautiful view of the river. Good enough for me at the bargain price of 250,000 kip. That's $12 US.
Walked into town looking for some food. I noticed this white cow seemed very happy on more than one occasion if you know what I mean! Must be his girlfriend he's following around
