July 6, 2023
Day 1 Bike: Calmed By Carlsberg
Vientiane to Thalat
This tour was finally getting started after the prelude that was half a book long. (Side note: to fit within the overarching theme of this trip, I'm on a massive journal edit and cutting out a lot of redundancies)
It became apparent that Laos still has 'that vibe'. There were the effects of healing in the air which is why I came here in the first place. We would be kidding ourselves if nothing had changed after covid, but the locals all seemed to be saying that tourists were coming back and business was improving. One of the brutal effects of covid was, however, inflation and the devaluation of the Laos Kip. Sure it meant a good deal for tourists as I would later find out, but it was hurting the locals badly.
It was just really bad timing that this otherwise quiet and low key hotel during low season was taken over by loud Indian guests. The worst part about it was how they more or less mimicked lockdown habits by staying inside the compound the entire time. Loud annoying music kept playing on their smartphones, and they were constantly smoking. The hotel staff were also quite upset over this. One even told me so directly at the poolside yesterday while picking up yet more trash and cigarette butts.
Obviously not wanting to hang around the hotel, I got on the bike and explored. At night there was an abundance of food markets and stalls, and I was spoilt for choice. I settled on a restaurant serving Pad Thai. There were quite a lot of similarities with Thailand and it makes sense as Vientiane is basically along the border. I went for a Laos traditional massage and it was basically identical to a Thai massage except there was more torture.
Next I wanted to find a bar and listen to some live music. The Hard Rock Cafe seemed good, but they were not playing familiar songs. I heard better music from a random bar across the street and went there. A friendly ladyboy ran the place and we got chatting. I ordered a draft Beer Laos and was astonished to find it was almost a liter of beer for just over a dollar.
We got talking, and 'she' was quite nice and full of good information. The biggest takeaway was the high speed train and highway in the last 5 years had changed everything for the locals. You can now go to Luang Prabang on the Chinese train in a couple of hours. It used to take 12-14 hours on a bus over the mountains. Luang Prabang is not on the agenda for this trip anyway, but if so it would take at least 5 days on a bike.
Not surprisingly, the offer was made: "Hey Steve you can have two more beers and you'll get a third free." At that rate it would be over 4 liters of beer so I politely declined. I gave this person a reasonable tip instead which was greatly received so I knew this was the right call.
The next morning, took awhile to get packed and rolling but I wanted to make sure it was done right. The delay was due to the laundry. No matter, there was time to enjoy breakfast.
I paid one guy for the laundry and kept the receipt. Then after loading up the panniers (leaving space for laundry) I went to pick it up and the other guy said I still needed to pay. So I showed the receipt and the first guy confirmed it was already paid. Nice try bro. I also paid another 15,000 kip for the potato chips that had been eaten in the room. It was on the honor system. None of this was about the money anyway, it was about careful organization in line with what I recently developed.
As I rolled out on the bike, the Indians stared at me coldly but I didn't really care. It was time to head into the wild outdoors while they could keep on living their self-chosen lockdown status.
The first 25km were busy with unpleasant traffic but the throwback 90's hiphop music on the headphones drowned all that out.
At the gas station where I bought the sponsor, the internet was down so he couldn't scan the items and make change. No worries I gave him exact change and got rid of small bills. He was pretty impressed with this, and essentially another win for minimalism.
Eventually the traffic thinned out at the next Amazon Cafe stop and I put the headphones away. They had done their job getting me out of the city.
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All that food only cost $6.
While enjoying this meal in the hottest part of the day, I checked my messages and found something from my insurance broker. They came up with yet another reason to delay the payment. This time they asked me to send original paper copies of the policy documents from 15 years ago, and by snail mail. These documents had long been digitized according to my ongoing project during covid.
It's a good thing that I was enjoying my Carlsberg in Laos on a cycle tour. Otherwise I would not have replied to this email in a polite and courteous fashion as I did. The whole thing with the insurance was beyond ridiculous. But I decided this was not something I would allow to spoil the trip. Even so the warning remains for everyone to learn from my mistake: never buy whole life insurance under any circumstances. It becomes a nightmare to try and quit the policy prematurely once you do.
Realizing how much time that stop took, I figured I'd need to pick up the pace in order to make it to Thalat before dark.
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The greetings and friendly smiles picked up around 45km into the ride and the vibes from Laos that I remember in the past were all returning with a vengeance. The only difference this time was more cafes and gas stations. It felt so much like Thailand. There was something to be said about these incredibly happy vibes, just enjoying life while sipping on a capuccino listening to acoustic versions of the latest music.
Baby don't you leave, don't leave me stuck here in the streets uh
If I get another chance to I will never, no never neglect you
I mean who am I to hold your past against you?
Please recognize I'm trying babe
These types of experiences in Laos and Thailand are healing for the soul. All the madness of the last year is starting to melt away, and with that the rejuvination of life and regeneration of new ideas. Minimalist philosophy was born out of the darkness of the covid pandemic amid a series of life tragedies. At this point it is going to be reshaped into something beautiful.
This route recommendation was an absolute gem and it was exceedingly better than the old route direct to Vang Vieng. It might take a little longer, but the rewards along the way are worth it. The bike shop guy was completely right about this one and I'm glad I listened to him.
That said, it was scorching hot all day today it looks to continue for many days in a row.
The guesthouse approached at the right time and I was offered a VIP room for $13. They had food as well so I ordered some and then settled into some work at my desk.
The carb loadup at lunch proved to be enormously helpful, so that I wasn't famished for dinner and could have something lighter. This still maintained a calorie deficit for the day. It's all about meal timings, but the drawback was the lack of strength training. I made sure to do a mini circuit of pushups and core work.
Today's ride: 92 km (57 miles)
Total: 397 km (247 miles)
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