Day 8 Bike: Homecoming

July 14, 2023

Kenethao to Dan Sai Thailand

It was another early start and a fine day at that. First things first were to pack and clean up the bike, then retrieve the laundry. They had done a marvelous job and it was all fresh and clean off the line.

The next task was to get rid of every last Kip. This succeeded beautifully, and I started off by going to a small market shop up the road. I managed to get some snacks and juice and cleaned up all the small notes. Then it was off to search for the money exchange.

The locals were right, there was a Money Gram at the crossroads and it was impossible to miss. They were all smiles and knew exactly what I wanted. The bulk of the extra kip was changed into baht. I was now left with 20k for a final snack somewhere down the road.

Excellent exchange, the rate wasn't bad either.

The houses were quite prosperous towards the border

Found a perfect way to get rid of the last 20k

The border checkpoint came up soon enough and I wasn't sure what was about to happen. I rolled in on the bicycle and there weren't many people around on the exit side. The immigration officer was friendly although he seemed a little nervous. He started thumbing through the passport multiple times and then asked, "Are you sure you want to exit? If you go to Thailand you can't come back through here. This checkpoint doesn't have a Laos visa on arrival." I said yes, I was sure.

Before the border I had checked my stuff a million times for this exact reason. If anything had been left behind at the guesthouse or anywhere else I would be pretty much hooped.

He then asked me to wait for a bit and said he needed permission from his supervisor for me to ride the bicycle across the bridge. I was expecting this because the exact same thing happened 5 years ago at the Huay Kon crossing, also in Sayaboury province. For whatever reason, bicycles aren't allowed to enter Laos through checkpoints in this province but they can exit. Next he asked if I had a document for this bicycle. I'm afraid that's a no, captain. He then asked me to wait again while consulting his boss.

He asked me what the purpose of my visit in Laos was and I said travel. He asked, "Is travel in Laos ok?" I said, "It is excellent, the people are very nice and lots of smiles." He then stamped the passport and filled out the exit form that I had forgotten to. He said, "Have a great journey sir, you are welcome back anytime." The encounter started out rather serious but became more friendly towards the end.

Then it was a simple ride across the bridge. The guards who were supposed to be checking permission for me to ride across were chilling out and watching their mobile phones.

A simple changeover station. If you've ever wondered what happens at a land border where the two countries drive on different sides of the road, now you know.

Technically the border itself is the beginning of the bridge although this is more what we call 'no mans land'

It was all smiles on the Thai side as well. There was a short queue and then the officer gave me the classic wai while asking the usual questions. He asked if I had a visa, and I did not so that would be a 30 day stamp. It would be nice to have gotten a visa as it helps a lot for longer stays, but this was good enough. I practiced a bit of my Thai with him and it was all in good humor and he wished me a good trip.

Once passing through I couldn't believe this was really happening. After all these years I had made it home.

To clarify, I first came to Thailand in 2003 as an English teacher for several months and was captivated by the place. Ever since then I've kept coming back year after year. The long term dream and goal has always been to find a way to retire here. But for whatever reason it keeps landing out of reach. I ended up choosing China because it is a better country for work and earning income. Thailand is the place to have a life, relax, and retire but you can't make any money here. This quintessential dilemma has been my life for many years.

Many expats seek countries like Thailand and Malaysia which *hopefully* will still have the vibes and conditions like they have now at 15 years later. I could even get a retirement visa in 5 years from now if I wanted but my financial goals aren't there yet.

For now, it wasn't worth it to think too much about this kind of stuff. I would just keep riding towards a resort near Dan Sai and enjoy what this great country had to offer.

One of the first things on offer were the beautiful temples

Great road conditions with virtually no traffic

I stopped a few times for cokes and meals. The people running the restaurant were all smiles as well, but in a different more subdued kind of way. Indeed that's what the vibe felt like, everything seemed more calm and toned down a notch. Laos was in your face greetings and hospitality at ever corner which was awesome, but it felt like the volume was turned up high.

Another big change I noticed was how many elderly people were in the villages. Many of them had to be over 90 years old and were either sitting relaxing at various tables with the families or even walking around the area. It was an excellent sight to see, and it confirmed what I thought that the life expectancy is much higher in Thailand. It makes perfect sense, as it has to be said: Thailand is the human health mecca of the world.

Fitting with these new vibes, I put away the music and just soaked in the serenity as best as possible while riding a bike in the hot sun up hills.

The locals thought I was nuts for doing this and combined with my basic Thai and some gestures, they made it clear the road would go steep uphill for many kilometers. I was not expecting this at all. It was a killer.

It didn't take long for things to cool down and the road to flatten out, now *this* was becoming like Thai style cycling

Fortunately I had been able to piggyback off the Laos cell towers since the road followed the border river for almost 50km before turning inland. I also noticed there was a parallel road on the Laos side and what looked like a border crossing at Boten town (on that side) linking up to the town I was now in. If there was such a crossing, it would be one of those local trade crossings and not open to foreigners.

After the road turned inland, cell reception dropped. Finding a Thai SIM card would be the next task and since it was an incredibly remote border crossing I would have to wait until Dan Sai to do this (almost 70km from the border)

Fortunately it was very easy. I just rocked up to a cell phone shop and they sold SIM cards. The only difference was that they had to register it with the passport.

The resort I had picked was a great one and the price couldn't be beat at 380 baht. More expensive than Laos for sure but I didn't mind. I also set about to finally start spending the Thai baht coins that had been carried around this entire time. They were spent on healthy food at 7/11 (yes it exists) including electrolyte powder to put into water. Also some delicious street food with chicken on a stick as well as some Western food and a smoothie at Amazon Coffee.

Today's ride: 73 km (45 miles)
Total: 973 km (604 miles)

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