January 8, 2015
Mukdahan National Park: Such a poser
A mere fifteen kilometres south of Mukdahan I came to Mukdahan National Park. With it being only one kilometre off the main road it was an easy one to get to, and the entrance fee was only a couple of quid, so even Alan couldn't complain. Almost as soon as I was through the entrance gates I came to the 'mushroom' rocks, the prize attraction of this place. They were a pretty interesting assortment of rocks that looked a bit like, yes, you've guessed it, mushrooms, with larger bits of rock on top of stacks of softer rock. Obviously the result of weathering and erosion and all the old geological shenanigans, and it was possible to walk right in amongst them and I was pretty much the only one there. Good stuff!
But for me the best bit about Mukdahan National Park lay beyond the mushroom rocks, where I could hike further away from civilization and into the wilderness. Well, it wasn't really wilderness, being rather a small National Park, but there was nevertheless a real sense of something special to be (at least in the immediate vicinity) surrounded by nature and to stand on the rocky landscape with the wind blowing strongly against my face and look out over all the trees.
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After that it was another day when not very much happened. I was just cycling south, following the Mekong again but on the main road, from which I could not see the river. At camping time I tried to find a way down to the river on some smaller roads, but all I found were houses lining the river bank. The best I could manage for a riverside camp was to set up my tent on a plot of land that, whoever owned it, hadn't yet bothered to build a house. I could just about see the river if I squinted through the undergrowth. It was magic.
Today's ride: 56 km (35 miles)
Total: 35,521 km (22,059 miles)
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