Muang Beng

Trip Start Oct 01, 2008
1
20
82
Trip End Dec 30, 2009


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
Muang Beng guest house
(Vientiane hotels)

Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep  ,
Saturday, October 25, 2008

We pick up fresh bikes for the Laos side of the trip. They are slighly better models (4 series Trek) but are in poor shape: brakes misaligned, chains rusted, badly stuck gear cables etc so it takes an hour and one false start to get them sorted. My saddle is very narrow. Surprising as the Laos team seems to have 3 mechanics. I would have hoped that the bikes would have been checked over beforehand. Ant is deliberately pulling back to let Noi guide us (Ant is not allowed to tell us anything about Laos by local law). He amuses himself by haring after local girls on mopeds.


We pass through a series of very poor villages: chickens in the road etc. There are lots of piles of sweetcorn husks and in several places the cobs are being but through a machine to strip the corn which is then bagged in sacks. The road is wide and smooth but definitely undulating: v few flat sections. Rice grows in any flat fields and corn on the slopes.


At one stop, a lady is spinning cotton. A girl shows us a machine to remove seeds from the raw flax. Most people live in housed walled with bamboo mats and roofed with thatch. The buildings are raised on legs and often have seperate grain stores. Children and some adults yell out "sabbai dii" or hello as we pass. Some boys run into the road for us to high five them. One is almost hit by a van coming in the other direction. White foreigners are very unusual: we don't see any others.


Stopping at the villages and interacting with the people when we are cycling through seems much more natural unlike the previous day when we got off our riverboat and were shown people as if they were zoo exhibits. Ann and Charlie have brought some pens, pencils and footballs to distribute.


We had been warned that tonight's accommodation would be basic dormitory-style accommodation in a village guest house. Well, the good news is that the house is concrete with a good roof. Each couple has a thin-walled room with a double bed (firm mattress) and a mosquito net. Washing facilities are a dustbin sized container full of water and a plastic bucket to use to pour it over your head. We are much better off that most local people who wash in a screened off area at the local tap.


The light comes on at 6pm and goes off at 10. The lack of light means that the stars in the night sky are v impressive.


James bought something wrapped in banana leaf from a local shop. He thought that it was banana and sticky rice but it turned out to be raw meat wrapped in fresh chilli.
Slideshow Print this entry