Читать книгу Danny does Laos and Cambodia - Danny Beer - Страница 7

We did 131 km today. We decided that the 54 km to Paksan wasn’t enough for us. Then we had trouble finding another guesthouse. We spent the last hour riding in the dark, which, if we weren’t so tired would have made for a pleasant change. The cool evening temperature was certainly welcomed after such a hot day.

The only choice for breakfast was noodle soup. I decide that I would rather buy some custard cakes and find something more substantial for lunch. A head wind slows us down to about 15 km/h all morning. Much less than the 20—25 km/h we did yesterday. I pass some goats crossing the highway and later some geese waddling over the road.

We make it to Paksan for lunch but the only thing on offer is noodle soup. I go to buy some sliced bread leaving Ken to have the soup. Jam on bread makes an okay lunch. We find a restaurant at 4:00 PM which serves greasy omelets and fried rice. The latter appearing more like steamed rice than fried but is still good. However apparently not good enough for the beggar, who had wondered over. I offer him some but I guess he just wants money.

We only have an hour or so of daylight left but decide to press on, probably due to the lack of guesthouses in town. We do find a guesthouse half an hour later but neither Ken nor myself feel desperate enough to share a double bed. We push on.

It got dark. It got very dark. Pretty stars though. Even Vientiane has a pleasant night sky. A good change to the Taipei nightline. We stop and put on our lights. One of those Laos style tractors catch up with us and we first tag along behind and later go in front, using its light to guide our way. This works for a while until we slow down on a hill and it overtakes us.

Laos tractors.

We do find a guesthouse. There aren’t any signs for it and we aren’t even sure which town we’re in. Again they only have rooms with a double bed so we decide to spring for two rooms. It works out to about US $3 each. Ken goes for a wash (no actual shower attachment) and I go for a beer (priorities). I find some kind of place and see a fire going. I ask what is cooking (in English and bad sign language) and am soon enjoying a plate of barbequed beef. At last. No more noodle soup!