Thursday November 27, 2014, 86 miles (138 km) – Total so far: 6,544 miles (10,532 km)

Thursday November 27, 2014 two days 86 miles We had a very early start yesterday as it was going to be quite a climb to the Vietnam/Laos border crossing at Tay Trang. The first several miles were flat and fast before the first mountain climb. The fog finally burned off as the climbing started and we developed a good speed while walking the steeper parts. By 2 pm we were at the border and checked out. I noticed other people exiting Vietnam with dongs inserted into their passports. The border officer motioned to me about the cash but I just ignored him and he stamped both our passports and we exited. The Laos entry point was several miles away. Laos is visa on arrival and we already had downloaded and printed our visa applications, filled out and glued the pictures. The border officer was very impressed that we had that done. We paid $35 each for the visas plus a small $1 processing fee. It was all very simple and very efficient. I don’t know why more countries don’t do it this way.

We continued riding into Laos and found a guest house in a small village. Next door was a restaurant where we met two other touring cyclist’s couples. It is such a small world as we had not seen other tourists since Sa Pa, Vietnam.

After today we decided Laos has the most ups and downs of any country we have ridden in. But the reward is a beautiful ride.