Tuesday December 2, 2014, 135 miles (217 km) – Total so far: 6,766 miles (10,889 km)
Tuesday December 2, 2014 Three days 135 miles We have arrived in the very touristy town of Luang Prabang from Oudomxay, Laos. We usually try to avoid towns like this but after hearing the praises from so many cyclists about the Mekong River cruises we wanted to explore the Mekong River. The Mekong River boats go north or south and originally we wanted to head south to Vientiane, Laos which is a border city with Thailand for our next country entry. But due to low water levels the boats are not cruising south this season. So we will backtrack and head northwest to the border city of Houei Sai and enter Thailand there. The Mekong cruise takes two days to cover around 500km and includes a one night guest house stay on the river in the town of Pak Beng. We will then enter Thailand and ride south to Bangkok.
The last several days we have met many touring cyclists from around the world. It has been fun comparing notes and trips. Yesterday we rode with five others so we had a group of seven until we turned off for a lunch spot. We had a regular peloton going as we cruised up and down the hilly road towards Luang Prabang. Soon after lunch we were passed by 15 roadies on a supported bicycle tour of Laos. We can go for weeks without seeing other cyclists so this is a real treat for us. Several of the roadies “slowed down” and talked with Jocelyn. All that I got was a “hi”.
One evening we were looking for a camping spot when I spotted a truck with two tents atop it near a river. We investigated and found a family of four from New Caledonia (a South Pacific island north of New Zealand) that have spent the last 10 years driving a Toyota Land Cruiser around the world. They invited us to camp near them and we swapped stories of our tours between a truck and bicycles as we all have the common goal of exploring the world. Thanks Greg, Magali, Natasha, and Anastasia for sharing your campsite with us and for the delicious popcorn. What a nice visit!
Their website is: http://nomadsroad.com
Here are websites of other cyclists we have met recently:
Chris Pountney (UK): https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/directory/?user=chris__p
Dino (New Zealand) and Suzy (England): https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=12976
Delphine and Sebastien (Switzerland): http://enrouesverslest.blogspot.com/
Gail and Charl (South Africa) http://freewheelingtwo.com/
Hiroshi Alzawa (Japan): https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=14864
Robin Olf (Germany) http://robin-unterwegs.com
Dear Mike and Jocelyn,
I am delighted by these pictures and feel so blessed to be a part of this journey. Your love and attention, especially on my birthday, is very much appreciated. I really appreciate the arts and cultural aspects of this experience. I would never have thought that you could be so far away and traveled mostly by bicycle. WOW!!! Enjoy the boat ride today and keep us posted…..
Love always, Andee momster
It will be nice finishing up your trip with the camaraderie of all those other cyclists that you have run across in Laos. You have had quite a memorable journey and the pictures have been great.
Bruce and Judy