From Lak Sao, where we ended 'day from hell' as described in the previous post, we headed south on a small road. We knew it was not going to be tarmaced so we knew what we were letting ourselves in for, but nevertheless it was hard work. The whole day was spent bumping over rocks and gravel, getting covered in dust every time a truck went past, slewing through piles of sand, avoiding pot holes, bumping over more rocks, getting stuck going up hills etc etc. Sam, Mike and I were fine but I felt a bit sorry for Meggles bouncing around on the back of my bike, rather plaintively singing (Bumps Bumps Go Away - our Laos version of the more well known 'Rain Rain Go Away'). We stopped frequently but by the time we arrived at our guesthouse we were covered from head to foot in a fine red dust, with aching shoulders and wrists and sore bottoms.
The following day saw another 20km of this before the tarmac resumed (joy of joys) and we raced on, relishing the smooth surface. Unfortunately we somehow missed our guesthouse and had to ride for miles and miles before we found another one so were all knackered by the time we eventually found somewhere (idyllically situated next to a huge cement factory).
On the plus side this meant that the next day we only had a short distance to cycle and were able to stop at a large cave and explore; we found a beautiful pool near the far end of the cave and all stripped off and skinny dipped. Bliss. No sooner had I got my clothes back on, two women appeared at the mouth of the cave and giggled immensely at the view of Mike trying to struggle back into his cycling shorts without getting them dirty.
Finally, we arrived in Tha Kaek (back on the Mekong, and therefore on the main north/south highway). We devoured cheeseburgers and chips and then bumped into some cyclists who told us about a great bike shop in the next town, so we hopped on a bus and here we are in Savanakhet. Bikes are being repaired, kids are being stuffed with Western food, and everyone is happy!
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