So, our bikes were repaired, all squeaks gone, brakes and chain oiled, new crankshaft fitted (not sure what it means, sounds painful, but apparently crucial) and we were ready to go. We decided to hop on a bus to Pakse (in the far south of Laos) to save ourselves a couple of hundred scorching and rather dull kilometres. From Pakse we searched out the new road to Champasak, eager to put our spiffy new wheels to the test. 20km of shiny tarmac later and we were full of the joys of spring. We stopped at what we thought were some minor road works for a drink and then carried on; alas, they were not just a a small section of road repairs; contrary to popular belief the road was in fact not finished, in fact not even close, in fact not even close to being close. We hauled ourselves over loose scree, rutted verges, deep sand, loose gravel and some strange fine dust that was so thick yet loose that you couldn't get any purchase, getting ever more despondant. The squeaks started up again, the crankshaft started to grind and when we finally arrived in Champasak 25km later, all the good work of our trusty mechanic was gone. AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!
Anyway, we stayed in and around Champasak for a couple of nights in order to visit the beautiful Wat Phu. (You can imagine the many fun games two five year old boys (one in a 39 year old body) can have with the combination of 'Wat' and 'Phu' in a single name....time just flies by in Laos!). The site is stunning and we spent a wonderful morning clambering over the ruins and enjoying the view from the top. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and fully deserving of it, despite the fact that it is little known abroad.
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