Deutsch
Lao People's Democratic Republic/Don Không Round the world trip 2008
3/6
Kasi, a small wayside town where the busses stop for lunch is where we found ourselves at the end of 37m/67k out of Vang Vieng. The road slowly climbed up a river valley, karst mountains showing long stains of white streaks, jagged, craggy, looking like huge skyscrapers scrolled by on each side as we twisted the cranks. Twisting and turning through Hmong villages with their happy children calling out ‘sabadee’. Smiles and greeting from the cluster of women crowded around a vendor with new bright clothes just brought up from the market.
This stretch of road is the first back into mountain climbs and high passes. We have not really done much biking in the last month and a half so the mountains will take some time to get used to. Today’s 7k climb with 10% grade pitches was strenuous for me and moderate for Judee. The long down hills were exciting. Coasting! We have not done that for months in the flat rice fields of southern southeast Asia. But, as usual head winds were par for the course. Zooming around hair pin turns at speeds nearing 40k one always needs to keep an eye on the road for herds of cows and water buffalo using the highway to graze. The mountainsides here have been clear cut in many places (looks like slash and burn or swidden agricultural practices) with large road signs proclaiming This is a Forest Conservation and Afforestation Area. To us it looks like the clear cutting in the US northwest with little or no effort to replant the cut over. Not nearly as pleasant as the deep lush rain forest we rode through earlier in the day.
Yesterday in Van Vieng we tucked in around 2pm, found a guest house for $8 with fan and hot water. Quickly showered, we handed over our clothes to be laundered ($1 per kilo). Clean, we took off to explore what we had heard was a back packer town on the river. We did find the kick back area up stream on the bank over-looking the karst peaks to the west. Bars, bars and more bars line the bank with blaring music and right at riverside covered lounging platforms so you can watch from your hammock the ‘tubers’ and kayaks float by. We found a quiet place for a beer over-looking the river activity, then continued our walk ending on the island and zigzagging across drift wood bridges leading out to more bar/restaurants. Later we dined on a raised deck in a resort to watch the sunset behind the peaks and down the valley. Scattered clouds slowly turned pink. Horses came down to the river to drink and exercise. Children played in the river water. And the table next to us was occupied by four twenty-something’s all discussing the ills of America….yada, yada, yada. We dined on a veggie pizza followed up by candy bars from a street vendor. When we arrived back at the guest house it was alive with sound, both from inside and out and continued until around 12pm. The roosters started up at around 5am. Sleep was fleeting on the whole. Nights are quite cool, blankets feel cozy all snugged up. Hopefully, it will be much quieter tonight in Kasi.
March 07 Lao People's Democratic Republic >
<
March 04 Lao People's Democratic Republic/Phon
Kasi, a small wayside town where the busses stop for lunch is where we found ourselves at the end of 37m/67k out of Vang Vieng. The road slowly climbed up a river valley, karst mountains showing long stains of white streaks, jagged, craggy, looking like huge skyscrapers scrolled by on each side as we twisted the cranks. Twisting and turning through Hmong villages with their happy children calling out ‘sabadee’. Smiles and greeting from the cluster of women crowded around a vendor with new bright clothes just brought up from the market.
This stretch of road is the first back into mountain climbs and high passes. We have not really done much biking in the last month and a half so the mountains will take some time to get used to. Today’s 7k climb with 10% grade pitches was strenuous for me and moderate for Judee. The long down hills were exciting. Coasting! We have not done that for months in the flat rice fields of southern southeast Asia. But, as usual head winds were par for the course. Zooming around hair pin turns at speeds nearing 40k one always needs to keep an eye on the road for herds of cows and water buffalo using the highway to graze. The mountainsides here have been clear cut in many places (looks like slash and burn or swidden agricultural practices) with large road signs proclaiming This is a Forest Conservation and Afforestation Area. To us it looks like the clear cutting in the US northwest with little or no effort to replant the cut over. Not nearly as pleasant as the deep lush rain forest we rode through earlier in the day.
Yesterday in Van Vieng we tucked in around 2pm, found a guest house for $8 with fan and hot water. Quickly showered, we handed over our clothes to be laundered ($1 per kilo). Clean, we took off to explore what we had heard was a back packer town on the river. We did find the kick back area up stream on the bank over-looking the karst peaks to the west. Bars, bars and more bars line the bank with blaring music and right at riverside covered lounging platforms so you can watch from your hammock the ‘tubers’ and kayaks float by. We found a quiet place for a beer over-looking the river activity, then continued our walk ending on the island and zigzagging across drift wood bridges leading out to more bar/restaurants. Later we dined on a raised deck in a resort to watch the sunset behind the peaks and down the valley. Scattered clouds slowly turned pink. Horses came down to the river to drink and exercise. Children played in the river water. And the table next to us was occupied by four twenty-something’s all discussing the ills of America….yada, yada, yada. We dined on a veggie pizza followed up by candy bars from a street vendor. When we arrived back at the guest house it was alive with sound, both from inside and out and continued until around 12pm. The roosters started up at around 5am. Sleep was fleeting on the whole. Nights are quite cool, blankets feel cozy all snugged up. Hopefully, it will be much quieter tonight in Kasi.
