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Vientiane to Khon Khaen |  |
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| Vientiane
Laos to Khon Khaen Thailand 28th June |
We approached the Friendship Bridge well aware that it is quite strictly
forbidden to ride our bicycles over. Andrew and I enter the Bridge
Administration offices and find our way to the Deputy Chief's office.
Chanxay Vinavong is visibly excited by the talk of our expedition and as
in Iran the Lao authorities seem to be under clear instructions to bend
over backwards for tourists. He explains that no-one has ever cycled
across the Friendship Bridge - but for us - 'I am willing to make a
special case!'. We both shake Mr Vinavongs hand vigorously and watch
eagerly as he writes our special dispensation to cross the bridge. The
ride across the mighty Mekong will be our last brush with the river that
we first encountered back in Tibet. It feels pretty special to be the
first people to cycle across the Bridge - another challenge overcome by
Team Human Power!
Over into Thailand and its quite clear that we're into something new. Laos' quiet peaceful simplicity and rural poverty is brought to a sudden halt when we find immediately on the Thai side of the bridge a Cash Machine - which when I draw the equivalent of 100 pounds gives me just 5 notes. In Laos I would have walked away from the bank with a plastic bagfull! The largest denomination in Laos is 5000 Kip -which is approximately 50p! Our first 2 days in Thailand has brought us scenes reminiscent of Western Europe. 2 Kentucky Fried Chicken's within an hour of our arrival, Mr Donut, Wall's ice cream everywhere, and Seven-Eleven's scattered liberally in the large towns. I can't believe my eyes after so long away from such trappings of Western Culture. We eat Kellogs Cereal for breakfast and wonder what other surprises Thailand has up its sleeve. The weather is swealtering - reaching above 35 degrees and we dribble sweat constantly down our faces. Getting enough water down is quite a challenge - at the end of each day I seem to be quite dehydrated -despite consuming around 6 or 7 litres of fluid each day. The weather doesn't stay like this though. Within a few short minutes of bright blue skies and roaring sunshine the heavens have darkened, a wind has whipped up from nowhere and the monsoon is back with avengeance. The trees bend like blades of grass, a couple of huge boughs crack and tumble to the ground. The rain lashes down in torrents and we scurry for some shelter. From the hut where we cower from the downpour we also see streak after streak of terrific lightning bolts illuminating the ashen sky. The thunder crashes around our ears and one of the locals with whom we share our shelter clasps his hands to his ears. When an electricity cable explodes into a shower of sparks and a loud bang, I wonder whether this is in fact normal or actually the beginning of a Cyclone? Gladly the rain and wind lift enough to let us continue. The end of the day however sees us riding into Khon Khaen through 6 inches of flood water - never a dull moment - there always seems to be something to keep us on our toes! We head for Bangkok now -just 4 days away! |
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