Staking the border

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It is now day 22 (and from now on i'll stop numbering the days for fear of disheartening people as the numbers grow) and i have arrived at the Thai-Laos friendship bridge at Nong Khai which I plan to cross tomorrow. Hopefully i should be able to ride rather than ferried over by tuk-tuk at grossly over-inflated prices which make the Kangaroo Island ferry seems cheap per KM.

The last few days I have covered quite a few k's mostly following the rivers which form the border between Thailand and Laos. Initially a small river which then joins the Mekong. The scenery has been varied, despite the dominance from the Mekong river.

I've decided to tell the tale via pictures and a quick summary this time, please view on

Monday: rest day in Dan Sai. Hospital and Winery visit (in that order)
Tuesday: 106km to Tha Deeme (small village, found by chance and stayed in Homestay)
Wednesday: 35km to Chaing Khan
Thursday: 109km to Sang Khom. set off early (8am) had a wonderful 2 hours in the cool (<30C) and managed 70km before lunch
Friday; 90km to Nong Khai
Saturday; rest day

I haven't been taking much in the way of photos of Monks as i feel like this is a bit of an intrusion, but i the Buddahism I have encountered, evident in very village, town and stretch of road in between, has impressed me and left a mark so that photos are not needed. Temples and prayer sights are found everywhere and even when there appears to be no one around, someone praying or making an offering is soon to be seen. Some temples are pristine and splendid, other more ordinary but all have a sense of calm. I feel a bit out of place when looking around but they are more than happy for people to come and see, and when visiting with Thais i have been encouraged to take part; praying and banging gongs (i had a go at the latter which must be done 3 times). Quite an experience.

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Photos

Temple at Dan Sai
On top of hill, this was so calm. Small Chedi pictured. As i got closer i realised there was a meditating Monk inside

Costumes for Phi Ta Khon Festival
Dan Sai is famous for this festival

Masks
Traditionally made from old rice steaming husks. These were actuallty quite scarey

Chateau de Loei
The Cellar Door. A huge disappointment. They had one wine for tasting! A very small reward for the tuk-tuk journey. I bought a bottle becasue i felt sorry for them, but on reflection maybe it was becasue i felt sorry for myself going all that way!!

Tuk-Tuk
My transport for the 23km one-way trip to the winery!!

First cyclo tourists
A 65 year old couple from Holland I met. Touring around Thailand and Laos whilst their son also toured the region, also planning to go to Tibet. Mum, Dad, fancy doing the same on the next trip?

Temple and Buddha
A Buddha who seems to have reather enjoyed the donations made by the villages!

Village of The Deeme
Small, remote village. They did not seem many (any?) foriegners here. I followed a sign to campsite here. Only thing that could have been a campsite was the army camp.. I fortunately was pointed in the direction of a homestay.

Homestay family
The mother spoke no english, but daughter, Mon, who was visiting did!

Mon and my breakfast
Breakfast fit for a king, which had follwed an equally 'sep' (delicious) dinner

Typcial village housing
Wooden upper storey on concrete columns

Route planning on the Mekong
Or maybe just an excuse for a beer in perfect setting. The route afterall was just along the river!

fishing on the mekong
Many other activities were going on around, wood collecting, charcoal making, food collecting (wild nuts and fruit). The main flow of the river can be seen beyond

Islands in the Mekong
with a rise of 6-7m in the wet season (reduced from 10-13m due to dams in China) most of these would be submerged later.

Another night on the Mekong
This time enjoying the Loei wine with 3 frenchies I had met.

Temple on the river
Ultimate in tranquillity untill a narrow boat roared past!

Comments

[agnes]

thank you for sharing your impressions with us. the photos are great, so nice and it is fun to read your impressions, a nice way of following week by week in your great adventure. Thank you so much. great pleasure each time + your weekly phone calls, texts ... I am impressed by the 65 year old cyclist couple touring Thailand while their son is travelling the region. May be a thought for us, meeting you somewhere but where ?

[agnes]

glad to hear your have met Frenchies and are practising your French. You won't be losing your fluency " on the road"... I have just discovered the slide show icon on the top right hand side and we have been able to view your very good photos in big! Thanks a lot. They are amazing and give a good "flavour " of the country. It is good you have been staying at a homestay. Love Maman