Days 12&13 cycle: Bua Daeng Resort to Udon Thani; then crossing the border in to Laos

Cycle route Thailand to Loas 

Although reluctant to leave the Bua Daeng Resort we managed to tear ourselves away around mid morning (after a delicious and very hearty breakfast) to head to Udon Thani where we would be staying for 3 nights. Yes, another rest 😀

Today's ride was quite short which again meant we could take a leisurely pace and follow some of the quieter roads. This was really pleasant and we passed through lovely countryside and small villages. At one point we stumbled across a really quaint english style tea shop with a red telephone box outside. Although not far from Udon Thani at this point it caught our eye and we were drawn in. Their blueberry fruit shakes were really delicious 😋 

A short pitstop by a rather grand archway 

A lovely english themed cafe - rather ornate gardens too!

We arrived at the hotel in what seemed like no time at all and although we were early they let us in to our room anyway. That's usually a good sign and our first impressions agreed with the reviews that we'd (I mean Max 😉) found another really nice place to stay. It had a fab rooftop pool and excellent breakfast too 👍

Another great hotel - only £25 a night too 😉

We made good use of the rooftop pool

We set out to explore the area late afternoon and quickly realised our hotel was in the middle of the expat area. Apart from that it was very central and adjacent to a couple of large street food areas. Our initial impressions of Udon Thani were very favourable, although also considered a major city like Khon Kaen it seemed a lot less chaotic and definitely had a more up market feel to it. 

We decided to explore the street food market for dinner that evening. This would be our first foray as we hadn't been brave enough on our own thus far but we'd heard good things about it and certainly everything looked spotlessly clean and very appealing - the only challenge being the lack of English on any of the menus 🫣 Google translate, although a godsend generally, can be tricky to use and especially when you're wandering round aimlessly! 

We eventually settled on a stall we liked the look of - which also had a very persistent lady on front of house - and somehow, with her help, managed to order. Max went for stir fried chicken with rice and I chose one of my staple favourites, pad Thai. Both dishes were delicious but unfortunately Max's chicken was deep fried in batter so we ended up swapping 😳

The market was positively buzzing at night, it was a lovely atmosphere. Lively but very relaxed and we couldn't get over how cheap the food was. At about £1 a dish this was going to really help our budget out too 😉. We quickly decided we'd eat there for the remaining two nights and we certainly didn't regret that decision. We even went back to the same stall and that lady was delighted, if a little surprised, to see us again 😀

The first street food market where we had delicious freshly squeezed tangerine juice for 25p

The street food stall we visited twice 

A very persuasive front of house 😂

The whole place was buzzing 

Looking very pleased with my pad Thai 😊 

And then we swapped! 

Another street food stall - delicious pho style soup 

Udon Thani railway station

We found a couple of nice spas in town and decided to try them out. It's a good way of soothing our tired muscles - even if the benefit is only psychological. Plus it's so cheap it seems mad not to "indulge". Here it was slightly more expensive than some of the ones we'd enjoyed earlier in the trip but still only £5 for a one hour treatment - so an absolute bargain. Mind you those Thai ladies certainly know how to find your weak spot - even asking for a gentle treatment I've discovered bruises afterwards 😅. Max decided after his first treatment he'd need to steer them away from his legs as they couldn't take another pummelling for a while 😂😂

We made another trip to the cinema too. There wasn't a huge choice so we ended up seeing the Beyonce film - I quite enjoyed it but it was a bit too long for both of us. We emerged nearly 3 hours later to find the mall (where the cinema was situated) completely deserted apart from some workmen! We made our way downstairs only to find the doors locked!! I panicked slightly but Max kept his cool and eventually we found a way out through the underground carpark 😅

After 3 days in Udon Thani we felt well rested and ready to head off again. Day 13 of cycling and we were heading to the border to cross in to Laos, so another adventure beckoning. This was a 48 mile ride with some climbing early on, the border crossing halfway and then downhill/flat into Vientiane where we'd be staying for a few days.

The ride out of Udon Thani was pleasant and it was reasonably cool first thing, helped by a bit of cloud cover. The sun started to burn through and by the time we reached the border mid morning it was hotting up nicely. Getting across was chaotic - there was a distinct lack of clarity about the process. No signs anywhere, no-one seemed to speak much English and we kept getting passed from one desk to another (needlessly queueing along the way to add insult to injury!) We muddled through somehow and made it through to the other side. First priory then was cash and sim cards! Here the kindness of a stranger kicked in as a young lad standing nearby, hearing us bickering, stepped in and offered to help, showing us where we could buy our sim cards 😀. 

So eventually we were on our way again - the next challenge being to cross the friendship bridge. Max had read from other blogs that it wasn't possible to cycle across but decided we'd have a go anyway! As it turned out we were waved on and told there was a cycle lane. Strange, we thought, that the blogs were wrong until the bike lane we initially followed suddenly disappeared! Still, we made it across the bridge anyway without mishap. It just shows that you have to take what you read with a pinch of salt and always be prepared for the unexpected 😉 

We had about 15 miles to go before reaching Vientiane but by this point it was hot hot hot! We'd heard that the roads in Laos weren't very good and we'd certainly been quite spoilt in Thailand by comparison! The road to Vientiane wasn't too bad but it was certainly very dusty and lots of big lorries passing by only added to this experience. As we approached the outskirts of Vientiane, we did get our first sighting of the Mekong River though, which was very exciting and perked us up! 

Passing the Laos beer factory on our way into Vientiane 

Our first sighting of the Mekong river

We finally reached the hotel after navigating a fairly organised one way system. That surprised us a little and we put it down to the French influence! We were both exhausted and a tad relieved to get off the bike. The hotel seemed nice - a little boutique style place, again with a lovely pool. 

Relaxing by the pool in Vientiane 

After settling in we set off to explore and soon found a nice little restaurant over the road where we tucked into rice and chickpea massala (Max) and Turkish pide (me). Both were delicious and proved this restaurant lived up to the very good reviews we'd read on trip advisor. We ate here a few times over the next few days and, although I'm usually wary of places with such extensive and varied menus, this really was one of those places which seemed to be able to pull it off. Again very cheap too 👍

We had some pretty good food experiences in Vientiane - were tending to look for international options in the big cities as once we're in the outlying areas there's no choice. We found a lovely Italian restaurant - amazing lasagne and aubergine parmigiana, excellent gluten free pasta and beautiful salads too 😋 

As we were staying in Vientiane over New Year's Eve the hotel staff had told us about a party at the Patuxay monument (the Laos equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe) so we decided to check it out. Our chances of staying up till midnight were rather slim but we thought we'd soak up the atmosphere for a while and see how we felt. There were loads of street food stalls and entertainment too - we saw a magician and a singer (apparently voted in the top 20 of a national talent contest!). We wandered round an enclosed beer tent area - there was a great atmosphere but we could see that as the night progressed it was going to get pretty rowdy indeed! 

There were lots of families in the area around the monument and some people had parked up with campervans and set themselves up roadside with picnic chairs and festival lights ready to party 🥳. We stayed long enough to soak up the atmosphere but feeling pretty tired we eventually decided to head back before midnight. To quote Kerry "midnight is a human concept" and "you did the most important bit" and I'll happily take that 😉. We'll definitely remember the NYE we spent in Laos - as a very different and exciting experience but we did also miss the Arnold's iconic NYE bash all the same 😘

The Patuxay monument illuminated 

The illumination kept changing colour - red was my favourite 

That's the parliament building behind Max 

I didn't see anyone buy one but loads of people were taking photos 😳

New Year's Day in Vientiane was a rather quiet affair. The place had a definite "morning after the night before" feeling and a fair few cafes and restaurants were closed - including the lovely cafe where we'd had breakfast the day before - much to our disappointment 😞.  Undeterred we pressed on and settled for some yoghurt and fruit from a local supermarket for breakfast and then back to our favourite Italian for a slap up lunch instead 😀.  The waiter recognised us from the day before and we were welcomed with open arms despite it looking like they were about to close the restaurant for the day! 

The next day we were heading off early on a round trip to Vang Vieng. We've had to adapt our plans for cycling in Laos as Max discovered from all the blogs he's read that the roads around Luang Prabang are pretty treacherous! I also met a German girl at the hotel, we'd spotted her gravel bike parked as soon as we arrived, and she was telling me how awful the roads are too. She seemed a pretty hardened/seasoned cyclist so I was inclined to conclude we'd be wise to take her advice. 

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=664363

Apparently the Chinese trucks have completely destroyed the tarmac roads and they're absolutely riddled with potholes, or just gravel tracks. Given how hilly it is, the ascents and descents would be lethal and Max, very reluctantly, concluded a plan B was in order. So we're doing a round trip from Vientiane to Vang Vieng - 2 days cycling there, a 2 night stay and then 2 days back again. After that we're leaving the tandem in Vientiane for 10 days while we get the train to Luang Prabang for, I feel, a well earned rest 😉

I feel disappointed for Max given all the planning he's put into this but if I'm being totally honest I'm a little relieved. Aside from the treacherous roads, the climbs on some of the rides in Laos looked astronomical. 8,000 feet on some days and that means steep descents too (which bizarrely are my least favourite bit 🫣). I don't think, even at my peak of fitness (through LEJOG or even Sa Colabra in Mallorca) have I done climbs quite as tough as that!! I've told Max that if he feels he's still got unfinished business in Laos at the end of our trip he might have to return with Mick instead to tick those boxes 🤣

We'll let you know how we get on with our trip to Vang Vieng in the next update. In the meantime wishing you all a Very Happy New Year and thanks again for all your messages of support. It's so nice to hear from you and makes such a huge difference ❤️ xxx