Having had 2 enjoyable days exploring by bike, we decided it was such a wonderful experience that we would do it again!
After it began to warm up a little (still hats and gloves weather), we set off on the main road, heading for another cluster of villages on the map.
We took a route that led us through a couple of villages near the river. As we crossed a bridge, we saw a small wooden canoe with 4 young boys casting their nets trying to catch fish. We watched for a while before continuing our mini adventure.
We came to a sign post showing 2 villages to the right. They were off our map but the first was not too far away, so we changed route and headed towards it. 2km later we arrived. It was a quiet little place and very welcoming. We decided we would try to reach the next village 6km away...
After having to walk uphill, pushing the single speed bikes for 1km, we decided at the top of the hill, we'd turn around! It was fun cycling back down but slippery. Although it hasn't rained for a long time, the parts of the track in the shade were muddy and deeply rutted. Fairly hard to handle on our city shopper bikes!
We ate lunch at a tiny cafe, where a friendly man who couldn't speak English, taught us about the Lao bank note values. He was so sweet! Next, we continued our journey across a rickety bamboo bridge, very carefully... and onto a larger river, where there was no bridge. We could either try to cross barefoot (wasn't too deep in parts) with the bikes or turn back. We opted for the more sensible option and turned around. There appeared to be another route on the map, so we tried to follow it. The track got thinner and thinner the further we went. It started to look like we were heading the wrong way. A snake was lying across the thin track, dead and with no head. It looked as though it had been killed by a local with a machete. We decided to turn back once more.... We stayed on the main road, away from the snakes most of the way home.
In the evening we attended the night market and decided to eat in style.We ordered a roast duck to share off the rotisserie. It was so good, the flavour incredible!
After it began to warm up a little (still hats and gloves weather), we set off on the main road, heading for another cluster of villages on the map.
We took a route that led us through a couple of villages near the river. As we crossed a bridge, we saw a small wooden canoe with 4 young boys casting their nets trying to catch fish. We watched for a while before continuing our mini adventure.
We came to a sign post showing 2 villages to the right. They were off our map but the first was not too far away, so we changed route and headed towards it. 2km later we arrived. It was a quiet little place and very welcoming. We decided we would try to reach the next village 6km away...
After having to walk uphill, pushing the single speed bikes for 1km, we decided at the top of the hill, we'd turn around! It was fun cycling back down but slippery. Although it hasn't rained for a long time, the parts of the track in the shade were muddy and deeply rutted. Fairly hard to handle on our city shopper bikes!
We ate lunch at a tiny cafe, where a friendly man who couldn't speak English, taught us about the Lao bank note values. He was so sweet! Next, we continued our journey across a rickety bamboo bridge, very carefully... and onto a larger river, where there was no bridge. We could either try to cross barefoot (wasn't too deep in parts) with the bikes or turn back. We opted for the more sensible option and turned around. There appeared to be another route on the map, so we tried to follow it. The track got thinner and thinner the further we went. It started to look like we were heading the wrong way. A snake was lying across the thin track, dead and with no head. It looked as though it had been killed by a local with a machete. We decided to turn back once more.... We stayed on the main road, away from the snakes most of the way home.
In the evening we attended the night market and decided to eat in style.We ordered a roast duck to share off the rotisserie. It was so good, the flavour incredible!
