Paradise lost?...Not really

Not really, but allow us to explain.  For starters it turned out to be tougher to make our break from Thailand than we ever could have imagined when we entered one month earlier.   One day turned into three before we knew it in our little biker oasis on the Mekong. Being treated like royalty doesn't get old too quickly after almost 6 months on the bikes. Therefore we decided to stay and enjoy the wonderful conversation, the Thai cooking lessons, and general R&R.  A few days extra and we were finally sent off with stuffed bellies, rested legs and full spirits for our journey across the border to the People's Democratic Republic of Laos. We had heard some things about what awaited us but our spirits were high  and it would take a lot to dampen our spirits. 

  

Our little cabin on the Mekong, Bruce learning how to make papaya salad with Nisakorn

   

Sunrise high in Northern Thailand (those are clouds around the mountains) dinner with another cyclist and Tiansak

Unfortunately this almost came to fruition as we slowly made our way the 15 km to the Thai/Lao border.  For starters there are only two ways to cross the river spanned bridges that dot the Lao border.  Either you have a vehicle of your own or like most of us you have to load onto a special bus (only $0.25 USD) with everything (no special place for bikes on this one!?), ride the one km, and then disembark and pass though the very porous Lao border after jumping through a few hoops (including but not only a cost of $70USD for the visas on arrival, a large sum for such a poor country).   Finally you ride another 15km or so to the small town from which all the slow boats down the Mekong disembark. Though we had 3+ hours to make this epic journey (laughingly this should be plenty of time) one snag after another left us on the shore only minutes after the boats had left for the day. Still in good spirits we settled into finding a way to spend a night in a dusty border town and awaiting the next day's boats. Camping was not too much of an option here so we found the least expensive option, a very old spring-filled bed in a room, nothing more. 

The two day boat ride down the Mekong River from Houy Xia to Luang Prabang with a night in Pak Beng was enjoyable enough.  I guess for me personally there wasn't so much of a need to see the river and small villages as we had been experiencing that already for about a week.  Reading about the alternatives, long, dusty, mountain roads, we knew that this was our best bet. Not that we would dissuade others from this experience as it is quite beautiful and unique and we were glad we took this route.  We even met a neighbor, literally, on our second day.  Another portlander, who lives about 2 miles from us and right off our normal bike commuter route, was sitting next to us! Cliche to say but truly a small world. 

  

The longboat we took down the Mekong, an arial view of Huay Xai

We found ourselves in Luang Prabang with a decision to make about how long to stay in what was proported to be one of the nicest cities in SE Asia. We were running out of days before we needed to get to th capital city, Vientiane, and our flight out to Nepal. Also we had, what looked to be quite a few days of big mountains to climb and nearly 400kms of road to cover.  To top it all off Chiara had mildly injured her ankle a few days prior and it was bothering her when we were riding on steep hills. In the end we split the decision and we spent one night wandering the active streets eating and people watching. We the arose early next day and went around taking in the quaint architecture, the picturesque river and ate some amazing rice porridge and sandwich (foods inspired by the fusion of French culture with the obvious Vietnamese influences). We then packed our bags and hit the roads. The average traveler would for sure want to spend some additional time in this little UNESCO world heritage town but at this point for these travelers we feel our time spent was sufficient and we were happy to strike out finally in earnest in our 8th country.

More Mekong in Luang Prubang 

True to what had been alluded to in writings as well as conversation the northern parts of Laos were quite a bear.  We started climbing about 15km outside Luang Prabang and it didn't end for almost 4 days.  Not that it was all terrible by any means.  In fact Laos proved to be some of the most interesting and scenic riding since the eastern side of Taiwan. Small mountain villages with filled with people of various indigenous tribes (of which Laos has a multitude) living at a subsistence level. They all wash together from water that pours from the steep mountain slopes, everyone cooks over charcoal fires and children run freely on the surprisingly low traffic roads.  The reaction is highly mixed as all the children smile and wave to us while th adults seemed guarded and/or aloof.  It is difficult to be sure why this difference is so marked from the country we just left on the other side of e Mekong. Maybe it is the result of a distrust that occurs when a people are mistreated and marginalized by their government as so many indigenous people are in countries everywhere in the world? Maybe it is the result that Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia and a tough life leads to a hardened exterior? Though after visiting other countries with corrupt governments and struggling populace (yes Indonesia we a talking about you) where the almost everyone has infectiously wonderful smiles and positivity it is not something that we can determine.  It seemed to us however that as we slowly made our way south the people warmed as well as did the temperature.  However we spent some wonderful nights in small villages as well as camping near a local hot spring and finally the party and outdoor enthusiast central location of Vien Viang.  

The mountains behind us we were at this point only needing to chew up the last 100+ km to get to Laos capital city and an exciting runion. The days were now getting hotter than we wanted so we pushed on fueled by the wonderful local baguette sandwiches and knowing that the French family with which we spent our time in Krabi were waiting to meet up.  

  Our abbreviated 10 day tour of Laos seems to have been the the perfect amount of time as we both could not have been happier to see those smiling faces of Albon, Delphine and Vincent. It was such a joyous reunion spending 2 hours laughing, sharing tales of travels, drinking Beelao and chasing around their young son. We couldn't have scripted a more enjoyable way to end our tour of Asia and prepare for the next stage of our journey.  

  

Beautiful scenes from Northern Laos, first camp site

    

More beautiful Northern Laos

    

Balloon outside our campsite, Vieng Vang. Some many cute kids yelling "sabaidee!" and giving us five

Northern Thailand...on to the Mekong

We finally broke free of Chang Mai's holiday indulgences and headed in a northern direction on the main roads out of town.  We probably were carrying about 5 kg extra weight (i.e. body habitus) from all the holiday ham and cookies and our sedentary week. The riding proved pleasant and after a long climb a few clicks from town we dropped into a beautiful valley with small towns and wonderful vistas of the encircling hills.  We spent a few nights camping in various school yards and ate wonderful bagged curries picked up at the village street markets, a great discovery that we joyed and will surely miss once we leave Thailand. We were also excited to see the famed Wat Rong Khun, the all-white temple designed by one of Thailands most famed artists,  We decided to head straight north toward the famed Golden Triangle and found a fascinating corner of SE Asia that seemed less frequented by western travelers and to be more of a local holiday spot.  This ennui came in spades when we arrived at the small, sleepy Mekong river town of Chang Saen where we took a night at a guest house that was run by the sole westerner we saw in town and who was also mildly socially inept (maybe not putting our best foot forward with this guy). No bother as the room was clean, ridiculous cheap, and immediately across the street from beautiful outdoor eateries overlooking the river.  Picturesque does it no justice.  Chang Saen was ancoasis that we no expected and may have been one of the most pleasant evenings we have had in a few months.  We collectively could not have been happier with our decision to come far to the north and this was only strengthened when we rode in to the Chang Kong area to meet our next Warmshower host.  Tiansak and Nisakorn lived on some land abutting the Mekong where they had a beautifully simple open air home with a small separate cottage where the cyclists stayed.  We were dumbfounded as this place was something that we would have be willing to pay good money in order to stay.  Quiet, except for the Lao neighbors on th far side of the river (more about this later) we were intending to spend only one night before shoving off to cross into Lao but the beauty, solitude, hospitality and knowledge that this one in a million place would probably not come our way anytime soon we stayed an additional two nights and even "celebrated" the 2016 New Year by sharing a fantastic dinner with our hosts and then fell asleep promptly at 10pm.  Rock Stars have nothing on the life lived by long distance cycle tourers!?  Other than maybe one too many Beerlao and the fireworks set off at midnight we had one of the simplest and most pleasant New Years that I can remember.  Thank you both so much and we hope you take us up on offer to come to Portland so we can show you the same gracious hospitality.

  

Wat Rong Khun, and some of the macabre details at the entrance 

Baan Dam- museum built as a counterpart to the white wat

  

Bruce eating CRICKETS!!!!!! for a snack, beautiful northern Thailand scenery

  

The golden triangle where Laos, Myanmar, and Loas meet

Nothing special...makes it all that more special

We were once again on our own as we left Krabi and our 'vacation-within-a-vacation' and headed north toward the west coast of Thailand.  We had decided that based on the maps that the best riding would be heading west and then turning north along the coastline that boarders the Andaman Sea and eventually Myanmar.  Our bet paid off as we were welcomed with pleasant riding consisting of quiet, wide lane roads, super friendly locals in mostly small vllages and towns, new tasty food options, and beautiful rolling terrain.  Also we welcomed the return of pleantiful, easy camping along any roadway.  We chose between schools grounds, parks, lands around new homes that had not yet been finished, to name a few.  No beaches, unfortunately, as this and most of the Thai seaside is developed for the vast tourist market that dominates every inch of available beach.  No worries however as we usually had water, toilets and shelter from storms and slept well through this section.  It turned out, in fact that we even went further then we thought we might and finshed our tour of southern Thailand in Chumphon, a very popular transit point for most of the 'backpacker' crowd going either north to Bangkok and Chang Mai or south to the islands.  

  

Underestimating what it actually means to be in 'high season' in Thailand we soon discovered that our nice cushy overnight train ride to Bangkok in a 2nd class sleeper car would be spent on a 3rd class bench seat.  On the bright side the ticket was quite a bit cheaper...no consolation when a full grown adult male is trying to contort and curl himself up onto a 3 foot long bench seat on a loud, brightly lit train car for 8 hours.  No bother, we would just get in early and get a nice sleeper car ticket for the next night heading to Chang Mai--WRONG again!  Thi time the tickets were booked 2 days out and we were not going to endure another overnight in the 3rd class bench.  After discussing our options we deecided a bus ticket would be the way to go.  We secured seats online and then headed out for our one and only day exploring Bangkok.  We stowed our luggage for the day and started walking around this massively sprawliing city.  We wandered for most of the day eating at local food stalls, people watching in the markets and just taking it easy.  Content that we only had only the one day in Bangkok, as we are fairly tired of big cities at this point, we made our way back to collect our luggage.  Now came the fun of the day...ever heard of a tuk tuk?  Well this picture will help you understand what it means to pack 2 people, 2 folding bikes, and all our bags onto the back of a 3 wheeled scooter!  Probably the highlight of Bangkok for us...maybe not so much for the driver that dragged our butts halfway across the city in rush hour traffic.

  

That fun behind us we found out why the buses in Thailand are the way to travel.  These 2-level behemoths are super modern, equipped with all the amenities including wifi, folding seats, tv screens and they even serve food.  For those intrepid 'backpackers' looking for the nostaligia and romance of taking the train in Thailand, we totally understand but as cycle tourers of >5 months we can safely say "Screw that"...Take the bus.

We were so much more well rested when we arrived the next morning in Chang Mai.  We pedalled a few km around the city to kill some time before arriving at the home of our next warmshowers hosts, Jared and Katie.  This little oasis was a wonderful respite and where we would be spending Xmas.  We did little while there other than gorge ourselves on what we were told is a traditional Kiwi Xmas feast.  In town we met some great folks including a few bike shop owners like Stu and Mong of Mong Cycles and Nu of Triple Cat Cycles.  What warm, welcoming and helpful folks.  Thank you all for your hospitality and making these two orphan cyclists feel at home this holiday season. 

  

Hanging out at Nu's shop, Triple Cat, in Chang Mai

Our fabulous hosts, Katie and Jared

    

Chowing down on appetizers. I can't tell y the last time I had bread, pesto, and cheese!!

WOOF-WOOF...ing

At Serukam Farm with Fred, Bruce, myself, Auntie, Uncle,

Fiona. Johnny, and Xin

During our time cycling out of Penang we realized that we were struggling with our route after southern Thailand and with our feelings of being at loose ends without a focus.  Fortunately without much effort we truly killed the two birds in Sungia Pentai, Malaysia at Serakum Farm, and it was turned out to be better than we ever could have imagined.  With Georgetown and Penang behind us we were not sure if we would enjoy the rest of Malaysia until we entered Thailand in a few days.  Those worries quickly abated when we arrived in Sungai Pentani and met Xin and her wonderful family.  Initially we planned to stay with Xin for one day, just an overnight, and we planned to pick her brain about future routes as she had toured through Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, and India.  The places at the farm that she lived on were full, so Xin was kind enough to put us up with her parents, Soo and Chow, a 10-minute bike ride from the farm.  That first evening all the volunteers came to Soo and Chow's; Fred, from France, who had been working with Xin to get the farm started for the last nine months, May, also from France, but she had been living in Australia for years, and Johnny and Fiona, a couple from Scotland that had a few years to travel and work.  The next day we went to visit the farm and the hospitality of "Uncle" and the wonderful food prepared by "Auntie" along with the great energy exuded by Xin and the group was plenty to convince us to ask if we could stay and volunteer for a few days.  We found out that her and the family had been already talking and wanted us to stay...so there you have it.  During the day we helped get the farm back on it's feet, clearing fields, painting walls, rebuilding stairs, and just enjoying doing something other than rotating our legs in a circular pattern for 5-6 hours each day.  We also were blessed to be invited to a family party that consisted of food and beer that seem to have no end.  In an attempt to repay our hosts we offered to make homemade pizza before we left.  It was easier than we thought to aquire the ingredients but it should have come at no surporise that stoves are all but non-exitant, as in most of Asia.  No matter, a little ingenuity by our French friend and viola...wood fired grilled pizza, and some of the best crust I have made (toot-toot).

  

Bruce building chicken coop stairs, helping with the farm's mosaic table

  

Making pizza for 25, a lovely evening on the farm with our makeshift pizza oven 

  Leaving was more difficult than we could hav imagined when we first arrived in this out-of-the-way town of strangers, now feeling more like family.  But, alas, we knew we would have to continue at some point so we said a misty eyed farewell, invited everyone to come to the states to visir in the near future, and left feeling full of happiness.

We moved on to Alor Setar and another Warmhowers host.  This time the experience was slightly different to say the least.  Our hot was welcoming but he was not confident with his English and we, obviouly had not mastered even the begin levels of the native language.  He took us to a vegetarian meal and afterward we joined in on a chanting mediation group that he frequents.  This was all pleasant but mostly nonverbal time spent together.  The next morning he toook us to see his city, the temples, mosques and the like and then offered to ride to our next destination with us (only about 40km).  He also told us that he would set it up so that we could stay with a friend of his in the next town of Kangar Perlis.  However upon arrival we discovered,  to our dismay, that he had not notified anyone prior to our arrival and that the family had no room for us to stay.  They did invite us in and allowed us to shower and gave us food and drinks.  With minimal English translation we found out that they also knew our previous nights host only briefly and that he often only spoke when absolutley necessary.  We apologized and ofered to leave and find accomodation but the family would not hear of it.  They told us it was an "honor to host us" and that they were very happy.  They put us up in a local hotel (owned by a friend of theirs) and took us to an amazing seafood restaurant for what may have been the most amazing in a recent series of outstanding meals.  This family truly exemplified that which had come to be a part of Asian culture that we adore; their willingness and pleasure at taking in and treating strangers/travelers as family or better.  How will we ever find the time, money, and space to repay all these fantastic people that have done so much for us on this journey?!

  

With the Oon family, who were so good to us, me in the local mosque in Alor Setar