Friday 26 February 2016

321 ADVENTURE THRU THAILAND, LAOS AND CAMBODIA (4-16 January 2016), Day 6 - The Test of One's Resolves

Afternoon siesta!
Upgraded to first class sleeping berth
Riding in pitch darkness!
First 20 clicks to breakfast
Beef jerky
They have to tell you....
This is how you bring your "Ma" out!
Charcoal Kilns
Broken bits of charcoal left behind in the kiln
A boy following his mother to the river, at Don Det
Mekong river at sunset
First, the panniers
Then, the bikes
There's a queue too!
Then, the wait for the women to get onboard!
Finally, the bikes and panniers boarded!
The beautiful river
Unloading in Don Det


It's either an excuse to get out of the sun or to get out of the rat hole....we all left Sabaychay at 5.30am in the morning. We left Nan at "reception". He stirred as we quietly pushed our bikes out to the road. We bid him goodbye and good riddance to Sabaychay.

Frank was exceptionally cheerful. He was happy to be getting out of "this hell hole"!

Also, Frank had a candy last night. In fact, The 3 stooges all had one! Papa, sleeping on mat, Frank and KC on the 2 single beds all slept soundly, oblivious to the dust, dirt and whatever rats that may have climbed over them! They all had sleeping pills!!!

It was pitch dark when we set out. There were no street lights at all. When we rode past our little village, a lone shop selling vegetables was already opened for business.

The villagers were just about to start their day. The smell of woodfire was evident as each household started their kitchen going.



We rode for 20 km before stopping at our first village. We had our staple.....Pho again, at Toon Restaurant. This restaurant has clean toilets a few steps below the main building. Frank calls it, "stepping into a dungeon".


We watched the activities on the streets. The shopkeepers sweep the roads outside their shops, sprinkles lots of water, probably to reduce the dust that churns up at every passing vehicles, then, pasted some sticky rice on the shop pillars, probably as an offering??? 

We then saw the arrival of the public transport, a pick up truck converted into an open bus. When it stops, the street peddlers came running with barbecued chickens on sticks, bamboo filled sticky rice and many other peculiar fares.

Much later, the pork seller arrives in yet another pick up truck. The fat lady at the back of the truck has baskets full of different cuts of meat, a scale and a chopping board. She bends over with a knife to cut the choice meat for her customers.



We witnessed the arrival of a monk collecting alms. Every shopkeeper was very willing to place food in his metal pot and kneel down in exchange for blessings.

We continued our journey...



We passed a few charcoal kilns... 

When we hit 20 clicks, we made another stop. This time we chose a petrol kiosk that comes with "Clean Toilets". The toilets live up to its name.

Across the street from the petrol kiosk, two chickens were placed in overturned screw pine baskets. In fact, we see many of them reared this way throughout our 321 journey. It disposes the need of a coop. As chickens are known to have pea sized brains, they will not be able to device a simple escape plan....push to the edge until the basket falls over a dip on the ground!!!

Although we tried to do another 20 km before the next stop, we only managed 17 km. The sun, headwinds and slopes were systematically playing on our mental health. Claudine and VT succumbed to the lure of cold drinks at the first sight of shops with refrigerators.

All riders trickled in slowly, red faced and sweaty from the heat. Papa Mike was not last on this leg!!!

We had cold drinks and some tried the tiny packets of pan fried groundnuts. Nobody had any Pho although a lady that shared our table had one. When her noodle came, she helped herself to the condiments on the table. 2 teaspoons of white sugar, 1 teaspoon of chili sauce and 2 dashes of fish sauce!!!! That's how the locals like their Pho!



The army came in a whirlwind of dust! They parked their truck laden with logs by the side of the shop and about 8 soldiers descended to join us. Some had rifles with wood stocks. They declined KC's attempt to take their photos.



A single motorcyclist peddler with clear plastic bags filled with bras, panties and clothings of all sorts, bumped on the influx of customers. He got some interests from a few curious soldiers. But they are probably just "plastic" shopping and not window shopping!!!

We bid our soldiers goodbye! They did not render us a salute. They waved instead!

The next order was to start looking out for lunch stops once we hit 70 km. We did hit a town at 70 km but every eating outlet there looked dirty and run down with no visible sights of refrigerators. We went on, not trusting the town.

1 km later.....dry, parched, overgrown grass with no sight of houses.

2, 3, 4 km later.....still the same dry, parched, overgrown grass and still no sight of houses.

Sweat....hunger....worry....

5 km later......white and red communication tower!!!

VT's theory of civilization is communication towers are built near settlements. This hypothesis was substantiated when we sighted shops.

Sporadic and few, we stopped at the last shop. Our criteria was cold drinks and this one had a refrigerator.

Our next criteria was food. While this shop had 2 tables with long benches and the usual chopsticks and condiments, there was no sight of any cooking activities. The only pot there was visibly empty and the stove devoid of flames.

"Nancy Drew" then spotted a single packet of uncooked Pho on the table. This indicates there might be food. Papa, the food connoisseur was asked to enquire about Pho.

We hit home run! It seems, the real cooking was done in the kitchen at the back of the house!!!

We played safe and ordered only one bowl to try initially. The noodle was heavenly and came with a separate plate of raw cabbage, bean sprouts and basil leaves.

The noodles were so good we had 9 more after that! As we were not used to eating raw vegetables, Papa Mike asked the lady to stir fry them. We also ordered egg omelettes for everyone. This will be our cheapest meal in the entire trip. 158,000 kips inclusive of drinks!

When the last person said, "Burrrrp!" we continued with an afternoon siesta. KC and Celia took turns on the hammock. Alvin and Frank opted for the benches. The raised wooden platform, the sorts of patios was a favourite with the rest of the team.

Much later, Alvin and Celia upgraded to first class berth! They helped themselves to the owner's verandah.

When it was time to go, Colin blessed Celia by sprinkling water on her head while she was sleeping! She did not balked. Such is the good camaraderie amongst us!



The shopowner allowed us to use their outhouse toilet, situated behind the house. It was very clean and has a long cemented water tank big enough to take a dip. It looks like all cleaning activities including laundry, bathing and brushing one's teeth is done there.

While most of us used the toilet, Frank preferred the breezy feel when he emptied his bladder next to the tractor parked by the side of the shop. Our Jack Sparrow did it, not once but twice!!!!



We sat out the sun. When we rode again, it was past 2 pm and there were overhanging clouds. It was not as scorching as before. As we left our nice shop, the final peace prompted a drake to chase after a duck. They did not roll in the hay but rolled under a wooden bench!!!!

This time, Alvin took the lead while VT was the designated sweeper. We rode for 10 km, took a short rest then rode again with the promise of another short rest 10 km later.



While the first group went ahead to stop at the junction to the jetty, the second group could go no further. They had their own private breather by a huge bus depot. Papa was calling it a mind numbing ride!

Ian checked his GPS and raised everyone's spirit when he announced the junction is only 2 km ahead, and the jetty another 3 km more! Motivated, we rode to meet the others!

With another 3 km more to go, there was no pressing issue to go fast. We took a slow ride to the jetty passing by some expensive looking bungalows. There were the usual brick and wooden houses too, but none too poor as the economic viability of this place comes from tourism and not fishery alone. However, the road conditions were bad, with lots of holes and sand.

We knew the jetty was near when the air starts to smell like the ocean. Yes, even though this is the Mekong river, the salty smell of the ocean was distinctly there.

And then....we meet our Mighty Mekong again! The 7th largest river in Asia, it flows from the Tibetan plateau all the way down to Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.



The jetty was busy with boats plying the river. We found a ticket booth selling tickets at 15,000 kips per passenger and 5,000 kips per bike. When the tickets were purchased, we had to manually haul our bikes down the steps, crossed 2 planks, walk on the floating, cubed plastic pontoons before getting to our boat. 

Ours was a small fishing boat with a thin metal roof to provide cover from rain and shine. The hull itself is the base of the boat. We were given planks to lay across the boats. These serves as seats.

It seems, the boat was chartered for our team only. They load the passengers first, then the bikes. When all were on board, we set sail.

We cruised across the Mekong to Don Det island, one of the 4000 islands of Laos.



We saw fishermen casting their nets from their boats.

We saw a few similar boats like ours, filled with tourists on a river cruise. We wondered why they were given life vests while we were not!

We saw some tourists on kayaks. They looked hot and tired! We wondered why they do not look amused to see us waving our support!! Some of us will emphatise with their plight the next day!!!


We were surprised when our boat's engine slowed down to dock on a sandy patch by the river. There were no jettys in sight! 3 Caucasians were having a picnic there as if it was a beach!

Our trance were interrupted when the boatman told us to disembark! While we were given VIP treatment on the other side of the river, we now have to step into the Mekong and paddled our way with bikes and panniers through the soft sand!



2 little local boys were delighted to lend a helping hand. They helped all of us push our bikes up the steep ram to the road. Thinking they were waiting for tips and most deserving too, they ran off chasing each other when the job was done!!!

Winded and sweaty, with shoes filled with wet sand, we hooked up our panniers. Alvin was most mischievous. He told us it will be a short ride, about 5 km to our hotel. He then, led us pushing our bikes through a side lane, past a gate and there it was........our Little Eden!!!!

While waiting for our keys, we spotted our 4 friends from Pakse Hotel. They have left the same morning we left ..... through the hotel's car park.....they, in their car..... us, on our bikes. While we stayed a night in Sabaychay, our four French friends returned to Pakse on 2 punctured tyres!!! They arrived in Little Eden only a few hours ahead of us!

We showered our bikes and shoes with the gardener's hose. Then we showered ourselves in our rooms before meeting for another sundowner by the verandah.

When it was time for dinner, Papa refused food but instead opted for a 3 hour massage. Claudine and VT explored the village instead of joining the rest on hotel food. They made a bad choice in Miss Ning. The service was bad and the food terrible!

We clocked a total of 99.9 km on mostly flat terrain. The route was relatively easy but with not much write up on it, we were initially a little worried about the availability of food shops along the way. But, as witnessed by us, the long route is scattered with village shops and if one is not too picky, the standard Pho is always available every 20-30 km away!

Friday 19 February 2016

321 ADVENTURE THRU THAILAND, LAOS AND CAMBODIA (4-16 January 2016), Day 5 - S for Sabaychay

Pakse Hotel
Pakse
The road to Attepeu
Nan's new abode still underconstruction
Sabaychay
Sabaychay
Sabaychay
Chickens at Sabaychay




Do not assume! When you assume, you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me"!


We soon discovered the phrase is so true when Alvin hung a punctured tube on the room's door for KC to patch. It was the wrong door. Housekeeping sent it for recycling when we checked out to start our scootering tour of Bolaven Plateau.

3 bikes sharing the same type of inner tube but with only 2 spares to go around doesn't balance the equation very well. You factor in the terrible road conditions, 250 km to go, the rarity of that particular sized tube.....you ended up with W.O.R.R.Y!

We bid Pakse Hotel goodbye with a commemorative group photo. Then we rode out to the crossroad and turn right onto Road 10. Here we bid Xuan Mai Restaurant goodbye. When we hit the T-junction much later, we turned left. Here we rode along the Mekong river. 


We spotted the faint figure of Buddha on top of the hill. We saw the bridge we crossed on Day 2. We couldn't resist stopping for a group photo. 

Colin it seems is plagued with bike problem today. Alvin helped him to fix it. 

When it was done, we followed the road and turned left to the market place. Pigs the size of dogs were kept in screw pine baskets. So were chickens. They were placed on the curb. 

Right ahead is Pakse New Market. We turned right at the T-junction and came upon Friendship Supermarket. This is a larger store than the one we shopped in last night.

We slowly left the hustle and bustle of the markets. We came upon a large hyper market selling building materials. Tiles, bathroom equipments, Cotto, Hafele, etc.

Then, we started our first climb. It was a long climb. At the top of the slope, Alvin made a drink stop by a shop. Everyone were grateful for the respite.

Soon after, we climbed the second slope. VT swept Papa Mike. When the duo finally reached the top, they were beckoned to move on. The poor guys were not allowed a rest.

We turned right and hit Road 13, a dusty road, which is also one of the main arteries of Laos. The signboards here are world class! Vat Phou, turn right, another 43km!!! These are actually very useful information for a traveller as it helps them estimate time to destinations. 

After holding our breaths till we turned blue at every passing vehicle that stirs up dust, we finally reached the outskirts of town. To our left is a green lung of forest. We could finally breathe better and open our eyes wider!

We hit a few industries. A concrete factory, a brewery and a water factory. 

Passing by homes, we see children waving to us excitedly. They called out, "Sabaidee!"

We made another stop. This time a hot day calls for ice creams. After our treats, we kicked off only to see stalls selling fruits a few meters away. This is the dilemma of riding....you always never know where is a better stop!
As the day advanced to noon, the weather was getting quite hot. Alvin had earlier mentioned a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius. We laboured on. Each village we passes, the kids seems to cheer us on with calls of, "Sabaidee"! We could only gasp a greeting, not wanting to disappoint them.

On a hilly terrain shaded with trees, Ian turned back to check on Anne. His wheels slipped off the road and almost had a fall. It was a close call.

Not long later, we saw a high security fenced up area. The sign says, "Monkey Farm'!!! On the gates were the flags of Laos and Vietnam. The idea of monkey brains jello served in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom made Claudine gag!

We rode for another hour before making another stop. This stop appears to be the verandah of a house, doubled as a shop. The floors were tiled and clean. It was customary for us to remove our shoes when we enter and that was exactly what we did.


There was a toddler in a rattan basket hung from the ceiling. Her caregiver swayed her so vigorously, she must have felt like being in those Viking ships at amusement parks! Perhaps the idea was to make her sooooo dizzy she finally passes out! Whatever happens to 'Rock a bye, Baby' where the baby is lulled to sleep with soft swaying???

We had another taste of Laos hospitality when a man pulls out a giant umbrella to shade our bikes! We were really stumped with such thoughtful gestures and felt embarrassed we only bought water from them!

After a good rest, we left the family. It seems like Supreme Commander, Alvin was timing the stops at one stop per hour. We had another stop......one hour later! 


Spotting a stall selling watermelons a hundred meters before the stop, Claudine turned back to buy one. Buying was easy, carrying a watermelon on a bike was not! The seller resorted to removing her pre-packed 6 bottles of drinking water to reuse the sturdier plastic bag. It was a clever after thought as the swaying of the melon on the bike would have tore any ordinary plastic bags!


When Claudine returned with the watermelon, Papa Mike and Frank were already eating Pho, aka chicken noodle soup. The watermelon was handed to the shopkeeper who kindly cut the fruit up for us. Some of us tried the shop's fried banana chips. Meanwhile Claudine and KC helped to clean up the Pho and the remaining coagulated blocks of blood in it!!!!


Powered by banana chips and ...... blood, we rode again. A few kilometers later, we passed by a shop selling elaborate coffins and altars. All the coffins were beautifully decorated with gold paint and paper. They were heightened with a lower structure and topped with a cover that resembles the pyramid at Prasat Thom, in Koh Ker.

Our next stop will be where we will spend a night before heading out to our ultimate destination, The 4000 islands of Laos! We had to the break the journey as the ride beyond was known to resemble the wild wild west...a long ride with almost no shops along the way. But before we can rest our weary bones, we must first look for a place to "camp". So, 9 km later found us actively looking for a place to stay.

On our first guesthouse cum restaurant with man made ponds, the proprietor ushered Alvin to move ahead. It seems like they were not keen to do our business.

A few kilometers later, we spotted another guesthouse. The gates were chained and locked. As there was a wooden stall meters away, Alvin went over to make enquiries. Out came an old man with a bunch of keys. He resembled a cheery, smiling prune, all wrinkled and tanned! Prune face showed us the place. 

With what little we could understand, there were 2 air-conditioned chalets and 2 non air-conditioned ones on the estate. A room viewing reveals a double bed with overhanging mosquito net, 1 gecko droppings on the bed, a squat toilet, a pail and a dipper. The whole estate could only accommodate 8 of us! 

Taking this smiling old man's guesthouse as a backup, we rode ahead to Sabaychay guesthouse. Sabaychay was recommended to Alvin by a passing tourist. Nan, the "front desk officer" showed us the rooms. Nan only had 5 chalets that can accommodate only 10 people. This put us in a better pickle than the one offered by Prune face.

The first room was a double bed with 1 gecko droppings on the bed. This will later become Alvin's and Celia's room. The other 3 adjoining rooms are in the similar sorry state of overhanging cobwebs, curtains that fell off their hooks, yellow toilets with brown stains, beds with dust that are inches thick at the edges! These 3 were given to the other 3 couples.

The bachelors' room was the worst! There were 3 gecko droppings on a pillow and a lot more on the floor! There were so many, they gave an illusion of raisins being sun dried on the floor! Claudine requested Nan to provide a mattress on the floor for the third person but was offered a mat instead! Alvin suggested pushing the 2 single beds together instead and then hurriedly stepped out. It seems Alvin could not bear to spend another minute in that filthy room! 

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. We paid for the rooms immediately as the earlier R&D reveals the scarcity of places to stay in this outback area! In fact, Alvin had scoured the internet months before the trip and there was not much information on this route, less alone places to stay. 

After securing our rooms, we requested Nan, to at least, clean up the bachelor's room. We also asked him if there's a place we can go to for lunch. Nan was quick to assure us we will have no problems finding food outlets in the village nearby. He was so wrong!

A hundred meters later, we came upon our first food outlet. We were ushered to move forward. They were not keen on our business!

We moved to the next shop and were told to do the same! Move ahead!! They are closed for business!!!

A third stop seems....completely closed, with no signs of activities!

It was then that Celia suggested unloading our panniers at Sabaychay before recceing for food. So, we all trooped back to Sabaychay. When we returned, the rooms were in the same sorry state. No cleaning was done!

This time, Alvin was getting cranky with the heat and sweat. He wanted a shower badly and gave orders to meet for food in 15 minutes. Clean rooms or dirty rooms, we all went inside to unload. When we met again, Anne said she was quick to jump out of the toilet. It was the kind of toilet you wouldn't want to stay one second longer!

While waiting for Alvin, Claudine and VT surveyed the estate. They spotted a pond behind the guesthouse. There was a line of towels by the water edge, one of which had fallen to the ground. They saw Nan picked a towel for the extra person in the bachelors' room. The fallen towel remain fallen.

There were many chickens in the estate. They have a free reign on the grounds. Some chickens were roosting under a shed made out of a zinc roof, 4 wooden poles, a wooden flooring and just one
wall. This will be referred to as "reception". 

Claudine found Nan lying down at reception, watching TV. She queried him on places to eat and was given the same suggestion of where they had just come from. After Claudine's relentless questioning, Nan decided to help us find a place to eat.

When everyone was ready, we followed Nan. He led us on his scooter, while we rode on our bikes. He made the same stop in our earlier quest. Failing which, he led us past the small village shops to a restaurant he later clarified was operated by his relative. The restaurant seems closed for business as it was past lunch time, but the ladies fired up the wok for us all the same.

To simplify the order, Alvin requested for 1 chicken dish,  1 pork dish, 1 vegetables dish, 1 egg omelette and 1 soup cooked in whichever way they deemed good. It came in 2 dishes.... a soup and a medley of chicken, pork vegetables with 2 eggs cracked into it. But it was delicious!

While waiting for lunch, Papa's keen eyes had spotted a shop selling watermelons. VT, Claudine and Papa were sent to buy. They returned with bananas too! The watermelons were cut up and served as an after lunch desert while the bananas were distributed for breakfast the next day, A Test of One's Resolves!

Meanwhile, there was an accident just before lunch. The second entourage led by Colin crashed when Colin's hand pump fell. KC reacted with an emergency brake. Frank who was following behind, crashed into KC! KC suffered a small cut on his knee while Frank bruised his stomach!

We invited Nan to join us for lunch. His English wasn't too bad and from what we could understand, he is a government officer working in foreign affairs and that he once wanted to be an English teacher. He is also helping his sister with the management of Sabaychay. Now, Nan's story did not hold too well when we got to know him better.....

We had another taste of Laos hospitality when Nan's relative carried a stand fan from a room inside the shop for us! But it would seem the restaurant is built without much planning. There was a running tap to wash our hands but without a sink! Instead a basin sitting on a plastic carton was used to catch the waste water!!


After lunch, we found the road leading to Attepeu. It was an extremely dusty road. The trees and shops flanking the road were in a monochrome of brown! We... did not... go to Attepeu... as we forgot our gas masks!

With the thoughts of Day 6, hovering over us, many of us made a quick stop at the shop nearby. Milo, biscuits and chocolates were purchased for the next morning's sustenance. Sabaychay definitely does not have a kitchen to prepare breakfast for us and by the look of the village, we will not be able to find food in the morning.


Next to our shop cum grocer, there was a karaoke joint. Karaoke system, simple wooden tables and chairs with the standard serving of Laotian beer, the village folks were singing their hearts out. Delighted, Papa Mike joined in with a dance and was honoured with a beer!!!

Back at Sabaychay, VT was getting ready for a shower. He thought cleaning the dirty floor before a bath was a good idea and started spraying the floors. The more he cleaned, the dirtier it became! It seems, the dirt in the grooves between tiles were getting dislodged!

"Oops! Better to leave a dirty floor, dirty!"


Meanwhile, a baby frog resting in the toilet was getting ruffled by the flooding. It jumped on to higher ground, the wall! So, for the rest of their stays, VT and Claudine had to stick to their space and made sure they did not encroach on the frog's! The humans and the amphibian developed a mutual understanding.

Not trusting the towels provided, Claudine and VT decided to use their own hand towels. Then, there was the fight for the silk blanket, a gift from Alvin and Celia. It was really meant for a single person and thus, VT had to make his bed out of the 2 unused towels at Sabaychay.

Most of us had an afternoon siesta at Sabaychay. Claudine and VT slept till dusk and woke as soon as the fluorescent light in their room went off! Nan was summoned to the room. He was found at "reception", watching TV again. He tried changing the fuse, failed and said, "I am sorry I can't fix the light." That was it!!! Case closed!

It seems the reception is where Nan sleeps. There was a mosquito net by the wall and his beddings were on the raised wooden flooring. Nan pointed to a half built brick structure at the entrance of the estate. He will sleep in the new abode when it is ready! 

Sitting in a dark room illuminated by only the light from the toilet was not fun. Claudine and VT decided to leave for dinner. KC, Papa and Frank followed suit. The Howards and Meadows were out since evening and the Lee's decided to wait for their return.

Following Papa's suggestion, the five went to a restaurant recced by him at lunchtime. Walking towards the restaurant, they saw the Ozzies on their home run. KC signaled the Ozzies with a "Yoo hoo!" There was a dip on the road and KC half fell. He survived with a few scratches but his slippers did not! So, KC had to borrow Barbara's bike to get a change of shoes while the rest proceeded to the restaurant.

Minus Sabaychay, we had a nice relaxing evening. Barbara made a new friend with the owner's shih tzu puppy that was relatively not browned by the surroundings.....yet! 

The Howards and Collins related how they had gone out looking for tea. They were given the same negative response from the restaurants we entered at lunch. Not welcomed, they proceeded to the Karaoke joint where Papa had danced with the locals. Somehow, after a few "no's" the owner had brewed them complimentary teas!!!!
We said grace for dinner. Barbara thoughtfully asked for Carolyn's speedy recovery. Poor Carolyn,
had a crash with multiple fractures while training for 321. We miss her exuberance!


Our dinner were cooked by woodfire. The usual palate of Pho, basil pork, omelette.....

The Ozzies packed their unfinished mixed vegetables for breakfast. Alvin and Celia were relying on Papa's stash of canned mackerel in chili oil and KC's baguette, compliments from Pakse Hotel's buffet spread! Meanwhile, Claudine and VT were settling on biscuits and bananas.

As we headed back to Sabaychay, some on foot, some on bike, Papa Mike blurted out that he was down to one can of mackerel in chili! He had opened the other one to eat as supper the night before!!

Dear, Papa!!!!!!!!!!!

Good night, Nan!


Good night, stick insect! Please continue to stand guard in front of the boys' room!!