On November 4th Fred the bike is embarking on a six month journey across Southeast Asia. Starting in Singapore, Fred plans to make his way up the west coast of Malaysia, across Thailand, Cambodia, up through Vietnam and into Laos. After that... who knows? Fred invites you to follow him through his adventure. Any advice from fellow travelers is always welcome.

Monday, April 27, 2009

VIentiane-Hin Gnome

Total Distance:88.39km
Total Time:5h23m45s
Average Speed:16.3km/h
Maximum Speed:45.0km/h
Total Distance So Far:6955.06km

FRED'S BACK BABY! After nearly three weeks of limited physical activity, I'm back on the bike. My time spent in Vientiane was a little boring. Overall it is not a terrible city, but there isn't all that much to do there. Between fixing up Fred, getting a Visa extension for Laos and getting my Thai Visa, I spent a total of five days there. When the morning of my long awaited departure from Vientiane finally arrived I was more than willing to say my goodbyes and get out of there.
I was hoping to make it all the way to Vang Vieng. In the back of my head I knew this was wishful thinking. As I'm sure you can imagine, I am little out of shape after my holiday from my holiday. Sitting around drinking beer and eating all day will do that to a person. The ride was at least an easy one. It was mostly flat. There are really only a couple of hills, and they aren't very big. Still after eighty kilometers I could feel the burn in my thighs (something I haven't felt in quite some time) and I knew the smart thing to do would be to stop.
I spent the night in Hin Gnome. Mostly because of fatigue, but in part because I thought it had an interesting name. There is absolutely nothing there with the exception of the guesthouse I stayed at and a few bamboo shacks. It was at least quiet which, after spending the last little bit hanging around big cities, was nice. Unfortunately I did not spend the night alone. Just before I was about to jump into bed I looked down to discover my bed was swarming with aunts. Luckily I had purchased a hammock in Vientiane. I strung it up in the room and enjoyed a good nights sleep. I knew that hammock would come in handy.

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