Tha Khek - Savannakhet

I checked my emails in the evening, checked my emails in the morning then left Tha Khek. Sharing a breakfast of porridge, honey and bananas with a passing cyclist was the highlight of this leg of the trip. He is French, was on his way from Savannakhet to tha Khek and part of a group of 6, the rest of whom were staying in Tha Khak at the time. He did tell me why he had been in Savannakhet without them, I’ve forgotten. They spent a year and a half cycling from Buenos Aires to San Francisco, singing at restaurants to pay their way then got a boat to Hong Kong and have made their way south since then. In fact sharing my porridge with this dude was the only good thing about this leg of the trip. Nothing majorly bad happened but I can’t remember the last time I felt so down. Even though I am writing this just a week later, I remember nothing about this journey other than a shared breakfast, feeling alone, reading my book under a tree because the midday sun was just too hot, crashing my bike into a young girl and running over a fork. 

I crashed into the girl not long after leaving Tha Khek. She was about 10 years old and on her bike, she didn’t look as she crossed the road, heard me shout, tried to turn back and I went into her back wheel. I’d slowed down to the extent that I didn’t even knock her off her bike but she got quite a fright and even though it wasn’t my fault I was still apologetic and felt terrible about it. Laos people are super laid back. Baw pen yang is one of the few Laos phrases I’ve memorised, it means no problem. 

I ran over the fork just 10km outside of Savannakhet. It gave me punctures in both wheels. One of my adjustable wrenches broke and it was night time by the time I’d walked far enough to find a mechanic. He insisted I keep his wrench and a glove because I had oil on my hands and because I don’t use maps or know my way around the town; his cousin guided me for a few kilometres to a guest house that was recommended on Wikitravel. Unfortunately, a bit of the fork was still stuck in the rim and I got another puncture and lost him. I found the place anyway. 

The heat has been unbearable at times. I felt really drained and lifeless in my first night in Savannakhet although my mood did improve the following day. It’s amazing how much a few emails from my brother and a skype conversation from a friend can transform my mood. I had a sore knee and sore bum from all that mileage so lounged around Savannakhet for 4 days. It is the most boring town in the world if you want an itinerary that is full of excitement but I really like the sleepy pace. I spent some time on my computer, lots of time acrobatically trying to kill all the mosquitos that were buzzing around my room, I wrote my first poem in Chinese and spent many hours strolling around town, admiring the crumbling colonial buildings whilst scoping out good places to eat. The food outside of major towns in Laos is so bland and repetitive that good food is my number one priority in its cities. The majority of westerners I chatted to were people living in Thailand who were doing visa runs in Savannakhet. I met a young couple, Ryan and Anna, who got engaged just a few days before and the 3 of us had an impromptu engagement party the night before I left. I really like that town. It’s the first place in Laos I’ve spent several days in and was not itching to get out.